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All Things Home

All Things Home

hanging plates & swapping chairs

Today, I was supposed to be taking out the toilet in the upstairs bathroom with my dad in order to get things ready for the floor to be tiled.  Well, if you’re in the northeast, you know that it’s been brutally cold and there was some snow to boot, so the tiling had to be delayed until the temperature at least flirting with going above freezing. So, the toilet stayed put and I needed to shift gears.  I decided to do some picking up and cleaning, which always gets the creative juices flowing.  It usually ends up with me shuffling furniture around, deep cleaning nooks and crannies and getting things done that have been neglected. …and that’s just what happened today. I’ve been wanting to hang something over Jeff’s dresser in our room for months, but I’ve been so undecided about it.  I’ve had things propped up there only to take them down.

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All Things Home

reupholstery series | part 1 | stripping the upholstery

Welcome to my new series on reupholstering a French-style chair!  I’ve been meaning to do one of these for a long while, but a lot goes into making a video and I was a little intimidated by the process.  Now that I’ve learned more about sound, editing, lighting, etc., I’m ready to go!  (Well, I still have more to learn, but I’ve definitely graduated from the poor lighting, kids screaming in the background and such.) There are a lot of different furniture styles out there and some are more complicated than others.  In this series, we are going to start with one of the simplest styles of armchairs to upholster.  We’ll call it a French-style chair, but it doesn’t have to be this specific style.  The idea is to find a chair where the upholstery is done in panels.  You can find Victorian, Gustavian, Swedish and more styles with this same

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All Things Home

design ramblings | episode 9 |decorating ideas for renters

It seems like, for most people, a stepping stone to home ownership is renting.  It’s probably safe to say that most of us started out our adult lives as renters and many are still renters for various reasons.  Living in a rented space was the norm for me as I was growing up, since my dad was in the military.  I also experienced renting for the first six years of our marriage and now I’m experiencing it again as I’m renting the studio space for my business. For those of us who love decorating, renting can be frustrating.  We want the option to customize our space, but usually we’re not allowed or it’s not worth the time and money to make improvements to a space that isn’t ours.  There is a lot you can do in a rented space, though…everything from peel & stick wall paper to starching fabric on

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All Things Home

decorating with shutters & doors

I’ve shared my love of doors and shutters here before, but it’s been a while.  I think it’s an idea that used to be a little odd, but it has been catching on and snowballing over the past few years.  The unfortunate thing about that is that demand and price for them has increased, but the good thing is that more doors and shutters are being saved from tear-downs.  I happen to live in an area where I can still find them at a good price.  I have often found salvaged pieces at yard sales for practically nothing.  We once brought home a truck-load of doors for $5.00! Even when they do get a bit more expensive, I still think they are a good bargain.  Here’s why…  they cover a large area of blank wall and make a big impact. They also add architectural interest to a room that may

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All Things Home

wheels, racquets & more…

I had sort of a quiet day, so I thought I would share a few more of my finds from last week as well as some things happening in my house. I’ve had a thing for bread boards for a while now and this one was just too pretty to pass up.  The patina on the wood, the shape and the way the planks are connected made this piece a keeper.  You’ll definitely see it in some photo shoots before I sell it. I also bought some industrial-style antique wheels for an upcoming project. They need a good cleaning with a wire brush and some Hemp Oil to rehydrate the metal and they’ll be good to go. I was also looking for some things to use as accessories for the boy’s room.  I have a vintage sports thing going on in the room, so this wire bucket of old baseballs was

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All Things Home

a horn, a glass case, french twins & a sofa

As I mentioned on Friday, I was feeling a little directionless on Thursday.  I have plenty of things on my to-do list, but I couldn’t pin myself down.  I needed some time away from the computer, the studio and the house.  I lounged around a bit in the morning before I acknowledged I would benefit from an outing. I didn’t have a ton of time, so I stuck with a couple of shops that are close to home.  Here are some things I bought… I have a little bit of a thing for phonographs and practically ran for this horn when I saw it. I have no idea what I’m going to do with it, but certain things speak to me and I just know I should get them.  This one spoke loud and clear. I also couldn’t pass up this antique glass display case.  Again, no clue what I’m going to

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All Things Home

design ramblings | episode 8 | ceiling fan debate

Ceiling fans can be a hot topic, believe it or not.  There are folks who are all about function.  They want air moved in a room and it doesn’t matter how ugly or obtrusive the air-moving-device is as long as it’s doing the job.  Then, there are people who will remove a fan from the hottest, stalest room and replace it with a chandelier…all for the sake of form.  More often than not, males are the former and females are the latter and thus the war rages. I do think that fans have come a long way and there are a lot more out there that can help bridge the gap, straddle the fence and make peace in the form vs. function debate. And that is what Kriste & I are rambling about in this episode… And, for a little fun, I took the snippets from the digital “cutting room floor”

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Design Ramblings – Susan’s space & hanging curtains

Sorry our Design Ramblings is late this week!  It was just one of those weeks.  Between sickness, snow days and a family game of Monopoly last night, I couldn’t get this video up and posted on time.  The Monopoly game was totally worth it, though!  The boys are really enjoying playing it for the first time. Anyway, in this episode, we answer some more viewer/reader questions.  Susan from Texas sent us some pictures of her space asking for advice and another reader asked us about the rules for hanging curtain rods. If you would like us to answer a design-related question or ramble about your space, please send pictures and/or questions to marian@missmustardseed.com. Have a great weekend!

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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