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All Things Home

All Things Home

large vintage-style garden trellis tutorial & free plans

As I shared last week (in THIS POST), I decided I was overcomplicating the trellis idea for the garage wall.  I thought building one large trellis would be the way to go, but I realized two would balance out the windows on the other “wing” of the house and two trellises would be much easier to build than one.  They’d still be substantial (about 4 x 8′), but they would be smaller and lighter than the original idea and would be easy to install and remove for cleaning and painting over the years.  It would require less lumber and wouldn’t need footings.  I took measurements, sketched some ideas, and built two trellises last week.  I am over the moon about these trellises and, of course, I wanted to share detailed plans and a tutorial so you can build your own vintage-style trellis if you have a similar blank wall to

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1970 home renovation

garden updates | bishop’s weed, trellis design, & progress

In case you haven’t noticed by the subject of my recent posts, gardening has been my main focus over the past few weeks.  I feel like I have to take advantage of the weather before it starts getting really hot and also get the backyard cleaned up before we open the pool.  I keep feeling a pull to the easel to get some paintings done and I’m excited about finally painting the dining room, but I have to follow the seasons and plant when it’s prime planting time.  And, I need to get ahead of the weeds before they get out of control even more than they are.  In addition to the sense of seasonal urgency, I’m really enjoying it.  I put my headphones in and listen to an audiobook or music and completely lose track of time.  I’ve been gardening some evenings until it’s so dark I can hardly

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Gardening

why Annabelle hydrangeas are my favorite

It was our first summer in our house in Minnesota and I noticed some potted white hydrangeas at the grocery store (of all places.)  We had a lot of work to do on the garden beds before we were ready for planting (weeding, digging up unwanted plants, moving rock), so I wasn’t planning on buying bushes, but they were so pretty and they were on clearance for some crazy price like $15/each.  I felt like I couldn’t resist.  I come home from a quick grocery run with a trunk full of bushes!  Thankfully, Jeff is used to my antics and, as long as it’s not a rickety chair that will collapse if he tries to sit on it, he’s pretty relaxed about me bringing surprises home.  What I had purchased impulsively were Annabelle hydrangeas and they were a serendipitous find. This was the summer I planted them and they just

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Favorite Things

beautiful tools | copper watering can & mister

As I have shared many times over the years, I believe in having the tools you use every day be beautiful from dish brushes and bars of soap to brooms and scissors to pencils and grocery bags.  Functional items can, in most cases, also be lovely, aesthetically pleasing, and a delight to use.  They don’t have to be made of brightly-colored plastic that you want to hide in your cabinets.  Even the humblest of sponges or a pair of gardening clogs can be something you enjoy having in plain view.  For years, I have been using a plastic water bottle or whatever else I could find on hand to water my houseplants.  I finally decided to treat myself to a beautiful watering can that I wouldn’t mind sitting out on the counter or the shelf by the kitchen door.  After looking around at my options and thinking about it, I

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All Things Home

my gardening notebook

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by a local nursery/garden center that is just a stone’s throw from my house.  I’ve driven by it often and wanted to stop in, but I knew I wasn’t ready for planting until after the roof was replaced and the exterior painting was done.  We finished priming and painting the front and “garage side” last fall, so I was ready to do some planting as soon as spring started to emerge. I knew I wouldn’t be able to tackle the landscape in the front of the house all at once, but I wanted to get a good start on the foundation bushes on the front of each “wing” of the house and get the beds in front of the porch prepped and tarped.  I’ll explain the area in front of the porch more as I share about the work I’m doing, but that

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a slice of life

what’s in my gardening books stack

I’m a book-stacker.  When I am interesting in a subject, I’ll pull books on that topic and make a stack on my studio counter.  If I feel like there are holes in my collection or some tempting new books are available, I’ll buy a few more to add to the stack.  I’ll then grab books from that stack to read when I have some free time or when I’m headed to an appointment or another place where I might be waiting.  The current stack on my studio counter follows a clear theme – gardening.  It’s full of some of my favorite gardening books that I’ve had for years along with some that I just opened a few days ago. If you know me, you know I like big books.  Helping me move isn’t fun because not only do I have lots of boxes of books, but I have lots of

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All Things Home

1970 bathroom refresh with Society6

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Society6.  I have worked with them as an artist and customer for years, so it’s a pleasure to partner with them for this post. If you’ve read my blog for a while you have probably heard about Society6.  I have been selling my artwork and photography there for almost ten years.  For those who don’t know what Society6 is, it’s a print-to-order marketplace for artists to share their work with a wider audience.  Society6 makes quality art prints, canvases, framed wall art, stationary cards, and other obvious products for artwork, but they also offer apparel, furniture, home and office accessories, and their library of available items is growing each year  So many new products like tapestries and bedding have been added since I first listed my work on their site. In addition to selling wrapping paper and prints on Society6 as an artist, I

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1970 home renovation

progress on the garage-side garden

Last year, I focused most of my gardening on the backyard, specifically the area surrounding the pool.  We were in the process of having the pool restored and I wanted the area to feel tidy at the very least.  I didn’t want to be floating in our pool, trying to soak up the slower summer days only to be tormented by the view of garden beds filled with weeds.  So, I worked a little bit most days to clean weeds out of the beds, dig out rock, mulch, and plant.  I’ll share an update on those areas in another post.  This year, I’m still working on the back (specifically the area along the back fence), but I’m focusing more attention on the front and garage side of the house.  These are the two sides that are most visible from the street.  I wanted to work on them more last year,

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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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