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All Things Home

All Things Home

more thoughts on letting go | home organizing

As we were selling lots of things to prepare for our move, I wrote a post about letting go.  (You can find that HERE.)  I’ve actually written many posts about selling pieces, home organizing, and an entire series about stuff and our relationship with it.  I’ve realized over the years that we can have a very complicated relationship with our belongings and it’s not always an easy one to understand or articulate.  Why are some things easy to drop off at the thrift store and other things feel so valuable, priceless even, and deeply connected to who we are?  Getting rid of an old pair of tap shoes somehow feels like getting rid of a piece of our history. It’s all way over my head, but I think, in recent years, shows, books, and blogs have been showcasing ideas that make us feel even more like we need to deal

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Decorating

open concept homes – yay or nay?

I’ve seen some online polls and design articles written about open concept homes lately.  Are they on the way out?  Are we ready to have more walls and doors in our homes again? I love this conversation and wanted to jump on board.  I have always been drawn to older homes, which are almost never “open concept.”  Well, I suppose if we’re looking at very old homes we have to make some distinctions.  I mean, the one-room cabin can’t get much more open concept.  But if we’re looking at homes from the last two or three centuries through about 1970, rooms were divided by walls and, in some cases, doors as well.  And I find that appealing. Both of our last two homes were been open concept.  Well, our PA home was a bit of a hybrid.  The living room and dining room in the 1940s part of the home

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Crochet & Knitting Patterns

Selbu mitten knitting tutorial | part two | colorwork

Is anyone knitting selbu mittens along with me?  I spent the weekend working on the mitten I’m filming for the tutorial, which was a nice activity given that I’ve been ordered to stay off my foot.  I gave several pairs as gifts to friends and family this year, but I still have a few more pairs to make, which is why I’m getting a head start as we start heading into fall.  (I wish the weather felt more like fall.  I am over the humidity.)  Anyway, this post and video are part two of the selbu/nordic mitten knitting tutorial.  In this video, we’ll get into colorwork knitting.  I’ll show how to start the pattern and how to make increases for the thumb. You can find the selbu mitten knitting tutorial part one HERE.  In that post and video, we review the materials, cast on, learn how to work on double-pointed

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Decorating

home library inspiration

As I bought more and more books, Jeff and I smiled and made two references – a cinematic one and a Biblical one (fitting for a pastor.) “We’re going to need a bigger boat.” and “I just need to build bigger barns to house all of my grain.”  Of course, neither of those contexts is a positive thing, but it’s what came to mind as more used books trickled in from library sales, , , and Thriftbooks.  I’ve built up a collection of several hundred books (most of them on the larger, heavier side of the book spectrum), so I’m definitely looking for some home library inspiration for our next house. We had great storage in our previous home for books, but it started to get a little tricky to figure out how to organize the books in a way I could easily find them.  I wanted to keep all

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Crochet & Knitting Patterns

Selbu Mitten Knitting Tutorial | Part One

I started making Selbu mittens last year and several people asked if I could make a comprehensive selbu mitten knitting tutorial, so here it is!  It’s still in the 90s outside, but if you want to make these for yourself or to give as gifts, it’s nice to get a headstart.  Since it’s a process with several steps, I will break this tutorial up into a series of videos and blog posts.  These mittens take me about 6-8 hours to make, but I am not a very fast knitter.  People who have more streamlined mechanics can probably crank these out faster! If you’re new to knitting Selbu (Norweigian/Scandinavian) Mittens, I would suggest checking out this post as a resource before you get started – Making Selbu Mittens |Tips for Beginners. I’ll reiterate some tips and encouragement here, though.  First of all, making mittens might seem intimidating and these selbu mittens

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All Things Home

five keys to making gray walls work

If I didn’t know it before, looking at lots of houses online has confirmed something – gray is the new beige.  The default wall color in this day and age has shifted from beige to gray.  It’s the non-white choice of color that is neutral enough to not be offensive to potential home buyers.  Now, I’m not knocking on gray walls.  Most of the walls in my previous home in Minnesota were painted gray.  Stonington Gray by Benjamin Moore to be exact.  But as I’ve felt an aversion to old homes painted in neutral, cold grays, I wanted to try to articulate why it wasn’t working for me and some of the keys to making gray walls work and look their best. making gray walls work | it has to be the right gray for the house People often pick neutral colors like gray, beige, and white because they seem

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Antiques

the victorian sewing bird

If you haven’t discovered this about me, yet, I love learning about old things, researching them, and hunting for just the right thing to add to my collection.  It appeals to the history-love in me, my inquisitive nature, and my love of owning and using beautiful, functional things.  Of course, it does appeal to my collector gene, too.  So, when I learned about these delightful, useful tools, I went about my routine of researching, hunting, and then purchasing an antique Victorian sewing bird. When you search for “Victorian sewing bird” on or you will find true antiques, reproductions, and ones that have been restored or repaired.  Common restorations include the screw that holds the bird to the table and the fabric pieces that cover the pin cushion(s.)  When I was hunting for one to purchase, I wanted to stay around the $150 price range (or less), and I wanted an

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All Things Home

revisiting tucker resist chambray fabric

When I was hunting for pictures of my French dining chairs to share their makeover all in one post, I found myself admiring old pictures of my blue and white curtains I made out of fabric by Waverly.  Would I want to revisit that fabric again in our next house? I fell in love with this fabric over ten years ago.  Tucker Resist Chambray is a fabric pattern that is a reproduction of a fabric used in historic homes in Williamsburg.  So, of course, when you put blue and white together in a historic pattern, I am going to be a fan.  The pattern initially was offered in two different fabric options – a linen blend, and an outdoor-friendly fabric.  For my curtains, I ordered the outdoor version of the fabric because it was less than half the cost.  The fabric also was thick and had a nice drape to

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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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