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All Things Home
All Things Home

cleaning out the cleaning supplies

I got a jump on organizing and decided to start somewhere quick & easy – cleaning out the cleaning supplies.  (Oh, the irony of having to clean and organize your cleaning supplies!) But, I figured it would be a job that would take about 30 minutes and I would fly through it.  I don’t have to try things on or weigh the sentimental value of bottles of toilet cleaner.  Sort, consolidate, and done.  If you missed my February challenge, you can read about it HERE.) Well, it ended up taking me two hours! I knew that things were out of hand because of the crammed cabinets under each sink, in the laundry room, and the kitchen, but I didn’t know the extent of it until I spread it all out over my kitchen table.  It was way more than anyone needed for one house and there were so many products

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February 1, 2021 65 Comments
All Things Home

Montauk Blue Slate Tile Floors | Two Years Later

There are some projects that are completed, shared here on the blog, and then I don’t get asked about them again.  Then, there are others that surface over and over.  The Montauk blue slate tile floors were installed in our foyer are one of those projects.  I receive a few inquiries about them each month, usually from people who found my photos in a Google search or on Pinterest.  They want to know how the floor has held up as well as what sealer we used and how I keep it clean. Now that we’ve lived with the floors for over two years, I thought I would write a blog post to put all of these answers in one place and provide a review for others who are considering slate floors for their home. As a reminder, this is how the foyer looked before we replaced the tile and painted

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January 28, 2021 34 Comments
a slice of life

February 2021 Organizing & No Spend Challenge

I know I’m not the only one who felt like things got a little out of control in 2020.  Not only did we have the big, global things going on, but I had a lot of significant events happen in my business…selling a part of my business and writing a book to name the two biggies.  When big, overwhelming things are happening, I find that I start to slip in the little day-to-day things.  I’m not quite as on top of daily habits that keep the house organized.  I’ve tackled a few organizing projects over the year, but small things like getting rid of the boys’ shoes they outgrew or cleaning out a linen closet, or purging the freezer start to feel simultaneously too small and too big to worry about. But I’m feeling ready to deal with all of the things that have been forgotten and neglected.  I’m ready

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January 26, 2021 100 Comments
All Things Home

Living Room Shelf Styling Tweak

I have to confess that I’ve been feeling a little itchy to rearrange!  I used to move furniture like it was a sport, but I’ve settled down in recent years.  It has a lot to do with the fact that I’m not buying and selling antiques currently, so I don’t have a steady stream of cool stuff, tempting me to continuously shuffle things around in my home to try out the latest find that I want to keep.  I think it can also be attributed to the fact that my interests and creative pursuits have expanded.  I am choosing to spend time at the easel or take an art class or learn to knit over repeatedly rearranging furniture and accessories.  I am a little more content to keep things as they are instead of always trying something different.  So, instead of causing complete upheaval in the living room, I made

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January 25, 2021 34 Comments
All Things Home

easy crochet cat (or dog) bed tutorial & pattern

Shortly after we brought our kitties home from adoption day at our local pet store, I crocheted them each a cat bed.  They weren’t interested in the beds at first, much to my dismay, but then I would find them snuggled together in them regularly.  They are now a staple in front of the fireplace and in sunny spots around the house.  I have received so many requests for a tutorial, but the yarn I used was discontinued.  I have tried four other yarns over the past year and either they were discontinued before I could buy more to make a tutorial or I didn’t like them!  Anyway, I finally found a yarn that was a winner and it’s still available.  So, here is the easy crochet cat (or dog) bed video tutorial and pattern.  Finally! The yarn I finally landed on was Bernat Big Blanket yarn in the color

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January 21, 2021 28 Comments
All Things Home

five upholstery tips for beginners

I get a lot of questions about upholstery, so I thought I would write a post consolidating some of the advice that I’ve shared in various posts and tutorials into one place.  Before I share some upholstery tips for beginners, let me share how I started. My first upholstery job (and I use that phrase loosely) was a ratty hand-me-down sofa that was given to me in college.  One of my classmates was moving out of his apartment and offered his sofa to us.  It was a small, gold, midcentury loveseat that had probably been passed around from one college apartment to the next for years.  It had good bones, but the fabric looked like a sofa that had been passed around from one college apartment to the next for years!  So, I bought some lightweight cotton fabric (a blue & green plaid) and tucked it into the seams with

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January 14, 2021 29 Comments
All Things Home

crochet vs. knitting

As I shared last week, I learned to knit over the Christmas break.  I’ve been wanting to learn for a while, so I bought a couple of knitting books and supplemented them with YouTube tutorials when I needed to see someone perform a particular stitch.  I haven’t knitted anything particularly useful, but have been making squares and rectangles to practice stitches, work on my tension, learn to “see” the stitches, and to play with different types of yarn and needle sizes.  I’ve been asked by a lot of people who are interested in learning one or the other to share a comparison, so that’s what this post is all about – crochet vs. knitting!  I will share a separate post with beginner knitting resources I’ve found to be most helpful. crochet vs. knitting – which one is easiest? I think this question is a tough one and I’ve had readers

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January 12, 2021 80 Comments
All Things Home

my favorite home projects of 2020

We were home a lot last year.  I’m a homebody, so it suited me to some extent even though it wasn’t under ideal circumstances.  As many of you did, we made the best of it and used the time to get some projects done around the house that have been hanging out on the to-do list for a while.  I had the extra incentive of working on projects for my upcoming book.  Looking back over 2020, we got a ton of home projects done and completely transformed a few rooms in our house including the living room, sewing room, and ensuite bathroom. Here are a few of my favorite DIY home projects we finished last year… fireplace surround This is one of the easiest projects I did in 2020 and it’s one of my favorites!  I have disliked that shiny granite since we first moved in, but I felt a

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January 11, 2021 28 Comments

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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