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Living Room
All Things Home

Arhaus Outerbanks Sectional

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Arhaus.  All words and opinions are honest and my own. It’s here, it’s here!!  Well, if you follow my Instagram Stories, you know it’s been here for a couple of weeks, but I wanted to get Christmas cleaned up before I took pictures of the new sectional and shared it here on the blog. Back in the fall, I ordered the Outerbanks Sectional from Arhaus in a beautifully textured blue & cream checked fabric (called Ponder Lakeland) and it was delivered just a few days after Christmas.  Leading up to the delivery, I had the usual doubts that come with ordering such a substantial, cornerstone piece off of the Internet.  Would the check be too busy?  Would the sofa be quality and comfortable?  Despite measuring, would it fit in the space?  Would it fit through the front door??? I’ve ordered pieces through Arhaus before,

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January 16, 2020 86 Comments
All Things Home

sofas : neutral vs. bold

Happy Monday, everyone!  I spent the good part of my weekend resting my arm, hanging out with the family, doing a little bit of cleaning, and looking at some new magazines I picked up at the store.  I love decorating, but the last few months have been busy and I haven’t had as much time to do sewing and furniture rearranging and projects as I would like.  Now that I’m in a sling and restricted from doing these things, I am itching to do some decorating!  Isn’t that how it is? Anyway, as much as I love color and pattern, I must admit that it’s much easier to go neutral with an investment piece like a sofa.  And, historically, that’s what I’ve done.  I will then add color, texture, and pattern with pillows, quilts, and accessories.  I think that is a good decorating strategy and there’s nothing wrong with it,

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October 21, 2019 83 Comments
All Things Home

decorating a mantel for fall in the living room

Disclosure: This post on decorating a mantel for fall is sponsored by Walmart.  As always, all words and opinions expressed are honest and my own. I have resigned to the fact that decorating for fall isn’t going to be a priority this year.  Each year, I think I’ll just put out a couple of pumpkins or something, but each year, I’m wooed by the cool temperatures, the crunching of the leaves, and the piles of heirloom pumpkins at the market.  But this year, I have bigger fish to fry.  I have to recover and heal from shoulder surgery. Not wanting to ignore fall altogether, I decided to add a few simple touches to our main living area by decorating our mantel for fall before I’ll be in a sling for a few weeks… The mantel is the obvious focal point of the room, so I dressed it up with a

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October 3, 2019 21 Comments
All Things Home

a new home for the $50 dresser

Last week was such a blast.  I ended up spending it with my dear friend, Shaunna.  We became fast friends about 9 years ago when we met at the blogging conference, Blissdom. We are two peas in a pod, as they say.  We’re just alike enough and just different enough. Shuanna flew up to Minnesota, so we could spend the week working on our new collaborative project, which we’ll be launching within a couple of weeks.  There was lots of laughing and a lot of deep creative conversations.  By the end of the week, I was simultaneously full to the brim and drained.  I can’t wait to tell you what we’ve been up to. Until then… I took the weekend to rest and catch up.  I slept in, journaled, did my morning walk, hung out with Jeff & the boys, painted, and got back into some of my normal routines. 

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July 15, 2019 29 Comments
All Things Home

painting the living room trim

Back in March, my mom and I installed a chair rail and picture frame molding in the living room (along with the basement guest room and 1/2 bath.)  You can find the tutorial HERE. Since then, painting below the chair rail has been hanging out on my to-do list…languishing there.  It’s one of those projects I had built up in my mind.  It’s going to be difficult.  It’s going to take forever.  I’m going to hate every second of it.  And, given that it didn’t look that bad as it was, I procrastinated.  Lest you think I am always the model of action and productivity…I am not. But, procrastination starts to wear on me after a while.  I get frustrated with myself and I know from experience that relief will come if I just buckle down and do the project.  So, I declared on my Instagram stories that I was

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June 25, 2019 28 Comments
All Things Home

Blue & White Christmas Living Room 2018

I know this is a crazy busy time of year for everyone and I must say that this week has been a doozy for the Parsons’ family.  We have been slammed with stuff to do and appointments and obligations from every side…family, work, church, school.  That’s why I’ve been quieter than usual on my blog.  It was just not possible to get a post out mid-week.  We’re expecting a winter storm this weekend here in MN and I’m sort of hoping we get even more snow than expected, so we have a good excuse to stay in our jammies and cocoon ourselves from the world for a couple of days.  (I also hope to get a chance to paint, because I have not been able to since before we left for Thanksgiving and I miss it!)  But, today, I am a part of the Farmhouse Christmas Tour with an amazing

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November 30, 2018 No Comments
All Things Home

Christmas Living Room 2018

I know this is a crazy busy time of year for everyone and I must say that this week has been a doozy for the Parsons’ family.  We have been slammed with stuff to do and appointments and obligations from every side…family, work, church, school.  That’s why I’ve been quieter than usual on my blog.  It was just not possible to get a post out mid-week.  We’re expecting a winter storm this weekend here in MN and I’m sort of hoping we get even more snow than expected, so we have a good excuse to stay in our jammies and cocoon ourselves from the world for a couple of days.  (I also hope to get a chance to paint, because I have not been able to since before we left for Thanksgiving and I miss it!) Anyway, today, I am a part of the Farmhouse Christmas Tour with an amazing group of bloggers…

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November 30, 2018 35 Comments
All Things Home

Living Room Updates

As much as we’ve gotten done since we moved into this house a little over a year ago, I still have stacks of pictures yet to be hung and bare walls.  It can sometimes take a while to figure what finishing touches each room needs.  I finally took a bit of time this week to tweak the walls in the living room. I already hung my Manet copy on the wall to the right of the large window and I liked how the touch of black tied into the curtain rods… To balance that out, I hung a vintage clock and a pair of family silhouettes on the left side… Jeff held up the silhouettes, so I could get an idea of how they worked before I put the nails in the wall.  While he was holding them in place he asked, “Who are these people?” “That’s your dad and your uncle.”

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November 9, 2018 30 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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