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Master Bedroom
Before and Afters

evolution of my house | part 6 | the master bedroom

…and now we’re at the master bedroom in this “evolution series” and, oh my, it’s a doozie.  This room made me want to hit my head against a wall for years.  It stumped me.  I kept making stupid, decorating decisions that I knew were stupid as I was making them.  I wasted so much time and money on things I wasn’t in love with…all for the sake of getting it done.  Sigh.  Tell me I’m not alone. A couple of years ago, though, after yards of fabric and gallons of paint, I finally got on the right path and I’ve been able to see it through to completion. So, let’s start at the very beginning.  A very good place to start.   Humming along? Okay.  THIS two-tone mauve wall was definitely NOT one of my favorite things.   And what’s worse than a two-tone mauve wall is adding yellow, red and green

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July 6, 2015 28 Comments
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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February 18, 2015 49 Comments
Decorating

Christmas decorating | master bedroom

I bought some greenery over the weekend (and clipped some from obliging trees as well) and we picked up the Parsons’ family Christmas tree yesterday.  The intention was to have it all decorated by the evening, but that didn’t happen.  As soon as we got the tree in the room, I realized it was the largest tree we’ve ever had.  The diameter at the base is almost six feet and it is very full!  We had to trim down the top and reshape it just to make it fit in the room.  It’s beautiful and I absolutely love it, but it’s so big that I ran out of lights 3/4 of the way up.  I made a trip to the store last night and we’ll get it finished today.  I’m enjoying taking my time with it, though, and running out of lights forced me to slow down even more. This

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December 2, 2014 34 Comments
Favorite Finds

epic craig's list find

I have found a lot of great pieces on Craig’s List over the years…chandeliers, dressers, hutches, cupboards, chairs, sofas…you name it.  I’ve bought a lot off of Craig’s List.  When I’m getting ready for a market, I troll the local antiques & furniture sections daily in our local areas to see if I come up with anything good (and I often do.)  And I have another ace up my sleeve when it comes to shopping CL…my dad.  He has a truck, likes to drive and likes to meet new people, so he’s in charge of coordinating the details of the pick up and then he delivers it to me.  It saves me a lot of time and he enjoys helping out. So, I was browsing through Craig’s List a few days ago and came across a listing for a French armoire.  I have been looking for one for my bedroom

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November 16, 2014 64 Comments
home improvement

French Style & a fabric wall

I received an e-mail a few months ago, asking if I would contribute to a new magazine, French Style.  Well, that sounds right up my alley!  Yesterday, I found the magazine in Target and snapped it up. First of all, it really is a beautiful magazine.  I loved looking through it and I felt so proud that I was a small part of it and I was very pleased with how my article and photographs turned out.  I always felt like my pictures in print looked yellowish and not as sharp as the other pictures in the magazine.  I felt like these were my best and that’s a great feeling. You can find the magazine on newsstands now. One of the rooms featured in the article is my master bedroom and the fabric wall behind the headboard.  Most people assume it’s wall paper, but it’s actually fabric!  I used an old Army

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June 2, 2014 63 Comments
Master Bedroom

bathroomgallery

This past summer, we did a renovation of our master bathroom.  You can see the full details HERE.  The renovation was floor to ceiling. Here’s what it looked like before.   As you can see, it’s a small, regular bathroom.  It’s not one of these huge train-station-ish master bathrooms.  Since it’s not big, I wanted to make the most of the space and I wanted to pay attention to the details.  The ceiling was painted a creamy off-white, which would’ve looked grungy against all of the bright white in the new space. I went to my local True Value hardware and bought a can of bright white EasyCare ceiling paint. And I painted the ceiling before we installed the new tile, vanity, toilet, etc., so I wouldn’t have to worry about splatters, which just happens when you paint a ceiling. Warning – The process pictures in this post have terrible

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February 18, 2014 26 Comments
Before and Afters

stool gallery

Some days I just need to paint.  It’s therapeutic for me and it makes me feel a sense of accomplishment.  With a two hour school delay, I didn’t have a lot of time to get things done today, so I picked a small project I’ve been wanting to work on – painting this little stool. It’s in our master bathroom, so I decided to use MMSMP Artissimo. It’s a deep navy blue.  A yummy color, in my opinion. Now, I painted a lot of chairs and stools before I realized that I should start with the piece upside down.  That eliminates a lot of the awkward reaching and neck strain and paint on your forearms.  Maybe you’re smarter than I am and figured that out on your first try! I decided to apply the paint without prepping the piece at all.  I had a pretty good feeling it would adhere

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February 4, 2014 91 Comments
Family Room

Vintage Pillow Cases & Sofa Update

When I went shopping earlier this week, I found an amazing pair of vintage pillow cases.  I’ve never seen any as long as these.  They’re probably a good 12-18″ longer than the pillow.  They were exactly what I’ve been keeping my eyes opened for.  My pillow, which is down, is always popping out of the case through the night.  I have tried at least eight different cases and they all did the same thing.  So, I was looking for one that was longer or one that had an envelope closure.  Jeff was having the same problem with his pillow because it’s a flat memory foam pillow, so he was using a flannel Snoopy pillowcase I had since I was a kid.  Of course, I always got a little twitchy when I made the bed and saw the Snoopy pillow peeking out from all of my pretty pillows.  But, the man’s

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February 1, 2014 50 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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