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My House

Master Bedroom

Taking my new camera for a spin

I shared a couple of days ago that I finally took the plunge and bought a professional camera – a Nikon d800.  I wanted to share a bit about how I made that decision.  It all started with seeing spots on my pictures. See those two black spots in the sky?  Now, those are just spots on the mirror that need to be cleaned.  It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with the camera or that I need a new one, but it got me thinking more seriously about getting a new camera and a new lens.  I’ve been thinking about upgrading for a long time, but not seriously.  This gave me a little nudge. Then, my dear blog friend, Maria of Dreamy Whites, started sending me product and lifestyle shots of my Milk Paint line.  I asked her if we could work together, since I felt like I needed a

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My House

a new nikon & getting organized

It’s been a bit of a rough couple of days for me. I know there are much bigger problems in the world and this is so small in the grand scheme of things, but the hard drive on my computer died…on the airplane on the way home from vacation.  Argh!  So, I was already feeling a bit behind and was ready to hit the ground running and get things done and I had no computer.  Fortunately, the computer is still under warranty, so I sent it off to get a new hard drive and, also fortunately, I have all of my files backed up.  It has taken a couple of days, but I have a makeshift workflow set up on two old computers.  One has my software and e-mail, but it won’t work with my printer and it won’t upload pictures.  Nice.  I’m using the second computer to upload pictures,

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Master Bedroom

Bathroom Vanity Top

 I received a lot of questions about my antique dresser turned bathroom vanity, specifically the finish I used to protect the top from water. I stripped the existing finish, because I knew that wouldn’t stand up the way it needed to.  (You can check out my video tutorials on stripping furniture HERE and HERE.)  Once the finish was entirely removed and cleaned.  I applied four coats of Waterlox Original Finish.  This is the same finish I used for my butcher block kitchen counter and I am in love with it.  It has performed so well!  I had some leftover, so I used it for this project. I only finished the top, since the sides and front aren’t exposed to as much water. The downsides of this finish are – it’s about an 11 day process (four coats, 24 hours dry time between each coat and 7 day cure time) the

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Master Bedroom

A little more of the master bathroom…

You know how it is…  Traveling, craziness, busy, not enough sleep, over stimulated, all of that stuff.  Yeah, I’m feeling it.  I just finished Haven and, instead of flying home, I flew into Richmond to help my mom with some family stuff.  So, I’m in for a couple of days of hard work before I can finally go home and crash…and then turn around and go to the Becoming Conference!  Whew!  Given all of that and the late hour at which I am writing this post, I decided to just share a few more pictures from my master bath.  That’s something I can handle when my eyes are heavy and my brain is the consistency of oatmeal.  Of course, I’ll share all of the details of the room and some of my new favorite photo tricks and all about Haven, but we’ll do that another day. Until then, here’s a

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Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom Preview

Well, I was up until 1:00 in the morning, but it’s finished!  Well, most of it.  If it didn’t need to be in the photo shoot, it didn’t get done.  My motto over the past couple of weeks has been, “I’ll do it in the fall.”  It’s just been a crazy summer, but we’re getting through it.  My freelance articles have been turned in and tomorrow morning I’m off to Haven. So, I have lots of great pictures of our new master bathroom to share, but I’m going to put together a big reveal post with the resources, before & after pictures, etc.  Tonight, I’m just going to share a preview.     I also tried out some new photography tricks and I am thrilled with the results.  I’ll share everything soon… The winner of the National Builder Supply Giveaway is…  Rebecca O. And the winner of Barb Blair’s (autographed)

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Antiques

New Door, Getting Ready & Fun Mail

The next couple of weeks are craziness.  I would make an entire list of all of the things that need to be done, but it would probably stress you out reading it and it would definitely stress me out to write it, so I’m just going to focus on one thing at a time and try not to get too overwhelmed.  It’s doable and it’ll all work out.  It always does.  Thankfully, my family has been coming through big time.  (Don’t they always?)  My parents played with the boys at the pool almost all weekend and brought them home with full tummies and ready for bed.  My husband spent hours in the workshop making a good dent in the built-ins for the bathroom.  I had time to work on the trim and finish the shower curtains. Today, my dad came over to help me install the new front door.  Let

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Master Bedroom

The Faucet & More

Last weekend, it was the victory of installing a toilet.  This weekend, it was a faucet.  I am so stinking proud of my husband, who has just picked up plumbing skills along the way as projects required it.  It involved two mid-project trips to the hardware store and he had to rebuild the entire P trap to make everything fit, but he got it done.  The water runs, the drain pipe doesn’t leak and it looks beautiful. The faucet we picked (and by we I mean I picked it and he said okay) was the Moen Weymouth Bathroom Faucet from National Builder Supply.  This was the faucet I had my eye on for a while and I loved the one I got from Moen for my kitchen, so it was perfect timing when National Builder Supply got in touch with me.  They carried the very faucet I wanted at 45% off the

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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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