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My House

Kitchen

Kitchen Stuff

 I put some more time into the kitchen yesterday, but my “honorary moms” who worry about me doing to much, will be happy to know that I took a bit of a break today.  I did still get some things done, like editing photos and proofreading articles, but nothing major. Yesterday, we got most of the range hood completed.  I will say that it gives one a moment of pause when sunlight is pouring into your kitchen from a hole in your roof. There were some tense moments, some screws accidentally dropped down the pipe, a mid-project trip to the hardware store and quite a lot of shingle, wood and drywall dust that needed to be vacuumed up, but everything worked out in the end.  We just need to install the pretty part – the front panel and finish painting.  It already looks pretty great without the pretty part. It’s

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Kitchen

kitchen gallery

 I put some more time into the kitchen yesterday, but my “honorary moms” who worry about me doing to much, will be happy to know that I took a bit of a break today.  I did still get some things done, like editing photos and proofreading articles, but nothing major. Yesterday, we got most of the range hood completed.  I will say that it gives one a moment of pause when sunlight is pouring into your kitchen from a hole in your roof. There were some tense moments, some screws accidentally dropped down the pipe, a mid-project trip to the hardware store and quite a lot of shingle, wood and drywall dust that needed to be vacuumed up, but everything worked out in the end.  We just need to install the pretty part – the front panel and finish painting.  It already looks pretty great without the pretty part. It’s

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Antiques

New French Sofa

Do you ever get that feeling…the sudden urge to look at Craig’s List?  You just know in your gut that there’s something there for you.  Sometimes I get that urge and come up empty.  My awesome-deal-on-a-piece-of-furniture-sensor must be picking up a reception from another region or something.  When I got the urge the other day, though, I found a beautiful French sofa with cane sides for a great price.  I bought from this shop before, so I jumped at it and bought it over the phone, hoping it would be nice in person.   It was.  It was even better… The cushion that looked a little iffy and lumpy in the CL picture is actually one long down cushion.  Score!  It’s so comfy.  The sofa is pretty deep, so you can sink into it and really cuddle up.  …and the detail on the carved legs.  Sigh.  You know how I

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Before and Afters

Master Bedroom Reveal

 Today was the due date for all of my bedroom project tutorials for HGTV.com, so I spent the morning taking the “beauty shots” for those articles.  They will be available on HGTV.com in a few weeks and I will link to them when they are live. Here’s how the room looks now…    Here are some makeovers featured in the room… My $25 yard sale side table before…  …and after….  The antique store chandelier (I think it was $55)… …assembled and rewired with spray painted candle sleeves… $35 yard sale night stand/chest before… …and now… $65 antique store French chair before… …and after…  And the entire room as it looked in January… …and now… I am still planning to tweak a bit more.  I would like to paint the lamp bases cream and recover the shades.  The bases blend in with the wall fabric a bit too much and I

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Before and Afters

First Painted Nightstand Reveal

 Those who have missed my furniture makeovers lately are going to enjoy this post!  There’s a lot more furniture painting around with corner with the Lucketts Antique Market fast approaching, but one of my freelance articles was to show a specialty paint technique on a pair of nightstands.  Right up my alley!  And it just so happened I wanted to paint the nightstands in my master bedroom. Here’s the “before” of the nightstand from my husband’s side… I bought it for $35 through a connection I made at a yard sale.  It’s not really a night stand, but it’s the perfect size for our bed, which is on the high side, and provides lots of storage.   I actually liked the piece as it was, but it looked a little orange in the room and blended with the floor a bit too much.  Here’s how it looks now… As I

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Kitchen

the eagle has landed

 Some kind of cliche code phrase just seems to be appropriate for what my husband and I accomplished today.   After a lot of sweat equity, geometry, learning what lingers in drain pipes and a dinner break to Olive Garden (in ill-fitting, paint-splattered  sweat pants), our butcher block counters, new sink and faucet are installed!!!  Forget weekend warriors… we’re Thursday warriors. I knew I would love them, but I had no idea what a difference they would make in the space.  It makes the kitchen look so high end!  I was pretty astounded. Anyway, I am headed to Atlanta tomorrow for a workshop and book signing on Saturday, so I won’t get to really “play” with them until I get back.  I almost feel like I need to learn how to decorate my kitchen all over again.  I’m used to trying to hide things I don’t like with a bunch

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Kitchen

The day before Thursday

 Tomorrow is Thursday!!!  That means we’re finally going to install our butcher block counters.  I am so excited. Today, I did a an insane amount of stuff to make a final push towards getting these projects done by the due date.  One of those things was removing the sink and counter that housed the sink, so I could finish the back splash.   We were successful in that, but I ran out of grout.  Bummer.  So, it’s an early morning run to Home Depot to get more and a few other things.  Hopefully our new counters will be in their rightful place by tomorrow evening (or afternoon!)     I only had to wash dishes in the bathtub once and I’m already over it.  🙂

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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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May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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