For those of you who cry or hyperventilate at painted wood…look away. Consider yourself warned. I did it. I painted my great-grandfather’s desk. Calm down.  Relax.  Allow me to explain.  This desk has been with me since high school.  Through college, two cats and about twelve moves.  The finish was tired, had a waxy build-up that I could not clean and it was scratched to bits by my cats.  This desk needed to be refinished or painted.  I wasn’t about to try striping those curvy legs, so paint was the only realistic option for me.  Have you calmed down? This was not a pristine piece. It also just looks better in the space. Lest you think I have loads of painted furniture, I really don’t…well, didn’t…until this week…when I went a little nutty and painted six pieces of previously wood furniture.  I still have a lot of solid wood in

This is a crazy idea for me at this stage in my life.  I’m always staging for blog photos, magazine photos, HGTV.com photos and in between the staging, my house is totally un-staged.  I’m really working on balance this year and a part of that is doing things for me, my house and my family, so my home doesn’t feel like one big workshop, set and prop closet.  I enjoy a beautiful space.  I enjoy creating it, living in it and the process is very therapeutic for me.  Yesterday morning, a part of creating that balance meant that I sat down on the couch in my jammies and watched a movie while my kids were at school.  I didn’t work or clean or run errands.  I just sat and ate a late breakfast and watched a movie I hadn’t seen before.  I had plenty I needed to work on, but wasting

Translation: Do It Yourself or Let Someone Else Do It?  The bunk bed debate made me think about this.  I always…well…almost always want to do things myself.  I don’t know if it’s a control thing or a I-just-like-things-how-I-like-things thing or I-just-have-expensive-taste-and-the-only-way-I-can-afford-what-I-like-is-to-make-it-myself kind of thing.  I’ve just always been that way.  Now, it’s hard to shut off.  I’ll look through a catalog and think, “I can make that myself.”  My floors needed to be refinished, I was five months pregnant.  “No problem.  I can do it myself.”  I want slipcovers for my furniture.  “I think I can work that out.”  I’d like to refinish a table.  “I think I can do that, too.”  Get the idea? Back to the bunk beds.  Many of you sweet ladies provided the link to Ana White’s amazing website complete with plans for a DIY bunk bed.  I actually printed these plans a few months ago and we

The marble hex tiles for my bathroom were delivered last week.  Is it strange to be in love with tile?  I actually hugged it, made sure every person who entered my house saw my new tile, and, in true blogger fashion, I set it in good light and photographed it.  Now I’m writing about it.  I love this tile.  I chose not to use my True Value prize money on it, though.  It would’ve been about $1500 to buy it from their tile supplier and I found it on Amazon for about $300.  See, I’m even thrifty with prize money!  I just can’t help myself.    So, my living room has become the holding area for my bathroom fixtures.  That’s the bead board, toilet, tank, and sink basin piled against my piano.  I got a little antsy yesterday and ripped down the wallpaper border that was above the pink plastic tile.  I hope

I am blown away at all of the links for the Copy Me challenge!  All of the ones I’ve looked at are ah-ma-zing!  You are all sharing projects inspired by me and my style and I’ve had a rather odd and unexpected reaction to looking at your wonderful vignettes, rooms, furniture and projects.  Let me explain.  My house has become a casualty of my business.  You are all creating beautiful corners in your homes and I’m picking mine apart.  Plucking things to sell, rearranging things for photo shoots, and storing things for “when I finally get around to that room.”  My business takes priority over my house. I take great care to set up a room or part of a room or a vignette for photos… …and then I take it all down. I make pieces I fall in love with…  …and then I have to let them go. Between all of