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an inspired room

I love celebrating friends and their achievements. And one of my blog friends has something to celebrate. Melissa Michaels of The Inspired Room, just released her latest book, also called The Inspired Room! I had the pleasure of spending time with Melissa as we prepared to teach a workshop on writing a book at the Haven conference this past summer. I respect her a lot as a designer and an entrepreneur. She’s also a pastor’s wife, so we have a lot of common ground. In celebration of the book, I’m sharing one of my “inspired rooms”. I was really torn with what room to share. Those who have read my blog for a while have seen all of my rooms many times. You know I love my dining room. I’m slightly obsessed with the “bed wall” in our master bedroom. But one room I’ve loved longer than any other, the room that

November 4, 2015 21 Comments

All Things Home

room reset challenge | part 3 | making lists

In part two of the room reset, we were playing with our stuff. Like our room is one in a dollhouse and we’re moving around the pieces until we like it. Adding some things, taking away others, assessing the space and trying to think outside of the box. This is about using as much of what you have to make this room what you want it to be. Now, it’s time for part three. Making lists. I know that doesn’t sound as fun as playing with your things, but the lists are about refining the space and making your dream room attainable. (This picture is from last year. I’m not decorating for Christmas already!) So,there are two lists to make at this point… 1.) A list of action items, things to do in the space I have found that when you empty out rooms during a reset, you notice things that

October 24, 2015 9 Comments

All Things Home

2015 gardening report card

This was the first year I gave gardening a good effort. I started strong and I stuck with it. And I learned a lot along the way about what worked, what didn’t and what I could do better next season. First off, I’ve learned to move plants around to find the light they like best. This plant was looking sad in the kitchen… …so I moved it to the living room where the light is brighter throughout the day. Here’s how it looked when I first moved it… …and now… Yeah, I’m patting myself on the back for that one. Momma’s taking good care of you, isn’t she, sweet little plant? I planted a small baby tears plant in the living room in May… …and here is how it’s grown… And this plant is loving life. Here’s how he looked in may… …and now… I don’t have all

October 12, 2015 19 Comments

All Things Home

Finding Fall Home Tour

Today, my blog is the second-to-the-last stop in the Finding Fall 2015 Home Tour. There are a lot of amazing homes and decorating ideas that have been shared so far, so be sure to check out the links at the bottom of this post if you’re just jumping in on the tour. If you’re stopping from Unexpected Elegance and are new to my blog, welcome! Before we get into the pictures, I must be a bit transparent for a minute. Getting ready for this fall home tour was tough for me. I imagined getting a bunch of beautiful heirloom pumpkins and putting fall touches in every room, but I didn’t realize what a challenge that would be. I have never tried decorating for fall this early and the pumpkin pickings were slim in my neck-of-the-woods. I drove 45 minutes to a local Wegman’s only to find the tacky orange pumpkins with

September 18, 2015 23 Comments

All Things Home

living with raw wood floors

Back in November of last year, I had finally worked up the DIY gumption to sand down the oak hardwood floors in the front of our house. Once the work was all done, I decided to live with raw wood floors for a while. The polyurethane finish I had applied only a few years earlier was peeling off, taking the dark stain along with it. I could literally peel it up in sheets with my fingers…like cheap nail polish, which might be fun when you’re 13 and bored in algebra, but it’s not fun when you’re an adult and it’s happening to your floor. I knew it would be a miserable, dusty, messy, move-all-of-the-furniture, kind of job, but I talked Jeff into it and we got it done. I had no idea what finish I was going to apply, so I decided to move the furniture back and wait until

September 15, 2015 57 Comments

All Things Home

vintage-style deck makeover

I’ve always been what you call an “indoor girl” when it comes to home decor. When we put our house on the market (and ended up not selling it) last spring, our realtor put an “I’m Beautiful Inside” sign above the “For Sale” sign. That’s realtor code for “It looks better once you walk through the front door.” It’s not that I didn’t care about the outside, but with two little boys, a business to run and a limited budget, we focused our attention on the inside and didn’t have much time, money or motivation to work on the outside. Now that the boys are getting older and we’re almost finished with the inside of the house, we’ve been working on the outside in bits and pieces. We replaced the front door (you could actually see outside through some cracks in the old door), installed a new driveway (the old one was

August 20, 2015 23 Comments

All Things Home

the antique, hodgepodge potting bench

Don’t you love it when projects come together perfectly? Such is the case with this hodgepodge of a potting bench. We just finished it today and it looks even better than I imagined. It’s especially exciting, because we already had the workbench in the basement (it was free with the house) and I bought the chicken nesting box without a solid plan on turning it into the top-part of the hutch. This morning, Jeff bought about $40 of pressure treated wood for this project, a couple of 2 x 12’s and 2 x 4’s. While he was out, I took care of the red overspray marks on the front of the work bench. It wasn’t a big deal, but they just bugged me. So, I brought out my big-boy sander, the belt sander, and I went to town. I really love how the paint looks distressed, with some of the

August 18, 2015 33 Comments

All Things Home

how to make a chair cushion | deck chair makeover

I’ve been working on my deck off and on throughout the spring and summer and it’s finally starting to come together. I know I’m not going to break any makeover speed records with this project, but that’s life, right? Spaces take time to come together. So, there is still more to do, but last week I jumped a big hurtle – I made new chair cushions for the vintage iron armchairs my mom passed along to me and I thought I would share a tutorial on how to make a chair cushion. They really, really needed new chair cushions. The old ones were deteriorated, mildewed, faded and ripped. They were beyond cleaning or recovering. I needed to start from scratch. The chairs are comfortable and in great shape, though, so it was worth the time to make new cushions. I actually tried to find pre-made cushions that were the right size,

August 8, 2015 26 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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My House

an inspired room

room reset challenge | part 3 | making lists

2015 gardening report card

Finding Fall Home Tour

living with raw wood floors

vintage-style deck makeover

the antique, hodgepodge potting bench

how to make a chair cushion | deck chair makeover

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

Now Available for Preorder

Move Slow & Make Things

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

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April garden notes

power washing the patio

painted garden obelisk

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