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My House

upcoming home projects

 I sparked quite a conversation about the exterior of my house yesterday!  I’ll circle back about that later and share more of my plans for it.  Today, we’re back to the inside. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know we’ve done a lot to our home.  Every room has been painted at least once.  We’ve overhauled the kitchen, the half bath, the master bath.  We’ve made improvements to the basement and all of the bedrooms.  There really isn’t a lot left to do on the inside and, as much as I enjoy all of the DIYing, I’m really happy to be at the stage when I can focus on some of the small, neglected areas and the unfinished details.  I tend to look at the big picture of the space and have a hard time buttoning down and finishing the little, mundane projects. The first on the

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January 27, 2015 30 Comments
My House

painting brick

So, there’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for a few years.  Can you guess what it is? If you know me at all AND you noticed the title of this post, I’m sure you guessed it.  I want to paint the brick on our house.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a lover of brick.  This brick, though, feels a bit dated.  The multi-colored tones really aren’t my favorite.  I know that painting it will look amazing and add so much curb appeal.  It will also camouflage the cinderblock. I’m picturing cream paint with the shutters and door painted in a pretty blue/gray.  Something like this… (photo via) I mentioned it to Jeff and, surprisingly, he wasn’t resistant at all!  He even said, “Oh, that’s something we would definitely hire out.”  That was a relief to me, because it’s usually assumed, and rightly so, that I will tackle any and

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January 26, 2015 135 Comments
All Things Home

wing chair drop cloth slipcovers

I try not to get too engrossed in my blog analytics and all of the numbers, but it’s interesting sometimes to check them out…see what’s popular and what is most often pinned.  One trend I’ve noticed is that my readers loved my drop cloth projects.  I still get questions about which ones I use and how I bleached them.  Well, I thought I would give an update on drop cloth slipcovers I made for a pair of wing chairs about five years ago…  These chairs have a great story.  This is what they (and my family room) looked like when we first moved in… Yes, they are the blue checked wing chairs.  (Ha!  I just noticed a bagel sandwich on the back of the sofa!)  Anyway, the chairs were put up for sale by some friends at a yard sale and, believe it or not, they didn’t sell!  So, I

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January 5, 2015 22 Comments

2014 Home Changes

As 2014 is winding down, I’ve been thinking about everything that’s happened over the past year.  I started looking through posts and pictures and enjoyed seeing all of the things I’ve done, the places I’ve been and the projects that were completed.  I figured I’d write a few posts sharing the highlights…my favorites and your favorites.  Let’s start with my house. What struck me as I looked back over pictures is how much has stayed the same.  The master bedroom and bathroom, half bath, kitchen, home office, upstairs bath and family room have stayed pretty much the same.  For the most part.  I’ve made tweaks and moved some furniture and things around, but nothing has been dramatically changed. Here are the things that have changed – This is how the living room looked in January… …and in December. The dining room in January… …and December. I’m planning to put a rug back

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December 31, 2014 40 Comments
Decorating

When being a DIYer prevents you from getting something done…

If you read the title and you’re a DIYer, you know what I’m talking about.  Most of us have wish lists waiting to be completed and piles of supplies waiting to be turned into that finished project we’ve been dreaming about.  There are times when those lists and piles are too overwhelming and I would just rather get sucked into a show on Netflix and pitter about on Pinterest.  Then, there are times when I’m plowing through the list, trying to find the non-existent end.  What I have found with some projects, is that I just need to do what non-DIYers do on a regular basis – just buy the darn thing and get it finished.  But, if you’re a DIYer to the core, you know that’s hard to do. I have been wanting to frame family pictures for years.  YEARS!  I have had a “to-frame” pile for, seriously, about

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December 21, 2014 28 Comments
Decorating

guest room curtains…check

I tend to get a little bit aimless around the holidays.  Those aimless times are when it’s hard to be your own boss.  I have long lists of things I want and need to do, but I don’t have anything pressing.  (Actually, I need to finish my Christmas shopping and that’s getting pretty pressing…)  When I start to feel aimless, I usually do one of two things.  One – I’ll give myself a break and have an easy day.  Or two – I’ll start knocking stuff out.  I chose the latter today. Knowing that I had lots to do, but wasn’t sure what I was going to do, I went upstairs and unclipped the fabric at the guest room window and threw it in the car to finally sew them into real curtains.  I started right into pinning and pressing when I got to the studio.  When Kriste showed up, she

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December 16, 2014 26 Comments
Living Room

ottoman slipcover tutorial

My blog was eerily quiet for a couple of days until I realized there was an error with the comments plugin!  Well, it’s back up a running, so you can talk to me again. Before the Chapel Market, I made a slipcover for an ottoman I found at a second-hand shop and promised a tutorial.  The pictures were soon buried and I forgot all about it!  I was digging through the depths of my Lightroom library and was reminded of my promise.  So, here we go! For this project, I used a couple of vintage textiles I’d been saving in my stash for just the right project.  One was a piece of an old blue & white quilt with amazing stitching and the other was about a yard of antique cream homespun linen.  The quilt piece wasn’t large enough to cover the top of the ottoman, so I needed to use pieces

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December 15, 2014 23 Comments
Decorating

Christmas decorating | the kitchen

I got out of bed this morning and was ready to do some more Christmas decorating.  I had toyed with the idea of going to the studio and doing some work there, but the kitchen was calling my name.  It needed a bit of cleaning and I really wanted to give it some festive touches.  In typical “Marian-fashion”, I got so into what I was doing and didn’t want to stop, so breakfast didn’t happen until 11:00 and a shower didn’t happen until 2:15.  I throughly enjoyed the process, though, and the result. The range hood is my favorite part.  The boxwood wreath is around the cow head (Julia) year round, but I tied some homemade wool poms around her neck for a little something extra.  I nestled some greenery, pine cones, nuts, dried artichokes and more poms along the “mantle” and hung mini stockings filled with cinnamon sticks and fresh evergreen

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December 8, 2014 31 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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