Preorder Move Slow & Make Things, and enjoy a collection of thoughtful bonus content created just for you!

My House

Living Room

updating the living room

It’s been a tough week to get into a groove for me.  On Monday, we took the boys to Hershey Park to squeeze some fun into the last days of summer.  The boys were home on Tuesday, which was a day filled with cleaning, laundry, packing book bags and getting ready to start the school year on the right foot.  By the time Wednesday hit, I was ready to get to work, but I was so behind and was feeling buried in not-so-fun business things like reconciling my accounts, staying on top of my e-mail and getting myself organized.  Yesterday was spent packing up look books to ship out. So today, I was really ready to unroll the new living room rug and do a little bit of creative playing!   Something simple like unrolling a rug energizes me.  I start seeing how the room is shaping up and I

Read More
Decorating

rugs are my nemesis

When decorating a room, I really struggle with area rugs.  I’m sure that was evident in my family room… Yeah, I know.  I still love those rugs, but they just weren’t working. That’s why I have a tendency to buy, sell and swap rugs pretty regularly.  I struggle with finding the perfect pattern that fits my style, colors that work with the fabrics I already have going on and finding a size that fills the room properly. Take the master bedroom…  an 8×10 rug just floats at the end of the bed, looking a little odd that it’s not under the bed.  It’s like I need a 10×15 rug or something, which I have not come across. So, I’ve decided in recent months to just go neutral with the rugs.  I have a few different types of natural rugs and I’m learning which ones I really like.  I love the flat,

Read More
Decorating

curtains or no curtains

Yes, that is the question.  Curtains or no curtains?  I’ve been thinking of changing the curtains in my living and dining room for a while.  When we put our house on the market, we decided to let the curtains convey with the house.  I love the curtain fabric still, but I’m ready for a change.  It’s just what I do. As I shared last week, we’ve taken our house off the market and we gave away the piano and I’ve rearranged the furniture in the living room.  We’re about to refinish the floors and repaint the ceiling and walls, so it’s a good time to revisit the curtains. Hmmm…what to do. While I still like the fabric, the curtains were simply made and I’ve become so much better at the sewing machine over the years.  I was so put off by the idea of hemming these, that I just hacked

Read More
Living Room

repurposed petticoat, mini whisks & an apron

I moved around the furniture in my living room on Monday when the piano was moved out.  Of course, moving the furniture in one room usually impacts another room as I borrow and steal from other rooms.  Fortunately, all of my furniture is on felt sliders, so I just scoot things around until I like them and then scoot them back if something isn’t working. I have learned that I need to live with new arrangements for a few days to see how it works…aesthetically, functionally. Sometimes things that seem crazy end up working.  Sometimes when I first move something, I start to question myself, but I think that’s because it’s change.  It just looks different and I have to get used to it before I can look at it objectively. The living room is feeling larger, more open and inviting now, but I’m still playing around with it.  I’ll share more

Read More
My House

house selling & hunting update

When I wrote about making changes and giving away my piano, many of you assumed our house had sold and we’re moving. Well, I wish this post was confirming that, but it’s not.  Our house did not sell and we are not moving.  In fact, we’ve taken our house off the market. We’ve had our house on the market for three months and haven’t had one showing.  Not one person even looked at our house.  Mean while, we went through the total bummer of falling in love with two places and watched helplessly as they sold to someone else.  Jeff was the first one to acknowledge that this just might not be the right time to move.  Maybe God is telling us to stay. I was a entirely closed off to that idea.  I want my farm ASAP and I will act like a baby about it if I can’t have

Read More
Before and Afters

silvertone finds a home & French chairs get a fresh start

I’ve been working on restoring an antique Silvertone phonograph for a few months.  I got into painting furniture, because stripping, refinishing and restoring is so tedious and takes forever.  Just give me a brush and a couple of hours and let it be done!  But, sometimes it’s worth it and I’ve found a labor of love is good for my patience every now and then. I have wanted a photograph for several years and finally got one in a furniture lot I purchased shortly before the Lucketts Spring Market this year.  It had good bones and still worked (yay!), but it had been neglected and showed some pretty nasty water damage. I cleaned, stripped, sanded, stained and refinished the piece and, I must say, I am super proud of myself and how it turned out.  We do still need to replace the veneer on the bottom of the sides and

Read More
Favorite Finds

le bon lait, a bed frame & peppers

I have to admit that this purchase was a total impulse buy.  A few weeks ago, I was looking through Furniture Feature Friday links to pick out my favorites.  As I was scanning through the thumbnails, I clicked on this table makeover inspired by Country Living by Kathy of South of Main… My eyes were immediately drawn to the Normandie milk bottle.  Oh, I would love that for photo shoots and to actually use!  It’s blue and white with cows on it and looks like a vintage French find…  It’s totally me.  So, I dropped everything I was doing and started searching for one.  They were apparently available at World Market, but I don’t have one near me, so I dug around online and bought two from Etsy. I did get so sidetracked that I missed posting FFF on time and I didn’t select favorites.  All because of a milk bottle… …and it was

Read More
My House

the woman behind Eulalie

In my business, a lot of amazing things have come out of a random e-mail.  Checking my inbox is so fun and almost addicting for that reason.  I started working for HGTV.com through one e-mail and the milk paint line came out of an e-mail.  The woman behind my branding, Reni, sent me an e-mail one day, out of the blue.  My book and almost all of my magazine features all started with an e-mail. I wrote a post a few years ago titled “I want a cow“.  I had seen a cow painting in a magazine that I loved and I really wanted something similar.  I wasn’t asking for anything from anyone, I was just putting it out there. And I received an e-mail. Cindy Austin, a talented artist, offered to paint a cow for me.  Neither of us knew where it would lead, but we decided that she would paint

Read More

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.

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

Now Available for Preorder

Move Slow & Make Things

A book about creativity, intention, and making things with care. Sign up to receive updates, preorder details, and exclusive bonus content.

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From original paintings and art prints to Pup Club releases and curated goods, each piece is created or chosen to bring warmth, creativity, and character into your home.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

A handpicked collection of items styled and shared throughout posts, projects, and social feeds. Every product is thoughtfully chosen to reflect a timeless, collected aesthetic.

Recent Video

Spring Posts

Explore the Shop

Explore the Blog

Categories
error: Content is protected.

Pin It on Pinterest