Happy Thanksgiving and Shop Local this Weekend!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

After the feasting, 

don't forget to support your local businesses this Saturday!

If you haven't made it to  RVA Antiques yet, 

you need to go!

6102 Lakeside Ave.

Lots of unique, one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts.

Several other destinations in the area

(Consignment Connections,

Twig,

Whispers of Time)

definitely make it worth the trip!

Check out some of the pieces 

you can find in my booth at RVA:

Come on in to SheShe's!

Set of three owl plaques.

Little insect and mouse ornaments….

Unique furnishings.

Revamped letter holder.

Cute little end table with slide out drawer.

 Fuzzy wuzzy chair!

 Fun peacock chair!

 Bird art with hooks

Another coat rack: "This little piggy.."

Bulletin board made with old oak frame.

 

Vintage Santa rag wreath

Dishware

Moroccan ottoman and art

Doggy leash station

Reinvented clock casing with equestrian needlepoint.

And SO much more…

Have a great holiday, folks!!!!

Gobble gobble!

A Makeover - Working with just what you've got!

This is one of my very favorite types of projects:

A homeowner calls, 

usually after getting my name from a previous client.

She needs help!!!!!

In this recent case, it was Patti.

And her house was a mess.

After having a flood inside her home, 

she had to move everything out to redo the floors…..

Now that she's back in, 

there are a zillion boxes…

AND A ZILLION PLANTS 

that she has pulled in for the winter……..

She's overwhelmed!

I went over this week, 

and in just three hours, 

made a huge impact in getting 

the "living" back in her living room!

Take a look!!

 BEFORE:

Welcome to Patti's living room…

There she is on the sofa……..

(look through the plants.)

When you first enter the home, there's a foyer, 

and two steps down to this living room.

It's a huge room with vaulted ceiling...

 And a working fireplace.

 Right now, Patti has one sofa in front of the fireplace, 

and the other to the right close to the wall.

 A chair and ottoman over to the left of the room, and

plants everywhere.

 Everywhere…

Did I say EVERYWHERE?

(This is her dining room table.)

 Towards the back of the living room, 

are entrances to the kitchen and dining rooms.

 and above, stairs to her loft bedroom.

So the living room is really two stories high,

as you can see here.

Are you ready for the transformation?

AFTER:

Here's what I did:

I moved the two sofas into the center of the room,

flanking the fireplace.

And on the left side wall of the room,

I created a "jungle" with all the plants nestled together…..

Patti's best friend since childhood 

was an artist who passed away recently.

But she lives on in all this wonderful art 

that she left to Patti.

I used art everywhere!

The piece I placed above the mantle is the

perfect scale for the space.

On the mantle I placed these beautiful

bark sculptures lined in copper and gold.

 

Here's the view to the right of the room.

Moving the sofas inward really creates intimacy,

and there are opportunities

everywhere now to create little vignettes.

I placed a table behind the sofa for displaying pieces,

I moved this antique desk in the back corner,

and set it with all these wonderful ethnic artifacts.

I placed a lamp, and hung artwork.

 And just under the window,  

a table holds several colorful glass pieces that catch the light.

They sing!

 At the back of the room,

I placed the chair with a table and lamp.

(The ottoman is over on the back wall 

and can be moved over for use.)

 On that wall,

 another wonderfully colorful painting 

that fits the space perfectly.

 The china cabinet was placed over to the far wall 

where there is a walkway to the dining room.

It will be filled with all Patti's china, 

which is still in boxes.

For now, I placed these three vertical paintings atop, 

that mimic the slant of the wall.

 Finally, some lamps…..

This room has so much warmth and personality now.

I just love it.

More importantly, so does Patti!

More work to come, but

wow!

What a huge impact we made,

in just one afternoon!!

Thanks, Patti!

A Frenchy Fun Revamp for an Old Rush Top Stool

Here's a little piece

I bought recently at one of my favorite

thrift stores, Class and Trash.

I love picking up little benches,

 stools, ottomans, etc, 

because they are so cute 

and don't take a lifetime to work on, 

like a chair can!

I have so many fabric remnants so I can

always come up with something fun...

Plus, they sell well in my booths….

They aren't that expensive - usually $100 or less -

 easy to put in the trunk of the car, 

(so the mister or missus doesn't know 

you bought another piece of furniture!)

Retail therapy! 

Yeah, you deserve it!!!

Here's what I did:

I unscrewed and removed the top,

and painted the wood frame in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

in French Linen.

Here it is after one coat.

It will take another coat and a waxing to finish the frame.

Then I covered the top with foam and batting.

For the upholstery,

I used some leftover damask scraps,

a shower curtain valance,

and some burlap printed wide ribbon.

Here it is…

all finished and decked out in its new duds.

Frenchy and fun.

And for sale. $99.

It's at my booth at 

Greenwood Antiques & Uniques.

Heading there for Thanksgiving, 

so let me know if I can pick it up for you!

WHAT COLOR TO PAINT????????

Have you ever really wanted to paint a room, 

but just didn't know..

what color?

So you never ever get to it…

because…

you don't know….

what color to paint it!!

(And please don't ask the folks behind the paint counter.

They HATE that!

And, besides,

 how do you even know their taste level?)

This situation is one way I can help

solve your decorating puzzle.

Why?

Because I can suggest colors

AND

I also do the painting.

One-stop decorating and execution!

Here's a project I just finished.

The new owners of this condo, Suzanne and Joe,

had very little time to get it painted before moving in.

I went over with my color fans, 

Suzanne showed me some photos of her

current home with furnishings she'd be using here, 

and in one hour,

we had decided on a plan.

I returned the next day with several samples

and painted large swatches on the walls

in all the rooms.

(I would highly recommend this step because it's 

amazing how light in a room 

can change the look of the same color.)

After seeing the colors in the various rooms, 

it was pretty clear which were my favorites.

AND it just so happens, Suzanne's, too!

I love when that happens…

we were simpatico!!!!!

Here's what the condo looked like at purchase:
The living room walls were mint green…
Great window!

But Suzanne was not a fan of all the other details,
like this molding below the chair rail.

The adjoining kitchen was painted

a color that resembled orange sherbet

(sorry, I forgot the photo!)

but you'll see it in a bit because it was also used in

the master bedroom..

 The guest bedroom is a forest green. 

Very dark…

Plus, it's an interior room.

And the master bedroom

is painted in this lovely orange sherbet.

Here's the master bath...

Note the position of the medicine cabinet…..

above and to the right of the vanity and sink.

Strange…..

(I suggested a solution to this.)

Here you can also see where I painted swatches on the walls.

Okay, so here we go:

I painted the living room in this beautiful smokey blue-grey.

Benjamin Moore Boothbay Gray.

I also painted the molding under the chair rail the same color,

to simplify the look...

The kitchen walls were painted in BM Revere Pewter.

It goes great with the espresso cabinets.

This was a tough kitchen because this granite 

with the white subway tile (with green strip) 

is such a disconnect. 

You should have seen it with orange walls!

The other weird feature was that the back of this counter base 

was previously painted white….with the espresso cabinet side.

So I painted it espresso. MUCH better.

Now the neutral walls keep everything

soothing in this kitchen and don't compete

with all the colors and textures.

The last thing I did in the kitchen

was to paint the porch doors.

Valspar's Royal Navy.

It helps tie in the countertops.

 

Looking back into the LR, you can see

how the new room colors flow and look

beautiful beside one another.

 I used the same color in the guest bedroom as the living room:

Boothbay Gray.

The master bedroom was painted in Benjamin Moore Shale.

Very similar to Revere Pewter, 

just a tad darker.

Another soft, neutral taupey grey.

And here's the master bath, which I 

painted in BM Revere Pewter.

Notice above the sink, 

I added a flat mirror.

 And over above the toilet, 

I moved the medicine cabinet.

Makes much more sense.

They're all moved in!

See how the red sofa pops 

and just works beautifully with 

the walls? 

(Can you just imagine the mint green?)

Suzanne and Joe:

I hope you'll be very happy in your new home!