Distressing...

...as in "distressing" chalk painted furniture.

Some time ago I painted the above

wardrobe.

It was my first attempt at chalk painting.

At the time I did not distress it.

To tell the truth the whole process of

distressing a piece of furniture

intimidated me.

Also, I liked the look of the newly painted,

pristine wardrobe.

So I opted to leave it as it was.

I did not put a coat of finishing wax on it either.

Now, after some time has passed and the

wardrobe has had daily use,

it had begin to become distressed on it's own!

So, I spent a little time last weekend,

took the plunge,

and distressed my wardrobe 

totally over to a shabby chic look.

Working with a fine grade sandpaper,

I started with the spots which were already

starting to show some wear.

Then I continued on a bit 

to the areas which might eventually

get worn.

I finished it with a coat of paste wax.

I am completely happy with the results.

And, an added plus with shabby chic furniture,

no more worries about it getting 

bumped or more worn!

First Steps in Some Long Term Redo Plans

A few weeks ago I mentioned

the brown couch was being recovered.

I'm SO happy to see it gone.

What a difference a lighter upholstery makes!

I've also traded the rugs from this area

and the adjoining entry.

This is the first step in a redo of my living room.

I also plan to have slipcovers in an off white

made for the two yellow love seats in this room.

I would have had them made at the same time as the

reupholstery of the other love seat,

but the fabric store didn't have enough fabric.

So, I'm on the look out for that.

I recently brought home this painted buffet

for the dining room.

Have you ever noticed when you

make one change,

several more ensue?

The buffet that was here originally...

Got moved to the entrance,

so the buffet that was there...

...could be moved to the living room to

accommodate my new flat screen TV.

Yes, I've finally updated and come

into the new age of television.

Finally, the tall book case that did

house my old TV was moved to

a spot in the kitchen,

which has cried out for a tall piece

since I've lived here.

Perfect fit!

I'm now searching for just

the right fabrics for  new window treatments

and slip covers.

However, all that will have to wait

a bit longer.

Wonderful items started arriving

yesterday for our upcoming

Holiday Sale.

This week will be spent

decluttering and setting

up displays!

Little Tweaks...Big Difference!



When I moved into Buttermilk Cottage,

seven years ago (it's true that time flies

when you're having fun),

I was totally enamored with the house.

Although I still love the house,

I'm afraid it's become a little stale to me.

Time for a little tweaking.

I discovered by just turning a couple of pieces of

furniture on an angle,

everything became a little unexpected,

a little fresher.

My living room is a long, narrow room.

Therefore, I've created two seating areas.

This is my "den" area.

This is where I sit to watch TV, knit, read, etc.

I've angled the couch just a bit

and look how more open the room looks!

Why stop with the living room?

This is how the dining room looked,

before tweaking.

My dining room is not large.

Previously I couldn't keep the two chairs at each end.

Just by angling the table a bit, I now can!

This table has a slide out leaf at each end.

I can even use them and have enough

space to seat eight at the table.

This arrangement also echos

the new angled grouping in the living room.

These were extremely small changes,

but I can't begin to tell you how much

they've improved my attitude toward the house!

But, that's not to say I'm done.

I'm itching to do some redecorating.

The first item on the list is getting

the brown couch reupholstered.

I think I've found the fabric I want and

am in the process of finding

the person to do the work for me.

More to come about all that later.

But, in the meantime...

change is good!

Happy Daffodil Day!

It's official.

The calender may not say it,

but Spring has arrived because I've

spotted my first live, blooming daffodil!

I borrowed this "holiday" from some former

neighbors and still good friends.

(Debby and Russell, you know I'm talking about you!)

They have a long standing tradition of

celebrating on the day anyone in their family

spots the first daffodil,

by doing something special as a family.

It might be something as simple as baking cupcakes,

but they make it a celebration!

My adaptation of their holiday is that on the day

I spot my first daffodil,

winter is over and I can bring out my packed away

spring decorating items!

We actally got two blooms to start the season!

After packing away the Christmas holidays,
I went to a very simple dining table for winter.

Today however, I brought out my basket of daffodils!

This is my favorite flower and I've had this

silk arrangements long enough that it's

starting to look a little faded.

However, it will have to make do until

there are enough blooming daffodils to

make an arrangement.

I've also added a white woven table runner

to brighten up the room a bit.

I collect animal candlesticks

and rotate them seasonally.

Time for this little guy to make

an appearance with a couple of

ceramic Easter eggs.

On the opposite side of the daffodils

two friendly bunnies

hold up their end.

Now my dining table matches my mood!

The coffee table in the living room got

a little touch Spring decorating too

with some wooden eggs.

The buffet didn't need anything added.

The violets are still blooming and

they cannot be improved upon a bit!

There's still a lot of brown in the garden...

...but here and there are

sweet little touches of Spring.

Although I'm working with wools,

my current knitting project,

(which I was able to work on outside!!!)

even has the look of Spring!

This week I'm linking with parties at

Savvy Southern Style

All Things Heart and Home

Betweem Naps on the Porch

The Shabby Chic Cottage

French Country Cottage

My Romantic Home

Have a Seat

I'm noticing a definite trend in my house. I'm attracted to chairs! This is a framed print I've had for a while. There's something about it I love--the graceful lines of the chair, the background of old printed script, its simple black frame . It's one of those little accent pieces I move around from place to place whenever I'm rearranging.

This is the first piece of furniture my husband and I bought when we were first married. We found it at a craft show and bought it from a couple who restored chairs and were well known in our area for their chair caning craftsmanship.











I love this chair, even though I don't have "the perfect" place for it in my house. It gets moved around from spot to spot depending upon the season. Despite my constant efforts to downsize, I cannot part with it. I've even recaned it a couple of times myself.








This wicker chair actually belongs to my sister, Nanniepannie, but it sits on the front porch of Buttermilk Cottage, so I enjoy "having" it too. It was our grandmother's and Nancy actually has a picture of our grandmother holding her as a child and sitting in this chair. Priceless...
A few years ago this chair was in pitiful condition. The back and seat were broken and the chair had been banished to the garden shed. However, I have a good friend, Katherine, who is a gifted basket weaver and she generously repaired it for us.








Before moving into this house I did some serious downsizing. My former husband and I actually split all the furniture from the house we shared and I had enough to completely fill my space here. Except for in the kitchen, where the only "new" furniture I bought were two chairs to sit at my kitchen table.

I found these two chairs at an area antique shop and knew they had a home with me! Until I started blogging, this was where I spent every morning with my coffee and crossword puzzle. Now that time seems to be spent at my computer...

Another example of my chair fetish is this framed print. I first saw it several years ago, prior to "this lifetime," but it's a fairly large piece and I had no place for it. So, I "visited" it regularly in the store. I loved the colors and the organic feel of it.
Fast forward through a divorce and the purchase of another home. I went back to the store and bought it for "my new house" thinking it would be perfect in my dining room when I moved. Another fast forward through an addition of an office and bathroom and a total redo of the kitchen, plus painting and other cosmetic changes. Financial panic set in and I decided there was no way I should be buying art when I had all these other expenses. So, sadly the picture went back to the store.

Then, I moved into Buttermilk Cottage, the dust settled and I still had that picture in my head. So, back to the store (this was probably a year after I previously returned it) to get it. But, it wasn't hanging in the art/wall hanging section of the store. I walked around, dejectedly, telling myself what an idiot I was, when there it was, hanging in the floral department!!! It didn't end up in the dining room as I had planned, but found it's home in the living room where I take pleasure in seeing it everyday.

Here's one final little chair print which I found at Michael's. It hangs in my dining room. It attracted me because I love the color blue, the wood floor and snippet of rug remind me of my real dining room, the play of sunlight and shadow and quite simply, I'm attracted to chairs.

Let's sit awhile.

To Chair or Not to Chair...

Perhaps it was the colors yellow and red in this photo that first caught my attention. Add some blue and you've got my color palette at Buttermilk Cottage. When I recently saw this image at apartmenttherapy it hit a note with me. Particularly after reading the text, "Just because you have a small room doesn't mean you have to downsize the furniture. Sometimes going with big or overstuffed items helps to fill the space and pull the room together." This is music to my ears!


Buttermilk Cottage is a good size house. But dividing that space into two separate living spaces (my sister Nancy lives upstairs, I have the downstairs) can really decrease each individual living area.


Lately I've been yearning for a comfortable armchair for my bedroom. I have a small wicker chair borrowed from my dining room there already. You can see it at the bottom right side of this picture. This chair is fine for a quick sit to put on shoes, or to drape a jacket over the back. But I want something soft and comfy, with arms that I can sit in and read on those nights I'm wide awake at 2 AM.







Here you can see the chair and the space where my "new" chair would need to sit. Am I crazy? Would it be way too much? Knowing myself, if I got the chair of my dreams, I'd probably end up wanting some sort of foot rest too. I KNOW there's not enough space for that too! And what about a reading lamp and side table???

I think this is the dilemma of many armchair (no pun intended) decorators--so much desire to decorate more, yet so little space...





By the way, the bedside table/sewing machine base was my grandmother's. I don't know what became of the actual machine, but I'm thrilled to have the base and cherish it.