ORC Lucky No 7 - Week 5

I almost titled this post 

"Sheer Panic!”

What the heck - let’s go with it!!!

This has been slow going and there hasn’t been a lot to show up until this point but it was so awful to begin with that I feel like every little thing is great progress!
 Or that’s what I keep telling myself!

 I have painted everything white that needed to be fresh, glossy white including the swinging bed and now I’ve moved on to the gorgeous green floor.

We have had a green porch floor for years but a friend recently gifted me with Amanda Lindroth's book Island Hopping and I'm obsessed. Like, can't put it down. And it confirmed that this fabulous green was just the color we needed for our porch floor!

I have a thrifted, vintage bamboo mirror for the fireplace wall. 

And I’m covering a lampshade.

And that's about it.
Here's hoping I get a lot completed in one week!!

See more ORC participants here.

 

ORC Lucky No 7 - Week 4

As I stated last week, I've been in Charleston SC (lots of pretty porch inspiration!!)

 and the Virginia mountains 

for the last 8 days so nothing much has happened physically.

I used all my travel time to think, visualize, source and plan 

so I can hit the ground running this week.

Time is flying by!!

One thing that did actually happen was my handy husband worked on the "box" for the gas fireplace insert while I was away.

There is still a lot to be done but I'm excited to see progress. 

We salvaged that fireplace mantel from an old house in Marietta GA over 27 years ago that was scheduled for demolition.
Every time my husband mentioned getting rid of it because I hadn't done anything with it yet, I resisted. Then several years ago we added this section onto our screened porch and we "installed" the mantel as a focal point. Then we started looking for a gas insert and one finally showed up at Restore ages ago and now it's close to being a reality.

We certainly took our time on this one!

Things still look pretty rough but there is actually progress. 

I have the floor paint ready to go now that I'm back in town!

Gorgeous green!

I just need good weather so I can roll it on and show y'all some actual progress. 
Please check out everyone else's progress here and if I haven't bored you too much please come back next week and see if I might actually get something done!!

Summer Memories

A bamboo shelf.

Blue and White.

Shells.

Coral.

Inherited seascape oil paintings.

Photos of beach vacations through the years.

A glass float purchased in Charleston.

Hand painted bowls from mission trips.

A few of my favorite Summertime memories.

Current Room Crush

I am currently obsessed with this small (800 sq. feet it says) apartment
 located in Charleston SC.

I was born in Charleston and head to the Lowcountry every time my landlocked self gets a chance.
 I consider one of my greatest parenting successes to be that I raised Mollie to be in love with Charleston and everything about the Lowcountry 

(except the extreme Summer heat which I do not mind but she does!)

Anyway - back to this room. It is in the latest issue of House Beautiful.

It belongs to J.P. Horton, a local Charleston decorator.
 He is renting. Doesn't look like the rentals of my past!

There are so many things I love but the first thing that caught my eye was the turquoise curtains.

I have been considering putting these turquoise curtains 

(along with bamboo blinds) at my family room windows for at least a year and a half.
 Yep - I'm speedy on these types of things.

 My curtain choice is obviously the low end of a high/low knock off situation. 

Believe me I will post a picture on my IG if I pull the trigger any time soon.

Other things I love that could be pulled from this room on a budget are:

1.The Palm   I love big plants, I cannot lie.
I've never met a palm I didn't love.
The one in his apartment is a Banana Palm. 
I have blogged about my love for them before.
Isn't this botanical of the Banana Palm fabulous?



The palm is elevated on a wooden stand and in a huge glazed pot. 

Palms are currently everywhere in Atlanta and are available for $10.00 to $30.00 depending on size. If you have to go smaller with the palm then you could simply place it on a taller stand to give it more impact. 
Small tables and plant stands can be found in thrift and vintage stores.

Pots are available in every size, color and finish in every price range at discount stores and home stores like Home Goods and At Home.
Of course, I think you could put it in a blue and white chinoiserie planter as well!

2. That Picture centered over the neutral couch! It is a framed piece of hand painted wall paper and I'm sure a bit pricey. One way to have something similar is to find a scene online that is free to the public and can be reprinted without copyright infringement. Then you can upload and print in a large format. I use a site called Poster My Walls. You can quickly design and download a large scale printable. I send it off to my local Walgreen's and have it printed 24 x 36 for under $20.00. If you go with black and white you can do an engineer print for under $6.00. Spray an inexpensive poster frame with gold spray paint like I did here and you've got a pretty good knock-off!

This image is an instant download from an Etsy seller.
Find something you love on Etsy or the many copyright free sights and print it in a large format!

There are lots of options to give you a look similar to the one in the inspiration room.

3. Ghost Chairs  IKEA has some great looking clear chairs for under $100.00. I've seen them in person and they are nice and not flimsy or wobbly.

This chair is only $39.99. I've never seen it in person but what a price for a clear chair!


It is from Classroom Essentials.


I love so many things about this gorgeous, elegant and inviting room. 
There are so many great elements to examine and use for yourself.
I can't stop looking at the room and finding new details to love and use in my own home.
What's your favorite detail?

Bamboo Friday

I'm not a trend follower per se, but I am intrigued by trends and predictions.

I love reading the design forecasts at the beginning of the year and I love seeing what the "color of the year" is and if I'm going to embrace it at all :) 

I also like it when I'm already "on trend."

You know- I was doing this before it was cool.

(Remember "I was country before country was cool," etc?)

Here's one I'm pretty happy about for more than one reason. 

1. I love using it in every room in the house and 

2. We sell this stuff @elizabethandpayne so this trend is good for business!!

According to more than one source Bamboo and Rattan 

are strong for 2018!!

(In my opinion they were never out but whatevs!)

This article on Quintessence Blog says we will see rattan staying strong in 2018.

And Apartment Therapy said rattan furniture is "super chic" here.

Apartment Therapy

This article talks about "why" bamboo furniture is a good choice and popular as well:
Affordability, Versatility, Durability, and Sustainability. 
Plus, it adds fabulous warmth, texture and if its older - a vintage vibe to a room.

And the trends in this article are all strong for 2018 and bamboo is at the top. 


Coastal Living

The thing about Bamboo is that whether you are just starting to use it in your decor because it's "on trend" or whether you were already embracing it in your house
 (The British have forever!!!), 
I don't think you can go wrong. 

Bamboo furniture and faux bamboo designs are classics 
and used well they will always be a wonderful, textural addition to a room.
So its a win-win. 


See this faux bamboo china cabinet turned linen closet here.


Look at all the wonderful texture subtly added to this room:


Chinoiserie Chic


Less beachy and more formal use of bamboo furniture:


One Kings Lane

I hope your Bamboo Friday includes a touch of bamboo in your own home.

For The Birds and a Budget DIY

Audubon prints are everywhere. 

They are even being billed as a popular new "trend" on some of the trendiest blogs.

I grew up with Audubon prints so I find them neither new or trendy but classic, timeless and, to me, part of Southern decorating. Always.

But it is fun to see my favorite Audubon prints being used on favorite blogs and sites.

#itsthelittlethings

I'm obviously partial to the shore and tropical birds.

I have the Flamingo in my downstairs powder room. 
I've changed things around in there over the years but the big, pink bird stays!

The most recent change in the Powder Room was to paint the mirror and cabinet to match each other and in a fabulous, rich pink. 

SW Grenadine.

It changed the whole room!

The image below was on a favorite blog, Chinoiserie Chic,

 but it is actually in the home of Junell at Seekers Bazaar.

I have the American White Pelican in my Library.

It's a One Room Challenge from a couple of years ago. 

Everything in there is black - the walls, trim, bookcases- and he's the perfect moody guy to watch over things.

Here is Mr. Pelican in a post from a great blog, Forever Cottage.



Designer Holly Mathis uses BIG Audubon bird prints like nobody's business!

(That room plus such a cute pooch!)

And just recently, I redid my Entryway and a favorite Audubon print found its way in!

(Sorry for the reflections in all the pictures. The photo shoot trick is to take the glass out. I'm happy I got it framed the first time so that wasn't in my plans.)

I have always loved this pink bird too. 

This one was a DIY and under $25.00!
Yes, big and gorgeous and under $25.00.
Keep reading!


Audubon prints can be expensive but if you want the look without needing the print to be old or rare then this DIY is for you. 
I first found out from the Painted Hive blog about free high resolution downloads from the Audubon Society.
The Roseate Spoonbill in my entryway is 20x30 and  cost less than $15.00 to print on matte photo paper. I spray painted an IKEA frame gold that cost about $10.00.
I sent the image to Walgreen's photo center, added a coupon code for 40% off (they run online coupons constantly!) and picked it up an hour later. 
I popped it in the frame and it was ready to go!

I'll definitely be doing this again!!
#itsthelittlethings

First - Get Organized.

So much of social media and blogging right now is all about getting organized after the holidays. 

I feel inspired to purge, paint and organize at the start of the year. 

I'm off to a slow start because I missed the first several days of 2018 

because I had the plague :(

No kidding - worst flu or whatever. Ever.

But back to organizing.

I bought a faux bamboo china cabinet a couple of years ago. 

From seeing it online to texting the seller to loading it in my husbands truck 

was about an hour and a half. 

I do not mess around.

However, we had already turned our dining room into a Library.

Did we need a china cabinet?

The plan was always to put it in the Master Bathroom!

Yep, you read that right.

We do not have a linen closet or any storage space in the MB but we had a good sized L-shaped layout that would accommodate a big bamboo china cabinet.

My husband was less sure about this plan but we loaded it up, got rid of the cigarette smoke smell and carried it up to the MB.

And then a coat of fabulous coral deliciousness!

Sherwin Williams Ravishing Coral. 

And suddenly that dingy yellow-y cream china cabinet was ravishing.

I wanted the openness of the glass doors so I started collecting every wicker and rattan suitcase I could find. They all came from yard sales and thrift shops 

and not one cost over $5.00.

They hold a multitude of not pretty items and are easy to pull in and out. 

There are stacks of towels and a few decorative items but mostly 

there is just storage for all those odds and ends that are necessary in a bathroom.

This is one of my favorite storage solutions ever- china cabinet turned linen closet.

#itsthelittlethings

See more of this Master Bathroom here,

Best Nine

Wrapping up 2017 with the my Best Nine from Instagram. 

It's interesting to see what has gotten the most "likes" and attention in social media.

It's also interesting that they are probably not the nine
 I would say were my "best" of the year.

They don't include family or friends or time we spent together (except for a sweet photo of Chloe and Mollie near the end of our time with Chloe) or any of my travels to work in emerging countries or high risk areas here in the US. 
I think these are some of my "best" times.

I guess these are my "prettiest" nine  :)

A new endeavor for Mollie and me this year was a booth at Westside Market in Atlanta. 

You can follow along on Instagram to see what the latest and greatest is in our booth!

This is our Best Nine from Elizabeth and Payne and it is obviously all about the bamboo, blue and white and chinoiserie!

Thank you for following along in 2017.

Wishing everyone a fabulous 2018!!

Christmas Tour-ish!

I hesitate to use the terminology "Christmas Tour" of my home considering some of the blogger tours out there!

So I guess it's a tour-ish! Sort of a tour...

Really just some peeks into our Christmas decorating...

We have a new (to us) greeter guy by the front steps.

I decided to cozy him up with a plaid scarf and Mollie gave him some sparkle with a "bouquet" of shiny ornaments in the shell he holds.

We are pretty smitten with him.

Just inside the front door is our most recent One Room Challenge project - our entryway.

It was fun adding some holiday touches to our "new" room.

The ceramic Nativity lights up but doesn't photograph well that way. 

I have been putting it on that chest for longer than I can remember.

I put a $4.00 pink poinsettia in a cachepot and added magnolia branches and evergreens to make it full and look good reflected in the mirror.

I'm a pink or white poinsettia gal all the way.

On the opposite wall in the entryway is my fabulous Brighton chair and table thrifting find from a few months ago.

To the left of the entryway is our Library.

 Formerly the Dining Room, about 10 years ago we started adding bookcases

 and morphing it into the full blown library it is today.

It is the only room that doesn't have white walls - they are high gloss black 

(Sherwin Williams Tricorn).

The Library is all about the blue and white chinoiserie ornaments on a mini tree. 

Oh, and wearing our furs. Faux, of course.

I hinted on Instagram last week that I was making a few changes in our downstairs powder room in preparation for a holiday brunch that Mollie and I jointly co-host.

It was supposed to be a quick paint job to  switch the green mirror for a different bamboo mirror I found the week before and paint it and the tan cabinet a bright cheery coral-y pink to coordinate with my flamingo print and add some pizzazz to the powder room.

We love the bright color (and by "we" I do not mean my husband) 

and it really adds a lot to the room even if I ended up not being able to use the "new" mirror after painting it and then having to repaint the first bamboo mirror from green to the new SW Grenadine pinky-coral color. 

This is why one should not start a project a few days before one has 20 women for brunch and why one should try mirrors to see if they fit before one paints them. 

Just sayin'

(And the towel is crooked. But isn't it cute?)

You can see the big tree on the screened in porch peeking in.

 A few pink bottle brush trees and some shiny ornaments for the bamboo shelf 

and we are set in this little room.

That concludes Part One of our Tour-ish. 

More to come soon.

I hope.