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!!

Bamboo Friday with Jenny Wolf Interiors

Bamboo chairs painted blue to the left.

Natural bamboo Bar Cart to the right.

Lots of blue and white wonderfulness in the middle.

Beautiful Sun Room from Jenny Wolf Interiors.

"Fall"ing For Orange

Fall is officially here!
Orange is big in nature in the Fall.

I personally don't use orange mums in my Fall decorating or garden.
And I prefer white pumpkins over the orange ones...

But, apparently, I do love a little orange Chinoiserie here and there!

This chair is what orange Chinoiserie dreams are made of!!

It's nice how the color orange moves around the room.

And these bamboo side chairs? Perfection!

All images above from Honey Collins portfolio.

I  have a little touch of orange Chinoiserie going on in my Master Bathroom.
If you followed along during past One Room Challenges you may remember this fabulous lamp.

And a couple of gorgeous orange Chinoiserie jars in the china cabinet 

that I use as a linen closet in my Master bathroom.

Happy Fall!

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.

Bamboo Friday!

It's been a while since I posted on "Bamboo Friday" 

but when this daybed popped up in my feed...

Well, I'm in love.

I want it now!!

I would have to rearrange my entire house but who cares?!

It's too much fun!

Well done, World Market!

It is $549.00 (plus oversized shipping)(plus plus you still have to get a mattress)

It is much less expensive than other bamboo/rattan daybeds I have seen lately.

And can't you just imagine lounging around on it with a good book 

and a drink in your hand?? 

Perfect nap spot for sure! 

Imagine it piled with gorgeous pillows and a soft throw...

(Here's some inspiration - as if I needed ANY! I'm already in love!)

via

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via

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 with Marshall Watson

Where have I been?

Did y'all know about Marshall Watson and just not tell me??

Good grief. He has a fabulous book out and everything. 

This is the image that got me. 

Fabulous bamboo console table in the entryway of this Bahamian home. 

So I'm hooked already - you had me at Bahamas and bamboo.

But, look at that lamp.

I zoomed in.

I don't know a thing about it except that the shape reminds me of a plain lamp

 my mother had when I was young. 

I think this could be a great DIY.

I think you could go all "John Derian" on a soft turquoise blue-green jug lamp base.

A little antiquing and crackle glaze, maybe, and you could have something very similar by just investing a bit of time, decoupage glue and a thrifted lamp. 

So this is Bamboo Friday with a little DIY idea as a bonus. 

Have a great weekend and let me know if you DIY a sea creature lamp!

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!!

Pineapple Vase!

The gold pineapple vase in my One Room Challenge reveal last week 

is an amazing high/low find 

and would make a great little gift for someone or yourself.

 (That's how I got mine!! Wink, wink!)

It was $9.99 at Wal- Mart!! Yes, you read that right!

I couldn't find it online but it's still in the stores in my area. 

It's in the section with candles and silk flowers, etc.

It would look so cute with greenery or eucalyptus leaves in it for the holidays! 

Here is the $149.00 version:

Yes, you read that correctly also!

Pier One has the exact same gold pineapple vase online as mine for $19.99 

if it isn't on the shelves at your Wal-Mart. 

Still a good price!

Wal-Mart also has  a white one online for under $15.00.

Add some flowers or greenery 

and you have a great hostess gift that will be used year 'round, I'm sure!

And pineapples are the symbol for hospitality!

*I'm not compensated in any way by Wal Mart or Pier One Imports, but wouldn't that be nice ?

I'm just sharing a great find.

Come On In! Fall 2017 ORC - The Entryway

Week 3 Check-in. 

The mirror of my dreams is finally hanging in our entryway.

And I love it!! 

I love the white on white - my inspiration investigations were right! It's fabulous.

I've been cleaning it like crazy. 

It's like someone had a coke explode on it right before they stored it

 in the dustiest basement ever. 

Not even kidding. 

But she's worth it!!

I didn't get it hung until Sunday evening so my initial sneak peeks on my IG 

were evening/lamp lit shots.

It doesn't hurt one bit that I have this gorgeous bouquet

 from the POP UP Shop last Saturday. 

One of our vendors created live bouquets 

from buckets of gorgeous flowers from the flower mart. 

I love white flowers and she created this all white bouquet for me. 

I've been narrowing down some fabric choices.

 

I still have not pulled the trigger on any fabrics...

what's wrong with me??

(I went back to "visit" this fabric yesterday!)

And just in case the lovely, spare shot above with the white mirror and shiny, polished antique piece fools you...

this is what the rest of the entryway looks like.

On Week 3. Yikes!!

It's a little wild on the other side of the room 

and I'm not just saying that because of the animal print pillows everywhere!

And in unrelated news 

(because I always, always do random projects in the middle of every ORC

 #procrastination #itspartofmyprocess? )

 I got the rust with orange dotted lines cushions from my latest find  slipcovered last night.

The 70's called and wanted their cushions back. 

I will overcome. And make some decisions. And get something done.

See you next week with ( fingers crossed) more to report!

Be sure to check out what everyone else is doing here!

Come On In!! Fall 2017 ORC - Inspirations

I found the most amazing mirror a couple of months ago and it has been propped 

while I decided where it was going. 

It WAS the find of a lifetime!

BUT due to the fact it weighs a zillion pounds  

I have to be sure exactly where it is going to stay long term. 

That's a lot of pressure because I move stuff around ALL the time.

And the amazing mirror is white - original finish.

And my walls are white - staying white.

So, I'm wondering how that will look in my latest ORC.

I personally  love white on white but I need to be sure 

because no moving this behemoth around willy nilly. 

#cuehusbandgrumbling

So I went looking for some white mirror on white wall inspiration...

desiretoinspire.net

alllisonelebash.com

allisonelebash.com

allisonelebash.com

Obviously, Allison Elebash and I are on the same page.

Ballard Designs

And this image from local designer Mandy Rye of Waiting on Martha 

is a longtime favorite of mine.

So, I'm inspired - white mirror on white wall it is.

And one more time - since I left it out of Week 1 and had to cram it in to a Bamboo Friday post - here is my Inspiration Board. It's a bit bare but it IS the starting point:

Be sure to follow my progress in real time  on Instagram 

(or see what I'm doing while procrastinating on my ORC!)

But anyway, follow along on my Instagram here 

and see what everyone else who has taken on the ORC F2017 is up to here.