LAST OF THE SUMMER....DECOR!

Wanted to get these posted before it was too late!!
Here is a pic of how the living room mantle looked in January.               

And here's how it has looked most of the summer:

Here's a new vignette I have just finished working on:

Before this I had a clock on my mother in laws chest and some pictures above it. I went shopping in the house...and found this black tin shelf bracket thingy... and plates. 

This is a small hand-painted plate I found in England. It is dated: 1911.

This one actually hangs from one of my mother in law's milk glass plates and is The Admiral's house, Halifax, dated 1911. 

This deep metal footed tray used to be a dark bronze color and I painted it lightly with some white paint. The shells and balls add to the summery effect.

To finish off this post I wanted to show you my gorgeous hibiscus bush that flowers in the front every year. Look how gorgeous it was...

Hugs, 

Mandy

I'm linking up with:

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Athomewithk.blogspot.com/2011/06/terrific-under-ten-tuesday-17.html

NEW FRESH DINING ROOM

My dining used to be painted a dark brick red. I really liked it. 

      As we all do, I have enjoyed personalizing my home with various paint colors and techniques over the years, and the results were warm, colorful and at times practical (I faux painted the hallways when the kids were younger and it was great at hiding a zillion finger prints and marks etc. and the paint I used was easily wiped clean). But now with us trying to sell this monster home it was time rethink each room and space. 

I had already painted the sun room and kitchen a nice creamy neutral color (here's a peek but more on that later) and loved how it "cleaned" up and simplified the rooms. 

See the faux with the stenciling and see the neutral paint starting to cover it up? 

So I went ahead and used the same color down the hallways (hopefully the boys now all teenagers won't be quite as destructive.....!) but I didn't want to paint the red dining room walls that same color as I felt that that would be just too blah and boring...

so I picked out this brownish/taupe color from Sherwin Williams that was a tone darker than the inserts on the living room picture wall.

Before

After

Note that I did not put the tapestry back nor the drapes. This also helped "open" things up. I swapped the two sideboards around too because the wall looked huge and bare! 

The alcove before

The alcove after

I then decorated and painted the dining chairs (more on those in a separate post) and voila!

Clean, simple, up to date....I really like it!

I would love to hear your feedback on this so go ahead and leave me a comment, negative or positive...:)

Hugs,
Mandy

Linking to:

http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/

LEATHER AND STUDS!

Recently I had a paint fest weekend where I painted 6 chairs, a small chest of drawers, a desk and refinished our kitchen table....crazy...

Here's a little guy who was never one of my favorites, I didn't like the wood finish for a start. Even though it 's a desk it's really too small for anyone to sit at comfortably so it really is a more decorative piece than useful one. 

Before

I sanded and painted it with some paint I picked up in the "mistake" aisle at Menards. I would describe the color as putty/taupe. Then I aged it by sanding the edges etc and rubbing on some dark stain. 

Let's take a closer look at the top:

Here's the before:

 Here's the after. See the added studs?

I also added studs to the front of the drawers and painted the hairdware

See that "architectural" element between the two pictures?  

Here's a close up:

Anyone know what it is? I think it's so curvy, rusty and cool!

Hope you like the desk, I think it turned out well.


Hugs, Mandy

I am linking this post to:

http://cottageinstincts.blogspot.com/

http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

http://becolorful.typepad.com/

http://athomewithk.blogspot.com

http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/

END OF SUMMER DINING ROOM VIGNETTES

OUR LAKEHOUSE

This is our lake house up on Big Turkey lake, in La Grange county, Indiana. We built it just 3 years ago. Love it, don't love the 2 1/2 hour drive but well worth it!

Here is the view of the back patio, firepit and our Tri toon boat.

This the screened in porch which we use for eating, board games and fun times with friends and family :)

The family room and dining areas

And here is a our private sandy beach :)

With the extreme heat we have had this summer, we have  really appreciate our getaway.


Hoping you are all staying cool,


hugs,
Mandy

I have joined:

http://lbratina.blogspot.com/