Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Toile Room



                                                                 Hello everyone,
        It was a beautiful sunny day here again and with March on the horizon I could feel the promise of spring in the air. With a few half finished projects on the go,I wasn't sure what to share with you today.
             So, I think it has been awhile since I shared pics of our toile guest room so for those of you who have seen it before-hopefully you won't mind another peek around. The wallpaper was a neat find at Marden's for $2 a double roll. The pillows and comforter were a thrift shop find that were a perfect match. The vintage bedspread at the end of the bed came from the70 mile yardsale last fall.
                                                 A small tray with a toile tea set.
                                 A lacy ivory vintage nightgown and a feminine lacy pillow.
                                                        A cameo box for your pearls.
                                               Pretty pink roses for the bedside table.
             This antique nightgown is all handstitched and was a gift from my neighbour made by her maiden aunt.
                                           Some lace on display.

              Well, that is our brown and white toile guest room. I guess I didn't show the pine board floors but I am thinking of painting them white soon. Anyone have any advise on how well they stand up to traffic-not that we have a lot of guests scuffing up the floors but you never know!

Thank you for visiting,

Carolyn

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

One Bay Window~ Several Looks



                                                                 Hello everyone,
                 I didn't have a chance to take any new photos the last couple of days so I am sharing some shots of some of the different looks our bay window in our kitchen/dining room has had over the past few years.
                                              The french styled chairs had a season  in the bay too.
           The chaise is a pretty comfy place to read or enjoy a cup of tea while taking in the view of the garden and enjoying the bird songs.

                                             The iron garden bench came indoors for awhile.
                                              A table and chairs made for a good tea time spot.
          Or a good place to write in my journal(oophs,another bad hair day for me)!
                                         Love the golden light of the early morning sunshine.
                                           The dining table area ,looking toward the bay.
                                       Sorry, for this washed out photo-but you get the idea.
                 And of course,a bay window is perfect for our Christmas tree.
           The comfy chair was there for awhile before going out to the Gardener's Cottage.
 This is the view in the spring looking out the bay window of the garden and the pond.

   Hope you enjoyed some of the different looks in our bay window.

  Have a wonderful day!

 Carolyn

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Cheap Shabby Chic



                                                      Hello everyone,
      I hope you had a great weekend! I  have been working on some projects lately-early spring fever maybe. Anyway,one stormy day last week, I dug out my sewing machine and made a simple slipcover for this little arm chair that was a freebie from a friend.
                            I used to do a lot of sewing when my children were young as I made a lot of their clothes but only seem to do small projects now. Anyway, I had an old chenille bedspread and I cut it up for my humble projects.
           The main object of the day was to give the chair a makeover but with the scraps I made this little slipcover for the lampshade and 3 pillows of various sizes,like the one on the bed.




           Over the past couple of years I have picked up the 'cabbage rose' pillow,bed skirt, some valences and curtains at thrift shops, so I am using them in the 'boathouse' for now.

              The slipcover is very simple but I think it has a tidier look then just using it as a throw over the chair and I am looking for a casual shabby chic look anyway.
                                              This little table was $7. at a yard sale and a coat of paint and a few new screws made a big improvement in it.Also,I like the spool legs and the small size-perfect for a bed side table.
                                        before                                          after
           Well, that is my shabby chic on the cheap for today. A free chair and an old $2 bedspread plus a few hours labor and we were done!
  We are now doing a makeover in our downstairs bath that I will show you later.

I am joining Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphsis Monday,
and The Dedicated House for Make it Pretty Monday.
 Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a good week!

Carolyn

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Pretty Containers ~ Pretty Bouquets



Hello everyone,
It is a beautiful sunny winter day here. We are working on some spring projects which I am happy to get done and I will share with you later.
However, today I decided to share some of my pretty containers for pretty bouquets from our garden.
In the photos above I love the peony wreath that I made a few years ago and placed on the mirror with iron scrolling on the front that cmae from Homesense. Below on the cupboard below ,there are some little bouquets in small aqua glass jars that make cute little vases.


                           This old pitcher and the basin with the white tulips look pretty on the kitchen/dining tabl,e as I have a collection of red and white transferware on display there.
                            A mix of containers out in the terrace hold more peonies from the garden.
                            A cement urn is often used for bouquets and here I am showing off my peonies again. Looking forward to picking bouquets of them again come June.
              The watering can ,also from Homesense holds an assortment of phlox,hydrangeas and hosta flowers.
                               The old milk bottles and carrier looks great with flowers in it.
                           Whenever,I go to thrift shops I always keep an eye out for unique little things that can be re-purposed into other things and in this case these cute little boots look charming with simple bouquets of phlox.
                               A more common vase with a late spring bouquet. I do love my peonies!
                            I couldn't resist this little ceramic boot with a potted plant in it.
                             This basket makes for a pretty picture with soft pink peonies on the end of the old iron bed out on our summer veranda.
                                               Even wild flowers in a mason jar have charm.

                          This pretty bowl was a couple of dollars and I planted it up with 'Fleckles' a violet.
                      Both of these vases came home with me from a trip to Florida last spring.
                          An old transferware cup and saucer planted up with some pretty violas.
         Who could resist this old teapot from a yard sale with a bouquet of lilacs from the garden. I love lilacs!
   
And another bouquet or two of lilacs in a lacy white vase from Ikea. The chair was given to me and I was lucky enough to find a pinkish red toile chair slipcover at a thrift shop.
This shot was taken in our Gardener's Cottage last year.






                                      And last but not least-four wooden barrels filled with beautiful spring tulips Alas, these are not in our garden  but I took this shot of someone else's street side garden-so pretty!

It will be awhile yet but soon enough(well not quite) it will be garden bouquet season again. In the mean time there are lots of projects to get done.

I am joining The Rose Garden in Malevik for Show Off Saturday.

Hope you are having a good weekend,

Carolyn