Finishing the Basement-Part 2, Fun Finds & a Question!

After 32 years, we're finishing the basement!

This is part 2 in our saga.

I also want to share some fun finds and I have a

questions for you - help!

First, if you just do one thing for your basement,

let there be light - lots of light!


Then install closet doors...

Add some walls....



and a door.....

We've added flooring.....a vinyl wood look-alike
for its durability and ease of cleaning.
There's always a possibility of sawdust from hubby's shop
and we don't want to hyperventilate over wood floors getting damaged.

This is the main room - office/playroom for the grandies.
It's not decorated or arranged yet.....nothing on the walls, etc. However,
what in the world should I do with the windows?
I like the bamboo roman shades, but I need to soften the look in this area?
Long window treatments are fine and can be casual, but
what do you do with the area under the windows?
A valance?  maybe? Don't want any fussiness.
I don't want to cover the windows....just give them a finished look....
even make them look bigger!
Any ideas out there????  Please!!

I got a couple of GW gems recently.....
these 2 old books and a $2 white ironstone gravy boat
made in Spain that, interestingly enough, matches my
white ironstone Johnson Brothers plates!
The book on top (dating 1883) is a Danish to French dictionary!
I don't read Danish, but I do read French - how fun!
But, regardless, it is a lovely old leather book!

I'm thinking of framing some old maps for the basement office area,
along with some memorabilia of my FIL's time
during WWII in the Pacific.
Would love any thoughts or suggestions on the windows,
considering there probably won't be a sofa down there -
at least while the grandies are so young.
I know there are a lot of very creative people out there!
Blessings to you,
Linda

Joining:
Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

No Minimalist Here for Open House Party

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

Hydrangeas & Antique Box

I can't believe I have the nerve to do yet another post on the

antique box centerpiece,

but, well, I do!

Both my Daughter and my Daugher-I-L

wanted one,

so Mr. Nest went to work to make 2 more boxes.

Daughter was sweet to re-dress mine.
I must admit, she cleaned it up a bit and I like it better.

I like the way she used the

little zinc numbered pots with just

two hydrangea blossoms

that I already had.

The she took advantage of Michael's
1/2 off sale of flowers
and used creamy white hydrangeas as a base for her box
in her blue & white kitchen.

I like the way she worked in her iron
votive holder and added green berries.

I think the touch of burlap ribbon
filled in the gaps nicely and added another texture.
I decided that I liked hers better than mine!

Next, she went to work on my D-in-L's  box,
using 2 different muted shades of green hydrangeas,
creamy white ones,
green berries and burlap ribbon.
I added the votives with
battery operated candles for safety with the kids!

This pic is in my kitchen just before delivery.

D & I  decided we like D-in-L's box best!

Well, there you have it....
3 different looks for the same old box.
We decided you could keep the neutral hydrangeas year round
and just add red berries for Christmas,
and other touches for spring and fall.
Blessings to you,
Linda
(p.s. My next post will NOT be about the box : )

Joining:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday
A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

No Minimalist Here for Open House Party

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Silver and Old Books

I've stumbled across some useful silver and interesting old books.

Recently at GW I saw this large handled silver tray.

I really like it to "anchor" my books.

I also got these old "Alice in Wonderland" books from GW.

The book "Old Touraine" was an interesting find

because I spent 2 weeks in that area of France studying French and touring many of the "châteaux" mentioned in this 100 year old book!

 My old wind-up clock is also a flea market find.

Love it - no batteries!

Another little GW silver tray....

  Don't you love those feet?!

 Most of you would probably pass by these old books.

They are kind of ratty looking!

                                                      I got them  at an estate sale for the "insides" -
                                                    (3) 100+ year old books (for a few dollars) -
a French book printed in America, a French book for learning English - printed in France, and an old McGuffey speller.  They are fascinating.

 This is a beautifully illustrated 1892 book on learning German (I am partial to French, but I am not exclusive!). More pretty handwriting (I can't help myself!).

 This fabulous book from 1878 is a reader.  For $1.50, it is full of excellent writings - especially writings 
 about character and classic literature.  It came from a school  Maybe in the 5th  grade?  If so, it  is impressive.  Not sure what kids are reading in school these days, but this reader is amazing!

I just love this handwriting.  In fact, I did a post on old French handwriting here (scroll past the tarts : ).  I am sad that it seems to be disappearing from schools.  If you are a teacher,don't fuss at me because I am one, too.  However,  I believe we need handwriting.  An estate sale professional told me that ALL things handwritten are becoming valuable - due to the use of computers, e-cards, etc.  Save your letters, handwritten notes, etc.!!! (p.s.  Teach cursive to your kids and grandies!)

This geography book is so interesting!  It is dated 1898.  At the time, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, 
Hawaii and Alaska were not states.  So interesting!

 Save your old books!

Keep your silver!
And WRITE someone a note  :  )

Blessings,

Linda

Joining:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures

A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

Faux Grain Sack Runner & Bargains

I have a great little faux grain sack runner,

imspired by  Sherry at No Minimalist Here

who was inspired by

Kathy at Creative Home Expressions

to come up with this little gem.

The nice thing about it is that it is toweling

and the sides are already hemmed.

I just turned the ends, ironed, and stitched the ends.

I made 2 in 10 minutes!

The other one has red stripes like Sherry's and Kathy's.

I think Kathy and Sherry got their toweling at fabric.com,

but that site was out of it by the time I got there, so I got my toweling at Quilters Studio.

Lots of color choices! - I saw that Marty at A Stroll Thru Life

made a pretty one, too!

It only took 2 yards for my table and it has the perfect amount of overhang.

Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict has another great idea in mind for this toweling.

I'm having some great luck drying hydrangeas.

I'll be back to tell you what is working for me!

I found this fabulous old leather book mixed in with the GW books for $2.50

I have no idea how it ended up there, but this is my best book find. Ever.

I keep looking for an old edition of

Julia Child's book - "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".

                                                                   Haven't found it yet.

Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict and I

each talked ourselves into matching little urns and then

found this cute green spikey thing to go in the urns.

My hydrangeas are drying nicely.

Hopefully it'll continue and I'll tell you what works for me!

Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Linda

Joining

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures

A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasure

A Chair & an Ottoman - or Sew What?

I got some projects finished - finally! Last week I showed a chair that we have:

I finished one - yea! I made some double cording (welting, piping, whaterever!). I'll show you how at the end of this post.

I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

I like its neutralness.

If I want some color, I can put any pillow on the chair.

Now for the bad news.....1 down.....3 more chairs to re-cover!

Also tried my hand at sewing a slipcover for this ottoman out of scraps. Whew! I had just enough.

Oh, I'm not hiding anything....I just like the way it looks with the afghan thrown over the ottoman. You never know when you might need an afghan in 90 degree weather!

Thanks to all you courageous and crafty people out there in Blogland!!!! I would never have even attempted upholstery or making slipcovers had I not seen all your fabulous make-overs!

And, BTW, I spent $10 on linen fabric, $3 on cording - total $13 - so that's $3.25 per chair! Well, I guess I have to add in the presser foot for the cording - $15 - so that pushes it up to about $7.00 per chair....not bad!

Found a place for my flea market spools, on top of the thrift store OLD books, and a little Dollar Tree pumpkin.

or maybe this gravy tureen......

or maybe this old pitcher.

OK, so how do you make double cording? This is my "by the seat of my pants" version. If you are a serious upholsterer, you might want to check out now! First I sewed one piece of cording on, using my zipper foot.

Next I placed the second cording next to the first cording, as close as possible.
Then I rolled it over to the finished side and stitched right down the middle, using my double cording presser foot. The extra fabric can be cut off close to the seam after you are finished.

The presser foot had 2 humps that sat on top of the cording.

Here's the finished product.

Oh, it takes almost 5 yards of cording per chair for double piping, so I finally put my antique spool to use - it's holding about 15 yards of cording!

I'm linking up to:

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Rhoda at Southern Hospitality at Today's Thrifty Treasures

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tablescape Tuesday

Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Hope you have a wonderful week. Blessings to you, Linda

A Red Room & Ordinary Stuff in unusual places

I can't believe we painted our red room antique white! I have pictures to prove it! But first, a yard sale tray I got a few months ago.

I like it layered on my Grammy's telephone table.

And now the the red room....been that way for 11 years.....we loved this office/bedroom downstairs. My hubby uses it for his office. I had the idea to paint it light and add some more masculine touches. But first, the before pics.......

We've added some recently acquired furniture pieces because there was no where else to put them. (corner cabinet on the left, small table and chair in the middle). We already had an Ethan Allen black GW makeover in the right corner.....too much unrelated stuff. Oh, and there's a twin size iron bed in there...gotta have it for extra sleeping. Time to simplify.


Have you ever had a red room? wanted a red room? painted over a red room? I hope I'm not making a mistake!

So, we (er, uh, hubby) painted the room SW Antique White, we removed the light colored area rug, and we replaced it with my MIL's red oriental rug which was hiding under the dining room table looking dark. I got hubby this French WWI or II artillery basket at a flea market. Can be used to hold plans, maps, sporting equipment.....a manly basket!

And now for the change.....have I lost my mind?

We removed the black hutch top, and swapped places with the corner cabinet. Now they don't fight each other. I'll probably leave the corner cabinet doors open. The pictures were slapped up on the wall right where they had been, but will be coming down for a new arrangement around the small table and chair. So, this is not a finished room yet. The beautiful valance with inverted pleats that I had made (sigh) has come down and I picture something simple on a black iron rod...maybe even drop cloth drapes. Now I love red...my living room used to be red (for about 15 years) and now this office/bedroom (about 11 years). But it was beginning to close in on me and feel like a cave. The room definitely looks bigger, fresher. I'm looking forward to rearranging all the pics (um, or my daughter will : ) Do you have a red room? Do you like it?

I like this on top of the corner cabinet..... a topiary from my MIL, a 100+ year old Bible that my husband found years ago, and an unusual thing....an iron bowl filled with recently acquired GW baseballs (thank you, private eye Debbie @ Confessions of a Plate Addict who found them for me!). Ordinary stuff in unusual places.

I like it when useful ordinary stuff earns a place of honor as a decor item.....my MIL's paint brushes in a silver flea market container.

Ordinary stuff in unusual places.....

French clothespins in a tin......

Desk supplies in china cups........rubber bands....

Paper clips (oops, almost out of 'em)....

Pens. If I didn't use them this way, they would be stuck on a shelf in a cabinet, hardly seen, never used....what's the point?

There, thanks for visiting my random posting this week. So what do you think of the non-red room....brilliance or a mistake? (Daughter, don't answer that! : )

I'm joining the following parties:

Susan @Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Rhoda @Southern Hospitality for Today's Thrifty Treasures

Marty @A Stroll Thru Life for Tablestop Tuesday

Linda @Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Have a wonderful week. Blessings to you. Linda