Unexpected Fall Colors

I love blue, green, brown and cream for fall.

Who'd would have thought?

Recently, my son and daughter-in-law gave me

these beautiful placemats for my birthday,

and they will look great both in the kitchen

and in the dining room.

Here's one side:

and the other:

I'm setting the table with both sides:



The sun is pouring through the window now:

Why wouldn't blue, green, brown and cream be beautiful -
the sky is blue
the grass is green
trees are green with brown trunks
and the clouds are creamy and white!

Have a wonderful day!
Blessings,
Linda

Joining:
Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday
A Stroll thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

 

Changes in the Living Room

Want to see some changes in my daughter's living room?

Okay.....

She was recently given this neutral sofa.

Though it is 12 years old, it is in good condition,

neutral color, and classic style.

It makes a great backdrop for any color pillows.

She chose a paisley pattern for 2 pillows

and a monogram for a chevron print.

The monogram is painted on....by daughter.

Don't hate her....she painted it freehand!!

Argh!

Doesn't it look like a real monogram?!

I love the chevron print with the paisley.

Both fabrics came from Hobby Lobby,

and they didn't take much fabric at all.

She rearranged her mantel, too.

She used garage sale and thrift store items that she already had.

Then she added a large monogram from JoAnn's

that she painted ORB.

It is a great way to layer with a mirror.

Sorry about the brightness of the pic....

they get tons of sunlight in their family room!

Have a wonderful week.

Blessings.

Linda

Joining:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

A Stroll thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

An Important Pillow Question!!

I have an important pillow question.....

to trim or not to trim,

that is the question???

In the past, I have made pillows with a flange edge....

I used brush fringe years ago.

This is a "store bought" pillow

with no trim on the edge.

I made this pillow recently

and made a contrasting cording.

I'm working on some fall/winter pillows,

and I'm wondering.....

should I use trim?  self-cording?  contrasting cording?

brush fringe?  or nothing?

I looked through numerous decorating magazines,

and things seem to be simple - often no trim at all.

What do you think?

Do pillows look more "high end" if they  have trim

of some sort?

Or is trim "passé"?

I'd love to know what you think...

Blessings,

Linda



Fall Mantel, Pumpkins, Etc.!

I'm not really an "orange" person....

I'm a "red" person....

however.....

since I just got all the red out of my living room -

and,

not too long ago, out of my bedroom, too -

well, orange is looking pretty good!

I've got some touches of orange around the house.

See the little pumpkin on the white candlestick?

It's one of 3 that I bought in the produce section of the grocery last year.

I put them in the basement over the winter, spring, summer, and they are all still perfect - no mold -

so, voilà!

Who'd have thought??

Another one of those pumpkins

on my wicker recipe box below....

Another "held-over" pumpkin!

Well, that's it for now.

I'm really liking orange - how about you?

Blessings,

Linda

Joining:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

A Cool Spool (of Thread) Holder - DIY

My daughter was looking for a way to store and display

all her many spools of thread.

She went to the right source - Mr. Nest.

We had a leftover piece of styrofoam - 1 inch thick -

that we had saved from some packing we received.

Also, Mr. N. had a bag of extra long golf tees -

bingo - a light bulb idea!

First, he cut the piece of styrofoam 9 1/2 inches  wide and 21 inches long.
He placed the golf tees approximately every 2 inches.
(The tees were 3 1/4 inches long - Walmart!)

He simply pushed the tees through the back.

Then he put a piece of book binding tape over the heads, as well as around the edges.

Another idea might be to put a dab of hot glue between the head of the tee

and the styrofoam.

He cut a little piece of styrofoam with an angle and

taped it to the board with book binding tape

so that it would prop up for easy use and good sight.

Daughter loves it - so useful!

And she can place a spool and the bobbin together

on each golf tee.

Just thought this was a clever idea worth sharing.

Mr. N. can always come up with just the right idea!!

Blessings,

Linda

Joining:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

Decor to Adore for Fridays Favorite Pin

Living Room Re-do - the Whole Story

I've shown some bits and pieces of

our living room (where we really live)  redo,

but I've pulled it all together for a finished look.

I love red - still love red - but

(like Blogland) wanted to go neutral on the big pieces

and be able to change out pillows for color change.

Sooooooo, all we did was re-cover 2 chairs,

make some pillows, oh, and paint the room.

Before - with red background on valances(oops, not pictured) and

red pillows & red chair:

and yellow gold chairs & ottoman

Walls were painted #198 Cornsilk Ben. Moore.

This is a great wall color, but we wanted a change after 12 years.

So, We painted the walls  SW -Urban Putty.

I used this pillow as inspiration - blue, green, brown & a little gold.

Then I found this fabric to coordinate

and made 2 lumbar pillows with zippers!

The next thing we did was to rearrange the room

and bring the sofa into the main sitting area.

The sofa was recovered 12 years ago, but because of its location,

it was hardly used.

Though  the blue fabric on the sofa is not as neutral as I'd like,

it does have a nice texture and seems to go well

with everything else.

Being the practical person that I am,

I could not rationalize recovering it - and, at least, blue has come back into favor in decorating!

(BTW, the draperies are made from drop cloth.)

I sewed the light brown pillows on the sofa

from some left-over fabric from some drapes

I made years ago.

Below are the 2 chairs and ottoman that got reupholstered.

This is the skirted ottoman with the gold chairs

that got new legs, new fabric, and some nailhead trim.

It's my touch of whimsey that everyone is always talking about

adding to a room : )

In the bay window.....

These very old chairs were once my MIL's, then my SIL's and then ours.

I had them recovered about 10 years ago in this off-white color and

they still look fabulous.

Blue & Green are very soothing colors for a hot Georgia summer.

It'll be easy to add a bowl of red apples,

a red throw,

and a few pillows with red/orange, etc.

for the fall.

I'm liking the neutral, calmer look.

Hopefully, the light colored chairs will hold up well.

I decided not to do slipcovers because I like the texture of the fabric I used.

We just have visiting grandchildren from time to time, and

they never stay put in one place for more than a few minutes!

Hope you have a wonderful week.

Blessings,

Linda

Joining:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Aqua Blue Jars - DIY

I've been wanting to try painting some glass jars

aqua to look  like the old Ball jars.

Carmie at The Single Nester did a great post on

this technique.

Basically you use any jars/bottles/vases

that you want.

Mix up 1 tablespoon glue, 1 teaspoon water, and blue & green food coloring.

Then paint it on the outside of the jar.

If you don't like the look when it dries,

just wash it off.

The ideal look would be to fill the tray

below with jars.

I wanted to try out 7 before I continued,

just to see how they looked.

How about adding some clear and green jars/bottles/vases for interest...

Check out the site I mentioned above.

Carmie gives great directions.....easy and complete.

Blessings,

Linda

Joining:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday