Back-To-School Shopping–The Adult Version

August 2, 2016

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This past weekend was a big back-to-school shopping weekend here in Atlanta. It was a tax-free weekend and most school are starting back this week or next so shopping had to get done.

Even though I knew the stores were going to be crowded, I ventured out for a few hours to see if there were any deals to be had. And boy or boy were there.

I never really took note of it before but shopping during the back-to-school season has its benefits. Most of the big box stores like HomeGoods, Target and Macy’s had beefed up their inventory levels and had some great decorative pieces to decorate dorm rooms. Not only were the prices good, but many of items could work just as easily for home decor.

p.s. if you haven’t noticed, dorm decor has really become style statement these days. Far from the posters I hung on the wall.

So I know you’re asking yourself what does this mean for all of us that aren’t going off to school.

It means back-to-school season is a great time to shop for home decor items.

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Here’s a list of home decor products that are worth shopping for NOW during back-t0-school season and some great pieces you might want to snag:

Bed Linens–there are lots of fun patterns including plaids, stripes and geometrics out for back-to-school.
Organizing Items–I spotted lots of amazing baskets and cloth storage bins as well and space-saving door and under-bed storage pieces.
Office Decor–caddies, trays, boxes and bins plus lots of cute bulletin boards and wall units.
Lighting–especially tabletop and desk lamps many of which are priced better than those styles marketed for home decor.
Accent Furniture–if you’re in the market for a small side table, ottoman, pouf or stools, you’ll find lots to choose from.
Bathroom Decor–great under cabinet pieces, towels and vanity accessories.

Shop these looks:

Palm Leaf Quilt //Modern Anywhere Chair // Two Head Task Lamp // Faux Marble Clock // Enchante Wall Storage Bin

Wood and Metal Storage Boxes // Rope Medallion Pillow // Enchante Pillow // 2 Drawer Accent Table // Claudette Wire Hamper

Did anyone else find any great home decor deals while school shopping?

The 60-30-10 Color Rule

May 27, 2016

How confident are you when it comes to decoration with color? Like many people, this might be one area of decorating that you find challenging but don’t worry because there’s a simple design formula that can decorating with color easier.

The 60-30-10 decorating rule is a tried and true method to help pull together the color theme for a room. The rule relates to how colors should be proportioned within room to achieve a balanced and harmonious feel within the space.

The 60-30-10 color rule is really simple for anyone to apply, even the novice decorator. Here’s how it works…

60%

The main color you selected for a space should represent 60% of the color within the room. In a family room the 60% would be represented by the wall color, large decorative pieces like a rug and in some cases the larger furniture pieces like a sofa. The 60% color should serve as the dominant impact in the room and anchor the space.

30%

The 30% should be represented by the secondary color within the room and have half the impact and presence as the main color. In a family room secondary color can come from the drapes, accent furniture or even artwork. In a bedroom, the secondary colors can represented through the bed linens or smaller accent rugs. The goal is to have the secondary color (30%) be an accent and enhance the main color (60%) within the room while adding to the overall personality of the space.

10%

10% of your color within a room should be represented by accent colors. In a family room setting your accessories will provide your accent–decorative pillows, tabletop decor and smaller pieces of artwork and lighting. In a bedroom the accent colors will come from the pillows, lamps and nightstand accessories. The accent colors that represent 10% of the overall color palette should be pulled from your drapes, area rug and larger upholstered pieces so that the overall color theme ties together.

Here are a couple of examples showing the 60-30-10 color rule in use…

Using the 60-30-10 color rule can make choosing color simple, and help you achieve balance in decorating.

Finding the right color balance within a room can be challenging but if you follow the general principles of the 60-30-10 color rule you’ll be able to create a color theme for any room in your home with confidence. And if an abundance of color is what you love, follow your gut and decorate fearlessly like actress Mindy Kaling did in her home office below.

design by Nathan Turner

image source: Country Living, DIY Network

Treasure Hunting At Scott Antique Market

May 17, 2016

It’s been quite a while since I’ve visited the Scott Antique Market and even longer since I’ve done a post about the market.

Last Thursday I woke up and decided to make the trek down to Scott’s to check out the show and see if I cold snag any great pieces. The Scott Antique Market is definitely one of my favorite antique shows and every time I go I’m wowed by all the vintage, antique and sometimes new pieces that the dealers have. This market I spotted lots of great pieces…

There were a lot of really great oversized mirrors. I can envision this beauty in a foyer or positioned at the top of a stair landing.

One of the great things about the Scott Antique Market is the number of custom furniture dealers that attend. If you have a challenging area or simply desire a custom piece, you can find many options at this market.

I loved this upholstered banquet which if just made for a breakfast or dining area.

The turned wood arm-chair with grey linen fabric. Perfect for a beach house.

My friend Julie whose an upholsterer and owns The Upholstery Fashionista is known for her faux animal skin upholstered pieces. She sells pieces in this fabric every month and these chairs were her newest pieces. She’s also known for the details she puts in every piece like the burlap back and sides of these chairs.

Cut stools in a fun fabric.

I spotted a lot of great farm tables this show.

A pretty bench cushion sofa with great lines and a tufted back.

I adored this bench and the fabric it was in.

The table would make a great kitchen island.

Lots of classic vintage furniture with beautiful hardware and details.

Check out the carved wood detail on this piece.

A beautiful buffet with gorgeous carved doors.

There is always lots of blue and white chinoiserie pottery. This bowl was oversized and I loved the octagon shape.

These foo dogs were super-size.

Lots of blue and white ginger jars and vases.

This dealer has the most gorgeous preserved flowers and arrangements and his booth is always packed.

I’m on the hunt for vintage Japanese calligraphy brushes but these were incredibly expensive so I passed.

One of my favorite dealers always have unique bottles and jars. Most of these were $35 or less.

If you love industrial pieces you’ll find lots to choose from at Scott.

May of the outdoor dealers sell vintage olive buckets which can be used for plants, magazines or just about anything.n

There is always an abundance of wood crates..some old and some reproduction.

One of the permanent outdoor dealers always have a good collection of brass door hardware.

I’d love to create a wall display with a grouping of these brass numbers.

I’ve mentioned before that the market is made up of two buildings so there are hundreds of dealers to shop from and you never know what you’ll find. There are a couple of dealers that I always shop with and here are a few of the pieces I scored this market.

I wasn’t really looking for anything for me this show but was focused on finding a few items for my Etsy shop. But I did find a few things I’m going to keep.

I sell a lot of these silver-plated toast rack so I buy them whenever I come across a great deal. I also bought this brass shell dish which need some major polishing and this pewter pineapple dish. All of these items will be going in my shop.

Vintage globes are hard to come across at a good price so I was happy to find this one for less than $10.

I bought this pair of brass candle holders for $6.00. Score!

And lucked upon this brass book stand. I’ve sold 3 or 4 of the in my shop before.

I scored this beautiful oversized blue and white vase for $10–another great find.

And I’m always on the hunt for Christmas items for the shop. These napkins were just .50 cents each.

And my favorite finds of the show were these acrylic drawer pulls for just $2.00 each! These babies and big and chunky and I’m keeping these.

And these Staffordshire Dogs which I scored for $20.

I must say, I had a pretty good haul this show.

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If you’ve never been to Scott Antique Market before but are planning a visit, here are few shopping tips:

Tips for Scott Antique Market:

* The market opens at 10:30 on the second Thursday of each month (but get there about 20 minutes early as they tend to let cars in early)

* There is a shuttle bus (Fri, Sat, Sun) that will shuttle you between the two buildings (runs about every 15 minutes)

* There are food vendors on site and some of them look really good.

* If you want a great deal, shop the outdoor vendors. Many of them shut-down when the weather is not but those that stay open are willing to negotiate.

* Bring cash–a lot of vendors take checks but you’ll get a better deal if you’re negotiating with cash–{cash machines on site}

* Saturday night of the market there is an auction that takes place where great deals can be had. More details here.

* Bring your own tote bags or rolling bags. Most vendors have hand-me-down plastic grocery bags for you to put your treasures in.

* Plan on spending a full day at the show to see both buildings and the outdoor spaces.

Hope you enjoyed this overview of Scott Antique Market and hope to see you at the show next month.

Makeover Madness with Velvet Finishes

May 3, 2016

What do you get when you pair a group of creative bloggers with the Velvet Finishes Paint line?

a Makeover Madness Blog Hop of course!

If you’re coming over from Pursuing Vintage, welcome. Didn’t you just love Kristen’s #makeovermadnessbloghop transformation? I sure did.

If you’re a regular follower of the blog, let me tell you a little about the Makeover Madness Blog Hop. Over the next two days, myself along with 10 other bloggers will be sharing some fantastic furniture and accessory makeovers using paint. Fellow blogger, Kellie Smith of Design Asylum happens to also own a really amazing paint line called Velvet Finishes and she graciously partnered with us and supplied each blogger with paint and products to complete their makeover.

I discovered Velvet Finishes a couple of years ago and painted a small accent table with it. I loved the product and how easy it was to transform my table so for this blog hop, I decided to tackle a couple more small pieces. After looking through the Velvet Finishes colors, I decided on Baroque and Handsome, a beautiful emerald green and a rich cardinal blue.

The first piece I transformed was this pretty umbrella stand that I picked up at an antique store for under $20. I loved the classic lines, the carved spindles on each corner and the brass catch tray. The minute I saw it, I knew it needed a bold color to really make it special.

The first step in painting this piece was to use Velvet Finishes READY to clean and prep the surface. All you have to do is spray READY on, let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe it away. Your surface will be clean and ready for paint. I love this stuff!

Next I applied the paint (no priming needed–a big bonus in my book) using a good quality paint brush. One of the things I like most about Velvet Finishes is how smooth the paint goes on and how the brush strokes just disappear as the paint dries. It really makes painting a breeze.

Here’s my umbrella stand after a couple of coats of paint and the addition of a little brass ring handle I added to one side.

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Next I painted a vintage metal cart that I found at a thrift store a couple of years ago for only $8.00. When I originally purchased the piece, it looked like this …

and then I painted it gold.

Since my current color crush is emerald green and blue, I decided to give the cart another makeover using Velvet Finishes Baroque. The cart turned out so great and I am head-over-heels with the piece now. FYI, it took 2 coats of paint to fully cover the gold.

What a transformation!

{wood casters are original to the cart}

{you can find the tutorial for my DIY ice bucket here}

{black glass handles from hobby lobby}

The last piece I painted was an accessory for the bar cart. I found a wine bottle holder at Goodwill for a couple of bucks and painted it in Handsome which matched my other blue accessories perfectly. You can see the bottle holder on the bottom shelf of the bar cart. It’s a simple piece but in a vibrant color, it has so much more style. I may add these brass corner guards later to UpStyle it even more.

I have one more piece I painted using Velvet Finishes but I’ll save that to share with you another day. Also, I wanted to tell you that as a finish coat on my pieces, I used Velvet Finish PROTECT product. PROTECT is a specially formulated, commercial grade, non-yellowing satin polyacrylic which further seals the paint and gives the finish a bit of a shine. It’s just as easy to apply as the paint and dries quickly.

If you’ve never tried Velvet Finishes before, I highly recommend you give it a try. Their claim to fame is… ‘The NO sand, NO prime, NO chalk, NO wax furniture paint formula that will rock your world’ and I have to tell you the paint lives up to those claims in every way. It’s super easy to use and you’ll end up with a really beautiful finish on any piece you paint. I’m thrilled with my transformations.

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Next up on the blog hop is Amy Howard Social. Head over to Amy’s blog and check out her paint project, you’re going to love it.

And don’t forget to stop by the other bloggers on the #makeovermadnessbloghop and follow the hashtag on Instagram:

Tuesday, 5/3

Love Your Abode

Pursuing Vintage

ConfettiStyle

Amy Howard Social

Wife In Progress

Canary Street Crafts

Wednesday, 5/4:

M.Jones Style

Positively Southern

Green With Decor

Chic On A Shoestring Decorating

Seeking Lavender Lane

Disclosure: I received paint and other products from Velvet Finishes for this project. All words and opinions are my own. I only partner with brands I respect and would purchase from myself.

Design Chat: Selecting a Sofa (and developing an accessory plan)

April 28, 2016

I’ve got another installment of Design Chat for you today, where I answer and provide design advice to a readers question.

Like many of the other Design Chat questions, Kimberly’s design challenge centered on finding the right sofa for her living room. Here’s the question Kimberly posed about a sectional she was considering…

“I read your blog about the do’s and font’s of a sectional and I am strongly considering this sectional for my room. Here are my questions…
1. Is the sectional too dark? I have tons of sunlight. I am wanting to steer away from the tan/beige, and I hear grays are very neutral, but I don’t want it to be a fad thing. The size is 115 X 115.
2. The back of the sectional would face the direction of looking into the room to define that space b/c I don’t want to block the bay windows.
I have a family of 5 and we purchased a single couch with the intent on adding more chairs, but they hated it b/c we couldn’t all sit together. Therefore, that’s why I am looking at the sectional, I know it limits us when it comes to moving furniture around. What do you think? ”

Here’s the space that Kimberly is dealing with. You can see that the room is pretty large, has a great span of windows at the far end and a fireplace and bookshelves that sit on one wall.

And here’s the sectional that Kimberly is considering. She spotted this piece at End Up Furniture in Greenville, SC.

Ok Kimberly, here’s what I think.

Given the size of your room I think this sectional is a great option. The scale looks good and the sofa will really anchor the room. As far as the color goes, the darker grey get two thumbs up from me. Grey is definitely considered a neutral and are a great alternative to a lighter khaki or tan colors. You can feel confident that grey will not go out of style in the coming years.

Looking at the other elements in the room here’s a couple of suggestions I have to round out the space.

♦ Place side tables at both ends of the sectional piece that sits along the wall and add tabletop lamps to make that sofa functional for reading etc.

♦ Highlight the window with drapes. You could either hang panels at the far ends of the bay window or at all the break points along the window which would give you four hanging panels. Curtains will add softness and allow you to bring some color into the space.

♦ I’d also suggest to create vignette or small sitting area at the window so that space feels purposeful. Maybe place an upholstered bench under the center window or two accent chairs with a small side table between.

♦ Finally, I’d hang a larger piece of artwork on the wall over the sofa to balance the TV wall and overall scale of the room. And relook your rug, maybe adding something with minimized pattern work. Both of these areas give you another opportunity to bring some color and pattern into the room.

Here’s a quick inspiration board I pulled together, to give Kimberly an idea for a color and accessory palette to work with her new sofa.

update: Kimberly purchased the sofa and it was delivered earlier this week. She’s on her way to a new space for her family to enjoy.

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You might also like these posts (click on image):

Design Guide: 10 Ways To Add Color To Your Decor

April 12, 2016

As someone who loves color and loves to decorate with it, I sometimes find it hard to relate to someone who expresses a color phobia to me. I was recently working with a client where color in their book equated to having different shades of brown within a room. Yes, different shades of brown is a color combination and bright colors aren’t for everyone but I do believe that color can work magic within a room if approached correctly.

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Read the Post

Furniture Crush: DayBeds

March 25, 2016

Apartment Therapy

When it comes to furniture and creating cozy spot in a home, I love the idea of a daybed. Daybeds are often relegated to a guest bedroom, a kids room and sometimes are used as causal seating in a room that serves multiple purposes.

If you do a quick search on the interest you’ll see that daybed styling has come along way. Yes, you can still find metal styles like the ones you see in a lot of dorm rooms or first apartments but don’t fret if you’re looking for something with more style…they are out there.

You’ll even see daybed designed for outdoor use which takes decorating outdoor spaces to a new level.

A daybed is an easy way to create a cozy outdoor lounge space that can be shared my several people and used as a unique summertime porch bed.

Doesn’t this outdoor space make you want to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea?

Dominique Decoratrice

Daybeds can be used indoors to create a retreat space in pass through areas of your home which are often challenging to decorate. Think of them as an oversized window seat.

I just love the blue and white fabrics used on the daybed and window to create a stylish setting for this space.

The Enchanted Home

You can create a charming daybed set-up in a guest bedroom that will make your guests feel like they are at a luxury hotel.

A fabric canopy is a great way to frame a daybed and give it a more luxurious feel.

via

And daybeds are a fun way to add seating and a reading nook to a home office.

This day bed has a middle trundle which makes it even more functional and I love how the bolster pillows add a stylish touch and make it look more dynamic.

Design Dump

Now that I’ve got you inspired and thinking about Daybeds in a new way, you can shop my favorite Daybed styles.

SHOP MY FAVORITE DAYBEDS

OK, who else out there is a fan of daybeds?

Blue and White Decor at Target

March 15, 2016

House Beautiful

When was the last time you went looking for something on a stores website only to find yourself going down a rabbit hole of endless surfing? It happens to me more times than not. The other day I went looking for a specific item on Target.com and an hour later I found myself looking at completely different things.

During my search I stumbled upon some fantastic blue and white decor pieces and knew I had to share them with you along with some design inspiration.