Freshened Up Foyer

Once again, never-satisfied-itis has struck. And once again I blame it on a picture:

Maybe yellow doesn't photograph well, or maybe I'm just hard to keep pleased. If you remember, yellow was not the FIRST color the foyer was painted. It started in 2009 as red.

As I tweaked my color scheme from predominately yellow and red to blue and red (you can see changes in the living room and dining room)that yellow began to feel even more and more wrong. Plus looking at that picture above, nothing seemed to come together with that yellow as the background.

I decided to go with the darkest blue from the Wythe Blue swatch that I used on the back of my built ins. I think I did it on a Saturday afternoon all with a paint brush. I just a brush for several reasons. I first was just going to "check" and see if I liked the blue color, but mainly I was just too lazy to drag out a tray and roller.

If you remember, I had practically just installed this vinyl over the mirror

and of course after I FINALLY choose a spot for it, I decide to paint a different color. I just left the vinyl on the wall and painted over it. I peeled the vinyl off and I was planning on repainting it black, but I liked the light color peeking through.

Here is the new improved foyer--let's hope I like they way it looks in these pictures because I'm running out of color choices to paint it!

Hubby has been setting all his "trooper gear" on the dresser in the foyer. That more than kinda drives me crazy. So I hung his hat on my bird hooks--kind of a juxtaposition huh? (I have to admit I am HORRIBLE about leaving stuff all over the place. I walk in the door and things just end up all over the place, but I'm the only one who's allowed to do that-right?)



Yes, Toto had to get into the picture. He thinks everything is all about him.
Well, looking back at these pictures, the foyer is safe...for today at least!

The New Living Room

As most of you know, hubby went off to the "academy where you learn to fold your clothes in ridiculously small ways."

(Actually he is at the Kentucky State Police Academy. As of October 30, he will be a Kentucky State Trooper.)

He has been gone (during the week) since the end of May.

I had big, big plans while he was gone; some have been accomplished, some have not.

This is one of those that WAS accomplished.

You all also know that I have painted and repainted at least 5 rooms in our house since we moved in almost 2 years ago. I picked the paint for all the upstairs rooms prior to moving in and let's just say that I regretted the decisions within the first 6 months. That led to the dining room redo last winter.

This summer I finally chose the wall color and proceeded to repaint the living room and kitchen (as well as rearrange the living room) at approximately 1am. Seriously, I did. go check my facebook statuses if you don't believe me.

Anyway, here are the befores.

It is so strange to me how different things look IRL that they do in pictures. The living room never really bothered me until I saw how it played out on "film." It was then that I realized the yellow was not working for me (along with the brick with black grout). Here is the same wall after paint and rearranging.

Now I must tell you that is the spot that "Cindy" was supposed to go.

Who's Cindy?

Go read this and this and see for yourself.

I was so excited about putting a dresser there that I had to find a replacement for Cindy. I found this little sweetie at an auction-big surprise huh? She was much more expensive than Cindy's $15 price tag, but I guess you have to be willing to pay more for furniture WITHOUT powder post beetles!

This was one of those shots that made me say-yuck, I need to do something about that brick! Here is a similar shot after the new paint.

This is the view as you walk in from the foyer.

Finally, here is a tour of the living room. I realized that you all really haven't seen my living room from all angles.

So here goes.


Now you are walking around the couch...
(and yes that lamp shade is wompy-jawed. I cannot get it to stay straight!)

This is the view from the fireplace looking back towards the foyer.

View from the hearth looking towards the hallway.

This is the view from the hallway looking towards the kitchen.

View from the kitchen.

And an overall view of the living room.

Now, I will give you some close-ups of some of my favorite areas.

I showed you all part of this wall in me "Q is for Quaint" post.

I tweaked it by adding pictures of hubby and I when we were three.

And no room of my is complete without adding some transferware.

The color is from Benjamin Moore's "Wythe Blue" swatch.

It is the lightest color tinted at 3/4 strength. The backs of the bookshelves are painted the darkest color on the swatch-I think it is Paladian Blue. So far I'm loving the blue.

I want to add some more throw pillows and possibly hang some more plates, but for the most part I'm content with the room!

I'm on fall break this week. I'm hoping to get a post on my outside decorations and maybe my kitchen. Oh and I have more changes to my laundry closet. Maybe I did get some things accomplished while hubby was away folding his clothes and shining his boots!

Pin it Up

**Disclaimer: My camera is broken. I never took that great of pictures anyway, but now I'm in real trouble. All these pictures in this post were taken from my iPhone. Thus, the potential poor quality.**

I'm just going to skip the apologies.
There comes a point when it is just too late to apologize. Kind of like when you are around someone for a long time without ever really knowing their name. After a few months you just can't ask his or her name. You have to go on some kind of reconnaisance mission to find it out.

Anyway.
You all know I love auctions. Duh right?
You also know that I find things that I really have no idea what is going to happen to them. I simply experienced love at first sight.
This is what happened with this little "beauty."

Old frame, cool details, auction atmosphere. It had me at hello.

It is pretty worn out. Very dirty and doesn't have any glass.

My initial plan was to put a family picture in it and hang it in the stairwell.

But it sat in the garage for, goodness, about 3 months.

Then one night it hit me.

Chicken wire and mini clothespins.

I was so excited to get it done. So here goes...

I painted it Stratton Blue by Benjamin Moore.

It is on the same color swatch as my dining room Wythe Blue.

Then I added some glaze to bring out the details in the frame and add more texture to it.

Then I went to Lowe's and bought some chicken wire for like $4 and stapled it to the back of the frame.

I found mini clothespins at Hobby Lobby.

I wanted them to be red (surprise, surprise) but they would be tricky to spray paint. I took them outside and clipped them to some leaves on a tree in the front yard.

Part of my tree now looks like a Japanese maple with its newly painted red leaves. Oh well, fall is around the corner and they will fall off anyway!

I knew I wanted to put it on the side of the fridge because that side faces the living room and I wanted something cute to look at.

I used 3M velcro tapes to stick it to the fridge. (I'm in love with those things. Really. I could do a whole blog post about all the places I've used them in my house. And I'm not getting paid to even say that--hint hint 3M.) This picture you can see just the frame with the red clips.

Now I added all the "stuff."
You know, the stuff that gets stuck up with magnets all over the place?
Oh, well maybe you don't live like that. If I don't want to lose something I stick it on the fridge. Maybe I'm weird.
Anyway, having something cute to put it all on makes it look so much better!

And this is the view I have from the big chair in the living room.

I love it. Hubby thinks it is weird.

He is not loving the chicken wire. But what does he know, he is at the school where you learn to fold your clothes in ridiculously small ways. I think they have messed up his way of thinking-at least where the house is concerned! Not like chicken wire-really, give me a break!

To celebrate my return to blogging, I'm joining in with Savvy Southern Style for "Wow Us Wednesday." Hubby may not have been wowed by chicken wire, but maybe someone else out there will be! Come by and see what else might "wow" you!

By the way, Cinderella is officially gone, but I have a new love that I hope to introduce you to very soon! Don't give up on me. I have a new living room color, repainted fireplace, rearranged sunroom, new furniture piece and a couple tables to show you guys. I promise I have the projects I just can't find the time to sit down and talk about them!

Livin' on Blues Power

This is my favorite "big" project of 2011. I love how it turned out and the good news is that almost a year later I still love it! That's a big deal for me. As hubby says, I'm easy to please, just hard to keep pleased!

I'm taking this link over to Thrifty Decor Chick for her monthly before and after party. Right now there are like 450 links on it. Wowzers, but I'm going in anyway! Stop by for a minute (or an hour) and see some othe great ideas!

Borrowing from Eric Clapton:
Bet you didn't think I knew how to rock n' roll
Oh, I got the boogie woogie right down in my very soul.
There ain't no need for me to be a wallflower
'Cause now I'm living on blues power!

Man oh man I am in love with some blues.

It all started with a chair:

Then there came a table:


This post could go on forever, but I am just going to show you the pictures of my newly blueified dining room and then later I'll bring you the

"details of the dining room."

Until then, just look at this transformation.
During Christmas:

Now living on blues power:

AAAAACK! I know!! I love it!!!
Just humor me and look at all these angles.

I even "staged" the room (which I NEVER do). It feels so much more like me!

Doesn't Scarlett look lovely next to this blue?

Come back later this week and I'll share with you about my napkins and upholstered chairs. I can also talk about the auction finds I used in this room as well as talk about the wall color!

I'm linking up with the CSI Challenge favorite projects of 2011. And also with Addicted 2 Decorating.

I've Got the Blu-Whoo-Ooo-s.

Hank Williams, Sr. ain't got nothing on me.

Well, actually it isn't me singing the blues, it's my house.

I won't torture you with listening to his recording while you are reading this post, but only if you promise you'll sing the song in your head.

With a really "old time" country music twang.

It's a requirement. Here I'll help with some phonetic spellings.
Ready?

I've got a feelin' called the the blues, Oh, Lawd
Since my baby said goodbye.

And I don't know what I'll do-oo-oo
All I do is sit and sigh-igh, oh, Lawd

I hate to think it all o-o-ver
I've lost my heart it seems

I've grown so used to you some how
Well, I'm nobody's sugar daddy now

And I'm lo-on-lonesome
I got the Lovesick Blu-ues.

Don't worry about my house.

I'm thinking the blues will be the best thing that's happened to it since buttons.

Y'all come back, I promise I won't make you sing!

Molly :)