Patience is A Virtue. . .

Early in my marriage when I was inexperienced and poor, I tended to buy furniture based on need and a desire to have it NOW.  If the couch I wanted was too expensive, I just bought something cheaper.  I didn't search to find it somewhere else cheaper. I didn't wait and save my pennies so I could buy it later. I just found something that would work.

Then I looked around my house and decided I didn't really like what I had.  It didn't feel like it represented my style. . . if I even knew what that was.  I have recently come to the conclusion that if you have something functional in place you are less likely to go out seeking something new.  Why go looking for the perfect sofa if you have one in good shape doing the job?  It seems less justifiable.  

So when our springer spaniel snacked on our furniture last fall I got rid of the ruined sofa and table and chairs in my family room and kitchen.  I found a table I loved right away, but Rob and I couldn't agree on family room furniture.  This time I wasn't willing to just buy something that would do the job, and neither of us really wanted to spend the amount of money it would cost to get my first or even second choice sofa and club chairs. So I moved my living room furniture into my family room and lived with an empty living room. . . until this month.

My patience paid off!  We found nearly the same sofa for half the price--1/3 the Restoration Hardware sofa! And it came with the five pillows shown in the picture.  I love a good rolled English arm sofa (and a turned leg).  Rob argued it wouldn't be comfortable, and with only a picture to go on with the other two stores, I wasn't making progress convincing him, but once he sat in this beauty he agreed that it was, indeed, quite comfy.  It has down/feather filled cushions and a really deep seat--great for the two of us being 6'2" and 5'10".  

Here is the Restoration Hardware sofa:

The Pottery Barn sofa:

The RC Willey sofa (Mine):

AND we found a sofa table and a coffee table for a good deal.  A nearly identical table set can be purchased at Ballard Designs, but they cost more! I count that a double score.  Plus mine was made from reclaimed wood out of a factory.  

Ballard table:

And I got some great accessories:  the mounted driftwood on the sofa table. . .

And this lovely three teared tray, which I love everything about, even the little bun feet underneath it.  

Now I just need to find those two leather club chairs and another upholstered chair to finish the seating. . . 

But in the meantime, I am ignoring the rain pouring down outside, washing all the lovely blossoms off the trees.  I am bringing a little spring inside.  I may have to fill my house with cut flowers to appease my annoyance with the dreary weather around here!  

**All furniture and accessories mentioned in this post were purchased at RC Willey**

Basket Case. . .

(Country Living)

Last month while on my birthday shopping trip I ran across the cutest ceramic berry bowls at Anthropologie.  I didn't let myself buy any home accessories that day because I had decided my birthday shopping spree was going to be about clothes.  Then a few weeks later I was flipping through a back issue of Country Living and saw them featured in there. . . which made me wish I had bought them.  I don't remember what they were priced at, but I tried looking them up online only to find they weren't available online.

(Jayson Home & Garden)

So I went surfing around the web and found them at Jayson Home & Garden.  But they weren't cheap--small: $20, medium: $32, large: $38.  I was tempted, but since I had treated the entire month of March like my birthday and spent accordingly, I couldn't do it.

THEN, I came across this ceramic berry basket at Sur la Table.  They only have one style (though you can get it in white or red), BUT it is only $6.95.  Yep, six dollars and ninety-five cents.  So I bought three.  And now I wished I had bought more.  I can't wait for my berries to come on.  I have a strawberry patch and three blue berry bushes that will put these baskets to good use this summer.  For now, I have to resort to buying a few berries, just to hurry the season along.

Forget spring, I have summer on my mind. . . and it's looking pretty sweet!

Family, Sun & Shopping

I'm back!  

After a whopping ten days in Idaho visiting family for an extended spring break, I am home and getting busy.  I can't remember the last time I was away from home for such a long time.  Plus, I hardly even touched a computer!  I was too busy with my family AND Rob's (I have seven siblings all within 40 minutes of my parents, and Rob's parents and brother live nearby too). But the girls got their fill of their cousins and I got to see all my siblings, tried out a new cafe in my home town opened by a girl I went to high school with, and did some serious home shopping!  It may not have been warm, but since it wasn't Washington, it was mostly sunny.  I'll take it.  But seriously, the warm weather could arrive any day now. Please.  

I am getting excited about decorating more rooms (and yes, finishing rooms I have already started--focus is not my strong suit!).  Because after six months of walking in the front door to an empty living room, the end is in sight!  You'd think living a stone's throw from Portland, I wouldn't have to go to Idaho to shop.  But since Rob's father works for a furniture store, we often buy things there--and I bought a couch, a coffee table, a sofa table, and a hutch--and a few other small items, like this bird cage. . .

 I, of course, didn't remember to take pictures of anything else since I was so excited to be actually agreeing with my husband on a couch, but let me just whet your appetite by saying the sofa resembles a sofa from Pottery Barn and one from Restoration Hardware that I have been eyeing, the two tables are made from reclaimed factory floor wood and iron, and the the hutch is a lovely handmade thing in worn shades of blue and wood.

 *sigh*

We are bringing them back with us in two weeks when we return to Idaho for a family event.  But the fun didn't stop there!  A few minutes from my in-laws house there is this FABulous home decor shop, Nest {The Home Store}, that I run to every time I visit Idaho.  LOVE that store.  This time I drooled over plenty--and snapped (grainy) cell phone pictures of a few things.  I wish I had captured more, but I was too busy drooling.

She had four of these big floor mirrors.  Getting them home could be tricky, but I wanted one--and the table behind me too (you can't really see it, but it is made of reclaimed wood and it is lovely).

Two of the mirrors were flanking this lovely bed:

If this set of four metal patio chairs is still there when I go back, they might come home with me. . . along with half her garden section.

(Sorry for the glare--that would be sunshine, something I don't get nearly enough of lately!)

I didn't manage to resist buying a set of these gauzy curtain panels.  I ordered four panels of the robin egg blue striped curtain for my living room.  If I am not careful my house will have blue in every room!

These pictures only hint at the loveliness I brought home, or will bring home.  More on that in a couple weeks.

Now, I am off to ship orders and work on a few more projects so I can update you as promised!

Sidetracked Again. . .

Over the weekend I photographed a wedding (I am not a professional photographer, but was asked as a friend of the family--brave woman!) I thought you might enjoy a peak at her decorations:

If you would like to see more pictures from the wedding/reception go here.  (Though I haven't posted them all yet--more to come it the next couple days--on that blog.)

She was going for a garden theme, without risking the rain by having it in an actual garden.  Smart woman (though we did have some blue skies that morning!). The little packages in the picture 3 down, far left, were flower bulbs. Next to that (same picture) they had a photo book made with their engagement pictures for guests to sign. I hope you enjoyed the peak!

Happy Tuesday!

Hopping {& Hoping} For Spring!

Despite our focus on furniture/decor and interior decorating, our paper garlands are pretty popular.  This sort of surprised me.  We first made a simple scalloped, three-dimensional garland at Christmas time to use as garland with your vintage inspired Christmas decorations, but after Christmas we got requests to make more.  Recently, our butterfly garland hit the front page of Etsy and we got several orders in a handful of minutes.  One woman, who was ordering the garland for her twins' playroom inquired if we had anything boyish (as one of the twins was a boy).  Nope.  We didn't.  So I  went in search of a more "boyish" shape to string into a festive garland.

Apparently spring is still speaking to me, despite it's refusal to actually arrive around here.  Nothing says spring is on its way around my house like the croaking chorus of frogs that hatch behind my house in the a forest pond early every spring.  This year they were busting out the music in the beginning of February! This is what I hear every night from my back patio. . .

And while I would certainly love to get back to painting furniture and decorating things, it would help if spring actually showed its face around here.  It's nothing but cool weather and pouring rain as far the eye can see.

Which makes refinishing furniture and painting projects less than comfortable. . . because I do those things in my garage.  My cold, unheated garage.  But I have plans--big plans!  Hopefully in the next month or so, my dad is going to come visit and help us build a shop/garden shed--with heat!--to make this job a little more of a year round thing.

In the meantime, I need to get to work finishing Signe's room makeover and wrapping up some things headed for the shop & etsy.

Do you shop on Etsy?  If so, what kinds of things do you find yourself searching for and buying?   Here are a few of my favorite shops:

Vintage Goodness:

{Vintage} Photography:

Happy Shopping!

Wall Paint Colors: Jenni's House

Many of you have asked about paint colors for rooms in my house.  This is my attempt to answer those questions.  It may not be exact (I am using a Sherwin Williams fan deck to find matches) but hopefully this will be helpful.

For those of  you living in the Northwest, I buy my paint at Miller Paint, so when I have a Miller paint color name I will list it (though for many of the colors I used paint chips from other stores that I had them mix up--which, of course, I mostly no longer have!). From here on out I will use Sherwin Williams Paint chips, but will continue to use Miller Paint.  That way, you can at least locate the paint chip and get similar results, should you choose to use it in your home.  Also, I am adding the paint color squares from the Sherwin Williams website, but I am not sure how helpful that will be, because they don't look the same on my screen as on the actual chip--your screen may also vary.  Where I have listed two very close colors, they appear much closer in person than on these swatches (though it is a clear representation of how much variation I get in different areas of my home with the same paint merely due to lighting variation!), but here they are for what it's worth!

The paint in most of the house, including: Kitchen, Family Room, Entry, Upstairs Hall, Girls' Bathroom (not yet remodeled), Signe's Room. I love its sometimes white, sometimes taupe, sometimes gray chameleon nature.  

SW 6182                                                             SW 7049

Originally a home depot white sample (possibly Glidden's N. B. C White 30GY 76/017) Closest match for Sherwin Williams is SW 6182 - "Ethereal".  Close second is SW 7049 - "Nuance". Painted in Miller Paint, Satin finish (# on the can: 09OR0092).

Laundry Room, Powder Bath, Master Bedroom/Bathroom.  Sort of gray, sort of blue--all lovely! And yes, these two pictures are of the same paint color!  The laundry room did have a florescent light in it at the time, which, I think, makes everything bluer.  Just an example of how lighting changes colors.  

SW6245

Original source forgotten (probably Home Depot--maybe the Valspar Seaside Retreat collection) Closest Sherwin Williams match is SW 6245 - "Quicksilver".  Painted with Miller Acropure Paint (Zero VOC) in eggshell (on can: 178-54  05KO848).  

Hannah's Room (before it became the guest room--actually it's not the guest room yet.  It is still acting as my sewing room.  But it is on its way to becoming the guest room.) And these appear more turquoise in person--with "Glimmer" being slightly more green.  

SW 6490                                                           SW 6476  

Miller Paint color is Mellow Blue 0468W, painted in eggshell.  Sherwin Williams closest match is SW 6490 - "Timid Blue".  Second closest match is SW 6476 - "Glimmer".  

I hope that was helpful.  In the future I will be easier since I will match straight to a Sherwin Williams paint chip.  

Happy Painting!

**I am going to post this and other source info posts in the FAQs page**

Fame and Glory

Speaking of mantels. . . Remember my Christmas Mantel?  It is currently being featured on Better Homes and Gardens  in a slideshow along with 18 other great mantels.  It may be Spring, but I am thrilled none-the-less. 

Go check it out!