(Small spool with incomplete lace attached. Date unknown, but prior to Coats and The Clark Thread Company merging in 1952. Purchased along with a complete bag of vintage sewing items for $1.00 at The John Wesley Methodist Church, Waterbury, VT, Fall 2009. )
Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more pink.
Did you check out my giveaway? It’s on the left up below the header.
Tablescape Thursday is hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.
Click on the icon to enjoy tables across the world today.
Sometimes we do actually have a light dinner that consists of exactly what is shown here. Although we generally cook from scratch, the soup is organic roasted red pepper and tomato from Pacific Natural Foods. The perfect Halloween color and a favorite of ours. Add a little brie, apple and crackers along with a nice wine and you are set until time for popcorn.
The centerpiece is a tier stand with votives sprinkled around with orange stars I made from paper and dipped in wax. The black roses are from my store. The very special charm at the top is a gift from LuLu at Coastal Sisters.
I found the black wire spider basket at The Family Dollar store along with the little black votive candles.
The glasses are from an IKEA juice set. We use them for wine glasses in our 1/2 Italian household. It’s a very traditional size for my husband’s family. The table is set with my daily white WS plates, a BIA bowl, and vintage hotel silver soup spoon. To raise the cheese plate, I turned one of my regular plates upside down and set another one with the food on top. The silver tier is from awhile ago and probably purchased at a department store. The silver votive holders are Pottery Barn.
My Halloween banner from last year sits on top a vintage square linen cloth. The roses, mini tassels and eyelash trim embellishing the banner are from my store, Linens and Laurel.
I used a star that has a beaded hanger and a length of black tulle for the napkin ring. If I were having a party these would be a favor for my guests.
Aren’t they adorable? Don’t you wish you had gone to get these from Livin’ on the Fringe? I make these in several colors for the Christmas holidays, too.
The coffee table shown below is made from reclaimed European wood from the same store as our dining room table. This is how a finished top looks. I’m so glad I convinced my husband to leave the farm house table unfinished and rough.
One final glance and a reminder. Be sure to sign up for my Complete Mayhem Organic Reuse It or Lose It t-shirt giveaway.
I’m taking a little break today, from the decorating because I have been so obsessed with it for Metamorphosis Monday and Tablescape Thursday which I just joined. Posting for each is hard work!
My pictures are items from a present I received from the west coast. I told you I won a giveaway from Lynn at It’s a July Thing, right? If you weren’t paying attention, that’s okay, I don’t always pay attention, either. I’m telling you once again, for lots of laughs and a peek into one of the wonderful people who taught our children, stop by her blog. I’d recommend following, too.
I am totally obsessed with white and black right now so I painted the gold candle holder and added a bit of black seam binding to the candle.
I buy black seam binding by the spool! It works for everything from packaging trims to embellishing presents.
It has been used lately on candles in our home.
To Carol who commented about a TV in the dining room so we could follow the escapades of Don Draper… We have watched every single episode! There is no doubt we are a mid-century modern family at heart. It is a habit we picked up in Florida while garage “sailing”.
I’m trying out a new wider format so I can upload larger pictures. Comments welcome on this. Also, I noticed in Internet Explorer my store says it is unavailable for me. You, too? I generally use Firefox to escape those nasty viruses carried by IE so I wasn’t aware of this. Comments welcome, again.
Be sure to sign up for my Complete Mayhem organic Reuse It or Lose It t-shirt giveaway. Go here.
Hosted by Susan @ Between Naps on The Porch
I am presenting this room as completed as if any are ever done! It is always so fun to find “new” items in other rooms that would be perfectly placed elsewhere. For now, this is more than enough to make me, the minimalist, very content.
FIRST ATTEMPT - 2008:
The room was painted a chalky flat yellow when we purchased the home We repainted in Sherwin Williams Macadamia , eggshell finish. No Sherwin Williams stores are nearby so we just had it color matched with a high end ACE paint.
There was a bright brass chandelier which we replaced with the oil rubbed bronze one shown here from Restoration Hardware. Otherwise, we brought our Dallas furnishings and color scheme with us making the initial venture more of a re-creation than a decor.
Our travel schedule made unpacking and decorating in the past two and half years a slow process. Our second summer here, I trimmed the Pottery Barn slipcovers with an organza tassel trim I carry that I love. A long beaded trim in champagne was topped with a camel eyelash trim on the chandelier shades. My collection of vintage pottery sat on the top of the bookcase. Since I sell trims, my out of pocket expense was ZERO!
We are using an antique dresser as a buffet. And, true to my simplistic nature, I left it bare on top. A large McCoy bean pot sits in an antique chicken crate filled with hydrangeas from the yard.
2009 AFTER:
Note: We are in Vermont. Stores that you take for granted don’t exist here (Target for one) or are too far away AND carry minimal stock. No super anything at hand.
I decided this year I absolutely had to remove our Dallas breakfast nook table from the dining room and get my real dining room table up the stairs and in place. It took almost a year to find a person to help us. And, that was four weeks ago. I changed out the upholstered chairs for a more simple Windsor style.
The drapes were replaced with silk sheers from our bedroom. This is the only place I had to make a purchase. I just didn’t have enough rings to hang them. My sister went to Walmart in New Orleans and found enough to complete my set. (Thank you, Terry, for sending these to my Vermont outpost. )
The white of the drapes is balanced on the opposite side of the room with our newly painted buffet (dresser). These two things, the drapes and buffet, are the most dramatic changes and really brighten the room. I also removed the lampshades which could go back up for the holidays.
Here is a better view of my “new” white furniture with just enough on the top to keep me from feeling cluttered. A huge thank you to my husband for so patiently painting every time I need it done. 
The bookcase I staged with bloggers’ assistance last week.
The whole room. And, a reminder to go here for my giveaway.
All items used are things we had around the house, details as follows:
European rough hewn farm table: Winter Park, FL (store may be closed)
Dining room chairs: Pennsylvania House, purchased in Dallas, TX
Buffet: Antique dresser purchased 20 years ago in PA
Custom Silk Sheers: Made for our bedroom in Dallas, TX, only $30 each!
Chicken crate: Old barn in central New York, 24 years ago
Hotel silver: ice buckets and tray, Pottery Barn
French vegetable print and pear print: thrift store, Frisco, TX
Baskets: Sam’s Club, part of a set
Fire King White Vases on Bookcase: no more than 25 cents each at various rummage sales
Dream saying: My stock here painted black and set in front of book.
Burlap wrapped candles: last week’s metamorphosis, tutorial here.
Vintage Ceramic Swan: my mother’s tv lamp from the 1960s.
Yesterday, LCR reached 200 followers. Woo HOO!To celebrate and because we are reusing the “old” in our home redecorating project, Complete Mayhem, has offered your choice of one exceptional T-Shirt from their site!
Take a peak at Complete Mayhem, to find your fave and leave me a comment. (These are just 3 of your choices!)
Coupon code LL09 (capital L, capital L, zero, 9) gets everyone 15% off on a perfect gift for those hard-to-buy-for guys, the crafter who upcycles, and those of us working to save the world from heaps of trash!
Each one is beautifully silk screened on Anvil tees made from a comfortable and durable 5 ounce, 100% organic cotton.
The guys at Complete Mayhem have been in the corporate printing business for over 20 years and friends of ours for even longer. (I love promoting great stuff from great friends!)
You have seen their work on many of the popular items you purchased for your kids.
They are graphics experts!
The winner will be chosen from my followers by December 1st or when my followers’ count reaches 300.
As a follower, you will not only have a chance to win, your shop and/or blog will be featured on the LCR shopping page FREE!
Grab the giveaway graphic so you can offer the same opportunity to your readers.
And, remember to leave a comment with your favorite from Complete Mayhem.
Pink Saturday is hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. She also posts Puzzle Friday which captures me every single week. I set out just to go grab her url for Saturday’s post and end up doing the puzzle. Then I want more which is followed easily by one or two more hours of online jigsaw play. Try one.
Last night I was totally without a “pink” for today. At the same time I was totally obsessed with this item available. This is not the best picture of the most outstanding pink I found this week. However, it is the best pink!
These are the roses I have carried in my online store for years and years EXCEPT they are now available in a light pink. I need to stock them. I love them. I know what the organza and eyelash fibers really look like in other colors. They are stunning. What do you think? Stock or not?
(I’m having a giveaway for an organic T-shirt from a new company which will start as soon as my follower count is 200. I’ m so close. These are really cool t-shirts from friends.)
I think it is normal that as you redo one room, another becomes the temporary storage location for items that just don’t work in your new decor. So, here it is. The butler’s pantry has all the unwanted dining room items that need a home somewhere.
The perfectionist in me cringes at the messy, and probably a bit dusty, photo. The psychologist in me wants you to know this is perfectly normal…even in a perfect home.
The very heavy leaf from our Pottery Barn table we took downstairs still sits where it was left. I just noticed that the PB chalkboard matches that table. So, question:
Should I remove the message board?
Cute little refrigerator! Problem is that the front panel is gone! I don’t want to order a custom panel. Note that everything you see in the pantry will be gone except the red espresso machine. So, question:
Should I put a “stainless” panel in by covering cardboard with the sticky “stainless” film out now?
Or, should I try to find a shiny black film?
Has anyone used these products?
We have both shiny black and stainless appliances in our kitchen. It sounds mixed up, but really looks just fine.
The dining room reveal is Monday including before and after pics and the painted sideboard. I have added more beaded trims to my store. Today I am adding metal initials which would also embellish candles so well. I seem to be stuck on candles and was even thinking that my sequin appliqués would be cute on them.
This is my first time participating with Between Naps on the Front Porch! I have waited so long to do it. Thank you, Susan, for hosting. Come back on Monday to see the total room decor change with before and after pictures.
It took three years to get our dining room table to the dining room. For the first two, I didn’t think it would fit. I was measuring with chairs on either end which we don’t need everyday. Our European reclaimed wood table was purchased in Winter Park, FL, had a home in a magnificent Dallas house, and is now in our country home in Vermont. I love it and am so happy to have it placed where it belongs now. (We had a recent dinner guest help us move it upstairs.)
The centerpiece is sitting on a Pottery Barn Hotel silver tray I purchased many years ago. I have a smaller one on my buffet. The gourds and acorns were painted white. Lynn from It's a July Thing sent the acorns, variegated beads and the strands of seed beads draped around the glass vase as a part of a giveaway. I can’t thank her enough because it inspired my centerpiece. The hydrangeas are from our front yard and did freeze, but the colors blend so well. The little cobalt blue dishes are a rummage sale find. There is a better picture of them here. Also, tucked in among the flowers are napkin rings with blue.
I chose a simple traditional setting appropriate for a brunch today because I will be using this as part of my dining room transformation on Met Monday. I wanted to keep an uncluttered Nordic French Country atmosphere. The rough linen table runner is from Pottery Barn and I pressed it, but left it casually without starch.
The white dishes are Brasserie from Williams Sonoma. The wine glasses are from Sur la Table. The International Silverplate which I left tarnished, is an estate sale find in Orlando. I think it may have been hotel silver because there were hundreds of pieces in the box. I kept six place settings that also include ice teaspoons, soup spoons and seafood forks.
The napkin ring is one of a set of eight from Heidi at Heart and Home. The blue is very subtle, but just enough to break up the all white decor. The little bird, which I coveted SO much while looking at other’s blogs, came in the box with the napkin rings. Again, words are not enough to express my appreciation for all.
While we eat and enjoy each other’s company, there is a beautiful view of the mountains outside the window. See you Monday for the total dining room reveal.
I chose to stop by all the Vermont blogs. The first one on the list didn’t work for me, as in the link went nowhere!
Next up is Happenings on the Hill. I like reading a blog that is updated regularly Tammy seems to have the Vermont life. They even have goats and chickens!
And, then, Vermont Quilter. I saw just that, a gorgeous quilt, and, other projects coming along.
On to Red Pine Mountain which is a blog about the Northeast Kingdom from a mountaintop farm. She is doing amazing things with animals and outdoors all of which puts me in awe and makes me shiver at the same time. I am SO big city, even if country is trendy now.
Pat at A Scrappin’ Nana is chronicling her journey as she ‘scraps” about her grandchildren.
And, me? I’m always redoing my house because I probably haven’t finished unpacking from the last move. Lots of projects here. Click on the pic to visit other New England bloggers.
Hosted by Susan @ Between Naps on The Porch
About 5 years ago when we ordered trims from India, this was included in the shipment. It is hard to believe it has been that long, and even more unbelievable that until now I haven’t found a good use for them. The furrier initials are an eBay purchase from over 10 years ago.
I am redoing my dining room and bringing in all the white I can by “shopping” from my own stash of items. When I set the white candles on the large bookcase, they were too plain for even me, the somewhat minimalist. Here’s my change from bare to embellished.
Happy Pink Saturday! A huge thank you to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting this get together today! And, I’d like you to meet a Facebook friend, April at The Art Chics! Please pay her a visit, too. April and Facebook keep me going while I work on my online store. If you work from home or just want to keep updated, send a friend request at the bottom of this page.
Last week I featured a photo collage with the vintage collar and cuffs inside the lower box shown in this picture:
The pink box shown was a box of handkerchiefs sitting in the same location at the rummage sale where I purchased them both.
After finishing my post for last week, I went to check on the number of hankies in this precious pink box.
I turned the insert over carefully to count them. Here’s what I found:
It is another set of collar and cuffs!!! This is the photo of last week’s set:
Now, I will have to say that the first set shown above looks VERY deco style to me. What is your guess now? Is it possible I found two boxed sets of collar and cuffs from the 1920s? Possibly 1930s? I mean that is almost 100 years old. In new condition!
I will have to sell them ultimately, but for now they are priceless!
(I am setting up my dining room with suggestions from comments. Yesterday I embellished candles with burlap and will have a tutorial on that. I hope to have the dining room reveal soon, too. I’d love to have you join in.)
My business introduces me to astonishingly talented artists. Today I am sharing the pictures of a lamp and a clock painted by one New England enthusiast. Each of her items is unique and completed free hand without stencils. Click on any picture for more details and views and to purchase.
I am struggling with this empty nest thing in isolation. My son is in New Orleans, happy to be on his own, but so far away. My sister there had a PE a couple of years ago and my dear friend had a life threatening bout with cancer last year. All three are now safely tucked within driving distance of each other. I am almost 2000 miles north and so unable to help them, or hug them. I want to move closer to them so badly it hurts. I know it is too foolish to ask God to save us. We are not sick; we are just so far away. Prayer has been overused here for things that don’t really matter that much.
I keep myself busy doing silly things like decorating and redecorating my home. I make it sound important to me and anyone who will listen and participate. But, I do have a secret and I never ever give up hoping. Plus, after the recession bonus cuts, loss of Vermont homestead exemption and stagnation of my business, we really should be living in our car instead of ripping through the retirement account.
So, a big thank you to all who commented. A little silliness cures lots of loneliness. I am having fun and keeping busy in between the tedious chore of adding items to my website.
Here’s the dining room bookcase so far with suggestions taken from comments. This has to be done “shopping” from my existing items. I think it needs something to soften it, like plants. Plants could be a tough “free” to find. I have lots and lots of dried hydrangeas. What do you think?
LOW cost redo:
This was my post for yesterday. I had to preempt it for breaking snow news. I’m making a huge push to get my inventory visible in Linens and Laurel. Tassels are close to being finished. There are some really cool ones that I forgot about myself.
Deliriously tired here! So, I need help! What would you do to set up this HUGE bookcase. I cannot remove it because it is taller than the doorway. The moving people deposited it in here for us.
I plan to remove the clear glass pieces. I can take anything except the wine, away. What to put in their place? The only rule is I cannot buy anything. What do I need to find while “shopping” in my home? Remember the top, too.
(The paper plate has the hardware for the dresser we painted on it.) Stressing this is really big, so the spaces need piles or big stuff. See how dwarfed the wine bottles on the right look? Excuse the mess. The room is still being staged.
The sneak peak of my dining room redo has been preempted. Is fall finished? Since I work at home, dates, days and time are pretty much meaningless now. I checked the calendar, it is October 13th.
I hope Mr. Gore has officially changed the title of his recently created money making machine, “Global Warming” to “Climate Change”. I’d be more inclined to give him some of my hard earned cash to support his opulent lifestyle if it were believable.
Even in the early morning darkness, the steady drizzle of the white stuff is evident. Surely there will be hardy folks trekking up the mountain down the road with their skis notwithstanding the lack of lifts operating.
No doubt it’s a spontaneous holiday in our village today. It’s snowing.
We have sunshine at last! I am still adding tassels to Linens and Laurel. So far I have added 90 different colors and styles with a few more to go. Tomorrow should finish off the readily available lot of them.
I found this one that I absolutely love. It will be in my shop unless I find a place for it here. The antique looking silver tone is perfect for a Nordic French Country style.
We painted a dresser that sits in our dining room white! There will be elements of this style in our home soon. The rustic country table is now in place. Once the paint dries and the drapery rings I’m having sent from New Orleans arrive, it will be time to stage the bookcase and be done! Pics of the transformation later this week.
Give Beverly at How Sweet the Sound a thank you for hosting today!
This week was spent adding tassels to my online store. One pair in the palest of Chanel pinks was chosen to star in my collage photo. It was enhanced to appear aged using Photoscape.
Our weather has been rainy and windy resulting in a morning without the internet which allowed me some reading time. In The New Yorker magazine, Anthony Lane reviewed a new movie, “Coco Before Chanel”. One of Coco’s design inspirations, taken from the crisp white cuffs and wimples of the nuns, became a popular style in the US, too. At a church rummage sale a couple of weeks ago, I found a vintage unopened box containing white Chanel style collar and cuffs. The perfect background for pink tassels.
What year do you think these were made?
