RH: Baby & Child

Santa Monica store entrance

During school break, my girlfriends and I took our teenage daughters to Santa Monica for a day of shopping.  The best “find” was the beautiful Restoration Hardware Baby & Child store on the 3rd Street Promenade.

None of us had ever been in a RH Baby & Child store.  What a treat!  Our girls even thought the store was amazing … oohing & ahhing in every room.

Little Girls’ Room with Double Bunks

So many great ideas if you are furnishing or decorating a baby or child’s room.  The framed dresses were made of colored maps.  Very Anthropology like …

In one of the nurseries, children’s songs and nursery rhymes from old books had been framed in gilded frames.

It’s not a great picture, but the series of charcoal drawn fashion pictures would be great in a teenage girls’ bedroom.

And what girl, from young to old, wouldn’t love a chandelier in her bedroom?

If you’re in Santa Monica, it’s definitely worth a trip to the Restoration Hardware Baby & Child store.  It’s absolutely beautiful!

Read Full Post »

Christmas Greens

Don’t you love using fresh greenery when decorating your home for Christmas?  I sure do!  Cedar and Douglas Fir pine, holly and boxwood are my favorites …

My “go to” place for fresh greenery has been Trader Joe’s.  But, you must get them early in the season, as they go fast!  Especially the cedar swags and wreathes.

This year, our TJs even had fresh boxwood wreathes.  I bought several to hang from mirrors.

I often buy the $4.95 boughs and break them apart.  I tuck the individual pieces of greenery in the artificial garland on my mantels.  It makes it look more natural … and I love the smell!

And of course, I save small pieces to use in my floral arrangements.

And I combine fresh greenery with fruit (apples, pears & persimmons) to decorate our outdoor patio.

Read Full Post »

Fall Pumpkins

The last of the Halloween decorations are put away and all that remains are a few pumpkins and fall wreathes around the house.

Over the weekend, I picked up a couple of Pottery Barn mercury pumpkins.  I have been waiting for them to go on sale.  A nice addition to my white ceramic pumpkins (Tuesday Morning).

I can’t wait to pack away the pumpkins and get out the Christmas decorations!   Just a few more weeks…

Read Full Post »

Halloween Haunts in the House

Halloween is such a fun holiday.  I love creating Halloween vignettes around the house with decorations I’ve collected over the years.

Here’s a peak at some of our Halloween haunts …

In our entry, we have an old pine bench.  I change out the pillows each season.  I found these sequined black & silver pillows at HomeGoods.  Love them!

Across from the bench, I have an entry table with a large mirror.  I like to hang seasonal wreaths from the top of the mirror.  A black fuzzy bat hangs out during October.

We have an old black bar in our living room.  It makes a great place to display apothecary jars filled with seasonal items.

Last year I bought several silver beaded spider webs (from Roger’s Gardens).  They are great to drape over mirrors, pictures or chandeliers ….

I found strands of orange & black bulbs at Target — they make great fillers for large apothecary jars.  And I couldn’t pass up the “Keep Calm” sign, another HomeGoods find.

I still have some apothecary jars filled with sea shells left over from the summer.  I added a few spiders to make them fit the Halloween theme.

Spiders add a creepy surprise!

I added a few Halloween touches to some bookshelves …

And every Halloween, I change out my hall cabinets — displaying my Halloween plates.

Happy Haunting!

Read Full Post »

Handmade Vintage Chalkboards

My girlfriend and I co-hosted a surprise birthday party for our husbands last weekend.  (They are friends from college and celebrated milestone birthdays within a week of each other.)  So much fun!!!  But, the planning started months in advance.

As we discussed the theme and decor for the party, we decided to use chalkboards on all of the food and drink tables.

It was too expensive to buy vintage chalkboards, so I decided to make them.  It turned out to be a fairly easy project.

After reading many blogs and talking to several people that make & sell vintage chalkboards, here are my “comprehensive” directions for DIY Chalkboards …

Materials:

• Empty picture frames
• MDF (1/4 inch) – available at hardware stores
• Chalkboard Paint – also available at hardware stores
• Primer (recommended;  I used gray spray primer)
• Fine grit sandpaper
• Glazing Push Points
• Chalk & Soft Rags

Directions:

1. Select the frames you wish to use.  I picked up four frames at our monthly flea market for a total of $12.   Most of us can probably re-purpose old picture frames we have around the house.
2. Have the MDF cut to fit the size of your frames.  (Measure carefully!  You want to make sure your boards will fit snugly in the frames.  If your frames still have the glass or cardboard back, these make great patterns.)  Most hardware stores will custom cut for free.  I even went back to Home Depot twice to have the large boards cut into smaller pieces. 
3. It’s best to prime the MDF.  I used a gray primer spray paint, since I was using black chalkboard paint.  Once the primer is dry, lightly sand the MDF with very fine grit sandpaper.  Use a soft cloth to wipe away all dust.
4. Paint the primed MDF with chalkboard paint.  I used a disposable sponge roller and painted three coats.  (I wrapped the sponge roller and paint tray in Saran Wrap and placed them in the refrigerator between coats.  This way I only needed 1 roller and didn’t need to clean out my paint tray.)
5. When the boards are completely dry, you need to “season” them, so you can wipe off the chalk writing and reuse your chalkboards.  Season the boards by using the side of your chalk and rubbing chalk all over the entire surface of your chalkboard.  Wipe off all chalk dust with a soft cloth.
6. Paint, distress, wax or glaze your frames, depending on the desired look you want to achieve.  (I sprayed my frames white, using white spray paint that I had on hand.)  Be sure to paint in a well ventilated area if you are using spray paint.
7. To secure the chalkboard MDF into the picture frames, you can use Push Points to secure the board to wood frames using a large screw driver or metal putty knife.

I ended up with four large framed chalkboards and several other non-framed boards (including a very large board that we used at the party to display messages from guests that couldn’t be with us for the party and a long skinny board with a “thank you” message).

I spent $41 on the entire project … I couldn’t have purchased one framed chalkboard for that price!

Read Full Post »

Shell Bottles

With the weather finally warming up around here … and knowing that summer is next month, I’m in the mood to “lighten up” around the home.

Over the weekend, I unpacked my sea shells and started rearranging my shell bottles.  I still have more work to do, but here’s a sneak peak.

Read Full Post »

Happy Easter!

from our home to yours!

Read Full Post »

Easter Eggs

I usually have Easter eggs and bunnies all throughout our house at this time of year.  We usually host Easter brunch or dinner at our home, but this year we will be away.  So … since I didn’t decorate much this year, I thought I’d share some of my favorite home decor ideas using Easter Eggs.

Most pictures are on my Pinterest board called “Happy Easter“.   You can follow any of my boards on Pinterest.  (Picture above from Talia Audenart).

Using eggs as containers (or vases) for flowers can add so much to an Easter tablescape.  You can dye the raw eggs first in desired colors.  Crack open the eggs (on the pointed side of egg) and clean out the egg shell.

Small flowers work best (Pansies, lily of the valley, lillac).  I have several old silver egg cups that I found at antique flea markets.  I also have found white, glass egg cups (like upper, left picture) at HomeGoods and online.

For the artistic, handpainted eggs make beautiful decorations.  (Martha Stewart, left and Censational Girl, right).

I found these eggs above at Roger’s Gardens.  They come with ribbons attached — making them adorable hanging from a window or chandelier.

There are many cute egg crafts for kids.  Get out your scrapbooking supplies and decorate colored eggs with ribbons, rhinestones and more.  Or display decorated eggs in the cute muffin/cupcake papers.  (The grass papers are available at Michael’s Craft Store).

You can make beautifully decorated eggs using punched paper.  These eggs above are decorated with flower-punched paper.  Get ready to glue …

And there are many cute Easter desserts and treats to make in the shapes of eggs.  I’ll do a separate post of Easter treats.  Stay tuned…

Read Full Post »

St. Patrick’s Day Decor

With St. Patick’s Day only 2 weeks away, have you added some touches of green in your home?

As far as home decor, I generally don’t do much for St. Patty’s Day.   I usually add a couple of green items to my entry table or a fireplace mantel, and that’s it.  I did pick up a shamrock wreath a few years ago at HomeGoods.  I usually hang it from our entry mirror.

Last year, I picked up a few green shamrock necklaces in the Target $1 bins.  I hang them from shell bottles and/or add them to silver trays … along with a few other items.

Here are a few other easy ideas to add a touch of St. Patty’s for your home…

You could make a St. Patrick’s Day banner – like the one seen here from Crafty Scrappy Happy.

Or, you could make a rag wreath from green fabrics – like this adorable wreath shown on Home Seasons.

And there are all kinds of cute printables that you can frame – for a very quick & inexpensive home decor item.  Check out Etsy for all kinds of printable art.

Have fun getting ready for St. Patty’s Day!

Read Full Post »

Bookshelf Styling

Bookcases provide a wonderful way to showcase things you love.  They are also quite functional in that they provide additional storage.  And, can’t we all use a bit more storage?

Here are some pictures (mostly from Pinterest) to provide inspiration for your bookshelves…

It’s fun to start at the back of the bookcase.  You can paint, wallpaper, add fabric or beadboard — to create an entirely different look with your bookcase and shelves.

See what a bright color can add to a bookshelf?  The coral color makes the objects on the shelves pop!

Bookshelves also make a great foundation for layering your items.  Start at the back and work your way forward.  This works great when placing artwork, trays or plates as your backdrop.

Adding baskets to bookshelves allows you to hide and store things … great for an office.

For more ideas on bookshelf styling, be sure to see my “Bookshelf Styling” board on Pinterest.

Sources:   Waterleaf Interiors (store in LA), Better Homes & Gardens, Pinterest

Read Full Post »