Fall/Thanksgiving Decorating - 2010

Outside Fall Display...A Little Worse for the Wear

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that fall took me by storm - we had so much going on that I felt like I was on a wave, with no way of getting off...so I just went along for the ride.

Fall is my favorite season - hands down. I love the earthy colors, the sun (typically) is always shining, and when it gets a little brisk, you can put on a cozy sweater, stomp on the crackling leaves, smell the crisp air, just enjoying the outside.


Living Room

I love to decorate inside and outside the house - unfortunately, this year's photos of the outside are post-first frost - sorry folks, this outside shot (above) looks a little sad...

At least the inside of the house is climate-controlled, so you get a better idea of what I did. To follow is a breakown of my fall decorating projects for the fall/Thanksgiving.

Living Room Mantle

Living Room Mantle

For the mantle, I like to use either things found in the backyard or just natural stuff in general - I'm not a big fan of artificial items, but I will say nowadays there are some things I've seen at Michael's or Hobby Lobby that look pretty darn realistic - so to each his/her own.

Urns

Urn Display

I picked up these black urns at Michael's a few years ago - much cheaper than antique ones! Depending on the season, I switch out what's in them.

For this year, I have branches, Chinese Lanterns (real - love these!) and feathers. As I said, I really like to keep things natural looking/use natural pieces. I was hoping to find some new lanterns this year, but no one had real ones in the area, which was a pity, because fresh ones are very vibrant in their orange color - these are actually from a farmers market in Cambridge, WI, that I picked up a few seasons ago and just try to use until they disintegrate...

Wheat Swag

Black-Bearded Wheat Swag

I just love this wheat swag - it was so simple to do and took me about three minutes to do. Just take a small bunch of wheat (I use the black-bearded kind because it was a little more dimension with the black than just the plain wheat), secure with a rubber band right beneath the base of the wheat and fan out. I then make a bow to cover the rubber band. Fall-colored ribbons accent the wheat for a warm glow.

Voila!

Mantle Hurricanes

Glass Hurricane with Hazlenuts

For the candle arrangement, I used 3 glass hurricanes with ivory candles. I recommend having grouppings of anything in odd numbers - a good trick/tip that designers always seem to recommend - and I have to say, it completely works better visually.

The candles are unscented Chapel candles by Tag, Ltd - love these! Tag sells to places like Crate & Barrel and we are very lucky in the Chicago area to have 2 Tag outlets! These candles are excellent: great slow burn, no drip, and a really nice glow.

For the fall/Thanksgiving, I usually add nuts - here I used hazlenuts. Nuts are inexpensive, natural and add a very warm touch to the display.

Front Door

Shaved Wood Wreath

For quite awhile I've been using a grouping of Indian corn with a bow - this looks really lovely and is a very quick and easy display.

But since we were going to the Country Living Fair in Ohio in the fall, I thought maybe I'd find something new for the door. And I hit the jackpot, because this is perfect - its natural (wood shavings) and is a great warm and toasty rust. Plus it's great for both fall, Halloween and takes you right through Thanksgiving.

The wreath is from Nest (www.nestgr.com) in Grand Rapids, MI.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece and Table Setting


Thanksgiving Table Setting

For the centerpiece, I just added just updated the Halloween centerpiece: just deleted the blackbirds and added red birch branches.

The table is our typical "formal" table. This year I also bought some chargers - gold from World Market. The tablecloth is from TJMAXX.

Flower Arrangement

Flowers in Pumpkin "Vase"

I was origionally going to have 2 of these "vases" flanking the centerpiece on the dining room table...but one of the pumpkins was horribly, and I mean horribly rotten - I almost vomited when I started to carve it! Do you think Martha Stewart ever deals with these types of decorating pitfalls???

So I used the non-rotten one and placed it on the living room end table for a little extra fall flair - crisis solved!

Halloween Table Centerpiece - 2010

Halloween Centerpiece

I wish I did a little more decorating for fall/Halloween - but we were quite the tumbleweeds in the fall, so I was a bit sparse in what I did this year.

I did manage to do a little something for the table, which I think came out quite nice for a quick attempt.

Crows Add a Little Drama

For the centerpiece, you'll need the following:

• 1 large, glass hurricane vase (I found this at TJMAXX for $9.99!)
• Branches (found in our back yard)
• Additional dried items: I used dried echinachea centers that I pulled from our garden - they have a "spooky" feel to them - perfect for Halloween!
• Black beans -  natural, inexpensive and again, great for Halloween! 
• Black crows - I got from the Perfect Pear, in Crystal Lake - my fabulous go-to-spot for cottage-style decorating. (see my previous posts under "Local Favorites") 

Wish I had a better shots of this - but I thought came out nice, don't you think?

Fabulous Find #3 - Punched Tin Framed Wall Art (Country Living Fair 2010)



Punched Tin Framed Wall Art

Rounding out my day at the Country Living Fair 2010, I found this great piece at the Great Stuff by Paul Antiques (www.greatstuffbypaul.com) booth. I loooove this punched tin framed wall art - unfortunately, I don't have a place for it yet...but I will!

This also was a hot item at the fair. I saw someone lugging one around and I had to make a beeline to ask where they found it - which, by the way, is no easy task - there were so many vendors I was getting dizzy!

Finally I found it and was the last person to grab this particular half-moon version - although, this is a reproduction, and like the wreath above, I believe  these were massed produced - not quite as "real"/homemade  cottagey as I'd like - wish things were hand-made still - but, heck, I like this and darn it, I was going to get it!

Thank goodness I bought this on my way out...because it was quite heavy and awkward to work my way through the crowds, out the gates, through the field to our car - tripping several times because, I will admit...shopping did me in!

Looking forward to the next CL fair - it's a must see!

Fabulous Find #2 - Rooster Prints (Country Living Fair 2010)

Golden Polish

 I am a huge sucker for roosters - always have been, always will be. Not sure why, since I didn't grow up on a farm (but I am a small town girl and ironically I did marry a farm boy), but I quite simply think roosters are just these lovely, regal creatures to just admire.

So much to my delight...after trapsing through the fair...almost passing out from the heat...I came across
Eric N. Fausnacht's Fowl Images (www.ericfausnacht.com) booth. Eric is based in Kintnersville, PA which I believe is near Allentown, PA. He was just lovely to talk to and had all these beautiful original paintings as well as prints for sale . I must have flipped through his baskets of rooster prints for 45 minutes, because 1) I can't make a decision and 2) they were all stunning!

Black Rooster with Black Mask

I settled on 2 prints, which brings to a close Fabulous Find # 2...at $10 for 2 prints - an absolute steal! They are just beautiful.

My two little gems are going into our shortly-to-be-renovated-bathroom - can't wait to use them!

Check out Eric's/Fowl Image's website because he's having a sale right now on his prints and you can take a look at his large portfolio of fowl!





Fabulous Find #1 - Shaved Wood Wreath (Country Living Fair 2010)

Shaved Wood Wreath

Well folks, my first fabulous find at the Country Living Fair 2010, was a gorgeous curled shaved wood wreath I stumbled upon not 5 minutes into the fair!

I was walking around and noticed this one tent with a frenzy of activity - I'm not kidding...it was ridiculous how crowded it was! They had a huge line of people waiting to pay and everyone, and I mean everyone, great natural goodies in their hands: wreaths, twig pumpkins, beaded acorns, corn husk gourds - just fabulous stuff!

So I worked my way into Nest's (www.nestgr.com) tent - if I'm ever in Grand Rapids, MI, I can tell you right now, I will make a beeline for this place!

I had my eye on two wreaths: a rust-colored one for fall and a green one for Christmas. I'm kicking myself now because I was wavering on the green one and now I think I "need" to buy it - I wish I could make a decision a little more quickly than I do - I tend to agonize over purchases and really...is it worth the needless stress???

And then a "bonus" for my stress level, was that I found out I needed to get in line with the hope that the had enough of them behind the counter! So begrudgingly and with fingers crossed, I got in line, hoping that I wouldn't get to the counter and have them say "Oh, I'm sorry, we're completely sold out of the wreaths."

Inching along, I could see the wreaths flying out of the line - would there be one for meeee????

Finally....I reached the counter and...yes!...one medium-sized wood shaved wreath for little 'ole me...and at a bargain (I think) of $35 bucks!

I've seen that Target currently has some red cone trees made out of similar wood shavings, but I have to say, I think my wreath is a little more solid.

I think it's fantastic...don't you?!?

Country Living Fair 2010

Country Living Fair 2010 (Columbus, OH)

I'll start this post by saying that I have an amazing husband in Larry. I've been wanting to go to Country Living Magazine's Fair since it first started 5 years ago - but there was always something going on, so I sat miserably by the sidelines and read about it after the fact in the magazine. But not this year!

Larry's birthday is at the end of September and we typically go away for the festivities. So I thought "Hmmm...away for the weekend...Larry's birthday...why not Ohio and the Country Living Fair!

Now, I'm a University of Dayton grad and I must say I'm a big fan of the Buckeye State and Columbus in general. So don't you think it would be a great idea? So I posed the idea to Larry and he said why not. Of course, feeling a little guilty that I finagled my way into going to the fair for his birthday weekend. I did look up on the Columbus Convention and Visitor's website to see if there were any "Larry-friendly" events. Well, luck would have it that on the very same property that the CL Fair was being held (the Ohio State Fair ground), there was an Oktoberfest....definitely right up Larry's alley!

So on the weekend of September 24-26, Larry and I trekked to Columbus for the 2010 Country Living Fair(www.countryliving.com (2010 Fair).

We headed to the fair on Saturday am - and I will say I was probably frothing at the mouth I was so excited. I wasn't able to sleep the night before because I had visions of all the finds I'd discover. I'm sure Larry thought I was a bit goofy/neurotic/etc. with me poking my head out the window with a grin on my face like some golden retriever with its tongue flappin' in the wind giddy at the wonders of the world (yep, I'm comparing myself to a dog) as we made our way into the fair grounds, cars lined up making their way to the parking area (will we be able to park???).

Finally we settled in to our space and I lept  out of the car, excited and....BAM...I see that everyone (I mean EVERYONE) has these little foldable shopping carts ready and waiting to take the fair by storm. I felt completely dejected because how on earth was I going to carry all my finds???

Larry didn't seem to comprehend the seriousness of my dilemma and we made our way to the front gate, me looking a little stunned because I was now completely unprepared.

As soon as we made it into the fair I managed to recover - there were all these tents with fabulous finds - I think I started to froth at the mouth again.

Larry took one look at the crowd and headed to the friendlier confines of Oktoberfest, where I know there was beer waiting for him with his name on it.

Let me first say, that I reeeaaallly enjoyed the fair. BUT, I swear I almost had a nervous breakdown with the number of people that were milling about - I think I started muttering to myself, that the "early bird" special that CL was offering for early hour entrance was probably a good idea.  



Huge Crowds! 

Crowds aside, there was anything and everything for people: great vendors, food and design demonstrations, Tanya Nyak of HGTV (www.hgtv.com) - which try as I might to see her lecture, I for the life of me could not find where she was speaking. Then there was the Country Vet (should have asked him a question about Jack, our cat), tasty food offerings and cute shoportunities galore!  



Love This Arrangement!

 

Benches And Starfish and Beakers...Oh My!

 

Tres Chic!

 

Why Not Ride In Country Living Style?

I truly was in awe of all the fantastic vendors there were and all the had to offer. It was a bit overwhelming,
because you had to make your way through each tent like a sardine in a tin can - and if you had bags with you, well, too bad!

By the time I made my way through everything (I hope I didn't miss anything) I was about to pass out - who would have thought that shopping could be so exhausting?!? Honestly, I originally thought I'd like to th e3-day pass, but if I did, they'd probably have to carry me out on a stretcher because I actually think I'd spontaneously combust - I'm not kidding! I guess I learned something about myself that day: hot day + lots of people + shopping = equals one hot mess of a Jill!

Seriously though, this was a fantastic fair and I hope we can venture back next year. And if the stars are alignedd and there is an Oktoberfest again at the same time in Columbus...we just might!

Next up...my great finds from the fair...

Master Bedroom Bedding Sample Board

Note: Double-click on he photo for a larger picture.

I've been going back and forth with bedding - can't seem to make up my mind. We actually have a very nice duvet, and I'll keep it, but it's definitely wearing out, so I've been looking for a replacement that has a timeless feel, so it won't fall victim to being too trendy.

I love, love, love toile and this powder blue version from Pottery Barn. My plan is to have the toile in the duvet and euro shams, and offset that with powder blue standard shams, so it's not too white, because the toile has a white background. I also need to find an extra long bed skirt, hopefully a box pleat, to cover the under bed storage boxes we have - which is what happens when you live in a 1920s farmhouse - full on charm...low on storage!

I think to tie in the barn red pie safe, I might add an accent pillow of the same color and maybe throw blanket. I also need to watch that this room doesn't become too feminine, because, well, it's Larry's room too! Which also makes things interesting because I have my taste and Larry has his and the trick is to find something we both like, which is sometimes pretty difficult!

I still have to mull this one over a bit. The color I want for the walls are a light taupe and something I think will go with the powder blue toile, but then again, until I can actually see it together, it might be perfect only in my head but awful in reality.

I'm also having the same problem with picking a duvet as I am with the lighting...too many choices. I instantly put pressure on myself, because I want to love something, because once I buy it and use it...that's it baby...I'm stuck with it until it disintegrates. Oh the tortured life of a frugal shopper!

I've been working on all my sample boards in overdrive, because I'd like to get cracking on things and make it a reality. Looking back, the furniture was almost stress free, it's the finishing of the room that sends me into a panic, with the lighting, bedding, wall color, window treatments...and don't get me started on the accessories, that might really put me over the edge!

Well it's almost Friday, so I'm hoping to do a little window shopping and get the design juices going!

Master Bedroom Lighting Options Sample Board

Note: Double-click on he photo for a larger picture.

Finding lighting options for the master bedroom has been a little trickier than I would like - there are way too many options and lamps are just pricey in general. I'm trying to find a style that will last in terms of style and fit in with our furniture.

For my dresser, I would like to use buffet lamps because 1) the dresser is not very long and 2) they won't overpower the dresser since they're somewhat delicate. Now of course I intially thought about going with a black base, but I like these with the aged silver base and a light shade. I'm open to suggestions if you know of any other lamps that might work.

For our bedside tables I'm torn between the 2 options you see. I like the classic look of the urn, but also like the more modern, yet still classic look of the crystal lamps. Pottery barn does offer a urn shaped base in crystal, so that might be another option or they also have an urn that has a creme base - I just can't decide. I will say that I am leaning towards the crystal based lamp with Option 2 - I like the fact that it's "light and airy."

Thoughts?

Next up...my bedding sample board.

Master Bedroom Furniture Sample Board

Note: Double-click on he photo for a larger picture.

So I’m trying to soak up as much techiness as I can for this blog and my decorating projects. So I’m starting with the sample board for our master bedroom.

For the furniture sample board, I actually did this backward, because I’ve already purchased the furniture, but the “board” is helping me figure out how to put things together with pieces/paint/etc.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was very patient and was able to purchase most of our master bedroom furniture for 40%. I love, love, love Ethan Allen’s furniture and pretty much decided the minute I saw their New Country line that this is what I wanted for our bedroom.

Working around the room, we purchased a beautiful, period-piece queen bed, a pedestal table for my bedside table that has this beautiful beehive design on the leg of the table, a small dresser for me, a pie safe for storage and our TV, a large dresser for Larry and his bedside table.

Of course, right away I was thinking everything dark, because I automatically gravitate to dark/earthy colors, but I did try to hold back a bit and decided to get the pie safe in “barn red” and my dresser in “toast.” I’ve always wanted a pie safe and I’m thrilled with it, except I realized that after we got it delivered we couldn’t put the TV inside because it would be too low if we were watching TV in bed. So we ended up with the TV on top of the pie safe instead of hidden, which I wanted, but in the grand scheme of things, I made peace with the TV being on top.

The other initial “compromise” I made with this purchase was for my bedside table. I chose to get a different table than Larry’s so 1) everything wasn’t too “matchy-matchy” and 2) I wanted a design element that added some punch. And I think the beehive pedestal table does that.

So what do you think? I'd like any input, particularly if you have any bedding/color suggestions. Thank you!

Next up...my lighting options sample board.

My New Love of Sample Boards!

One thing that I always seem to see on HGTV and in magazines is the use of sample boards. Sample boards are planning boards that designers use to map out a project and what they use to present to a client when they pitch their idea.

I was pondering taking a crack at this because I’m very visual and find that sometimes in my head things look a certain way/“perfect” but when I actually put the look together it doesn’t always work. So in comes the sample board!

Now, in my case, the “clients” are Larry and I and I’m not actually doing a real sample board that I can touch and feel, but instead I thought I’d try a virtual one where I could visualize things, switch things out and have samples of swatches on hand to help me.

So in the next post is my 1st attempt at a sample board (see next post). I hope you like it! And remember, feel free to comment - I love input!

Master Bedroom Makeover Intro

When we first moved to the house I pretty much just moved our pre-marriage-mishmash-furniture into our master bedroom and painted the room the exact color of our bedroom in our loft we just moved from. I guess, my thought was, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Either that or I was just afraid to try something on my own, because frankly, I get frustrated with myself because I have all the design ideas floating around my head and I think they will work, and a lot of times they do, but sometimes…not so much.

So after pondering for quite awhile what to do with the master bedroom and armed with my new plan to lighten things up in the house, I was ready for a change.

The first thing I wanted to do was purchase new furniture. Larry and I are both “savers”, although I’ll admit that I am a big fan of purchasing. So we do what we always do with big purchases: save up for the item and then purchase it outright. I’ll admit that that is a little hard for me, but I do see the point that 1) you aren’t going into debt buying a couch and 2) it will help us in the future when we retire because our credit card bills aren’t maxed out.

When I started looking for furniture I knew I wanted something “classic/traditional” that fit our farmhouse. After pouring through my Cottage Living/Country Home/Better Homes & Gardens/Southern Living and countless furniture line’s websites I settled on Ethan Allen because they had a farmhouse line called New Country and their pieces were just lovely. But I was immediately smacked in the face with the reality that farmhouse/simple does not mean inexpensive. On top of the fact that I hadn’t purchased furniture that didn’t have to put together, like IKEA (which I love) and then you realize quality furniture comes at a price.

I also quickly realized that if I was going to go the route of saving up for furniture first, then it would probably take me about 5 years to get what I wanted. What’s a design-obsessed girl to do?

Well my friends, when the going get’s touch, you need to get creative! So what I did was 1) visit and visit often the Ethan Allen distribution center nearby that had a back room of discontinued/damaged items and 2) called every freakin’ Ethan Allen in the Illinois/Wisconsin area to see if they had any floor models on sale! And you know what? Although, I mentally might be a little worse for the wear, but it worked. Pretty much all the case goods in our bedroom was 40% because they were a floor model/or slightly damaged. It became a game for me to see if I could get the whole set I was looking at discount. I almost made it, but did need to purchase 2 items at full-price.

So my advice for today is don’t settle on not getting the items you want and opting for a lesser quality item, if you can stand it, try to do what I did and maybe you’ll hit pay dirt.

The other thing I do is if I like something that’s beyond pricey and know that I don’t have a chance in hell of being able to afford it EVER, I head straight to “my” favorite stomping grounds of decorating…the holy grails of affordable design at bargain prices: TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, HomeGoods and tag sales. Again, as long as it’s not a piece of crap that will instantly disintegrate if you touch it, who cares if it’s not THE item; if it looks good and it is good quality, then that’s a little secret between you and said piece of furniture or if you are like me, I pretty much have no problem saying were I got something, and that includes dumpster diving, which I have done and have been successful!

Excuses, Excuses

The whole point of me starting this blog was originally to show off our house projects, share about our vacations and post recipes because I love to cook. However, the perfectionist that I am, every time I went to take photos of our house, I’ve managed to come up with every excuse in the book not to. First it was “it’s cloudy/raining/snowing so the pictures won’t be good. Then I came up with a perfect one – which I do think is “legitimate”…the house needs cleaning. Justifying it as “Well, I can’t very well show photos of house projects we’ve worked on when the rooms are a mess!”

So, I’ve delayed and delayed. And I think what it comes down to is 1) laziness and 2) “fear” of my design efforts not being up to snuff. So I think I’m finally ready to tackle this fear, because, well, I’m not a designer and well, so there!

In working on our house we have and always will have (unless we add on/win the lottery) 2 constants: our house is small and therefore we must work within the constraints of small rooms and 2) we have a small budge and need to be thrifty.

But honestly, I like the fact that our house is cottage-like, i.e. small, and having a limited budget to work with makes you quite resourceful; it can be frustrating at times because I’m always looking for deals in order to purchase something, but now I make it a game/challenge.

When we first bought the house, I decorated with dark colors, which is what I typically fall back on – you’ll see what I mean when I post the downstairs photos. But after being in the house for 7 years, I think I have convinced myself that going “lighter” in our house is the way to go, as well as maybe tweaking the “first” makeover we did. In addition, we were still using some “pre-marriage” furniture” at the time (actually we still have quite a bit of that, which is fine) and I just worked with what I had, with the thought that maybe someday I’d get the chance to purchase exactly what I wanted for a room instead of making a piece fit the room – it’s a little battle I have with myself, especially when you see all the nice design options out there. So if we ever put on an addition, I’ll hopefully get to change some things, probably much to Larry’s dismay, because I think he’s happy with things as is.

I do think that if I’m able to get things the way I want design-wise, I am the type of person who will be able to live with something for a long time – it’s just that initial “newlywed decorating” (now going on 11 years!) that I’d like to tweak and then I’ll be done – which would certainly free up my head which always has some sort of design idea floating around!

So my plan is to first post pictures of my current projects – the upstairs bedrooms and work my way down to the downstairs rooms, which were done first, but again, I’d like to change at some point.

Deck the Halls

Somehow I just couldn’t get my act together fast enough for Christmas. I’m usually relatively on time in getting things decorated etc., but this year…not so much.

I don’t know if it was the faltering economy etc. that was dampening my spirits, but I knew I needed to snap out of my funk soon so I didn’t become a complete grump.

So Larry and I finally went out and bought a fab tree etc. I honestly think I just needed to smell pine and that got me kick-started to decorate.

I think I’ve got our holiday decorating down to a science – do a little outside and then work my way in – there’s something about decorating for the holidays that just makes it so cozy.

Here’s a little recap of what we did for this year:



One thing I love to do when decorating for the holidays is to use mostly natural items for my projects – greenery for the roping, wreaths, dogwood, paper birch etc. The scent is wonderful from the pine and it’s just makes me happy. Here are some of the how-to's on what I did this year:

The Mantle Project - Using 3 glass hurricane vases - was really easy and I think adds a nice touch and a “woodsy” feel. First, add “snow” (I think it’s just plastic shavings)to the vases, a little winter/holiday potpourri and then a festive candle. To top it off I added some birch twigs around the candle. Because we already have the holiday lights wrapped around the roping, there is no need to light the candles - and actually since the twigs etc. are pretty flammable...not a good idea.



Door Swag - The door swag took 2 seconds because all I did was attach a bow I made and some festive bells. I got a fabulous deal from Trader Joes on the swag - I think like $7 bucks. I get the swags there every year and they truly look the best and are the cheapest.

Holiday Planter - Every year I kind of dread doing the planters because they are usually frozen from the cold weather and I can’t work with them unless I thaw them out - but this year I caught a break. Crystal Lake had some freak weather pattern where it was 50ish on a Saturday. So I ran out and bought my greenery before it started to get cold, which wouldn’t you know it it dropped to the teens the next day - that’s Chicago weather for you!

For the planters I just buy various greenery (pine, cedar, boxwood, birch branches) and a small tree topper and work my way from the center of the pot (with the tree topper) and work my way out. To top it off I usually add red birch branches, but since all the nurseries were selling twigs for $12 bucks I drew the line. So Lar helped me out and painted the branches a bright red and voila...festive branches! And finally I added a little extra sparkle with some green sparkle painted pine cones and red ornaments. It looked great until the next day when we got hit with a blizzard and the planters were completely covered...but what are you going to do?!?

Corner Display - During the fall I bought a small, simple bench to put in the corner for decorations. I tried to do a special paint technique with a two-toned effect but somehow I ended up with a salmony color that was just horrid. So I added some paint we had lying around and I think it ended up pretty nice. Plus leaving it outside to the elements gives it a nice weathered look.

So for the holiday display I started by adding some greenery, painted twigs and some paper birch branches (compliments of our wonderful neighbor Sharon - thanks Sharon!) to a galvanized bucket. Then we had an old sled that we found on the curb in Madison (we love free finds!)that I added a swag and some roping. And then I added a festive basket and lantern to the bench. Instant holiday charm!