Modern Decorating Touches

I know everyone’s style is different, and it is always fun to peek in other’s homes and see how they decorate.  When I stayed with my friend in Baton Rouge a few weeks ago I snapped a few photos of her decorating style.  You’ve already seen her guest bathroom, so here are some shots of the rest of the house.  She leans toward the modern side with an eclectic touch.  Here’s her living room:

This room was featured in Louisiana Homes & Gardens magazine last year.  I love the warm color she chose for the walls.

The dining room.  I think the table & chairs is a family piece.  I like the juxtaposition of the retro dining set with the super modern chandelier. Also love the monochrome window treatments.

More modern touches, like these fabulous clear doorknobs and cool light fixtures.

I’ll share her fabulous kitchen tomorrow!

Burlap Table Runner

Yesterday I featured one of my friend’s before and after projects with one of our treasures from Canton.  You may have noticed her fabulous table runner:

She made it using burlap and some fabulous Pottery Barn fabric I won from a recent Project Pretty giveaway. 

I also won this gorgeous frame that looks perfect in my bedroom:

I loved the fabric, but I really couldn’t figure out a way to use it in my home.  When my friend said she wanted a burlap table runner, but needed a way to make it pop against her dark table, I knew the fabric I had won would be perfect.

So I thought I would show a few basic details on how she made it.  She used the textured linen fabric as the base, cutting it and piecing it together in the middle:

 

Next she laid out the burlap on top to determine how wide she wanted the middle piece to be. 

She sewed the two pieces together and lined it and hemmed it.    

She added a ribbon trim between the two fabrics to finish the seam.

Of course ruffles make everything better, right?  After a series of trials and errors and many battles with the sewing machine, she ended up hand pleating it and sewing it on with her machine.

Another look at the finished product: I think the combination of the burlap and softer, lighter fabric gives the runner a real shabby chic appeal, yet it is very modern at the same time. What do y’all think?

I’ll be linking to I Made It, Strut Your Stuff, Show Off Your Stuff, Get Inspired, Weekend Wrap-Up, and other great parties seen HERE.

Shine On

…..continuing yesterday’s tour of my mom’s Christmas decor, let’s visit the dining room today.

Copper colored feather trees and glowing glass balls make for a festive centerpiece:

A simplistic candlescape on the buffet:

And a custom-made topper livens up the mirror:

Across the room, the china cabinet is topped with more sparkle and mercury glass:   I love the feathers she incorporated, the contrast with the glitter and mercury glass is stunning in person.  By coordinating the colors with her everyday decor, it almost deserves to be displayed year round!

Join me tomorrow, we’ll wrap up the tour in the foyer and den.    I’ve added a few more photos to the living room post, so be sure and check it out if you haven’t already.

This post brought to you by J.J., dressed in her finest! 

Metamorphosis Monday: Drab to Shab

Finally, some sunshine around these parts! The rain has been keeping me from doing any outdoor projects and I finally got the chance to finish one up this weekend. I was itching to re-do a piece of furniture, and the only candidate I currently own was this little side table in the dining room:

The top had seen better days, and it was in need of refinishing or paint.

I decided to paint and distress this little table to match the other two shabby pieces in the room.

So first we painted the table using our handy pneumatic paint gun.  It was our first time using it, so things got a little messy, but we eventually figured it out!

Then I used the electric sander to remove some of the paint and distress it.  Of course, my sander blew up before I could finish the table completely, but I put it back in the room anyway to see if  I was going to like it.

One more look at the before:

and after:

I think I’ll still do a little more distressing in a few spots but overall I think I’m liking the new look.  This little re-do satisfies my craving for change for now!  What do you think?

I’ll be joining up with Susan and Gina for the usual linky parties, as well as a couple others.

****************

Have you entered my giveaway?? You’re missing out on a tasty treat if you haven’t!

****************

Don’t forget about my upcoming Linky Party next week! Get those photos ready for our Throwback Thursday: Decorating Mistakes Party!  Grab a button and plan to join the fun!

Hooked on Easy, Low-Cost Window Treatments

I’m joining Julia at Hooked on Houses again for Hooked on Fridays. We’ve lived in our current home for three and half years and just last week I finally got around to finding window treatments for the last two bare windows. This large window in the front of the house has nice wide blinds so my goal was for a more decorative treatment rather than one to provide privacy. Here’s what it looked like before:

And now after:

It’s amazing how something so simple can make the room more complete and cozy! I had actually tried to find fabric to make a valance last year but could never find anything just right. Then just recently it finally occurred to me that simple brown faux silk panels were the way to go. I was able to get these 96” panels at JCPenney for $60 for the pair. Instead of doing one long rod, I used the shortest rods I could find, one on each side of the window. I found the rods at Lowe’s for about $9 each. Hubby actually cut a few inches off of each one to make them even shorter.

I left the length long and they’re pooling at the bottom, I’m still undecided on this:

The next window I tackled was the one in our office/my craft room. Here’s what it looked like before:

We just recently got new vinyl windows in all our bedrooms, and I wanted to show them off, plus the mini blinds were really getting on my nerves. Since this window looks out into our backyard, I have no problem keeping it uncovered, so I decided a valance would be the best solution. I had an unused bed skirt made out of the same tiger fabric that the chairs are upholstered with, so I re-purposed it and made a valance. Of course I couldn’t find a black tension rod so I had to buy a white one and spray paint it black.

Now I have a beautiful unobstructed view into the backyard and lots of natural light for my crafting!

**********************************************************

My DIY Hotel Room Key Jewelry was featured on One Pretty Thing’s Daily DIY on Thursday! I love this website, so check it out when you get a chance!