Embellishing a Wall

I am an artist wanna be! I love artist's homes, with a mish mash of items and spontaneous designs. It always looks thrown together, willy nilly, with beautiful results.

I have a small wall in my bedroom that was screaming for a little attention, so I pulled out my inner artist and began painting...RED! I used some left over furniture paint...bad idea! I must have put on 4 coats or more and still not good coverage, then I decided to use this great pink/red paint for stripes...love the color, but I ran out of paint...UGH! So it took a couple of days to get more and I left the tape on...not a good idea, because I no longer have straight lines... finally my little artsy wall project is done...kinda.

Sorry about the glare. I still need to do touch up painting and I'm still playing musical tables.

Amy Butler

Amy Butler is an artist and designer, she started out designing fabrics for clothes and accessories, but now has items for the home.

I bought this book a few years ago and I fell in love with Amy's home. A split level retro designed home with rustic details and modern touches...not the type of home I usually find appealing. Actually I use to not care for the split level look at all, but now I see the wonderful design potential.

To see more of Amy's home and designs check out Amy Butler Design.

The Stairway

We have finally finished the stairs...except I need to do a little touch up painting & staining.

This is the "before"

They use to have carpet (I HATE carpet)!

Hubby did a great job with the wood steps. He had intended on making them with the wood from our property (the light pieces), but  too many issues with warping. I like how he solved the problem, using the left over floor boards from our upstairs and capping the end with the unfinished pieces. I plan on keeping them light and just adding a protective coat (upstairs wood dark, downstairs wood light).

This is my inspiration photo for the wall

(Image: BH&G)

This is the stair wall "before"

I still want to add more black & white family photos, but I am very pleased with the outcome!

My Bamboo

There is a reason I've been loving bamboo chairs lately...

My New Chairs!

I don't know if they are new or vintage, I just knew that if I didn't get them I would regret it. I love how they look in my dining room. The white seat cushions need to be eventually changed, but other than that they are perfect.

I found this picture online,

but I do NOT intend on painting my chairs...I might paint the table ;)

Bamboo

”Bamboo goes in and out of style, but it has always been terribly chic, it reeks of traveling and pleasure, which is why it was so popular back in the 1700’s.”
Khalil Rizk of the Chinese Porcelain Company

I think a home needs a variety of furniture and bamboo seems to be an element that works in all design styles. Currently I'm luvin bamboo dining chairs...

Take a Quiz

Do you love those design quiz's, the ones that ask all these far out questions to determine your style?...I do.

I know they are not really very helpful if you need help figuring out what you like, but I take the quiz's to see if they can give me the correct answer. I know what my style is and sometimes the quiz gets it right.

Take these for fun, see if they can get your style right...Style at Home Quiz's

I just took the "What's your celeb decor style?" quiz...and the results are,

You are an ECLECTIC ADVENTURER, like Drew Barrymore ----- A former wild-child, but now super-grounded and super-cool, producer-actor Drew Barrymore, channels a mix-and-match, luxe-boho style in her production office, recently featured in the pages of Domino magazine. Lush velvet and tapestry upholstery fabrics cover antique French Bèrgeres, Asian ceramic stools share floor space with English side tables, and shelves are as likely to hold Polaroids as a vintage record player. “I believe you can combine anything. I feel there are no rules,” says this mix-master in the Domino profile. If you like eclectic design, you believe in mixing items from different design periods and different regions of the world. You probably also have a knack for DIY design and for finding new uses for salvaged objects. TIP: Eclectics often find it easy to work green design into their homes. Let refurbishing, reusing and reclaiming be your mantra.

They sure got this one right!

Unfortunately Domino Magazine is no more so I couldn't find many images of Drew's office, but I did find plenty of eclectic design images...

Images: BH&G

Black & White

I love black and white checked floors. They are so vintage and they look fabulous with colorful walls and furnishings...

(Images: Houzz & Traditional Home)

The above flooring is from Armstrong, it looks like old fashion linoleum and it's good for the environment!