Bedroom Dilemmas (oh my!)

Ok, maybe not "those kind" of bedroom dilemmas, however... For the last 13 months my main floor has been my favorite child while the upstairs has been the ugly, redheaded stepchild (disclaimer: I actually love red hair).

Funny thing is when we moved in here I knew exactly what I wanted in our master and I still do, I can envision it... I found a King size headboard off Craigslist when we closed on the house and had to have it.  From there I knew I wanted a bed like the ones in the Peachtree Battle shop called Gramercy with the following components:

1. A white monogrammed coverlet with matching monogrammed Euro shams like these from Gramercy, maybe even one of their custom monograms...

2. A fluffy duvet folded down at the bottom of the bed, preferable in a floral or chinoiserie.  This fabric must have more than 3 colors in it.

3. Either a fluffy white gathered bed skirt or a simple pattern like a small stripe, no more than 2 colors.

4. Pillows, lots of pillows.  Not only would I have 2 monogrammed Euro Shams but I'd also have additional pillows that incorporate some of the patterned fabrics.

5. Pretty custom made curtains, ceiling to floor on each window.

6. A mirrored side table for my side of the bed, and something different for Ryan's side, perhaps a dark wood table or even a simple skirted table.

7. A chaise or chair & ottoman for lounging or curling up with a good book or a Lifetime movie. This chair could be in a pattern or just a simple tweed or linen incorporating a pillow in one of the fabrics from my bed.

8. Pretty artwork or maybe some more personal photos of me and Ryan like wedding pictures, family pictures, etc.

9. I also need an armoire for some storage, we do have  a giant dresser that we picked up at scott's antique under our tv and in our sitting area.

Clearly, I know what I want, I have the perfect picture painted in my head.  Where I get stuck is that I can't find #2, a pretty duvet in a fabric that I love or that has the right colors.  I know my main colors will be white, apple/sage green with a french blue. I'm not asking for much just one fabric that incorporates the french blue, the green, and a couple other colors.

I found the fabrics above at Lewis and Sharon one day, they are all Duralee's and I love all of them (not all together, I'd pick and choose), especially the houndstooth on the left and the blue one 2nd from the right.

While vacaying in Seaside, FL last week I had time to finally flip through my House Beautiful and Traditional Home mags.  Fortunately I saw a couple fabrics in HB's May edition that I loved that could possible work.

I mean are the 2 fabrics on the right not just like the ones above? They look so good with Varney's Rhododendrum print on the far left. Unfortunately for me, these are hard to access fabrics by Dorothy Draper's Carlton Varney. 

I then flipped the page to see this lovely layout, this room screams me but what I really want is that Bailey and Griffin "India" fabric on the 2 chairs.

Seriously, I had heart palpitations when I saw this.  So perfect! Once again, another hard to get your hands on fabric and I haven't even heard the price yet.

 After searching all over the web for hours each night at the beach I have momentarily given up on Mr. Varney and Mr./Mrs. Bailey & Griffin.

On top of the fabric dilemma my husband thinks my headboard is a lost cause.  It started gold (but beat-up), I then painted it solid gold. After that I added some minswax gel stain to define the curves and shape in the creases.  Then I had the brilliant idea to paint over gold with 2 shades of grey.  Bad idea... you can see why in the pic below:

I mean WTH? Can it get any uglier? It looks like 90's airbrush, barf. I started sanding the other side of it and it looks slightly better but not great.

It only cost $125 or so but I really do like it.  When I bought it I was envisioning the gold gilded headboard I had seen in magazines, websites, and blogs.  One day I think this would be super cute in a little girls room as a day bed painted in a lacquered white or something.  

For now I might revisit my dreamland of gold gilded headboards and go back to how it started.

Since I still couldn't make progress at the beach for the upstairs I did go ahead and order some Schumacher samples.

Aren't they pretttty?

You have seen this guy before....

Here's to hoping the samples they send me aren't too scrappy and small.   Don't ya hate that?

This is the most random post ever, my words are not very good today.  Since this whole post is word vomit I'll end with something else that has nothing to do with any of this...

While running Tuesday night my husband spotted this french arm chair thrown to the curb outside a really nice Buckhead home.

Finders keepers don't ya think? It's legs need some tightening and TLC but overall this sucker was in great shape.  It's not mildewed or anything either so they must've just stuck it next to the curb.  I'll take it! Not quite sure what I'll do with it but I have a feeling it'll come in handy at some point down the road.  I think this is an affirmation from the furniture Gods of my love for French chairs.

That's about it, thanks for letting me ramble... and ramble...

and ramble...

House Updates: Reading Like a Book

We've been in our house for right at a year now.  Although I feel like I've barely made a dent, after looking at old pictures I've realized how blessed we've been this last year in our home.

I read or heard something the other day that "a house should read like a good book, you keep wanting more". I think that's really important to me, I guess I love the details.  Who doesn't love walking into a house and it being so good that you can't wait to see what's in the next room.  I remember feeling this way when I walked into decorator Lindsey Hene's ahhmazzzing home, oh my gosh, it so beautiful and unique.  Lindsey is who has helped me a bit with my house and talk about an eye for style, she definitely has a talent.

There's another good saying out there "the devil's in the details," I guess that's why I tend to over-complicate things (i.e. acrylic frame, etc.) and why I'll probably never be "done decorating" any home I live in.

BEFORE:: Here are some pics when we first went under contract...

My realtor and future-neighbor... we still have this Ballards chandy in the basement if anyone wants it...

I think the wheels are turning in my head here... Unfortunately we still have this chandy hanging at the moment... 

View into the kitchen...

The huge pantry that we didn't really need, this is probably when I decided to turn it into a desk...

View from stairs into the downstairs...

Boring white bookshelves.... I knew I wanted grasscloth wallpaper in the back of these but I was insisting that these stay white.  Thankfully decorator Lindsey Hene talked me into painting them dark...

AFTER:: Here are some of the updated pictures.... still a work in progress...
(Please excuse the pic quality as well, our house was really clean for our small group to come over so I went ahead and snapped some pics, the Mister didn't feel like moving out of the pics either)

This office is probably my pride and joy, because it was an idea I had the moment we walked in to tour what would be our future home...

(Animal head-Scott's Antique $35, filing cabinet-Ballards Outlet $35, Metal Tubs-Lowe's $20, Coke crates-Scott's Antique $8 each, Burlap/Nailhead Counter Stool- Ballards Outlet $250, Baskets-Homegoods, Picture Frames-from my wedding reception, Cake Stands-Juliska & Pottery Barn)


Here is a pic of my breakfast nook and bookshelves: If you know me, you know that I'm super indecisive.  My first trip to Scott's Antique I had 5 hours to shop and was completely overwhelmed.  Somehow I managed to walk away with a very full carload of items. Starting with the tables and chairs to this breakfast nook and this light.

 (Metal Table and garden chairs-Scott's Antique $600, Hanging Light-Scott's antique $150, White Chair and ottoman- Brownlee's Furniture)


Picture of our living room area, the 2 occasional chairs will eventually be replaced but for now they work and don't look terrible.

(Union Jack trunks- Outrageous Interiors $500, French occasional chair- Scott's $100, Mantle Nic-Nacs-Outrageous Interiors and Homegoods, Lamp-Homegoods $50, Skirted Table- Calico Corners Fabric, curtains-cream burlap from Joann's Fabric)


Better View of the bookshelves and Chairs... our bookshelves are finally pretty full, to the point that they need some editing and some styling(HELP).  People think I'm crazy for the white chair but who cares, live with what you love.

And the husband makes his appearance... planning to add some different pillow covers in pretty Schumacher fabrics.

 (Sofa-Bernhardt-custom ordered through Manoirs, big table lamp-Scott's $150, animal head-Scott's $35, blue chair-yard sale in Nashville $60, horse bookends-Outrageous Interiors, Apothecary Lamp-Homegoods $49, Side Tables-both Outrageous Interiors $275, artwork above sofa-Cozamia $70 plus framing & hanging $450, Rug-Garnet Hill).

 A view of our dining room with the new picture.  You can also barely see the mirrored table, vase, and painted staircase rail (painted same color as bookshelves).  I'm planning to buy mirrored buffet for this wall, then rotate the mirror so it's vertical, flanking it with some of my RCD Imari plates.  Ryan and I went to pick up this antique mirror one weekend, it's HEAVY and huge, (he has a scar to prove it), this is one of those things I hope stays in my family for generations along with my french chairs and artwork.

 (Mirror-Board of Trade $400, french chairs-Scott's s/o 4 $300 w/o fabric and recovering cost), farm table-Scott's $700 + bench, painting-Scott's by Cheryl Connelly $175, mirrored chest-Homegoods $300, vase-Ikea, Sunburst Mirror Homegoods-$80)


Ryan picked out this corner china cabinet at his first trip to Scott's, he was very proud of it...This picture is not staying here, I need one more in the same size and then I plan to put them in my navy blue powder room.

(Corner cabinet-Scott's $300, cowhide under table-Scott's $200, painting-Scott's by Cheryl Connelly $100) 

 

A view from the dining room towards the living room. 

A view into our kitchen, usually not so much stuff on the counters but since I was getting ready for our disciple class to come over I had the plates and such out. The counters were white Corian with a white overmount sink when we bought.  Ryan and I both loved the look of Carrera marble even though you have to be careful spilling anything acidic or that can stain. Again, live with what you love! We also installed an undermount sink and a pretty new faucet.


Ryan and I celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary in 2 weeks and we are finally buying a new dishwasher to celebrate... Woo-Hoo! Stainless steel dishwasher and fridge her we come!

This is an older pic but it's a little bit better quality... I still need to figure out what to do for curtains in my kitchen and breakfast nook. 

Anyways, that is a pretty good update to the downstairs of the house... This summer my plan is to start working on the upstairs, begin the process of updating our bathrooms by getting quotes, and hang things in our hallways.  Ryan's family has given us tons of football memorabilia from his dad and grandad so I figured since most of our house is girly that I'd re-frame and hang a bunch of football stuff in the hallways to man-up the house.


Quick fact: this was the 1st and only house we looked at before we went under contract. We had casually been looking at listings, and found 2 others in Buckhead that we liked but they ended up being short sales under contract.  This was such a good deal and great location that we made our realtor think we were crazy and put an offer in 2 days later.

We've been in our house exactly 13 months now and I probably could have moved a little faster but I guess it's kinda fun to envision what you want and hunt for it.  I think it's kinda a southern thing to worry about small little details, monogramming everything, or using family heirlooms.  I know my home isn't reading like a good book quite yet, but hopefully with time, work, and editing it'll get there...

Scotts Antique-May Finds

Clearly by now you realize how obsessed I am with going to Scott's Antique.  This month's anticipation was no different, I even had my friend "R" here from Nashville with me.  This month was a slow show and apparently a lot of vendors were at a show in Mass. but it was kinda nice not being so crowded.  Not to mention there were some great deals since the vendors' sales were also lacking.

I've been on the lookout for silver animal heads, I found some at Homegoods and didn't buy them and have always kicked myself.  Walking through the South building I spotted these from the fabulous Parker Kennedy booth.  This booth always catches my eye with it's Hermes Orange walls.

Do you spot those white resin deer & ram heads? LOVE. 

Or these silver ones.... although these are a little different than what I had seen at Homegoods.  So I went for the white resin (above) and I'm in love.

Not long after this I stumbled to my favorite plated silver vendor to check out his $5 bin.  To my luck I found a silver plated champagne bucket for $5! I've been wanting one of these to use as a vase, as a hurricane glass, or as a champagne/wine bucket.  This one is really tarnished but for $5 who cares? Plus it looks cool.

My friend "R" then spotted these really cool Kentucky Derby cocktail glasses.  I got 2 for now in the years 1981 (hubs bday year) and 1975 (100 year anniversary of the derby). These look great sitting on my bar tray.  "R" and I also went to the Ballard Design Outlet near my house where I got these cool etched glasses for $1.99! I decided to display Six-12-Ten because that's our wedding anniversary.  I also got the decanter on the far left at Scott's for $20.  The one in the middle was a wedding gift and the far right one is from last month's show.  The small bottle of unopened tequilla is from me and Ryan's honeymoon in Mexico. 

"R" was on the hunt for some green Majolica plates and an oyster plate after her trip to New Orleans recently.  We struck gold and found "Majolica Oyster Plates" She's planning to use some of the set on her wall around an animal head, it's going to look sooo cool.

"R" then stopped by the booth of the lovely artist Cheryl Connelly and fell in love with one of Cheryl's hydrangea paintings.  "R" wanted it in a bigger size so Cheryl willingly said she'd paint a new and larger one for her which we picked up Saturday.  Isn't it pretty?

When we went back to pick up the painting Cheryl said she had been slow and since it was Mother's Day weekend she would wheel and deal so we walked away for 4 more paintings. Yes, that's right, 5 total.  "R" and I are single-handedly keeping the lights on at Ms. Connelly's house this month. "R" got another small blue and white hydrangea painting and a small landscape painting.  I walked away with these 2 beauties...

Mister hubs holds our purse strings close to his heart so at first he wasn't thrilled but once he heard the deal I got on them and saw how good they looked he lightened up.  I think I walked away $275 for both (w/frames) and they really should have been over $600 for both.  I think Cheryl was feeling generous that day... or maybe she liked us because she knew we were suckers and will come back for more.  I'm already dreaming about a big painting she does for my master bedroom/bathroom.  It feels good to buy original art that you love, I also love the idea that it will hopefully be a cherished heirloom by my future generations.

Seriously, go see Cheryl she is super accommodating to meet your decor needs (always back right corner of the south building at Scott's).  P.S. Cheryl Connelly's art is going to be featured in the movie that just finished filming in ATL called "Identity Theft" with Jason Bateman.

That's about all from Scott's, I was bad about taking pictures.  I did receive this lovely below in the mail from a Wisteria sale on One Kings Lane a couple weeks ago.  How fun!? Now my HB's, BHG's, and TH's have a home. Hubs can't seem to understand that you dont just throw away good coffee table magazines. 

I also found the perfect lamp for my skirted table.  This pretty was at Homegoods in Smyrna and only $49! The shade is burlap and we have a lot of that going on so it will eventually be replaced but works for now.

I moved the bar tray to my built-ins which looks a lot better. Ryguy and I are loving this corner lamp though.  Our living room is really starting to feel complete minus a couple new occasional chairs. For now we have some "fill-in" that work just fine.

This show can be chalked up to a success, I had a lot of fun with "R" and I even spotted a famous design blogger.  Yes, I got sweaty palms and weak in the knees when I saw her, I really wanted to go follow her around to see what she bought but refrained from being crazy.  Hopefully next month will be a better show at Scott's with all the regular vendors and I'll try and take more pics.  This week I'm going to try and do some more pic updates of the house, whoop whoop.

Art above the sofa: Check

I posted a couple weeks ago that I finally ordered Art for my living room.  Welp... after many random calls to Atlanta plastic companies and several out of the ballpark estimates later I finally took the plunge.  Apparently lucite or thicker sheets of acrylic are pretty expensive to have cut to size, who knew?  Not to mention, those little studs (called "stand-offs") are $25-$30 EACH. I'm in the wrong business...

Thankfully I found a great (and more reasonable) company in Duluth willing to work with me and I found the bolts/stand-offs online, 6 for $23 total. Wednesday evening my local handyman who works at Savvy Snoot came over to help me hang my project. Some sweat, selfish prayers, and 3 hours later it was hung.  This might not have been the easiest thing to hang but I feel confident this is the last time he will have to do this.

I love it.  I know it might not be for everyone but it looks so cool, very different and unique. I was originally thinking I would put something flanking each side of the picture but now I'm not so sure.  I can't take all the credit, I copied Baylor Says, she was having a similar predicament as me and her room needed a modern kick in the tush. Wa-La... She flanked hers with brass sconces which looks awesome but I can't decide what to do with mine.... What do you think?

The fabulous artist behind this "Night Peonies"print is Nancy from Cozamia.  If you're on pinterest or were on One Kings Lane last week then you might have run across her fabulous work.  She even tweaked my print to make the peonies less pink and more coral.

I think this will look really great once we get those other pillow colors with the peacock-navy and coral as anchors on the sofa.

I'm really glad I went with the acrylic frame, since my husband's big ass TV sits across from it I think it's nice to have something big but light and airy on that wall.

 

More to come this week on some new additions to our abode as well as updated pics.  We had our disciple class from church over so while the house was nice and clean I snapped some pics of everything.  My friend from Nashville also came down this past weekend for some antique-ing at Scott's Antique Roadshow so I'll give a run down on that too.