Little Changes = Big Difference

I shared my master bedroom with you a few days ago and had my wish list of things I wanted to change (which involves purchasing and actual work!) which will take some time.

I couldn’t stand it, so I “played” a little bit this past weekend, and things already look better to me.

The Before:

Three minor changes:

Took the drapes down

Changed  some of the bedding (already had extra)

Put wall sconces (that I already had) next to the bed 

Presto! Already lighter and brighter without much effort.

Also took down the heavy dark Tuscan painting and put up two original shell engravings in modern mirrored frames. (Already had these, too).

Before:

After:

Now to  replace the very dark bed with an upholstered one!

Please don’t tell me you like the “before” better! I really need a change! LOL

I’ve been working on my mood board for this room and will reveal it next week!

Until next time,

Kim

Linking up to:

Potpourri Friday at 2805

Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence

Newbie Party at Debbie Doo's Blogging and Blabbing

Bye- Bye February, Cherub Style!

 

WOW!  I can’t believe February is almost over.  And, Leap Year at that!  I thought since we had an extra day during the Love Month, I’d reflect one last time on February’s romance and say good-bye in style.  Cherubs are the quintessential symbol of love.  I enjoy using cherub motifs in decorating and I wanted to give you a visual treat of these lovelies since the month for the holiday of love is almost gone.  It’s time to put away all those hearts and make way for bunnies, nests, flowers, and SPRING!!!

 

Pretty Wedgwood Majolica figurine

 

Detailed brass doorstop

 

Still charming even in the “dead” of winter.

 

Architectural salvage

 

Illuminating cherub

 

 

 

Garden beauties

 

Re-purposed lamp base

 

French terra cotta angel fragment

 

Sevres enamel & sterling overlay compote

 

Limoges tray

 

 

Vintage statue

 

 

French Parian-ware compote

 

Joyous cherub at Christmas

 

Snowy disposition

 

 

Antique lead, yes lead, two piece statue from a fountain.

 

Shabby metal candleholder

 

German plate

Wistful statue

 

French terra cotta garden statue early 1900s

Etched cherub glass 1910s

Be inspired by cherubs.  Surround yourselves with love all year long.

Blessings,

Kim

Linking up to:

What’s It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

I SPY #2 Vervain Fabric–Charles Faudree Designs

 

I’m lovin’ Charles Faudree’s line of fabric for Vervain.  I’m needing wanting to update some drapes and upholstery in different parts of the house, and I’m soooo into this collection right now.  I’m sure many of you have seen this ad in major style magazines.

 

As most of you know, I love French Country décor and antiques, and Charles Faudree is one of my favorite designers.  I was fortunate to have met him a couple years ago when he was speaking at the spring Keeneland Antique & Garden show in Lexington.  He is so charming in person and he signed two books for me! (Go Here if you want to know what Charles and I have in common).  I’m jealous of Sherry over at No Minimalist Here who has her picture with him in her sidebar.  I didn’t think to get a photo with him.  Someday, yes someday! 

Sigh. I digress.

Anyhoo, I have his Vervain sample books at home right now and boy can I tell you I have had a blast carrying them all over the house, trying to narrow down my selections.

Problem is….I want several of them and you can’t have the same fabric in different colors all throughout your house. 

I definitely have my favorites and here they are:

I already love toile and I am crazy about his version. I mean I am CRAZY about this particular toile. It’s called Cavalier Toile and depicts his beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.  I am definitely using this fabric somewhere. It’s a no brainer. Now which colorway…

Isn’t it awesome that he incorporated the Cavalier into this pattern?

Another one that I think I’ll use is called Hamlet’s Toile.  It’s a very romanticized toile and has almost an ethereal quality about it.

And, here are some pattern combos that I am considering.

I could use these in my daughter’s room.

Or, stay in the blue family.

 

This slate toile is one of my favorite colors. I keep coming back to it.

 

This  grouping could be used in my son’s room for a re-style in the cocoa scheme.

 

Faudree’s animal prints are outrageous.  I’m definitely going with one of these somewhere as an accent. It’s so popular right now to have at least one animal print in a room.  I’m thinking maybe an ottoman or footstool.  The non-traditional colors are so fabby.

 

You can’t go wrong with blue.

 

 

What about taupe and sage?

 

This the palette I’ve used for awhile now in my home…paprika red and gold.  I think I need a change.

This is ultra sleek and classy, too.

 

Thank you, Charles, for some wonderful fabric choices.

Where will I finally decide to use it? And, which ones?

Which would you choose?

Blessings

Kim

Linking up to:

Newbie Party at Debbie Doo’s Blogging & Blabbing

Room Service, Please: My Master Bedroom

I decided to give you a tour of my master bedroom today.  I’m really wanting to make some updates to this space and I know that if I just put it out there, I might see it more clearly to help me make some decisions.

It’s been 6 1/2 years since we moved into our home in the fall of 2005, and at that time I was going for more of an Old World look with a combination of Tuscan and French.  I’m wanting a more authentic Country French look with a modern twist now.   I love adding the modern element to classic rooms.

Quite honestly, I think the room is just tired. Or, maybe I’m just wanting a change.

Warning: there’s lots of photos and it’s a long post. You might want to grab a cup of coffee (Starbuck’s if you’re lucky!!!).

This is the main entry into the room, behind the foyer and to the right.

 

I’m not sure you can see, but I have crystal door handles and all my hardware is oil-rubbed bronze.

The master foyer chest is a vintage oriental piece with painting and raised characters and it also has an inlaid tooled leather top.  The mirror is an Italian antique with the most gorgeous reverse painting around the perimeter.

 

It’s hard to get a good photo, but here is one section.  There’s a lot of ghosting and patina on this piece and I love it.

 

This is the view to the left once you are inside. There is another door leading to the private master sitting room or what we call our sunroom.

 

Same view with the door closed.

All the wood floors in the house are Brazilian Cherry by Bella Wood.  The crown molding on the tray ceiling has an egg and dart motif but it’s hard to see in photos.

This is looking back toward the main door. The door on the left leads to the bathroom.

I don’t mind the wall color. It’s Beige Tellon by Porter. The furniture is just too heavy and overall clunky for me now.  We originally had a sleigh bed with other matching pieces but we gave that to my step-daughter and her husband who live in Atlanta.  The nightstands have black marble on the top which is pretty, but again, too dark.  And, I’m not going to paint this furniture. 

It just doesn’t fit me now.  You know what I really want?  An upholstered headboard. A tufted upholstered headboard. Maybe a French curvy wood framed upholstered headboard.  No footboard. It’s visually in the way.

And, I don’t want a dresser anymore.  I don’t really use it anyway.  I would like a French armoire on this wall.

Oh, and the window treatments are looking a little drab and too drippy with tassels and fringe.  You can’t see for the glare, but there are white wood blinds on the windows.

Shew! That feels better. I think I’m finished with my décor tantrum.

The rug is  hooked needlepoint. It stays.  The bedding is by Eastern Accents and it’s a true paprika or persimmon color.  Lighter color bedding makes more sense where my tastes are headed.  I don’t want a weighted-down feeling in this room.  I don’t think the whole room needs to be changed, but it definitely needs to be re-freshed.

This is a peek into the master bath.  The window with too much glare is actually an etched cherub piece and my dressing room is on the other side.

Back to the bedroom.  Do you see this white bookcase?   It’s not really a bookcase. Well, it is a bookcase, too.  Sound crazy?

It’s a hidden door to a hidden room!  My husband always wanted one of these so we had it designed when we built the house.  I’ve had everything on these shelves and am currently happy with two of the real clam shells from my collection.  This door gets used and I can’t put things on there that will move around easily or fall off and break.

And, yes, it needs some pizazz!  Maybe a glaze to bring out the features or wallpaper in the back of the shelves.

Behind the door it’s a walk-in storage room where we keep all our luggage, etc. and the set of spiral stairs is a secret way to go down to my husband’s office.

This is my favorite area of the whole room.

The Frenchiest thing I have in here is the Louis faux limestone mantle.  This trumeau isn’t one of my antiques. We bought it new from Drexel Heritage when we moved in.  And the urns may be a little too classical. I do like the firescreen.

My husband was reading his Ipad by the fire the other night and I tried to get a good photo. Oh, well, you get the idea.

The needlepoint pillow was made from a Victorian chair seat cover. I used to rescue any good piece of needlepoint and have pillows made.  I also like to add vintage rhinestone jewelry pins to the fronts of pillows. The throw was handmade a by Church Hill Weavers in Berea, KY.

I keep a stack of decorating books in almost every room of the house.  They never seem to make it to the upstairs library.  That’s an antique Chinese wedding basket that we got on our honeymoon in Monterey, CA.  More on the significance of that piece in another post.

 

Mostly French.  What did you expect?

 

The painting is dark with the very thick frame.  Something lighter and more modern would be a nice face-lift. 

 

The pillow is from Pierre Deux and the terra cotta angel fragment is from France.  The small gallery piece isn’t really old or French, but it’s an o.k. copy.  It does have nice inlay though. I have a pair of French Directoire chairs being reupholstered in cream linen and they may be a nice replacement for the shield back chairs.

 

This is the view looking from the sunroom into the bedroom.

 

Looking into the sunroom.

 

My husband and I both keep Ipads by the bed.  This is where I do a lot of my reading of all your lovely blogs!

I don’t have as many small things sitting around in vignettes as I used to have.  After my bout with breast cancer a few years ago, I got rid of a lot of material collections as my priorities changed.  I prefer larger statement pieces in this phase of my life now and a lot less clutter.  I’m certainly not a minimalist, but I continually edit my rooms with a goal of being sleek and chic!!!

There used to be a large painting over the bed when it was a sleigh bed.  I’m also thinking swing-arm wall sconces next to the bed to free up tabletop space on the nightstands.

 

O.K. A recap of what I need want:

New window treatments

Upholstered Headboard

French armoire

Bedside swing-arm light sconces

Modern French art replacing Tuscan painting

Lighter bedding

O.K. Check.  Now to convince the hubby.

It will take awhile to get to all these changes done.  No hurry.  I’m thinking of doing a mood board for myself and I’ll keep you up to date on my progress.

Any other suggestions?

Blessings,

Kim

Linking up to:

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country  Cottage

Show and Tell Friday at Romantic Home

Potpourri Friday at 2805

Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence

Newbie Party at Debbie Doo’s Blogging & Blabbing

Cowgirl Up! at Cedar Hill Ranch

Tuesday’s Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Wow Us! Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

{Primp} Your Stuff Wednesday at Michele Raven Designs

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here