Simplified Decorating With Glass Displays

I Looooove to decorate.  I do!  

Especially for all the different seasons.  

  

However, I'm learning that my decorating style is simplifying and changing.  I find that I'm not as interested in spending an entire week getting out the new season's decor and packing up the previous season to stack in the garage.  I seem to be migrating towards things I can change up in short time that still look fantastic for the season.  

One reason I've been posting about apothecary jars/cloches of late, see here, here, and here, is because it's a great way to pull off this simplified approach.

By gathering and making a very eclectic collection of glass displays, I can update my decor for the season just by changing what's inside.

It's fun, too, because if I don't have enough variety for all the different displays, I can just walk around my yard and pull a bit of what's happening outside - inside.

I think it keeps the decorating a little fresher as I'm not just getting out all the same stuff I've used year after year.

Of course I have favorite pieces I want to hang on to and continue to use, but it does force some new and interesting combinations.

And should I decide to have some friends over for a little tea, I can replace a few decor items with some cookies or cupcakes, keep some of the decor in place - and have a special little dessert buffet.

If you decorate for the different holidays, do you like a simplified approach, or is part of the enjoyment spending several days getting your house all pretty?

 

The Ever Changing Picture, Picture

I bought an ugly picture, and I'm not even sure why.

You see, I went to a junk sale at a super fun place called 

The Chicken Farm in Jones, OK.  To learn more about it and the dates of their sales - check them out here.  They are so cool!

Anyway.....

.....it was the end of the day and these two ladies were selling this picture.  For some reason - they seemed to really want me to have it.  (Do I look like a jungle cat woman - or do they just know I'm a sucker for a good deal?)  They started reverse wheeling-n-dealing with me until the price was so low - who could pass it up?  What the heck - I could paint the frame or something.

I stuck it on my Dining Room wall just to fill the space for a bit, and you know - it actually kind of grew on me.  It started to look rather nice - imagining it without the brown mat and the cats.

I thought it would be fun to paint a mat with chalk board paint and write something like Eat, Pray, Love on it.  However, the mat ended up such a gorgeous black - I chose not to mess it up with chalk.

I also chose not to tear apart the mat and mess up the little gold frame embedded in it.  Instead, I poked holes in each of the corners and glued a small power magnet in the hole.  This allowed me to add a picture and hold in it place with metal of some sort.

Isn't it pretty?

The best part - it is like Picture, Picture from Mr. Rogers.  I can change the picture whenever I like.

Here is one I made for Fall.  It is so elegant in my Dining Room - so much nicer than the jungle cats.

Thanks for talking me into it ladies - it really is my style.  Hope to see you at the Chicken Farm again soon!

Jewels Traded For a Jewel - China Cabinet

I'm not really in the market for new furniture, because Edward (my hubby) and I need to move within 2 years........but then I'm always in the market.......you know what I mean?  I don't paint furniture to sell per se, but I know I want to improve my painting skills - so I'm always on the lookout for something I like that I can get pretty cheap.

 

 Like this piece I found on Craigslist.  It is not an antique or fine furniture, but it is mostly wood and I thought I could Country French it up enough to look nice in my Dining Room.   The price was reasonable enough, but when I asked the lovely lady who was selling it if she would like to trade for some jewelry I had for sale......She Did!  What a fun way to acquire furniture!!!

First I added some decorative embellishments from Doityourselfchic.com

Then, I Annie Sloan-ed the cabinet in Old White,

Distressed the edges with a wet cloth,

And finally waxed with Clear Wax, followed by Dark Wax.

It was missing one of it's glass shelves, but I'm fine with that because I was looking for something to hold large platters.

I don't know that I want to keep the original hardware, but I'm using it until I find something I like better. 

I think I might still add black chicken wire to the doors, but I want to live with it a bit first.  What do you think?  Chicken wire or no?

I now have a lovely place to store my china and fancy silverware in the Dining Room, which has freed up some much needed space in the Kitchen.  Yay, for Craigslist finds!!!

Thanks for stopping by the Tub,

Ellie

Old Chandelier for the Dining Room

Last year I asked you Lavendears if we should change out our dining room chandelier, as we were getting our house ready to put on the market.  Those of you who responded said the chandelier we had was just fine......so we left it.  You can see more pics here.

Wellllll, we didn't put our house on the market (long story - essentially my hubby, Edward, became a partner in his firm last January.....which made the banks look at us as being newly self-employed.........which means no new mortgage on a new house.........you get the picture).  Anyway, I went on a business trip with Edward to Grapevine, TX, and while he worked - I killed time antiquing.  The only thing that caught my eye and could fit in our car was this solid brass chandelier.

Edward couldn't see past the Malachite finish - plus this thing is HEAVY - but Edward was a good sport and let me bring it home.  Although I felt a bit guilty painting over it's original paint finish, we both were really delighted with its new color.  (I forgot to get a full picture before I took it apart......).

 I think the faux Malachite finish kept more people from being interested in this chandelier, and it was deeply marked down.  

Lucky for me!!!

Isn't she a beaut?!

So glad you stopped by today!

Ellie

Fall Decorations

Today on Pinterest I noticed that some of the fall 

decorations from my post on our Dining Room found 

here were being pinned.  In case anyone would like 

a closer look, I thought I'd share a few more pictures.

 I didn't have time to fuss with them much, and almost 

everything is from my fall stash.  The pumpkins on the 

pedestals were picked up at a yard sale this summer 

and one even has a chip.

  The only new items are the candles.

 Here is a view of the tray 

(which is actually a mirror) 

from the front.

 I pulled together ornamental corn, wheat, broom corn 

(the dark beady stuff), dried okra pods, pine cones, 

fake leaves, a smaller garage sale pumpkin, and some 

mercury glass acorn ornaments from Walmart's clearance.

 Some recycled flowers, dollar store pumpkins, 

and a few more mercury glass acorns 

completed the decorations.

Ssshhh, I didn't even buy any real pumpkins this year.  

My boys weren't interested in carving any, so I decided 

to skip them.  It did make me a little sad to think 

they didn't want to do that anymore.

Oh well, less mess I guess.

Thanks for visiting the tub!

Ellie

Parties I Will Be Linking To:

Sunday - The Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming, DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff   

Monday - Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday - Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife,  

Wednesday - Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, 

Thursday - Open House Party at No Minimalist Here,   Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Friday - Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello  

1929 Prairie Home - Dining Room Reveal

Hi Lavendears!

Little by little we are getting our home ready to place 

on the market.  So without further ado, here are some 

pictures of our Dining Room.......

I hope you Enjoy!

 

  

French Doors With Palladium Window

Ceiling Medallion

Would you replace this chandelier?  

We chose this when we used this room 

as a Family Room.

Arched Doorways

Original Hardwood Floors

Elegant Chair Rail

9 1/2 Foot Ceilings

Original Crown Molding

 There is a rumor amongst some of the older residents 

of our town that Eleanor Roosevelt had dinner in this 

very dining room.  We have not been able to substantiate

this.  The closest we can find is that the owners of our home 

hosted a dinner for her elsewhere.  I would love for 

this to be true!

We've enjoyed so many dinners and 

events in this room....... 

Thanks for visiting our home today!  

The pleasure has been all mine.

Ellie

Parties I Will Be Linking To:

Sunday - The Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming, DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff   

Monday - Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday - Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife,  

Wednesday - Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, 

Thursday - Open House Party at No Minimalist Here,   Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Friday - Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello  

"Hagrid The Lamp" Makeover - Part 2

In "Hagrid the Lamp" Makeover - Part 1 found here, I shared with you the beginning of my makeover on this lamp:

 There is something I really, really like about this lamp.  I think it is that it reminds me of Lisa Douglas on the old TV show, Green Acres.  She was always exquisitely decked out in feathers and diamonds, and yet she was perfectly comfortable on the farm chasing her little chicks.  When I was a girl watching Eva Gabor on that show, I was enthralled and thought she must be the most beautiful woman in the world.

If you are unfamiliar with it, here is a clip

You can also click here to watch full episodes for free.  Now, don't you think my lamp is a Lisa Douglas - or at least could live in her house?  My husband, Edward, named it Hagrid because this lamp is huge and stands almost 5 feet tall, but it definitely dresses like Lisa.

To finish the lamp I toned down some of the dark wax by wiping more of it away using a cloth and some clear wax.  I still wanted to bring out a little more of the white, so I found a piece of white chalk and rubbed it to highlight different features of the lamp.

I had wanted to paint the lamp with two colors, but decided to wait until our move is complete and I know what room it will permanently reside in.

One thing I didn't like about the lamp was the big flat rectangle spaces around it's base.  I tried several different embellishments there without much luck.  Finally, I painted some wallpaper border using the same technique as on the lamp and  adhered it to the rectangles.  I think the wallpaper really enhanced the lamp.

For the lampshade, I wanted to create a look similar to a chandelier inside a black drum lampshade.  To do this, I recovered the lampshade in a black fabric and strung crystals to fall just below the shade.  The crystals are actually hanging from a smaller lampshade form that I placed on the top of the shade.  It worked like a charm.

The lamp is such a fun, over-sized piece.  I love the whimsy it adds to the Dining Room, and I think it looks elegant - but in a Lisa Douglas-kind-of-way.......and hopefully not a Hagrid-in-a-dress-kind-of-way!  Ha!

Oh, what crazy folks we are around here at The Lavender Tub!  Hagrid and Lisa.......

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Ellie

Parties I Will Be Linking To:

Sunday - The Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming, DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff   

Monday - Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday - Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife,  

Wednesday - Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, 

Thursday - Open House Party at No Minimalist Here,   Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Friday - Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello