Open House a Success!!

I want to thank all of you that supported the Lawrence Park Historical Society's tour of homes. I really appreciate all of your wonderful comments about our home. My husband, Keith and I, really gave it our all...not to mention a lot of other people who went out of their way to help "get it done"! I have started with a shot from my kitchen....because that is where my last blog left you with an unfinished floor!! Well, Greg Mitchell finished installing the floor on Thursday. It turned out just beautifully.

I didn't do a complete overhaul in the dining area. I did, however, remove my lo.o.ong valances from above the windows in the dining and living areas. These windows are on the same long wall and seemed to stretch on forever. Removing the valances broke up that long line. I (really Suzanne Donahue who works at the store did) installed thick wooden poles and wooden rings. Silk drapery panels, that hung in my bedroom previously, worked perfectly to soften the long hard lines of the windows. The panels are stationary and I have pleated shades to pull down when the sun or cold is too strong.

The office ( you previously saw it as the red room) had the carpet torn up, floors refinished, crown moulding added, new artwork, new furniture, drapes, and paint. A complete transformation...I love it. It is a beautiful color of green.

You can see a small portion of the closet door in this photo. This room is really a bedroom on the first floor, so it has a huge closet dooor. Previously, the door was a hollow core door. I switched it out with the doors from an upstairs bedroom that was louvered. I painted the door, floor moulding, crown moulding, and walls all the same color to give it a cozy look. Before all that you saw in this room was a huge white closet door against a red wall!!

This is a picture of my bedroom. The palette is very soft and soothing. I used black accents and mercury glass accessories to give it sparkle. Oh...I got this picture out of order...we will get back to the bedroom...

This black cupboard used to be in the office...now holds fun stuff out on the screened porch.

I added new black and white houndstooth seat cushions, trimmed out in apple green and a great tablecloth in the same color. This apple green color works so well with all seasonal colors...I can see it working with Christmas colors as well as fresh spring colors. A collection of Halloween figures are on the table. I added some fall leaves and ribbons to the chandelier. I will give you a closer look at these things later.

A peak at the "princess room". Granddaughers Isabella and McKennna love this room.

This is another shot of the master bedroom. I love the new headboard...and bedding. I don't like a lot of pillows to take on and off the bed, so I opted for two new pillow shams and one long narrow bolster pillow.

All of the bedding was done through the shop. We have wonderful women sewing up gorgeous draperies and bedding!!

A shot of the "red, white, and blue room". I had my grandsons in mind when designing this room. Hopefully, I pulled off a Ralph Lauren type of room....that was my intention... Lots of nastalgic touches here...old desk, photos, and special stuff in the collectors box on the desk. I hung framed copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution on the walls.
This headboard made its first appearance at our "Showhouse event" a couple of years ago. I sets the color scheme for another spare bedroom....that of red, black and gold.

Well, that is the end of the tour for now. I had trouble taking pictures of the house because of all the brightness from the windows. I'll have to try again at night. Thanks for listening. Come in and visit us at the shop. Remember, if you want to have some decorating projects done in time for the Holidays...you need to start now....or you could just wait until two weeks before to start!!!believe me , it wasn't fun...could have been a lot more if I didin't wait so long to start. See you soon...Sue

Crunch Time!!

Hi everyone,
Well, I really got myself into some trouble this time....In a very weak moment I agreed to have my house shown in the Lawrence Park Historical Society's home tour this year!! The home tour, which includes other homes and bussinesses in Lawrence Park, is this Saturday. Of course I have had six months to get ready for it and in these last days find myself really pushing it!! First of all, my home is anything but "historical". It is a little colonial home built about 45 years ago......nothing stately or grand. Don't get me wrong, I really love my house. But there is really nothing special about it, except for the fact that it has been my home and "refuge" for about 22 years. I have never really thought about moving. I love Lawrence Park..it's comfortable for me. Our children walked to school, it is an extremely "safe" neighborhood, and both my husband, Keith, and I, grew up in Lawrence Park......so it is truly home.

I was asked three years ago to show my home, and again last year. I told Mrs. Gessler that I didn't even have a dust ruffle in my master bedroom....guess what? I still don't!! Hopefully by Saturday I will!! I was always last on the list of "to do" so I just didn't get it done.

With that said, it is Sunday morning, about 5:30 am, and I am contemplating what to do first. As you can see in these photos, there is a lot to be done!! The "red" room is my office......took up the carpet and decided to refinish the wood floors. Oh, and of course, paint the walls, get new drapes, paint the trim, recover the chair........

Okay...the story on the kitchen floor.....this is Sunday morning, and I am looking at exactly what you see...an unfinished kitchen floor!! They ran out of floor boards with just a small amount to finish. Of course the color is a custom finish....hmmm...this will be interesting!

It is really weird though...I would really be freaking out if this was a client's home and it wasn't finished...but I am relatively calm...what about an area rug tucked in the corner?? Oh, and did I mention that the painters can't come back until Wednesday? and the counter tops are going in on Thursday? The deal is this....I can't get any rooms finished because there is furniture stacked in all the rooms that aren't being worked on. Worked on my garden yesterday...looks pretty good...maybe we can have a garden tour instead???? well only the front garden..the back is pretty sad. Well, enough of all this crying. I had better get to work. Oh, by the way, I am carrying a product in the store called "suds". It is the most amazing cleaning product that I have ever used!! It gets ink and grease out of fabrics and carpets....scuffs of of walls and woodwork.....that black film off walls from burning candles...I could do an infomercial on it!! Check it out. OK, back to work. I'll give you a progress report later in the week......if I'm still in town!! Take care, Sue

Changing Seasons

Time for a change again. It seems I just get in the groove of a season and it's gone! For a quick change in florals in and around your home, just add a few fall leaves or flowers to the existing arrangements. I know that some of my flowers in the garden never looked better and some really have seen better days. So I place a few new mums in the spaces that I had to pull out or trim down over bloomed flowers. Likewise, you can add a few new additions to you summer silk arrangements.

These wonderful antique reproduction botanicals add charm to your home a year long.

I had to include a photo of one of our new bookcase....I love bookcases....all sizes and styles. This one is of solid oak, but not the orange-yellow color, but a rich warm brown. We filled it with another favorite, blue and white porcelain, and some sterling silver. Of course I would add some books to the mix...and some "faux" antlers.

Fantastic gift item.....cheese board with a spreader that has oak leaves on it.....aren't those ceramic oak leave plates adorable?

The deer and oak leaf plates are plastic! You certainly wouldn't know it to look at them....here is a better look at the "faux" antlers. By the way, I'm sure you have seen a trend here of all that is nature is "in", well that also includes hanging antlers and deer heads on the walls!! I know how many of you fight to keep those heads in the basement or at the office!

The deer theme continues on larger platters or trays. Much of this nature them will be carried out in our Christmas decorating also. The back room and storage bins are stacked high with Christmas goodies.

And last, but not least, another change for me...no more Wonderful Wednesdays with my three grandsons ( and little Isabella and Evan). Some changes are not fun! Here they are all ready to go to school .......good-bye summer...

Come in and see us soon! Take care, Sue

Arranging Wall Art II

Okay...I seem to have gotten on a little kick about wall art arranging....The arrangement above is by designer Miles Redd...www.milesredd.com . He packs a lot of stuff into a small area. This is a photo of his New York apartment. I like what he does because it isn't static..he displays what he loves.

Another Miles Redd design for a client.

This image is also from Miles Redd. He combines a great wall arrangement and a peek of another of my favorite decorating elements...a beautiful bookcase reflected in the large mirror.

In the last post I mentioned extending the wall arrangement beyond the main piece. This example ,Redd again, proves that you can extend beyond the furniture piece to make an interesting statement.

Designer Lana Beale created an interesting wall integrating different frames in her grouping. However, there seems to be a theme of similar objects or number of subjects in her artful arrangement....there only seems to be one object in each piece of artwork.

Designer Thomas Jayne uses an entire wall to make a statement. This is a great idea when a large wall needs to be filled and there isn't enough room for a large piece of furniture.

Thomas Jayne again with an extraordinary wall grouping going up the stairs. Love it!

Photo from House Beautiful 2005 featuring Thomas Jayne. Another example of extending the art almost to the floor...this will take the visual place of furniture while it doesn't take up all the space.

In this photo from Ell Decor Oct. 2006, the wall art is a single picture. But look how interesting the arrangement is because of the wonderful line up of globes on top of the cupboard. Globes and map pictures are another passion of mine.

Wonderful arrangement by the KOR Hotel Group. Notice the number of artwork...and the number of hanging light fixtures, and , for that matter, the number of pieces of furniture in the grouping.

A great solution for arranging around a bed. From Southern Accessories July-Aug. issue.

And last but not least....sometimes only a simple arrangement is best. Everything in your home should be driven by personal preference and what you really like. All the above photos are just some inspirations perhaps to get you started.

On another note...the shop. Lots of new fall arrivals are coming in every day. A huge Sid Dickens order is due in any day. Troll beads have arrived, but are not out yet. This Tuesday, well tomorrow, we should be getting our display case. I will post more about the beads later. Sandy and I are going to Kansas City on Thursday. I will try to post form there and show you some sights. Take care..come in and see us! Sue