A Year of Pretty - January 03, 2014

First, I would like to say I would like to say I survived the year end staff party with no ill effects and no embarrassing stories in circulation.

Here is a gorgeous hutch makeover from Design Sponge. I love, love, love the colour palate chosen; the gold highlights accentuate the details on the doors so nicely. It reminds me a bit of a Marie Antoinette colour theme, n'est pas? That french je ne sais quoi? or as one comment states; Alice in Wonderland.  I agree.

And again, I am still with the china teacups and saucers theme. This just shows a pretty place to store them all while still displaying the favourites.

This photo shows only the "after" transformation. To see the "before", along with other wonderful ideas for giving life to old furniture, be sure to check out the Design Sponge website.

I have a dresser with six drawers and a top shelf that I am using as a china hutch. My dad picked it up as a "big garbage day" find. I think it used to have a mirror in the open space between the top shelf and the set of drawers and it broke so that why it was being tossed out. It's white with black scroll knobs and has much the same shape of the hutch pictured here. While I think I will keep mine white, this photo has inspired me to sand it down, clean it and give it a fresh coat of paint; along with some contrasting accents like the gold shown here on the doors and drawers. Take the hardware off, clean it and spray paint it a matte black or with a pewter crackle finish. Maybe add some moldings along the top like those in the picture.

Darn! I think I just added another project to my list.

Garage Sale Finds

Why oh why do we not have garage sales like this in Canada, more specifically in Vancouver, BC ? This is from an outdoor market sale in Amsterdam called Albert Cuyp Market on....Albert Cuypstraat (street).

The largest open air market in the city is open year-round Mondays through Saturdays . . .has been for over 100 years. (I bet some of these beauties are still hanging around from then).

If airlines didn't charge so much for checked luggage, then I definitely would have taken home one of these lovelies. Cut an oval in the top, drop in a sink and some plumbing...turn the drawer fronts into cupboard doors and ta da! instant guest bathroom elegance.

Bit of Bliss - take 2

beautiful distressed dresser offered by poppycottage  . . .ahhhh, le sigh . . .!

Come Sit for a Bit . . .

mmmm, to curl up with a good book (or even a wonderful cookbook with all sorts of inspiring ideas), a cup of tea and some soft music . . . . inviting, yes? Maybe some nice raspberry jam tarts or one or two lucious lemon bars to nibble on. A plump content cat lazing nearbye would not be unwelcome.

I could spend the better part of a Sunday morning in a setting like this. Actually, it doesn't even have to be a Sunday . . .or a morning. I think 3:45pm on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon sounds just about the perfect time for a cup of tea and a little snooze . . .?

Ah, it's nice to dream . ..

Paris Chic meets Dark Espresso

Anyone who has seen my apartment (and not many people have, since it is still in the final stages of renovation.) will note that most of my furniture is dark espresso and fairly contemporary. Bedroom set? dark espresso with black leather insets in the headboard. Dining room chairs? dark espresso with beige ultra suede. Book shelves? You guessed it, dark espresso with pictures in dark espresso or silver frames. Even my crown molding and baseboards are now painted in Behr # 790B-7 Bitter Chocolate Espresso. And I don’t even like coffee.

So I find it a bit interesting that recently I have become drawn to French style occasional furniture. Perhaps it is a reflection back to my
stay in Paris in my oh-la-la bed & breakfast.

I like the chipped and peeling antique look of this gorgeous hand carved Louis XIV style dresser from the 1930’s (left). It would look lovely in the same room as this carved mirror (left, with top scroll detail depicted at the beginning of this post). Both are available from Karina Gentinetta.

So imagine my surprise (and delight) when I found myself enamored with this coffee and end table set at a local antique store. Even more surprising was that I bought them, even though I vowed I didn't want a coffee table because I felt it would chop up the traffic flow of my living space; not to mention that they are pretty much the opposite of the rest of my furniture.

But wait! there's more . . . the idea is to make these two tables into extra storage for magazines and such.

The tops of these tables are screwed in place. I will remove the tops, add piano style hinges to give them "lifting lids", and add bottoms to them with braces just under the skirting. This will give me about four inches deep of storage. Lots of room to hide all those remote controls out of sight for when company is over.

A little bit of functional French je ne sais quoi in the middle of my living room.

. . . how à propos !

little bit of decor dreaming . . .

. . .on a warm summer day