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Christmas Vignettes (and My Kitchen and Laundry Room Trees)

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Christy

Our family Christmas tree in my living room is not very glamorous, but that’s okay. I let my kids decorate it every year, and it’s covered with homemade ornaments of every shape and color. I love to look at other people’s beautifully coordinated and styled trees {take a look at my friend Andrea’s trees here and here}, and maybe one year I’ll have one, too, but for now, the point is that my kids enjoy our family Christmas tradition, even if that means we wind up with a Charlie Brown tree!

To compensate, I have a small tree in my kitchen and another one in my laundry room. Why not?

I love my laundry room tree. It sports a scrap of blue and white ticking stripe fabric around its base, jute twine as “roping”, tiny clothespins as ornaments, and bars of Fels Naptha soap as “presents” under the tree. I also borrowed from my daughter’s doll house, and so you see the wash tub and board, sewing basket, scissors, and little washer and dryer as part of the decor. Last year, I used a measuring tape as garland; this year, I kind of liked the twine. Does anyone else have a tree in their laundry room, or is it just me?

The kitchen tree is nestled in an old Ritz cracker tin (I got that idea from Andrea–thanks, girl!). I’ve collected kitchen-themed ornaments for several years–my favorites are my mixer, blender, and coffee pot, although my kids are fascinated with the tiny cheese grater and flour sifter!

I didn’t really go over the top with Christmas decorations this year {simplify!}, but I did jazz up our coffee area a bit. The colorful Christmas subway art is a free printable from Tammy Mitchell photography, and you can download it {here}.

I used one of my homemade banners/garlands over the open shelving in the dining room. You can read about my “Merry” garland that I used in my outdoor decor {here}.

The vintage decanters always sit on top of my dining room buffet–for the holiday they just got jollied up with a little sign.

My thrift store silver candelabra is sporting festive red wreaths (I tried one on the Venus de Milo’s head, but it didn’t quite fit).

The vintage Santa mugs were my grandmother’s (that’s a picture of her as a little girl on the top shelf).

I decorated the dresser in my front entry for the holiday, using white and silver.

The powder room got a little touch of Christmas, too:

Did you do more or less than you usually do this year when it comes to decorating for the holidays?

We’re sharing this at Rhoda’s Christmas Vignette Party, be sure to stop by and see all the fun!

Also linking up to:

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Posted in Christmas, Holidays, Home Tours, Winter | Tagged Christmas, Decor, kitchen tree, laundry room tree, silver, vignettes, white | 4 Comments

Progress in My Dining Room–Open Shelving and Chevrons!

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Christy

Sneak peek of the “after”

**There’s still time to enter our giveaway for a hand-stamped silver necklace from Pure Gratitude. Click {here} to read about it!**

I’ve been working on my dining room over the past few weeks. It’s the first room you see when you enter our home, and it’s always been my least favorite. I had two goals: to make it more welcoming and casual. Right now, we only use our dining room two or three times a year, and I’m convinced it’s because it’s such a formal room–and we’re not really formal people!

When we moved in, the walls were a deep chocolate brown and the trey ceiling was faux finished with a brown and gold treatment. The window treatments were lovely, but made the room really dark, and the paint color sucked all the light out of the room. I also wasn’t a fan of the chandelier. Here’s a “before” picture I dug out from my house hunting pictures.

Last summer, I scored a Ballard Grande Claire chandelier on Craigslist for $100, and sold the old one on Craigslist for $100. That worked out well, huh? My sweet husband painted the walls while the kids and I were away (“Camouflage” by Benjamin Moore) and we lived with it like this for about a year, but it wasn’t exactly right:

The week of Halloween, I reached the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I sold the drapes on Craigslist (and they went FAST) and rolled up the antique hooked wool rug that our sweet rescue dog ripped last month. He didn’t mean to, but he was chasing the cat and skidded out. I think the room looks better without it, anyway.

I painted the walls “Fawn Brindle” by Sherwin Williams, but mixed at only half strength so it would be lighter. We have that color in our living room/great room so I wanted there to be a slight contrast with the rest of the downstairs. The painting went quickly because the bottom half of the walls is wainscoting and two walls are open to the living room.

Next, I decided to install open shelving over the buffet. I used Amy’s idea from her kitchen, and built my shelves from stair treads and corbels (both from Home Depot). At my store, they were in the same row. Here are the corbels I used:

I spray painted the corbels and the stair treads and hung them. In hindsight, I’d put them a little lower to make them more functional for storing dishes and serving pieces, but then I wouldn’t have had room to put the silver platter on the wall, and I really like it there. Read about how to hang silver platters easily {here}.

The next thing I did was to add a little chevron shelf paper to the doors of the buffet. I bought a couple of rolls when Amy found them at TJ Maxx and used them to redo her pantry and her butler’s pantry. LOVE the chevrons, and I should be able to just peel the paper off if/when I change my mind.

I pulled these two prints off the wall (I bought them at a thrift store in Virginia when we lived there) and decided to turn the gorgeous frames into chalkboards. Here’s the before:

And the after:

I hung the two frames on either side of the shelving–I’m a big fan of symmetry! Oh, and chalkboard art is TOUGH–but I’m going to keep practicing.

I moved the guitars upstairs and had a free corner to the right of the buffet. I decided to bring in a little antique metal stool that hasn’t really had a home in this house. It was painted celery green but I gave it a coat of metallic silver to make it look a bit more industrial. Here’s how it turned out:

Now we’re ready to have small visitors come to dinner!

Hobby Lobby is selling gray chevron fabric right now, so I bought enough to cover the piano bench:

Now, it’s not done yet. The windows are bare, although my plan is to buy plain white panels from Ikea or Target and paint stripes on them.

Here’s where we are so far:

Vintage decanters on the buffet serve as my bar area:

My mom and dad’s wedding announcement always gets pride of place:

If you’re really observant you can tell that I continued to tweak the styling and things aren’t in the same place in all of the pictures. Here’s a wide shot:

See Harley in the corner? He’s really sorry about the rug!

I left the ceiling brown; I had debated painting it a deeper gray, but with the antique bronze/gold of the chandelier and the brown wood of the furniture, it worked to keep it the way it was.

Here’s the BIG question, though, and I need everyone’s advice. I am seriously considering painting the table, chairs, and buffet. The table was seriously damaged in our last move (thanks so much, Atlas Van Lines!) and I’m going to have to take it apart anyway to try to repair the pedestals. The tabletop is damaged, too. So, I’d love your feedback on whether or not to paint; if so, what color (white? gray?), and also your opinions on different methods. I’ve never used chalk paint and hear it’s the bomb. Thanks in advance for your input, and thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in DIY, Home Inspiration, Real Spaces | Tagged chalkboard, chevron, Dining Room, gray, Grey, open shelving, painted, silver | 18 Comments

Giveaway: Hand-Stamped Silver Necklace by Pure Gratitude

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Christy

We’ve got an amazing giveaway for you guys this week, just in time for the holidays! Our friend Michelle at Pure Gratitude is graciously donating this gorgeous hand-stamped silver necklace to one of our followers:

This necklace is extra-special because it’s part of Michelle’s 2012 collection for My Heart Your Hands. I wrote about my cousin Stephanie and her not-for-profit {here} and would ask you to please take the time to read that post, if you haven’t already, because the work my cousin does is very important (you can follow Steph on Twitter @myHEARTyrHANDS). All five items in Michelle’s My Heart Your Hands collection are dedicated to the cancer survivor community, and 25% of the profits from those pieces go to MHYH. I love that the message of this necklace is one of “hope.”

Michelle has some other amazing pieces, too. The family monogram necklace is one of my favorites. Amy and Terry, would you mind emailing my husband with that little tidbit in time for Christmas, please?!

I’m also partial to this silver circle bracelet–so dainty!

I also love the meaning behind the name “Pure Gratitude.” Michelle writes that, “At Pure Gratitude we celebrate life. Life is a valuable gift, our joys and journeys are what make us unique. We believe in giving thanks, capturing every moment and generous giving.” Isn’t that the perfect sentiment for this month of Thanksgiving?

***This giveaway starts today and goes through Wednesday, November 14th at noon (central time). We’ll announce the winner on Thursday, November 15th. Here’s how to enter:

Follow 11 Magnolia Lane via email, Facebook, or Twitter (1 entry EACH). Use the buttons on the right sidebar to follow, and then leave us a comment below to let us know (if you already follow, leave us a comment telling us that!).
Retweet, repost, or share the giveaway, and leave a comment below. (1 entry)
Follow Pure Gratitude on Facebook {here} or Twitter, and leave a comment below. (1 entry)
Visit Pure Gratitude’s website and leave a comment below letting us know which item is at the top of your wish list! (1 entry)

So, you can each earn up to SIX entries (be sure you’ve commented below for EACH entry!). Good luck to all of you, and thanks for stopping by!***

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Posted in Causes Close to Our Hearts, giveaways | Tagged hand stamped, Jewelry, My Heart Your Hands, necklace, Pure Gratitude, silver | 55 Comments

My Pink & Silver Closet Reveal–Organized Bliss!

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Christy

Last weekend was our 17th wedding anniversary. I got married as an infant, I promise you! We went out to a trendy restaurant in East Nashville to celebrate (so you know we were out of place with all the young hipsters ), and then on Sunday, I decided to celebrate by painting my closet! My husband just rolls his eyes–he knows that’s as fun for me as playing a round of golf is for him.

We are fortunate to have his-and-hers walk-in closets in our room; this is the first time we haven’t had to share a closet. It probably works out well for my husband, because even though his is a tiny bit smaller, he doesn’t have to worry about all my stuff crowding him out! When we first moved in, I was having a hard time making the closet work. Finally, I realized the fault was my own–I had too many clothes! I did a huge purge and took bagfuls to Goodwill. There were so many things that were nice but I just never got around to wearing. Why not bless someone else with it? And then there’s room for MORE! Never mind, I didn’t really mean that–well, sort of. If you promise not to hold it against me, I will let you look at the disorganized “before”:

I know, it burns, doesn’t it?! Everything worked so much better once I got rid of some things. I love all those gorgeous closets on Pinterest–the ones with accessory islands, chaise lounges, refrigerators, swimming pools, etc.–but that’s not real life for most of us. And I am perfectly content with my life, and my closet! I LOVE harlequin diamonds, and decided that I wanted to go with a pink and silver wall treatment to honor my love of all things girly and blingy (if that’s a word). I’m going to do a separate post on how to paint harlequin diamonds, if you’ve never done it before. It’s a bit tricky and time-consuming, but SO worth it in the end result.

My paint color was “Princess” from Valspar (from Lowe’s). There was a $5 rebate on paint that weekend and while I intended to buy a can of pink paint from their “Oops” section, they only had quarts and I figured I’d need a gallon since I planned to paint the ceiling, too. I used Martha Stewart’s glaze (from Home Depot) in Mercury, and while I’ll cover the process in more detail when I write the “diamonds post”, I used 1 part paint to 2 parts glaze to give a silvery sheen to the harlequin diamonds. The last part of the painting process was to use a silver upholstery tack to embellish the diamonds. I snagged those at Hobby Lobby. I painted the ceiling pink, too, to disguise a pop-up entrance to the attic, although I didn’t put any diamonds on the ceiling. Here’s how the diamonds looked when I was finished (they’re very subtle):

After I reinstalled the shelving (yes, I had to take it out to paint), I moved on to the fun part, installing the chandelier. I bought the Kristaller chandelier for $40 the last time I was at Ikea, and that’s what I hung in here. Perfect! As I’ve mentioned before, I despise white wire shelving. I ripped it out in my laundry room and my pantry, but since we know we’re moving in a few months, I just didn’t feel I could justify the expense of doing the same thing in my closet. So I didn’t have to stare at SO much white wire, I used a couple of black lamp/chandelier cord covers to disguise the front of the shelves. The little velcro closures made them fit like a charm. Check them out in the “after” pictures…

While I’ve had my shoes stored in plastic Sterilite bins for years, I upgraded my labeling system with chalkboard labels. I’ll write a separate post about them next since they were so easy but made such a big difference. I’ve also set a strict limit for myself–I can only have as many shoes as will fit on the top shelf. And in the shoe organizer (below). That’s it. REALLY.

I had so much extra space that I got to hang a gorgeous quatrefoil monogram in pink and gray from one of my favorite sites for free printables, For Chic Sake. Thanks so much, girls!

They have several different color choices, by the way. Here’s a close-up:

I also printed out their hanger tags {here}. My daughter might get more use out of them, but they sure are fun!

I brought in my black and white mannequin to show off some jewelry.

A set of hooks that I snagged at the thrift store holds necklaces, or tote bags.

Another little shelf (also from the thrift store) holds scarves and pins.

By the way, I spray-painted the light switch plate metallic silver…I thought it would be a fun touch.

The big wicker trunk was my mom’s. It holds my purses and tote bags; I just can’t make them look good when they’re out in the open!

The hat box on the floor holds–you guessed it–hats. Go figure!

Here are a few last shots of the “After”. I hope you love it as much as I do. Oh, and keep reading at the bottom, because I’m going to let you in on a secret!

OK, in case you were wondering, not ALL of my clothes are black, white, and sequined. However, wouldn’t it be easier if they all were?! While I had fun staging the closet for the pictures, that’s not real life. Here’s what it really looks like:

I might spray paint those natural-colored baskets silver. What do you think?

Thanks for keeping it real with me, and thanks for stopping by!

Linking up at:

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Posted in Closets, DIY, Home Inspiration, Home Tours, Organization, Real Spaces | Tagged black, closet, harlequin diamond, organization, Pink, silver, walk-in, white | 43 Comments

Master Bathroom Reveal–Finally!

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Christy

I kicked it into gear right around Christmas and got to work on the master bathroom–because of course I didn’t have anything better to do but paint (ie bake, wrap presents, decorate the house, write Christmas cards…). I just couldn’t live with the green another minute, though! I have since painted the master bedroom and sitting area the same color, but they’re still being decorated and aren’t ready for public consumption yet. In the meantime, welcome to our new and improved master bathroom!

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I actually took the above picture while standing in the bathtub. As is true of most bathrooms, it’s laid out in a way that makes one panoramic shot virtually impossible. I tried to get some good angles to show you what we’ve done.

The below shot is taken from the hallway where you enter the bathroom. The WC is off to the left in a separate room, but I figured you really didn’t need to see that, and the shower stall and soaking tub are to the right. The double vanity is to the left, obviously.

I decided not to paint the cabinets, which is odd for me since I love white cabinets. However, my paint color (Pebble Beach by Benjamin Moore) is a very light blue-gray, and it goes really well with the brown cabinets. I also opted to keep the existing lighting fixtures, which are an antiqued bronze/gold color, and found this chandelier on Craigslist to keep the theme going:

Just a note on chandeliers–I personally think they add a ton to a home’s resale value, but they’re pretty expensive when you buy them new (even at Lowe’s and Home Depot!). I comb Craigslist on a regular basis and have found some real steals. From my screened porch chandelier that I spent $20 on (here) and spray painted white, to the Ballard Designs Grande Claire that I found for my dining room and paid $100 for, to this beauty (from the same guy I bought the Grande Claire from), you can really make your home more beautiful, even if you’re on a budget. While I hang my own chandeliers, I know that some of you might not be comfortable working with electricity. It’s actually pretty simple once you know what to do. I would recommend that you hire an electrician to change your first light fixture for you, and make sure that he explains each step to you. Take pictures if you need to! There are also great online tutorials. I am at the point now where I can rewire the chandelier to fix non-functioning arms, and also lengthen the electrical cord and chain when I need more length than the previous owner did. In this case, the chandelier was way too big to hang in the exact place where my flush-mounted light was, because the door to the WC would have bumped into it. Instead of moving the box, which is a pain and probably something I’m not qualified to do , I just lengthened the cord and chain and swagged the chandelier over to the bathtub. I’m sure it would make for a nice, luxurious soak with a chandy overhead, but of course I haven’t done that yet!

Large chandeliers look better with a ceiling medallion in place, and this one came along with the light fixture. I painted it Pebble Beach and screwed it in place, although some of them are light enough that the canopy of the chandelier holds them up.

While we didn’t do much more than paint and add the chandelier in here to change things around, our one major project was to add shelves on the wall behind the sinks. We used an Ikea Billy bookcase as our starting point, and just added trim and molding to make it look like a built in. Kate at Centsational Girl has a great tutorial on how to do it here. We had to modify things a bit, because there’s a heating register under our Billy, but we took it slow and just figured it out as we went. Thank goodness for spackle and caulk! What was wasted space is now much more functional, and beautiful.

My one remaining goal for this room is to pull down the huge mirror that the builder put in and instead install two separate mirrors over each sink, but there are other things in the house that are going to have to happen first. I can live with it in the meantime. I’m also considering changing out the cabinet and drawer knobs for crystal ones, but I’ll wait until I find just the right ones.

I had fun styling the room. Most of it is either flea market, thrift store, or just old stuff that was my mom’s. I added a shelf over the bathtub to display some of my old glass bottles and some bath accessories. The B monogram in the silver frame is actually vinyl, applied directly to the wall, with the empty frame hung over it. I borrowed that great idea from my very creative friend, Andrea.

I love my old gravy boat that’s losing its silverplate. I found it at a thrift store and put it to work holding bath salts.

Here are a few other shots showing you how I used old silver and crystal pieces to dress up boring bathroom items:

I’ll leave you with a shot of Amy’s Christmas present to me: words to live by, from Coco Chanel:

Thanks for stopping by!

PS Don’t forget to follow us with the new Linky Tools {button on the right sidebar} to easily stay up to date with Magnolia Lane!

Linking up to:

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Posted in Bathrooms, Before and After, DIY, Home Inspiration, Home Tours, Real Spaces | Tagged Bathroom, blue, bookshelves, built-ins, chandelier, crystal, redo, remodel, silver, white | 54 Comments

Tutorial: Quick and Easy Way to Hang Silver Platters

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Christy

I’ve been working on our master bathroom and bedroom, both of which were painted a shocking apple green (think late 90′s) when we moved in. The bathroom’s almost done, and one of my projects last week was to hang some silver platters on the wall. I have an addiction to buying old silver at thrift stores and flea markets, and silverplate is fine with me–it’s way cheaper and I actually like the way it looks when the plate starts to wear off.

I didn’t want to buy the metal plate hangers to hang these–first, I was feeling frugal, and second, I don’t like the way they metal hooks show around the sides of the plates. I figured there had to be an easier way to hang lightweight plates and platters on the wall, and this is what I came up with, using 3M Command Hooks. It’s too easy to even be called a tutorial, yet that’s exactly what I’m calling it…

1. Depending on the size and shape of your plate, use either one or two hooks on the back. For example, here’s what I did to hang the round platter. It took just one hook, note that I used the metal kind and I flipped the hook backwards from how you’d normally hang it.

For the oval platters, which have edges that round up (like a bowl), I used two hooks each, turned sideways, and I flipped the hooks to create a hole for the nail:

2. To hang, I used a twist tie to secure the round platter to the nail in the wall. I just happened to have the silver ones from cello treat bags but the color doesn’t matter as it doesn’t show. Please forgive my sad little hands that desperately need Tokyo Milk lotion, a spa day, and a week in the Bahamas!

The oval platters just hang directly onto the nail, no picture needed. Here’s the finished look, with no visible hanging hardware:

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The 3M people recommend that you wait awhile after sticking the hooks on before you actually hang them, to give the tape time to set, but I only ever do that when I’m hanging something heavy. And when it’s time for a change, you just pull the hooks and tape off and your platters are ready to be used for something else. Too easy!

Stay tuned for the bathroom reveal, coming soon, and thanks for stopping by!

Posted in Before and After, DIY, Home Inspiration, Projects & Printables | Tagged bath, Bathroom, hanging, hook, master, plate, platter, silver, tutorial | 8 Comments

Merry and Bright–Getting the Decorations Up!

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Christy

In real life, I have a husband and kids and a very busy calendar (and a very messy kitchen), and so my Christmas decorations do not go up overnight. Rather, it takes me about a week. We were out of town for Thanksgiving, too, and so I feel like I came home already behind the eight ball. So, room by room we are getting decked out for Christmas.

I had to start with my daughter’s room, mostly because she would have decorated herself if I hadn’t, and that would have been a mess! We had a great time in there for a day, and then I moved on to the kitchen because I love my little kitchen tree the most of any of my trees. I must admit here and now that the Ritz cracker can is an idea that I borrowed from my good friend Andrea. All of the ornaments are kitchen/cooking related.

Next, I did the wet bar. I took down my mint julep cups from the shelf and put up my grandmother’s Santa mugs and little Santa nut cups (I think they’re nut cups, at least). Thank you to my cousin, Stephanie, for sharing some of the mugs with me–they were the best Christmas present ever! I didn’t do much else here besides add some evergreens and holly (I cut both from the backyard) and light some candles. I think the old leaded glass window is a decoration in and of itself.

My grandmother’s Santa mugs:

Vintage decanters from my grandmother and thrift shop silver tray.

After the kitchen and the wet bar were done, I moved into the library, and did the mantel there. Our house has four fireplaces, so I’m going to need a few more ideas. Fortunately, Southern Hospitality and The Lettered Cottage are having a vignette party, so I can get lots of good mantel ideas there!

My goal for this Christmas was not to buy anything new, and to just use what I had, whether it was technically a Christmas decoration or not. I did buy fresh poinsettias ($3.50 each at Wal-mart) and the letters to make the JOY banner ($5 at Hobby Lobby for the letters and the ribbon–I already had the spray paint and the glitter), but that’s it. Everything else was already in the house and just got moved to the mantel. I cut cypress greens from the backyard and magnolia leaves from the front. I’m still tweaking it a bit, but here it is as of 8pm tonight!