Thursday, September 12, 2013

Fall Sitting Room

As much as I love trying to create soft and serene spaces in our home, somehow, the "old Becca" resurfaces each Fall, wanting pops of bold color!  So, when it came time to tossing pumpkins around our sitting room, SOMEthing just wasn't working.  It was then that a trip to my favorite "Fabric Showcase" solved the problem!

BEFORE ... our "Summer" sitting room was calm, with panels done in soft shades of grey, cream and taupe:


And, HERE it is today!  COLOR!


When I spotted this pretty fabric, I thought it would be a fun addition (thanks to its beautiful deep orange background and various shades of brown, cream and duck egg blue) and tie in with the blue accent chest on the opposite wall:

Pieces which blended in with the other curtains now seem to have a bit more presence:



You may have noticed that I didn't stop there, as the bookcase got a little change for the new season, too.

BEFORE:


AFTER:  I traded out the grey and white script fabric for this cool brown and white chevron fabric (thanks for pointing that one out, Beth):


I love how Fall goodies bounce against it:



Even cute, inexpensive pumpkin plates (from Home Goods) seem to play nicely with it!


I also brought in these large candlesticks from the dining room (and, oops, I forgot to light the wicks for good luck) ... just might have to splash some AS Old Ochre on them to tie in a bit better with the new colors in here!



Over on this wall ... I added large Fall branches to an otherwise muted arrangement.  Annnd, to tie in with the curtains, I decided to add a tiny bit of the same fabric to a simple white pillow:  


I suppose I shouldn't get tooo used to these colors, as I'm sure the oranges and browns will be traded for lots of red later next month!  Oops ... thank goodness Fabric Showcase's prices are really reasonable!


So, tell me ... do you change your fabrics out to suit the seasons, too?  

 As always, thanks for stopping by!

 And, come on over and party here:

 My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
Stone Gable/Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits
Clean and Scentsible/The Inspiration Exchange

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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Sneak Peeks of Fall ...

Happy September, friends!  

I can hardly believe Fall is officially just a few weeks away!  Of course, you know I couldn't wait until then to start splashing colors of the upcoming season around the house.

And, lucky for me, Bath and Body Works puts their Fall candles out in August ... with "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" being the perfect scent to get me in the mood to "get my Fall on!"


There's something about the colors, elements and traditions of Fall that make our house feel like "home," whether it's a putting together a colorful vignette on our kitchen table ...  


or showcasing a single pinecone in a glass cloche.


A once empty bowl looks so much happier filled with pumpkins and raffia ...


Fall sprays (and a sorry attempt at a bow) now "crown" a lantern ...


and, urns somehow become the perfect place to nestle burlap, white pumpkins and splash of orange leaves.


Words of the season begin to appear ...


mercury pumpkins come out of hiding ...


and, unwanted visitors somehow become welcomed guests!


And, after SEV-eral attempts, I *think* I'm finally done with our Fall mantel!


Above all else, this season always reminds me of the importance of family, which is why I love putting together our Fall family tree!  It has become a yearly tradition and, admittedly, every time I hang this picture, I wish my son (now 7) was that 2 year old cutie-patootie again!


Soon, I'll be sharing sneak peeks of how Fall has crept onto our screened porch, too!

I can't wait to see how all of you have added the colors of the season to your homes!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

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Friday, August 23, 2013

Our Kitchen Tour and TWO Giveaways!

Greetings, friends!

 I'm so excited to be joining an incredible group of gals in sharing our kitchens!  And, even more excited that one, no, make that TWO of you, have a chance to win either a new Pfister faucet (worth up to $300) or a $250 Visa gift card (details below)!

Because I've shared our kitchen with those of you who have visited before, I thought I'd take a trip down decorating lane ...

You see, once upon a time, in the land of red, green and gold, lived a kitchen that looked like this.  Eventually, I began a love affair with a paint brush (and a lighter and brighter color scheme) ...


That love affair with paint eventually turned our kitchen into THIS!  I think one of the first changes you might notice is our island, which we first had face panels added to it.  I then painted it Annie Sloane's Old White, followed by her Chateaux Grey (then distressed) ... added a butcher block top and farmhouse legs.

It's now a favorite spot for me to attempt to style vignettes to suit the seasons ...


and to "welcome" you with Scrabble tiles to one of our favorite spots in our humble abode:


Another big change is that we said goodbye to our laminate countertops, maple cabinets and red accent wall ...


and a big, fat HELLO(!) to Golden Beach granite, cabinets which I painted Annie Sloane's "Pure White," walls painted Ben Moore's Manchester Tan and bead board backsplash!  Amazing what a can of paint (or 10) can do, isn't it?


I love how things placed on our counters now really "pop" against the white beadboard and how fabulous the granite is for hiding crumbs (oops):



BEFORE:


AFTER!  We also retired our wrought iron bar stools pictured above (which I eventually painted AS's Pure White) and replaced them with "bare wood" Napoleon rush seat bar stools, which I then painted AS Pure White and Chateaux Grey to tie in with the island and dry bar in our breakfast area.  We also had molding and shadow boxes added to the back of our breakfast bar:


See that lone maple cabinet in the left corner?  It didn't like being by itself, so, down it came ...


and up went 3 shelves which I made ... they will soon be splashed with pumpkins!



One thing that will NEVER change is my laziness ... yes, our chalkboard (that we  made and added to our pantry door) still says Happy "Holly" Day from last Christmas.  Shame!


Skip on over to our breakfast area now.  Sometimes, I truly can't believe it once looked like this.  I do miss the vibrant red, especially around the holidays...


HERE is what it looks like today!  It doesn't even look like the same space, does it?  That's thanks to a dry bar that we had installed, which, of course, I then painted AS' Pure White and Chateaux Grey.  We also replaced the chandelier with one that was once in our dining room.  New curtains and bamboo shades were eventually added, along with a farmhouse table, to help complete the French Country look that I was hoping to achieve:


Now, that summer is coming to a close, it's time to starting splashing a bit of Fall around!  

 Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and allowing me to share our kitchen/breakfast area!  Who knows what it will look like if you stop over again!


Before you go, you simply MUST visit the other tours that are taking place!  AND, don't forget to enter our giveaway (details below)!  
Thursday, August 22

Friday, August 23

And now for the giveaway!

Kitchen Tour Giveaway!

There will be two winners for this giveaway! Pfister generously donated a prize for this giveaway, so one winner will receive a free faucet worth up to $300, and a second winner will receive a $250 Visa gift card! To enter for your chance  to win, just follow the steps below!

Step 1: Follow the bloggers below on Pinterest:
Practically Functional
Step 2: Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck, everyone ... and, thanks for stopping by!
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Thursday, August 22, 2013

Kitchen Tour Series Has Begun ...

Greetings, friends!  You're all in for a real treat as a bunch of bloggers (and myself) are sharing our kitchens as part of our Kitchen series.  PLUS, there's going to be not one, but two, giveaways ... one lucky person will receive a new Pfister faucet, worth up to $300, and a second person will win a $250 Visa gift card! 

So, go grab something refreshing and take a peek at the following blogs starting today!
Thursday, August 22


Friday, August 23


Thanks for stopping by,
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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Tic Tock ... it's a New Clock

Happy Tuesday!

 When we first bought this secretary (you can see how I transformed it HERE) earlier this year, I added an iron piece I had on hand above it as a temporary filler.  For months, I couldn't decide between a piece of art OR a clock ... art ... clock; clock ... art. Po-tae-to ... po-tah-to.  I gave up.


Then, last week, as I ran into Big Lots to grab something totally unrelated, I spotted this pretty (and really inexpensive) clock.  Without debating with myself in aisle 3, I scooped it up thinking it.just.might.work. 


It looks a bit heavy and ornate, doesn't it?  Well, thankfully, it's not!  In fact, it's made of PLASTIC and light as a feather!  My clumsy self truly appreciated that as I tried to balance the "tiny" mounting hole onto the wall.


Once it was up, I then decided to add a bit of greenery on top of the secretary to give the clock a bit more presence:


BEFORE:



AFTER:



 *Yup,* it.just.might.work!

 Now, I'm off to get my kitchen ready as I'm excited to be part of another series, featuring kitchen tours!  I hope you'll join us ... there's going to be an amazing giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by,
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