Hello dear friend!, I just had the most fun, on Friday afternoon, at a design consultation, here in town! While I don’t have those fancy letters after my name, designating a design degree, I have years of hands on experience and truly love helping people love their homes! Mary Clare just moved into a smaller home and was trying to create a game plan. Without oodles of surplus cash, we prioritized projects, selected paint colors to try, and talked about all things “Home”. We covered a lot in 2 hours. I was so pleased, to get her letter!: Hello Barbara,…
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Well, after all the planning and anticipation, our neighborhood 4th of July party went on without a hitch! Mr. Wonderful and I had a lot of fun, which is a good thing, because happy hosts make for happy guests. Hostess Rule #1: Nothing’s worth getting all stressed out about! Trust me, I’ve been there! Guests pick up on your stress and no one relaxes. Hostess Rule #2: Have plenty of seating! I brought this bench home from the shop…love the color! And we even spread a painters drop cloth with a table cloth on the lawn, which lots of people…
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Greetings!, My “15 minutes of fame” continues! The feature article, about our home is now in print! I said it before, and I’ll say it again, this is not “Traditional Home or any other great national publication, but it sure was fun and it gets lots of attention on a local level. Tyler, the Wonder Dog, was pictured in the article and has gotten lots of fan mail, from girl dogs, asking for dates. I told him to be particular! Read the article here Do you have a local publication like this? Our’s invites readers to submit emails, if interested…
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Updating our upstairs We’re in the process of another remodeling project and are going to be replacing the blinds in my son’s room with plantation shutters. But there’s this cute little window above the window seat, that probably should have never been placed where it was. That’s because it’s directly facing the west and lets in all sorts of sunshine and heat during the summer months, especially in the late afternoon. We looked into having it professionally removed, replacing the window with wall, but that came with the pretty high price tag! So, Budget Barb has struck again! (when my…
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Hello sweet friends!, As I mentioned last week, I wanted to turn our old barn red picnic table into a color that resembled drift wood. At the Haven conference, I saw how they had used Annie Sloan Old White and Paris Gray, to create this look. Once we got it on the back patio, I knew there was an ingredient in the recipe, that they forgot to mention. Probably something like dark wax. But since it will spend time in the sun, I knew that wasn’t an option. As you can see here, I started adding a watered down Country…
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Hello again! If you’re a lover of all things French, we have a new beauty, staying with us! From the late 1800’s, this amazing 12-light crystal chandy has been well cared for and in near-perfect condition. There are still crystals to be hung, but trust me, when I say this piece is truly stunning! These Hitchcock chair are $195 for all four. Not quite as jaw dropping as the French chandelier, but nice, all the same! If you’re headed to a shower or wedding anytime soon, Veranda has all sorts of possibilities, for the gift giver. vintage, lace edged sheet…
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Hi there!, Have you ever tried to repair a piece of furniture, with a stripped out screw? Nope, neither have I. But Mr. Wonderful showed me how and you may want to know how to do this someday. Or, not. This fabulous tutorial, and I use that term loosely, was done on a 50 year old, redwood picnic table Bob made with his dad. A family heirloom! One leg was wobbly and needed to be fixed for our neighborhood 4th of July BBQ. 1. Bob drilled a hole to accommodate a piece of 1/4″ dowel snugly. 2. He then covered…
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Well, I may be a little behind schedule, but it’s never too late for a mantle update! It’s been looking like this for a while, and I thought it was looking a little dull, for the summer months. Everything’s looking kind of… brown! Can’t have that! Croquet balls should be kind of summery. But they are brown. So I stuck them on the coffee table. I brought in my three little thrift shop vases and of course added some fresh silk flowers. They go together with my faux baby’s breath, or whatever that stuff is, in the urn. Don’t tell…
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