Dining Room Edition

This is a once a week project but because I was late to the party, you get to peek inside 2 days in a row. Lucky you :)

Today we are doing the dining room, this space served as my sewing area for a few years - nice, right? I never really had any pressure to host a holidays in the past because my parents lived 10 minutes away and my in laws were an hour away. My parents moved to the Cape full time in 2000, so I felt it was a sign to get my rear in gear and furnish this room so I could play hostess from time to time :) I am soooo glad we finally did it! I love playing hostess and hanging in here when we have friends over for dinner.

This room sits right off the living room. In fact I am standing in the open doorway to take this shot. It's not very spacious, and a little on the dark side with this only window, but truth be told we spend very little time in here and that time is mostly in the evening hours so it works out fine.

We bought this china cabinet a few years ago as joint birthday gifts to ourselves. I love having it, it felt like a luxury purchase but boy oh boy did I feel a bit ashamed after unpacking our lovely wedding gifts of Waterford crystal and Lenox china that had sat lonely in boxes in our basement for over 10 years. It's nice to have everything out on display.

I chose this chandelier for it's casual meets fancy feel. At Christmas time I like to hang little teeny glass ball ornaments in red, green, and white from it (stole this idea from my mother in law). You can see my aqua gurgling cod up top on the right. I love that pitcher which was a birthday gift from my sister last year.

The long wooden centerpiece was a gift from my Grammer Fuller. It is an antique bread board (that belonged to her) and I love decorating with it! Apples in the fall look cute, little pumpkins around Halloween etc etc.

This is the first piece of original artwork I ever purchased by local artist Anne Turnley. I love the colors and her style of painting reminds me of my Grammer Fuller's style. Artwork and picture hanging has always been a great challenge for me. Hanging it, grouping it, selecting it etc etcHere is the back left wall with a buffet and mirror from my mother in law's old dining room. They say mirrors make your space appear bigger and this is one of many rooms where I could use an optical illusion :) xo, Brie

Living Room Tour

Following One Fabulous Mom's lead, I have taken a few pics of our living room for your viewing pleasure :)

This is a fun exercise because: A. it forces you to look at your own space with a more critical eye as you take pictures to post and share and B. it motivates you pick up things like a bocce ball set that has been lying underneath your piano since May!!

Before I reveal all the pics, I will embarrassingly share that this room remained EMPTY for years after we bought the house. This is the first and only house we have owned and the living room seemed like such a luxury verses necessity, so it was a big old empty room for toys for longer than I care to admit. Unfortunately it is directly to your right in an open doorway when you walk through the front door, so the wide open barren space was a bit of an eye sore.


Almost 100% of the actual furniture in this room was inherited. I was afraid the fabrics and colors might not work with the existing dining room that is adjacent to this room (also with an wide open doorway) but I think it works just fine and no longer fret over these types of things and it looks a whole lot better than the brightly colored plastic climb-on toy that lived in there for 4 years prior ;)


So without further ado... I give you my preppy pink and green living room!



The couch, chairs, rug, coffee table and end tables all belonged to my parents, when they moved to the Cape full time their house didn't include a formal living room so we hit the jackpot :) I remember going to the furniture place when I was little to choose this set. They had different fabrics on them at the time, but I clearly remember thinking they were the fanciest, most beautiful furniture I had ever seen.

The plant stand was inherited by Mr. KB's mother. I love it!! I am having some serious troubles keeping a plant alive in there - the aqua globe failed me! Any suggestions for a mid size plant that doesn't require an excessive amount of maintenance would be greatly appreciated.




Another view of the empty plant stand and right wall. The shades (just cut out of the shot) are a natural bamboo and I love them b/c they offer privacy while still providing light when pulled down. I keep them up like this a lot to keep an eye on the kids while they play and ride their bikes out front. My sister Keely made me the drapes and I think she did a great job - I love them! I made the throw pillows on the chairs and didn't do a very good job on them! I was my first time attempting a pillow cover with beading but they just sit there, so they look fine. I love the pink and green animal toile fabric on them.


Here you can see the bamboo shades and one of my favorite green glass witch balls (a gift from my late great Aunt Hat) I love colored glass and have a thing for these glass balls. I added the french wired pink and green striped ribbon for fun.




Here is a fairly unexciting view of the left back corner. The upholstered seat was one of my first ebay purchases. I think I paid 100 dollars for it, still not quite sure what to with it, but I love the little palm tree Lee Joffa fabric on it. On the wall you will see an original oil crayon artwork by my daughter Kay done in grade 5.

I made these shades for the sconces out of the same fabric on the drapes and embellished them with a braided pom pom trim.

Two years ago my Uncle Mark gave us his late mother's and accomplished pianist Ursula's piano. It is a beautiful baby grand piano with ivory keys and plays beautifully. Kay started taking lessons as soon as we got it. The boys haven't expressed much interest but Ms. C is chomping at the bit to learn to play... maybe soon :) The bench is a very intricate and beautiful needlepoint covered seat. Unfortunately our last name begins with "M" - I haven't had the heart to recover it but may loosely cover it and just tape underneath with the same fabric I have on the chair throw pillows.

I once read in a decorating magazine that it is considered tacky or something to display pictures of your family around your house. Well the author of that article is not invited over anytime soon, because I love family photos and have them all over my house (and piano)!

My Grammer Fuller painted the black tray you see hanging on the back wall behind the piano. She is an amazing artist and used to give painting lessons in her home. Unfortunately I didn't not inherit her talent for painting.

I'm never sure if this rocker really goes here, but it was my college graduation gift from my late Gramma Gert and it's staying. I think of her every time I see it.

Last but not least (I think I've shown these before but I really love them.....) They are plaques painted by Virginia artist Nancy Thomas and were gifts from my parents and each month represents the month each of the kids were born. I remember when I was pregnant with Ms. C - her due date was August 1st. I didn't really love the July plaque so I was hoping she'd be on time or late for the August one :) ridiculous, but true! Hope you have enjoyed the tour. I think we're doing the dining room next! xo, Brie

Caroline's Room

Remember this project? We're getting there, mostly thanks to my dad! While we were away in Antigua (awesome trip, later post) my dad finished sanding off the wallpaper border for me, filled all the holes and other damage I inflicted onto the poor wall and painted the walls, trim, ceiling, and even the door. He's the best!!!!

I came home to this beautiful room done in Benjamin Moore's Fifties pink! I love the pink, it's a perfect soft pastel pink that doesn't look like a relative of pepto bismol. It looks so sweet with the white trim. Keeks made this curtain for Molly's nursery but has since moved out of that place and I inherited the gorgeous window treatment. The curtain rod with the pale pink glass globes is from Target - Shabby Chic line. I love it!

I bought this border to paint within the white of the room


It arrived on Monday which was bad timing b/c I was hoping my dad could help me get started on it but they were leaving first thing Tuesday. I am not going to lie... I LOVE this stencil, it's very me and Caroline loves it too. It is a very complicated stencil and probably not for a beginner - which might be me! There are 5 flowers in total and they are vertical stencils (I prefer horizontal) EACH flower has three overlays which adds up to one time consuming project! It took me an hour today to do three of these flowers (which appear to be the most complicated of the five)

I am happy with my paint color choices and it's nice stenciling on the white semigloss b/c it's easier to smooth out any accidental feathering. I'll keep you posted on my progress.... at this rate she'll be married by the time I'm done! xo, Brie

I'm taking Baby Steps

Back into blogging. Spring time is always a very hectic time of year for me... I have a lot to blog about actually! Here is how I spent my Sunday yesterday, de-bunking bunk beds in the boys room! Greatest thing I ever did!!! I loathed making these and after 4.5 years, I have definitely lost that loving feeling. So much better now! xo, Brie

Blogversay, Contest, and a PSA

First off - It's my one year blog anniversary. I can't believe it's been a year... I've had a lot of fun doing this and of course meeting lots of creative, sweet, and funny people through this so I have really been enjoying myself!

Next up, the ornament contest. I am pulling the winner tonight before bed and will announce in the am. If you haven't entered and you like them, please do! Your odds of winning are quite excellent ;)

Lastly, will you just look at this? I got talked into buying this 30 dollar wreath from the boy scouts at church. We have a new storm glass door over our real front door which apparently doubles as a wreath oven. Learn from my mistake and hang the wreath IN FRONT of the glass, not behind it or you'll end up with this toasted delight. The only upside was Christmasy pine smell all through the house that day as it roasted and I had no idea where it was coming from! That was 30 dollars well spent ;) xo, Brie

A Few Favorites

I've got nothing for you today. It's grey and rainy and Ms C. treated me to a 5:45 am wake call. To say I am useless today might be an understatement. I still have to pack for our trip to the Cape which is coming up soon. We are all very excited, I'll be more excited once I am packed so I can stop stressing over it :)

Here are a few pics from around the house of some of my favorite things....

we have a great art studio near us called Creative Hands. They offer art classes to all ages. Kay made this ceramic angel around Christmas time in 2001. They met for 2 hours for 5 days to work on her. Her wings have some paper mache action going on there. I love her so much!

Sorry for the flash glare, but I had trouble getting a good pic. I love these! My parents gave me these plaques by Virginia folk artist Nancy Thomas. The months represent each of the kids' birth months. I have them hanging in my living room. Ms C. was due on August 1st and I wasn't loving the July print as much as the August one, so for once I was quite happy to have a baby past due date. Ridiculous, right? ;)



Kay made me this parakeet in oil crayons last year. I love the colors so I framed it and hung it in the living room!

My grandparents have a full wall of silhouettes in a hallway at their home on the Cape. I have always been drawn to them! These are my children, I had the first three done at the Falmouth craft fair several years ago. They are SO right on, they actually look like them. Ms C arrived on the scene later and the woman who did the first 3 was no longer doing them. There was a new person doing them and hers didn't come out quite as well. The profile definitely looks like her, but the hair is cuckoo. She has really springy curly hair and I thought they would translate so cute into a silhouette. I know the level of difficulty must be higher to capture something like this, but in this instance, I think her hair looks like a long shag carpet from the 70's :) Whatev.... I still love em!

Hope you enjoyed this little peek! xo, Brie

The Lilacs at Work

These lilacs have been bringing me a lot of happiness these past couple of weeks! They have also been inspiring me to keep the house tidy because what is the point of filling a vase with beautiful flowers and putting it in the center of a messy room :)

Lilacs have really woody stems so the secret is to cut them with clippers, take them out to a hard surface (like my driveway or sidewalk) and hammer the heck out of the stems so they are all cracked and split. This helps with the uptake of water. They sadly won't last too long even with this handy tip - only 3 or 4 days. Without the hammering, they'll be wilted and done for in a few hours. Keep an eye on your water level too, b/c they get thirsty! Your space will smell beautiful!! xo, Brie

PS I am super psyched for the David y David throw down showdown! I realized last night for the first time that I would have been sad to say goodbye to David ArcheUTAH (didn't make that up but I love it!) last night. He really won me over with the Chris Brown song. I think I still want David C to win, but at least it will be an interesting finale. Let's hope anyway :)

on a final note... FANTASIA??? What the............. I watched that performance twice with my mouth open. When they would flash to Simon at the 14 minute mark with his mouth open I couldn't help but snicker. His face said it ALL! Fast forward to 2:44/2:45 to see for yourself, so funny.

Boys' Room

I did the boys room over about 4 years ago right before Ms. C arrived on the scene. The boys are 19 months apart and get along very well (most of the time!) so it made sense that they would become roommates since our house is a 4 bedroom. They love sharing the room.

By posting the "after" pic here I am hoping to inspire myself to get off my duff and DO SOMETHING in Ms. C's room which I still haven't even started.

So here is the breakdown of the new additions to the room (at the time of the makeover).

The paint: Kev's favorite color is red and since the room was originally his own the paint color is strawberry red. This is a no foolin red. Required a weird pinkish primer underneath. In the day it looks great... I am not a huge fan of it at night. It's hard to get it light enough for reading. We have an overhead light, 2 table lamps, and they each have a clip on light lamp on their bunks. It still doesn't seem to be enough!

The Bunk Beds: When they heard they would be getting these they were beside themselves excited. They are fun, I always wanted them myself as a kid. They didn't even fight about who went where. Kev wanted the top, Liam the bottom... decision made. Easy! They are very space saving in what is not a very large room. They have a nice area of rug to play on and I like that. Downside to the bunk beds is that they are a colossal pain in the you know where to make everyday. Sometimes I make them first thing just to get it over with! Sometimes I don't get to them until the end of the day b/c I just can't bear the thought of gathering the strength. You have to be trained in acrobatics by cirque de soleil to make that top one. Hate it! They do come apart and as they are getting bigger I am considering it. Only problem is it will take away a lot of room in there.

The Name Plaques: Aren't they cute?? I saw this idea on one of those Trading Spaces type shows. Go to Home Depot and get a large .5 ft by 12 or whatever you need. Mark them evenly, cut with a saw, paint, and I drew the letters on with a paint pen and filled them in with acrylics. I nailed those sawtooth hangers on the back. I really love them! Cheap and easy art :) They don't have to hang straight which I like too (I am challenged there) they look cute at mixed up angles. The dots for the i's are tops to small craft boxes (Michaels) and I painted them to look like a soccer ball and baseball. They get knocked off all the time!

The patchwork comforters: On sale half price from Pottery Barn - Score!

The afghans: Handmade just for us by my talented Gramma Gert


Happy Saturday!!! xo, Brie

Calling All Unicorns!

My poor 3 year old daughter's room is still decorated in the same wallpaper border that my dad put up for me when I was expecting my 9 year old son. It is done in the same wallpaper you may have seen in any nursery done circa late 90's. Here is the paper, I'm sure you've seen it a few million times ;) Laura Ashley Hey Diddle Diddle. It's cute but I'm over it.

This room is so not Caroline with all this blue and yellow, plus her favorite pastime last year was stripping off the wallpaper off while she was supposed to be napping! The room is in tough shape (I will post a "before" pic later)

She became very excited when I suggested the redecorating of her room. Instantly announcing, "I want it pink, with unicorns EVERYWHERE!!!" Um, ok?

So here is the plan: Wall paint color = Benjamin Moore 50's pink

Inside the wood framed border that goes around the middle of the room I am going to attempt a Harlequin diamond painted design by me.

With this wallpaper idea

http://www.kellyrightsell.com/decor/wallpaper/child/all/Harlequin-Balls/PP307/index.html?-session=kellybrightsell:44C4CD5C032d018B72SUR10E7E5B

and this color design (cute dress by Jennifer Reale Designs!)

I think it will be really cute, if I can pull it off like I have it in my mind!

Now to the unicorns.... I am a bit stumped. I did buy this print on Etsy over the weekend from seller bealoo

oh wait I did find this set also on etsy but I just don't think it's gonna work for the 3 year old's room lol! Artwork by seller Cherry Box. You can also purchase poor unicorn's decapitated body separately if you would like the complete set (yes that is true!) :) I am only teasing of course, b/c I am really not one to criticize anyone's art. I just know these are not what 3 yo Caroline had in mind for her room!

but other than this all I can find are frightening sci-fi dungeons and dragons looking beast-like unicorns and that's not what we're going for here! I do LOVE the way these bird prints look in Pottery Barn Catalog. Maybe I'll try my hand at painting a few on some canvas.

Last things to figure out is bedding, I don't think that will be too hard (famous last words!)

So if you see anything cute with Unicorns do send them my way! Hopefully I'll have this room completed before she turns 16!

May the Force Be With You

I saw Star Wars at the movie theatre when I was in first grade and to quote those guys from In Living Color.... "haaaated it!" I still don't get it to this day. My boys (and oldest daughter for that matter) LOVE it. They really can't get enough!

So the boys are in love with legos and esp the Star Wars figures. That's all they wanted for Christmas. They must have been good because Na Na and Monka (that's Kayla speak for grandpa) got them each a few and Santa brought them some too. Believe it or not these little fellows add up quickly!!!

I bought this old print box at an antique shop on the Cape a few years ago. I had big plans to collect little miniatures and fill it up and make it look so cute. That plan never really got off the ground, but I knew that print box could come in handy some day. This doubles as a storage center and wall art at the same time for their room. I'm giving this 2 snaps up ;) xo Brie

Look at what I just got!

I really hated taking down my over sized ornament, I really got used to having something hanging there! I had a brilliant idea the other night and started looking around online for a glass ball ornament to fill its spot, these are also called kugels or a witch ball. After browsing a bunch of very unexciting websites, I finally came across a great site with a huge selection. I went for it and got a BIG one, I love it! I am also very happy to recommend this site because it has tons of beautiful ones to choose from, super quick shipping (I only ordered it on 1/1), great prices and fantastic customer service from owners Dave and Sue Simpson. http://www.kugelhouse.com/ Happy New Year to me :D

The Great Dig Out

We had a quiet night last night and for some reason Dave and I decided to start to tackle our terribly over crowded and disorganized basement. Our finished basement (or at least the part we worked on) is home our "office", tool bench, holiday decorations, things that have no official "home" within our home and last but not least, ALL of my sewing supplies and accumulations from the last 5 years (I have a hard time throwing things away!)

Well... after an hour and a half, I could NOT believe how much we had accomplished. Still not fully picture ready, but I did take one of my newly organized ribbon shelves. Every time I look at this neatly rolled up assembly of colors, it makes me sooooo happy!

We are going out tonight for dinner with the kids to one our favorite places. Great food, and no cooking or clean up for me! Who can argue with that? Have a great weekend, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! xo Brie

Christmas, don't go!

As much as I detest lugging out all the Christmas decorations, I really get attached to the way house looks decorated. I hate to say goodbye to them and really hate packing them away ;) so up they will stay for at least another week! Isn't that over sized ornament so cute? My mother in law gave me that a few years ago, it's green nylon stretched over a cool wire form. I attached a red polka dot grosgrain and hung right over my kitchen sink. I love it!!!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!! Ours was great, it was nice and relaxing. The meal turned out great thanks to the pre-planning! The roast always take longer to cook than I ever remember... will definitely invest in a meat thermometer so I do not have to keep reheating slices of tenderloin to desired doneness. 45 minutes in a 500 degree oven with a 20 minute tinfoil rest ought to do it just right (I went 35 minutes and it was definitely too rare for me!)

Ok, so the house is in such disarray.... I need to pull up the boot straps and start organizing room by room. With the help of fly lady and my trusty timer (more on that later) I do believe we'll get somewhere! To be continued...........................