Fabulous Home Goods Find

Completely fell in love with this decorative shallow bowl at home good.  The interior of this wooden bowl is a glossy deep red rust which fits in nicely with our family room decor.  The exterior of the bowl has all these coiled up pieces of paper in different colors.  I am in LOVE with it, only 14.99 - no way was I leaving the store without it!  xo, Brie

Mermaid Love

I've dropped numerous hints and I am really hoping someone in my family will get me this vase for my birthday! Isn't she awesome?



I'm loving lots of things on this website especially in the ceramics - the lotus candle votives are beautiful too!

I have no idea where I will put her, but I will make room for her :) xo, Brie

Confession

This is still hanging in my foyer. I know it's May and Easter and is long gone. I think I just like "something" hanging in this particular spot. I began my quest to find something more year round to take its place - preferably something not featuring baby chicks and bunnies.

It was NOT as easy as you think. Sure I could have gotten off my keister and gone into Home Goods or Pier One but that would have required me actually getting off the couch and heading out into the heat.

Fingers crossed... I think I may have found the perfect replacement and on ebay no less! Score! I like the votives, I might even light them on a night we are having company over b/c candlelight makes me feel fancy :) I'm sure I'll forget, or won't be able to locate a flame source! I'll post a pic when she arrives and is in place. xo, Brie

Just Thought You Would Like to Know

I may have spoke too soon about everyone being old enough to handle the Easter tree being down low and within reach.

At least the horses appear to be behaving! xo, Brie

Yes Please!

Adorable vintage card wreath in an Easter theme on sale at Williams Sonoma!! Thanks mom for telling me, I just ordered it :) xo, Brie

Decorating for Easter

I don't have a lot of Easter decorations but the ones I have, I do LOVE!

This wire Easter tree belonged to my grandparents. They live on the Cape but don't pull out all their decorations like they used to so a few years back they held a raffle for this fabulous tree! Everyone present got an entry and Kay was the winner! Our family of six had nice odds in this raffle :) Isn't it so cute? This is the first year I have been able to put it on a lower table so it is more of a focal point (the kids used to be ALL over this and it would inevitably get knocked over, so I had to move it WAY up high).

Our bunny door hanger my grandfather made for me. I know I have posted it before, but I love her toilet brush tail! Each year I give her a makeover b/c the bows take a beating. Somehow in storage this year, her right ear got a hairline fracture. It was nothing a little duck tape couldn't reinforce along with some strategically placed pigtails :)

Love the sparkly bunny and fluffy tail from Home Goods and her little sheep friends from Christmas Tree Shop! Poor black sheep lost an eye but I think it makes him look tough and adds to his character!

Fresh from the garden! Nothing says spring like daffodils :) Happy Spring! xo, Brie

Drum Roll Please....

Sorry to disappoint those who were hoping for hot pink :) The winner is


Lime Twist by Benjamin Moore
It looks great with her yellow walls and comforter! I think I may give it one more coat but I didn't want to leave you hanging as I knew you set your alarm clocks for the big reveal ;)
Next I'm working on a valance and putting some finishing touches in the room and will keep you posted.

One pic came out too bright, the other a touch dark but you can get the idea! I love brightly colored accent furniture like the ones found here at Russell MacKenna. xo, Brie

Teenage Girl Room Makeover

My oldest just turned 13 last month and we decided a ways back that she may be due for an upgrade in the very room that was her baby girl nursery complete with bow stencils and waverly pink bow wallpaper below the chair rail.

Monka to the rescue a few months back with a fresh coat paint of her color choice and hours and hours of painstaking freshening of the wood work which admittedly had taken a BEATING over the last 13 years!

I'll post pics soon of the full reveal but in the meantime I working a on a little project.
I found a really CUTE shaped nightstand at Home Goods in black a few months ago but this color isn't going to work with our scheme.

Forgot to take a photo before I pulled out the drawers!

3 coats of this stuff over the black finish and we are almost ready for the new quart of semigloss in a beauty of a color.....

How will this project turn out?? What color will it be???? Stay tuned for another installment and the big reveal tomorrow! (Insert cheesy dramatic soap opera music here) xo, Brie

That was then, this is now

Approximately 2 years ago I shared this incredibly inventive decorating idea I had to combine my boys' love of Star Wars, legos, and incredibly costly little collectibles only found on ebay. I'm not going to lie, I thought I was really quite clever coming up with this solution and it looked so cute hanging on the wall... much better than any piece of priceless art I could have purchased to grace their room.

Fast forward 2 years and I want to show you how well this fantastic idea has held up

At least this guy seems to be enjoying my idea

xo, Brie

We've got options

Here is another look with some vessels I also picked up from Home Goods. So which will it be :) xo, Brie

She's Here....

and she's taking a test spin on the table. Are you feeling her? I might be, but I am holding onto the receipt just in case ;) xo, Brie

Decorating Help in the Foyer

I have 2 tables in my foyer and you can see each of them as you walk into the house.

First I have a round one that you see straight ahead.

Nothing too fancy with the decor - a lamp, some pictures, a mother of pearl candle burner, a fluted bowl from Sandwich glass. I'm satisfied with it. It will be littered with car keys and mail momentarily.

The other table to the left is right against the wall and under a mirror and in a word? BORING! I cleared the whole thing off for Christmas decorating and when it came time to put everything back, I have absolutely no idea what was there in the first place. The fact that I can't even remember tells me it was no great shakes and it's time for a do over.

I went to Home Goods yesterday and roamed around. Then I roamed and roamed and roamed some more because nothing was jumping out at me at all. I finally settled on a footed bowl and some sparkly picture frames. I did have a yellow Buddha statue that I was considering because it was pretty and exotic and the color was nice. I took a picture on my cell and sent it to Keely. Her reply: "Are you insane?" She didn't feel it went well with my other decor which is decidedly a cross between traditional and contemporary. I think she may have been right!

I had the twine balls which I think are too big but will work for now. As you can see I have a vacancy on right side of the table. I can't help but wonder how yellow Buddha would look there! I may pick her up just to "see"......

These apothecary jars could also work from Pier 1 and these would actually blend a little bit better with the rest of my decor.

May have to stop in there tomorrow too just to try them out. I am also going to look around on ebay for some depression glass votives in other colors to disperse throughout the table.

The point of this post is, I need some help!! Do you have any suggestions? I think I want something on the larger side, something a little different, something pretty.... I'd love to hear what you think! xo, Brie

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

Have a Holly Jolly

Been struck with insomnia which hasn't happened to me in a long while! I hate when this happens but at least I have plenty to do around here so I might as well make it work to my advantage by cleaning this place up for our company who is arriving today and with a quick post :)

Mr. KB usually puts up the outdoor lights but this year for some reason every weekend was so jam packed he never got around to it. The weather here in NJ has been bipolar so just last week when it reached almost 70 degrees outside (we now have about 8 inches of snow) I jumped at the opportunity to put up the lights. I was a bit of a disaster and I hope none of the neighbors were watching me! Tangled lights everywhere, me on a 12 ft wobbly ladder, dirty words a flyin - not a pretty sight.

The final results were not too shabby! I am quite pleased with my handy work!

I have never put lights on this bell before but had some extras laying around and I love it!



I love me a good spotlight on a wreath



The icicles were my nemesis that day - I love how they came out though


I usually put some greens in my window boxes for the holidays and then move them into the garage after Christmas to save on the wear and tear. They looked so boring at first and then I found some of those real looking plastic ball ornaments at walmart and went crazy with the glue gun! I love how they turned out!

All in all a success! I don't know what's going on around this neighborhood but nobody seems "into it" this year! The street is dark and gloomy and I don't like it one bit!

Presents are wrapped and tagged, house is almost all decorated, company arrives today so I am not sure how much blogging I'll get to in this week. You never know! In case this is it, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hanukkah! xoxoxoxo Brie

Decorating for Fall

I spent a large part of last Sunday decorating for Halloween. It's a task I kind of hate to do (hate the lugging, clearing out space etc) but the kids LOVE it and help me and I LOVE it when it's all done and out on display. Here are some hi lights from the house of Brie! xo, Brie

This is the table you see when you walk into our house to the left. We put all the favorite light up/noise making things here. The witch's hands move and her crystal ball used to light up. She talks in this witch voice that is similar to nails on a chalkboard with phrases like... come closer my dear, if it's your future you seek, will it be good, or will it be bleak! Followed by an insane cackle. I usually want to smash her approximately 30 minutes after set up. It's a long month with her.... but she really is one of our favorites and is the lady the kids look MOST forward to seeing! That haunted house to the left lights up and plays haunted house sounding organ music. Kayla did the gels on the mirror which I would have never thought to do and I love the way it turned out! Ms. C can't stay away from this area and is always cranking up the witch to the highest volume and rearranging things on the table.

Here's our kitchen chandelier jazzed up with some foil pumpkins and spiders

I love this little witch painted by one of my favorite artists from Virginia, Nancy Thomas. I hung this up in my kitchen.

A little spooky ghost with a light that changes colors

Some trick or treat luminaries on the mantle. Love these! Thanks mom and dad :)

I love planting mums in the fall! Here are my window boxes complete with a little pumpkin. I like to have the mums in different colors - I love the way that looks! I also sprinkled them with dashes of Tabasco sauce to keep the deer from nibbling at these. They think my yard is an all you can eat buffet and have been know to completely pull entire plants out of my window boxes! So far the Tabasco has been working great!