Smitten: My New Turquoise Door

Have you ever thought about painting a door in your home a favorite colour?

We just replaced the entrance to our now-nearly-complete basement with a new frosted glass door; and instead of painting it white like all the colonial-style doors in my home, I decided to give this one a little personality of its own!

I chose a shade of turquoise (of course!).  This door is in our open-concept kitchen/living room area, so it matches all my turquoise-inspired accents - like my drapery and backsplash. 

I am totally smitten.  The colour is Benjamin Moore Arctic Blue (2050-60).  LOVE it. I considered a whole range of colours in this family before settling on this one.  It's a really soft shade of robin's egg blue that is easy on the eyes and very soothing.  It makes me smile.

Here's how it looks in the context of some accessories:

So, if you've been considering painting a door in your home a great colour, my advice would be don't hesitate another second!

Until next time, happy decorating!

Refinished Morris Chair: Reveal!

In my last post, I talked about the chair I was refinishing.

Well, here it is...

To get this distressed look, I first painted the chair in a fresh blue paint (the colour was Pure Water by SICO), and then I rolled on one very light coat of antique white.

Next I sanded it down until the blue began to peek through.  I sanded the edges more heavily in places where it would naturally wear on its own over time, until the original wood began to show.

Finally, I dabbed a sponge brush in some of Folk Art's Sky Blue craft paint and dry sponged it on very lightly in the areas that were most heavily distressed.

As this chair was originally in my maternal Grandmother's home (and was built by my great-Grandfather almost 65 years ago), I really wanted to have a special touch that reminded me where it came from. The "B" monogram is an ode to my mom's family name.

I used a stencil and some Sky Blue paint for the monogram, and the flourishes were created with a few of my stamps and an "Old Olive" Craft stamp pad from Stampin' Up.  I used a sanding block to sand it down a bit so it looks more authentically aged. I like the way it turned out.

I know my limitations, so I bought the cream cushions rather than making them myself.  I found them at Pier One. But I did make the little skirt myself.

The awesome down-filled bird pillow was a fab find at Homesense.  In keeping with the bird theme, I originally thought about painting the word "Perch" on the chair instead of the monogram.  This chair was always a favorite 'perch' in my Grandmother's kitchen.  But there wasn't much room on the chair frame for words, so I kept it simple.

The chair fits great in this little corner of the kitchen, overlooking the backyard.  It's actually a REALLY comfy chair. It'll be a sweet spot to sit and read my favorite magazines.

Until next time, happy decorating!

Psssst! I'm sharing this project at:

Chalkboards: not just for school anymore!

One accessory I am loving these days is chalkboards.

They are slowly disappearing from schools, but showing up in style-savvy homes everywhere!

Source: My Sweet Savannah

They add so much style and personality to any room. I've seen them used in so many different ways; from genuine pieces of art styled up by chalkboard artists, to full chalkboard walls for kids to enjoy.

I went searching for inspiration on how I could incorporate a chalkboard into my own decor, and developed a little idea book, which I've attached below for your enjoyment. Just click on the pic and it will take you to the slide show.

So go get chalking!

Ways to Use Chalkboards in Your Decor

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See, I really DO love red!

If you are tiring of seeing blue around here, well, I'll admit, it seems like everything I've posted to this blog recently has been pretty darn turquoise. 

Sheesh, for that matter, it seems like I can't even write a post without using the word turquoise...or aqua...or tiffany blue...or robin's egg blue.  Yes...I think that by now I've clearly established that I have a favorite colour. OK, OK, more like an addiction, lol.

But I'm not totally a blue girl.  Really, I'm not! I like red too.  I even have a 'red' room in my home.  Well, the walls aren't red or anything; but all the accents are.  So it only made sense to decorate this room in traditional Christmas red for the holidays.

Here's a sneak-peak at my non-turquoise/red room all dressed up for Christmas!

 

I just LOVE the cover of this book.

My fun rooster pillow from Pier One.

My loft-style office is behind the wreath.

More whimsy from Pier One.

 

 

Happy Holidays!

My Back Veranda Holiday Vignette in Turquoise

 By now, you may have seen my cottage-inspired holiday front porch.

I had planned to perk up the back veranda too with a little holiday-inspired something-something, but I got a little lazy after doing the front. One-year old twins will do that to you, lol!  But today I got my decorating mojo back, and could no longer ignore this little area.

You see, my main living area overlooks my back deck through a large window. Many times over the past couple of weeks, I have sat in my living room admiring my lovely Christmas tree and mantle over a cup of java, only to be irritated by what lay beyond that glass.  If you are a decorating addict like me, then you will understand this nagging feeling that something just isn't right!

It's kinda like that unsettled feeling you get when you fall in love with a pair of shoes in the store, but leave them there, only to think about them all night long. Well, just as you will ultimately go back for the shoes, the empty space that needs decorating will eventually be decorated!

Because of the large window, the deck is visually a part of my main living space.  So basically that meant that whatever I put beyond the glass, I would have to look at every day while sitting in that room. Perhaps that's why I left it alone - I couldn't commit! I didn't want to do something that would clash with my interior decor.

By now, if you've been following my blog, you may also know that I am mad for the colour turquoise.  Most of my accents in my open concept living space (living/kitchen/dining area) are a shade of this colour. So before I show you what I did outside, here's a few shots of my living space so you can get a sense of my colour scheme and style.

And, here's a pics of the window that overlooks the back deck (and our little cottage-style shed in the background):

Well, today I could take it no longer.  This was the day that this little area was getting it's overhaul!

So while the babies napped, I scurried around while still in my PJs. (I am sure my neighbours think I am crazy, heehee). First, I pilfered my black rocking chairs from the front porch,  then I grabbed a few potted evergreen trees from the backyard and arranged them in a little group of three. I hung two mossy grapevine wreaths which I found a few weeks ago at a Christmas warehouse shop. Next, I added a little Martha touch - a simple strand of grosgrain ribbon in, of course, Tiffany blue, which I already had on hand.  The final touch was the striped coco mat from my back door - the colours matched perfectly with the cushions on the chairs, which I swear to you was a (lovely) coincidence given that these items had previously resided in completely different areas of the house!

I know that by now you are hoping I'll stop talking and just show the darn pictures. So ta-da, here's what I cam up with...decorated without buying anything new, and within an hour while still in my PJs!

The nice thing about this area is that it doesn't scream Christmas at all. I could actually leave it there all winter.  Well, I could, but I think that Old Man Winter has other plans for the deck - like 4 feet of snow!

Happy holidays!