The Season Gone Wild!

Welcome to my third Tablescape Thursday! Thank you to Susan, of Between Naps On The Porch for hosting this fun party! Even though we are still warm here in Colorado, the leaves are changing and the nights cool down.

I gave this the title "The Season Gone Wild!" because of my centerpiece. I really love to create something that looks like it was just gathered and stuffed in a pot.

This time I set my dining room table. I had to put our crazy cat, Eddie, in my office. Otherwise he would have found a way of breaking everything on this table!

I just fell in love with these little plates!

Another piece I feel lucky to have found!

I'm thinking I got a good deal!

I bought these at JoAnn's. I thought they were plastic, but when I opened the package I found out they were ceramic!

I thought these were so cute from Tuesday Morning. I decided to go with the green ones, just to be different!

The loose leaves came from Dollar Tree, and I think they just add to my season gone wild!



Thank you so much for stopping by! I will certainly pay you a visit, too!  Please be sure to visit my sister at Robin Flies South...

If you have an opinion on "Man Movies" please visit my humorous blog, Elaine's Wonderful World, where I will give you MY opinion!

A Peek Inside a President's Home!

Happy Monday Metamorphosis! Thank you to Between Naps On The Porch for hosting!

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to assist a fellow stager with a home which was at one time President Ford's Vail vacation home. I thought you might like to see inside this special home. Here are some before and afters from the staging:

 This was Betty's room. It just felt special. I spent a lot of time staging this one.

 

This is the master bedroom. It led out to a balcony in the front of the home.

There were seven other bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. Eleven bathrooms in the home. We did a lot of towel folding!

Here are some random photos of the house.

The home had 10,000 square feet, wine cellar, theater room, indoor pool in a separate building in the back, an elevator, living quarters for the Secret Service, two kitchens, and my favorite--three washing machines and three dryers!!!

I hope you enjoyed this little peek! From what I understand, the home didn't sell (it had a $15 million dollar price tag!), and they are renting it out by the week. I also heard that Justin Timberlake was one of the renters!

Be sure to check out my sister's blog at Robin Flies South...

And, if you want some giggles, please take a trip to Elaine's Wonderful World!

Morning Glory Romance!

Thank you so much Between Naps On The Porch, for hosting Tablescape Thursday!

Summer is down to it's last days, but the sun is warm and the flowers are still in their glory. I decided to "take it outside" one last time. I looked around my yard for a place to set a romantic table for two (I'm a newlywed!) and the choice was easy. Mr. Wonderful planted morning glories very late in the season. He was very confident that they had plenty of time to grow high enough to cover our fence. I think you'll see that he was right (he's also Mr. Right!)

Some say red is the color of romance. I think it's blue.

I bought this pitcher years ago at Goodwill. I just love it!

All these dishes came from GW or ARC. This is my good set of flatware.

I think I ordered these glasses from Princess House years ago. Is that company still around?

Found this little birdcage with candle at Hobby Lobby. It's so sweet.

I just attached these dragonflies to ribbon.

Hope you enjoyed my Morning Glory Romance!

Please be sure to check out my sister's tablescape at Robin Flies South...

And, if you are a spontaneous woman, I want to hear from you in my humor blog, Elaine's Wonderful World!

Painting a Brass Fireplace!

This is my second contribution to Metamorphosis Monday. Thank you Between Naps On The Porch for hosting this blog party!

I was hired to stage a vacant home. I knew I would have to bring some color in, because most of the house had white walls, and the carpet was very close to being white. But, sometimes you just have to do a little more. When I saw this brass fireplace, I decided to give it a facelift. I was a little nervous because I had never done this before, and it didn't seem smart to experiment on a fireplace belonging to someone else. But, I threw caution to the wind and jumped in!

I bought satin black grill paint, safe up to 1000 degrees, #0000 steel wool, and two cheapo throw-away paint brushes (sorry, I know it's not very green of me, but I was not about to clean them in the owner's sink, and they were made of wood).

I put newspaper down and started roughing up the brass with the steel wool. I taped the areas where metal touched tile, and started painting. It did require a second coat, which I applied at the end of the day, right before photos. When it was wet, you could see brush strokes and drips. When it dried, it was ALL smooth! What do you think?

This is what the room looked like the first time I saw it. It was adjacent to the kitchen which had been remodeled with cherry cabinetry, granite counters and stainless steel appliances. This kind of looked like the room the world forgot.

I didn't place a lot of furniture or accessories, but just enough to give everyone an idea how beautiful this room could really be. Now, if this house was mine, I would only allow showings later in the day. Look how beautiful it is with a little late day glow! 

This project took about 40 minutes initially, and then another 20 for the second coat. In one hour this whole room was given a new updated look. The owner was thrilled! And, my worst nightmare (dropping the open can of black paint on the carpet) never materialized! Thanks for letting me share this project with you!

Please be sure to follow my sister's blog at Robin Flies South...

And, if you like to laugh at human nature, visit Elaine's Wonderful World!

Tablescapes Italian Style!

 A big thank you to Susan at Between Naps On The Porch for hosting Tablescape Thursday!

Two years ago the woman who is in charge of marketing for Goodwill Industries, invited me to participate in an Italian Tablescape contest. It was held at the Festival Italiano in the Belmar development of Lakewood, Colorado. Now, here's the fun part. We were given $40 gift cards to Goodwill, and could only spend an additional $10 of our own for flowers, candles, etc. At the time, I had no idea what a tablescape even was, but I had Italian grandparents, and I thought I could wing it. Boy, did I have a lot to learn!

Here are the six tablescapes:

I really thought a tablescape had to have place settings. I was very confused by this one!

"Palazzo Bella" (beautiful home)

 

I never would have thought to add artwork or real liquids, but what a great idea!

"Cucina Coast"



This one is mine. There are so many things I would change, but I am proud that I made all the linens.

"Mattina Bella" (beautiful morning)

 

I love how the centerpiece of this one is built up. And crumpled tissue paper in the glasses!

"Breakfast in Tuscany"

 

This is the winning tablescape, and I totally get it now. The layering, the striped runner pulling out the colors of the small plates, the pop of yellow repeated in the lemons, and the use of four place settings instead of two. We were all astonished at how much she got for her $40. She went to a different Goodwill store than the rest of us!

"Casual in Capri"

The woman from Goodwill did this last one, and I think she did a great job!

"Festa del l'uva" (grape harvest festival)

 

Here are a few shots of the festival. (I would love to have some of these dishes!)

Thanks for letting me share my contest. I know my grandparents would have appreciated my effort and voted for me! Come back for next week's Tablescape Thursday, so I can redeem myself and show all that I've learned!

Please visit my sister's tablescape at Robin Flies South...

And if you want a little relationship humor, visit my other blog Elaine's Wonderful World!