The Perfect Room

The perfect room should always reflect your personality. Don't ever imagine that those jaw dropper rooms we see in the magazines are real!! Yes, they are real rooms, but keep in mind that most of the time a lot of the accessories in the room are overstated for photographs.

While accessories are always important, so is functionality. Realistically, if your coffee table is full of books, and flowers, there is no room for the real necessities like, a cup of coffee, or the book you are really reading. Having been involved in the way that photos are taken and STAGED for magazines, you would be surprised what really happens. I urge anyone reading, the next time you look through a magazine and admire a particular home, or photo shoot, look at the accessories. If you study them like I do you will find that the same props have been shot repeatedly in the same home. Staging is all part of the appeal of each and every magazine on the market!

Who wants a home that you cant REALLY live in?

***Image taken from The latest Traditional Home Ocean House*****

Mom, I 'll bet you wish there were TWELVE!

My blogs are usually about decorating, or making things beautiful for yourself and your family. Today, I am deciding to share something that is dear to my heart. My kids! I know, I know, kids are the first thing in your life that you think about being dear to your heart right?

Well, for me today is a little extra special...Waking up this morning to the 12" of snow that greeted my children's smiling faces I knew that this meant a day of dressing, undressing, and re-dressing kids in multi layers of clothing. UGH! is the word I usually use. The snow gets everywhere in the house, the multi layers cause a lot of EXTRA LAUNDRY, and it always seems that we can never find the appropriate mittens, or gloves for the proper child.

Having 5 children was a choice, yes... a choice that I made, and little did I know that it required me keeping up with 10 mittens,10 boots, and hats, and scarves......and the list is endless.

Today once I got everyone dressed (with the help of my darling husband) the first thing that ran through my mind was LAUNDRY, I better get some going. Then, as I was gathering clothes throughout the house I was totally horrified by my daughters closet. I suddenly realized that the cup of coffee I was looking forward to would be waiting for awhile; since now I had to clean her CLOSET! I was..... angry, complaining, and was actually informed by my other half "I HATE IT WHEN I HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU COMPLAIN!" So I began to complain to myself quietly with each heap of crap I was grabbing. When I put my hands on some old books in the bottom of her closet (at this point, I was basically throwing everything away) when the small "a Little Golden Book" entitled "Mickey Mouse heads for the sky" fell into the trash, and the front cover opened exposing the cover where I had written " To our baby, from mom and dad Nov 14 1990."

I stopped short and grabbed the book out of the garbage, when I did, out fell this....

I sat on the floor in total shock! This book had not only been moved over 4 states, and 4 homes, it had sat unread on the book shelf of 6 kids (Yes, 6!) for nearly 20 years!. This is the birth certificate of my first born son that died when he was 6 months old on October 30, 1991.

Not only today did I quickly realize that I should be thankful for the 10 mittens and gloves I had to argue about finding, or not finding this morning; it made me realize how quickly our lives can change. It was almost as if someone was sending me a message "I'll bet you wish right now you were looking for 12 mittens!"

Moral of the story, we only have one chance to be the best person you can!! Don't waste it on being petty, arguing for nothing more than the satisfaction of being right. Stop Complaining! Do Something nice for someone! BE THOUGHTFUL! Don't forget your kids, yes....I mean everyone that gets caught up into the every day facts of life. Think about your decisions and how they will effect everyone around you! What you think is best for you, may not be what is best for everyone else. Time Flies! Don't let too much time go by that you don't check on your family, friends and loved ones...You just never know.

To those of you that are family members you will know how difficult these are for me to share, but after this morning, I dug up some photos that may be wanted by everyone, and never seen again. Feel free to download them or email me and I will be happy to send them to you:

Jordan May 17 1991
Me on my first Mothers DayMy Mom taking a snooze

Grandma Julie during one of our many visitsMy grandparents in July 1991
Wanda, and Homer Stout

Art work can take us in another direction

One of the most difficult things to accomplish in decorating is to find the perfect piece of artwork. This piece was a fantastic find on my recent trip to Michigan. This piece was painted by Beth Charles, her artwork is available at Lakeeffectgallery.com there are pieces for all price ranges, and wonderful prints made from the original pieces too.

The addition of this gorgeous painting to this bedroom was the icing on the cake. It also set a stage for the additional roman shades that are to follow. The original plan was to use a black and gold silk by Kravet, the fabric was ordered and arrived just a gorgeous as I imagined, however pales in comparison to the beauty of this piece of art. We had to rethink our fabric choices and head in another direction. Moving to a more subtle soft fabric so as not to over power this museum piece!! That will allow for a main focal point being moved from the bed, to this burst of color!!


Since artwork tends to be the most difficult, it may be easier to choose your painting, and art prior to designing a room. There is also the option of having something commissioned just for your space.

Our New Ad Running in Creating Vintage Charm

If you haven't done it already, be sure you order your magazine today. It is fantastic! Lots of great ideas and tutorials for the average crafter. I also gained a lot of inspiration from this magazine for my own designs. Lots of wonderful talented people involved in this!! Don' t Forget. I am certain the holiday issue will be even more exciting.

A quest for vintage textiles

I have spent the better part of two weeks on the lookout for some vintage textiles for window treatments. What a great option for my customers but oh what a challenge it has been. I have found several fantastic table cloths and napkins, but am still looking for that special something to make some really fantastic window treatments out of.

One might ask...Why? Well, there is nothing better to me than a beautiful piece of artwork made before my time. The beauty is unmatchable, the softness of the fabrics are remarkable, and the overall look is timeless. Almost as if time just stopped.

This week I found some beautiful antique laces, hand made table cloths and a couple of feed sacks. These are going to be the newest direction I take as a textile artist. WHAT CAN I MAKE? That is the hardest decision. So many things come to mind that I just can't decide on one. But I promise that it will be fun and interesting to say the least. Maybe on my quest this week I will mix some of the new with the old and see what I come up with....

Ordinary? Bah Humbug!

It is not done till it is over done!!!

Who says chairs have to be just plain old chairs.

You can turn your vintage chair into a work of art. This was a chair picked up for a vanity at a local auction. I then added my froufrou to it and poof! A chair fit for a princess.

When you deal with auction furniture sometimes you really have to think out of the box. Some trim, beads, ruffles, and lace. This chair actually has a train like a wedding dress. Layers are all the rage this year with clothing. Why not carry that over to our homes.....ruffles, ruffles, ruffles. Pillows, Duvets, Chairs, Shams and a whole pillow dedicated to ruffles. Could there be anything better?

What to Write??

Well guys, this one is going to just be about me. My love for decorating, and my love of people. I truly have been blessed in life with many gifts and for that I am thankful. As a wonderful person in my life once said "You are the only person I know that can fall into a pile of ****and come out smelling like a rose". Could I ask for more? Probably not.

Family and people are very important to me, they are the root of my imagination, and have allowed me to be as successful as I am today. I love what I do, and how I do it. I spend entire days running around helping people make their surroundings beautiful. What is not to love about that. When you really get to the root of what I do....I make people see potential in the homes they already had, and beautify the spaces they once saw as ordinary. What has to be ordinary about your home? NOTHING is always my response.