it’s Gallery Wall Reveal Day!

 

 

Hooraaaay! Mission Accomplished.

Well. It’s Reveal Day for the Gallery Wall Design Project and as you can see, I chose the black and white vintage flower prints for my wall.

You can check out Week 1 for my gallery inspiration and Week 2 to see some Before shots of this room.

When it comes to art work I always seem to gravitate towards vibrant color so for this gallery wall I decided to get out of my comfort zone.

Most of you voted for this same decision. Although some readers like Marilyn, worried these prints would lack that certain pizazz against the gray wall.

Maybe look a little blah.

And as a color aficionado, I totally knew what she meant.

So today I created a Fall tablescape in shades of gold to show you how versatile a neutral background can be.

If you’re a regular visitor to my blog you know how much I love to give you ideas for your own table, so I’ll be sharing details in a later post.

 

But for now you can see how these white $7.99 Ikea frames really pop out against

the BM Kendall Charcoal walls.

And I have to tell you, I’m really loving my new gallery wall.

Only it’s tough to get a shot without the glare on the prints today, so let me show you the gallery wall in the mirror.

To keep this room from looking a tad too precious, I layered a cowhide rug over the sea grass and added a bar cart.

You can see how I used thrift store finds to style this bar cart HERE.

After painting this room along with the chandelier, and adding the gallery wall, the final thing-to-do  in here is to add simple bamboo shades to the window. I think the honey color and woven texture of the shades will add some warmth to all the white and gray.

 

Thanks so much for joining me today and for all your great input…

and thank you Mary Ann and Cindy for including me with all these talented ladies. It was so fun and the best part was that it forced me to actually finish a room in our new home!

  As some of you know, we’ve recently moved into a smaller home in a beach community and we now live in a fixer-upper-soon to-be-beach-cottage. So if you like to see lots of Before and After pictures you’ll want to come back because I plan on bringing you guys along for the adventure.

And now…drum roll please…. it’s time to find out what everyone else did with their own gallery walls. I can’t wait!

 

 

Design Chic

Design Indulgence

Driven by Décor

5th and State

Lovely Things

Rough Luxe

Talk of the House

Classic • Casual • Home

 

xoxo

Leslie

 

 

Technorati Tags: project design gallery wall,the big reveal,31 days of october inspiration,day 20

Day 18: have you decorated your entry yet?

 

I’m just wondering….

 

 

 

The other day I saw this charming Halloween idea that I want to copy.

 

happy 18th day of October!

xoxo

Leslie

 

 

Technorati Tags: Halloween decor ideas,front door

day 17: how I styled my bar cart: Before and After

 

 

(inspiration photo; source unknown)

 

A few weeks back I saw this bar cart in Target and I snapped this photo so I could walk around with it and decide whether or not I really ‘needed’ it. Do you do this too?

(BEFORE photo)

Well, by the time I got to the front of the store I’d already decided. Yes. I need that cart!

So back I went down the aisle and bought this cute cart home, only later finding out it was from the new Wit and Delight line now at Target. I’ve been a follower of theirs for a long time and knew there was a reason I thought it looked so cool.

So where’s it going?

Well… as some of you already know, right now I’m participating in a Gallery Wall Design Project organized by two incredible designers, Cindy from Rough Luxe and Mary Ann from Classic Casual Home.  Since my wall happens to be in the dining room, I’m sprucing up the whole space and when I saw this bar cart I knew it belonged beneath my future gallery wall.

If you Google how to style a bar cart you’ll find lots of photos and blog posts on the subject, but I don’t hear many people talking about styling a practical bar cart.

In other words, the first question you should ask yourself when setting up your own cart is a basic one. What do we really drink?

Really. Not what looks trendy and cool in the design world, but what kinds of liquor do you actually drink in real life?

Our answer is wine and good imported beer. Pretty much that’s it. Oh, and the hubby likes his favorite Scotch.

So I decided to keep our bar cart pretty simple. I found these following items at the thrift store:

two silver trays ($2.99 and $3.99)

A quirky gold pineapple candle holder ($1.99)

A  silver slightly bent candy dish  ($2.99)

And I bought this little wine rack from The Container Store that I attached to the bottom of the upper shelf with a few screws.

Voila!  Accessible glasses.

 

Napkins from TJ Maxx and fresh flowers.

I got lucky with those trays, they looked great once they were washed.

 

 

After

This is the only shot I can show you without spoiling my gallery wall question.

Did I use the color prints or the black and white ones on my wall?

What do you think?

Don’t forget Monday is the big reveal for the gallery wall project and you’ll get to see how everyone’s walls turned out.

 

 

But before I go, here’s a sneak peek of the Fall tablescape I just finished

and you can see more of this table on gallery wall “Reveal” day….!

In the meantime,

I hope you’re enjoying the 17th day of October.

xo

Leslie

 

 

Technorati Tags: DIY decorating,how to style a bar cart,practical bar cart essentials,fall tablescape,repurposed thrift store finds

Day 15: thought for the day

 

 

Hi, my name is Leslie and I’m a worrier.

I’m announcing it here

like I would if I were in a big circle of chairs filled with people who begin each meeting by announcing their personal struggle to the world.

I’m not embarrassed to admit it, this is what I struggle with, I worry.

And my journey is about learning to let go, to live in the moment and to have faith, this is what I’m always working on.

Although most of the time I’m like that kid in the Bruce Willis movie who says, “I see dead people” except my line is, “I see all the bad things that just might happen”—especially when it comes to my kids. Late at night. When they’re not answering their damn text messages.

note to myself:

 

So the other day when I stumbled on this short article entitled,

“How to be happier in just one minute,”

it made my little old heart sing. Seriously I really loved it. No, it contains nothing new and earth shattering but I hope you read it. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about life, it’s that timing is everything.

And today this one simple question is working for me.

It seems to have the power to instantly jolt me out of my negative mind-set-- which is what worrying is-- for just a hair breath of a second.  Which turns out, is enough time for me to catch myself and allow the door to gratitude to crack open a bit. 

In case you don’t have time to read the article here’s the question to ask yourself when  your mind’s whizzing out of control and you’re feeling stressed out, worried or down.

Ok. Are you ready?

Ask yourself this:

Am I focusing on what is going right or what is going wrong right now?

And the key—for me—are those two last words.

Right now. Right this second.

Because that’s all any of us have, right?  This one. Precious. Moment.

And I sure don’t want to waste it worrying.

 

If you read the article let me know what you think.

I always love to hear from you.

By the way, I’ve figured out that the worst thing about blogging every day in October is that I’m having a terrible time responding to my comments. Believe me, I treasure each one and I’m trying to respond..it just might take a while.

Happy 15th of October!

xoxo

Leslie

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: how to be happier in just one minute,women and worrying,DIY happiness,does your happiness depend on one simple question,31 days of october inspiration day 15

Day 14: Halloween Entertaining…

 

 

Hello everyone!

Well… here we are.

Today is the 14th day of October and believe me, my personal challenge to blog every day in October is definitely making me aware of each passing day.

(It’s also making me question my sanity, but that’s a whole other topic)

On October 5th I got this touching message from an old friend back home and it inspired today’s post. 

 

Boy did this make me feel good. And it brought back all those fabulous years of Halloween fun that I’ll always treasure. Thank you Kim, I miss you all too. I really do.

But even though I’m not throwing big parties anymore, I’m still always on the look-out for those spooky little creatives who come up with ideas like the ones in this post.

When I saw this gorgeous Halloween photo shoot at Design Love Fest 

I just had to show you. Can you believe this backdrop?

If you’re like me, you look at all the details.

The color of the candles. The centerpiece. The choice of candlesticks. The color of the pumpkins. And you pay special attention to how simple items are transformed.

I love everything about this Halloween table but I especially appreciate:

the use of gray candles

the use of Pampas grass for interesting texture (why didn’t I ever think of this?)

the absence of orange pumpkins

and my favorite new idea?

These cheap, thrift store trays that can be spray painted with chalk paint and displayed with messages written in flowing white calligraphy.

How cool is this?

You can visit the site to see more of these photos and to get these cocktail recipes.

Here’s a gothic version.

I spy some black sprayed painted branches used in the centerpiece with red candles and a black velvet ribbon blended with old silver looking pieces…

The Addams Family inspired Halloween tablescape at Camille Styles.

 

I spy silverware tucked into black gloves and shining gold pumpkins as place cards. And a hint of web material under the white plates.

Silver candle sticks with black candles and black serving pieces…

and those eggs!

source

And in case you missed my Spooky Chic table ideas

you can go HERE to check out my white gloved place card. It’s my latest favorite creation.

Seeing all these pictures really gets my creative juices flowing… and as soon as I finish my Design Project Gallery Wall, I have a ghost themed tablescape I can’t wait to tackle.

source

So tell me,

do you entertain at Halloween?

 

xoxo

Leslie

 

I’m linking this post up with these friends.

Please visit these wonderful bloggers when you get a chance:

http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2014/10/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-138.html

http://www.stonegableblog.com/the-scoop-140/

http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2014/10/238th-inspire-me-tuesday_13.html

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: 31 days of october inspiration,day 14,halloween entertaining,DIY tablescape ideas,halloween party ideas,halloween cocktail recipes.

Project Design Gallery Wall: Before photos

 

Hello friends…

Welcome to Week 2 of Project Design Gallery Wall.

Today I’m showing you my dining room because that’s where my gallery wall is going.

This is what it looks like these days.

And this is what it looked like a few months ago when the old owners lived here.

You can probably tell the obvious challenge in here is the lack of natural light. 

With only one window, it might seem counter intuitive to paint a room like this BM’s Kendall Charcoal, but I have to tell you I’m loving it; it’s a clean, deep shade, and it makes the room feel cozy instead of just small.

I just painted the chandelier too.

So the basics are done and I’m ready to get to work on this wall:

From the living room, the gallery wall is on the right side.

And this is the opposite side. I chose to put my  mirror on this side of the room because it reflects the most natural light here and when it comes to light, every little bit helps in this house.

For my gallery wall I decided to do something totally different for me.

Usually I’m a “salon style” kinda gal. Not too much pre-planning, I just keep moving my artwork around until I like it.  I also like the eclectic look of mixing frames and using both vintage and modern art. But for this project I thought it’d be fun to get out of my comfort zone and to measure and plan a wall out.

And use a single art theme.

I found the perfect images too; I’m using an old book of flower prints I found in an antique store and I’ve been saving them. Do you do that too? Buy something and then wait for the right project?

Anyway, I’m putting the prints in six white frames with cream mats from Ikea and I’ll be arranging them in a grid. Three on top and three on bottom in the center of this wall.

Here’s what I did to map out my gallery wall.

 

 

And here it is, the mapped out version. Hoorayyyy…easy-peasy-all-done-right?

Wrong.

I decided I didn’t like the two rows of three after all. When you’re standing in the room it lacks enough weight on the wall. So two more poster board pieces, scissors, and cut-cut… and I’m sooooo much happier.

And honestly, I eyeballed this version.

(I know, I’m hopeless but I promise to use my level when I hang the real ones).

Ok. So now there’s only one more decision. The color of the actual artwork.

But first, here’s a few details of the room.

 

layered rugs…

a vintage mirror

 

this cute bar cart to be styled for under my gallery wall

and this fiddle leaf fig tree to balance the other side of the room.

I always planned on using the colored flower prints because I guess I’m a color person by nature. I just don’t seem to have the restraint necessary for a whole black and white gallery wall.

 

But honestly, I was surprised how pretty the black and white flower prints look en mass against the charcoal wall color.

 

Ok. Here’s a picture of the prints when they’re not inside the mat.

I think I know what I’m doing. But I’d love to hear your thoughts.

A charcoal colored gallery wall using the color prints

or the neutral ones?

In the meantime don’t forget to stop by and check out these incredibly talented bloggers. It’s soooo fun to see what everyone else has planned.

I love me some good old “Before” pictures, don’t you?

Here’s the other participants in the gallery wall project:

 

Design Chic

Design Indulgence

Driven by Décor

5th and State

Lovely Things

Rough Luxe

Talk of the House

Classic • Casual • Home

 

 

And just a reminder, next Monday is the big reveal!

 

xoxo

Leslie

 

 

Technorati Tags: project design gallery wall,week two,Before wall,DIY gallery wall with grid