All About Vignettes: September 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

The Design House at The Old Lucketts Store

You know that one of my favorite vintage shopping spots is The Old Lucketts Store.

I've also mentioned that on that same property is The Design House.

I think The Design House website says what it's about best:

" The Design House at the Old Lucketts Store is a monthly interior design showcase where everything is for sale. We bring together the best creative minds and the latest finds in a truly inspiring way. At the Design House you will see well-designed spaces that incorporate items that you never would have thought to put together. You can find those unique pieces you've been hunting for that will pull together that unfinished room in your house. It's always fresh and new at each monthly event so save-the-dates and, as we like to say, "Grab your girlfriends! Bring the trailer!" and make a day of it. "

I have to say that I am honored and so excited to have been invited to be a guest designer for the October Design House. I've been working to pull together what I call mix 'n chic in a girly office. I'll have glossy black and white furniture with some yellow and orange accents, upholstered pieces, an over-sized houndstooth pattern sprinkled around, and of course tons of layered accessories.

I took photos of my space yesterday and wanted to share how it turned out.

My Room at The Design House

You know me and my elephant obsession.

Chinoiserie Buffet

I huge thank you to Suzanne and everyone at
The Old Lucketts Store and The Design house for an unbelievable opportunity to share my look.

Please stop by and see the unique finds they've pulled together for this weekend. The rooms they have styled are truly amazing and inspiring.

THE DESIGN HOUSE
Oct. 4,5,6 from 10-5
42350 Lucketts Road, Leesburg, VA 20176

If you live in the DC area you have to stop by. Not only will The Old Lucketts Store and the The Design House be open, but they will also be participating with three other fabulous nearby shops in a Halloween Hunt that same weekend.

Halloween Hunt with Hometalk on 10/5

We have a Halloween Hunt coming up! Join The Old Lucketts Store for a treasure hunt on October 5th with Hometalk, Sweet Clover, Chartreuse & Co., and On A Whim. After you visit these local businesses, trick out your treats and share on your blog! The winner gets a prize package from Sweet Clover!
#HTHHUNT

For more details on the hunt, please check out Cassie's blog:http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/2013/08/calling-all-local-bloggers-to-hometalk.html

Kathy

I'll be there all weekend and hope to meet you.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

An Unexpected Surpise Under the Sun Room

When we added the sun room to the back of the house, we not only created my favorite space in my home, but we also gained an unexpected living area on the patio below. Before the addition, we hardly used the brick patio. It was very sunny and it seemed that I did nothing but sweat and pull weeds that sprouted up overnight in the cracks between the bricks. I have to confess that the patio was the place where I'd paint my furniture in the warm months. Those paint spot speckles on the bricks prove it is my workshop. Eventually my sweet friend, Nancy, found some chinoiserie furniture for me and I decided to clean up that area.

My Unexpected Space Under the Sun Room

The photos in this post were taken by C.M. Glover, the photojournalist who did my photo shoot for Houzz. She kindly came back to my house at a later date and took some more photos. These photos were taken at dusk. Below is a view from another angle.

Another Angle of the Area

This is the before picture, complete with my son's sports net pitch back and a trash can.

Before Back Yard

To give you some perspective about the space, you can access the back yard and patio from either side of the house. If you come down the driveway, there's a path to the patio between the garage and the screened porch.

Path From Driveway to Patio

Or, you can enter from the kitchen side of the house and follow a different path to the back yard.

Path From Kitchen Porch to Patio

C.M. suggested that before she returned, I should style the area as if I were hosting a party.
I couldn't believe it when I went to Trader Joe's looking for flowers and found some in the exact colors of my cushions.

Styled Table

Here's a closer look at the flowers. Did you notice that I found a spot for those orange shutters? I just couldn't part with them after I purchased them. They hung around for a while in the garage, with everything else in my secret stash, but I knew I'd use them. Their orange color was my inspiration for the space. I still have a few more hanging around. I'm hoping to pry them from my greedy little pack rat fingers and put them up for sale.

Table Setting With Chippy Shutter in Background

You know how I love clocks and demijohns. They were perfect on the bar cart with some ferns from my garden.

Clock and Ferns in My Demijohn on the Bar Cart

I put candles in the candelabra I suspended from the pergola. I even did place settings on my

clock face table. You can see that I really got into this styling.

Under the Pergola

I had some faux cabbage leaf place mats to go under my cabbage dishes. I paired them with some leopard print flatware and glasses--gotta get that animal print in somewhere.

All Ready to Eat---Where's the Food?

I thought the flowers looked especially nice as the sun was setting.

Building Fragment, Sphere, and Lambs Ear

Sweet Woodruff, Hosta, Lamb's Ear, Nandina, Ferns

Hosta, Dracena, Impatiens Along the Path

I'm very happy with my surprise living space and guess what??
The shade from the sun room also took care of the weed problem. I still paint on the patio and the sun room offers me shade and protection from raindrops too.

Kathy

I have to show you the "before" of the Chinoiserie settee and chairs.

Before the New Upholstery

If you missed my Home Tour Feature on Houzz, go here.

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Sunday, September 8, 2013

Mid Century Modern Brass and Chrome Shelves

You know that one of my favorite things to do is to style bookcases. I saw this pair of Mid Century Modern shelves at a local estate sale. The glass shelves were missing and I commented that I wished the shelves were there. Do you believe they said that they had the shelves? They brought them out all wrapped carefully in bubble wrap ready for transport. Of course I bought them and was so glad I had asked about the glass. For a while I've needed something on either side of my buffet turned TV cabinet. They fit into the space perfectly.

MCM Shelves Flanking Buffet

It took all of half an hour to style them. I just walked around the house grabbing what would work. My things are so used to moving around from room to room that no one objected to a new location. The only new-to-me accessories are the brass spheres on the top shelves.

Left Shelf


Right Shelf

Need a closer look????

Framed Bookplate, Stair Finial, Faux Turtle Shell on Stack of Leather Books

My Favorite Brass Elephant Next To My New Glam Sphere

The spikey sphere on the top shelf was meant to hang on the wall but the flat back worked perfectly on the top shelf.

Another Framed Bookplate, My Santos and My New Spikey Sphere

My antlers decided to wrap around each other and overflow a large glass jar.

Antlers Interlocked in A Glass Jar

The bottom shelves have bottles and framed French engravings.

Vintage Bottles, French Engraving, Pagoda


Covered Bottles and French Engraving

Doesn't it feel good when you find something that pulls it all together?

Kathy

To see my other styled bookcases go here and here.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Faux Bamboo

I've written about vintage bamboo here and here. And, although you may not believe it, there's even faux bamboo. It's also referred to as Chinoiserie or Hollywood Regency.

There is faux bamboo furniture.