Holy Cats!

I actually *won* the giveaway @ Villa Barnes!

I'm gonna buy lottery tickets tomorrow for *sure*!

Lookit all the neat-o, keen-o stuff I won:

I can't wait!

xoxox, Rosemary - you're an amazing inspiration!

Changes to the dining room, too!

Daffodils from the garden

Vintage cut-work linen tablecloth 

from my mother's wedding trousseau

I love pears, and they work well with the colors

on the table runner and in the leaves of the "ranunculus"

I've always thought the pulls on my buffet/china cabinet

were kinda blah...

...so, one visit to HomeGoods, and 2 packages later...

...voila!

I really like how they look

Some things I'll be working with in the dining room:

Meakin "Tobacco Leaf" ironstone tea service

a what-not shelf I'm going to re-paint...

...this is too "meh".

a mustache cup!

an antique biscuit jar

antique Limoges chocolate pot

Meakin tureen

the wine rack/table

Again - forgive the photo quality.

Spring brings changes

...and daffodils from the garden.

vintage cut-work tablecloth from my mother's 

wedding trousseau.  Flowers are in an antique footed vase

A wonderfully kind-hearted fella helped me switch out sofas this past weekend.  I also "shopped in my own home" and moved some other furniture around.  Here are some before & afters (comments and suggestions are always welcomed):

BEFORE

very bulky - beyond-hope upholstery stains

AFTER

my mother's vintage Duncan Phyfe-style sofa (circa at least 1948)

reupholstered in early 70s (petit point roses on cream background)

BEFORE

wood coffee table and end tables that I have never liked

AFTER

I'm retaining the loveseat & will use a cream linen slip cover

the tea table is temporary - I would like a large ottoman/table

eventually, I'll move this tea table elsewhere

in the living room

BEFORE

glass demi-lune table used behind the sofa

(this restricted the walkway through the living room)

AFTER

demi-lune as bar/drinks area against wall

I plan on a mirror over this set-up

bar area detail

bar area detail

BEFORE

chair is now in my bedroom - see below for 

antique chair in its place

AFTER

illusion of more room

birdcage & antique chair/footstool

marble-topped end tables

(marble has a pink vein to it)

Waterford lamps - one of my mom's

prized acquisitions

shades are cream natural silk

escritoire

mantel

mantel detail

center of mantel

mantel detail

my mother's wedding portrait

There is a lot more I want to do to this room.  I may paint the walls a pale hue; I haven't decided yet.  Since I have a lot of cream/white/pale pink, I am afraid of the room being perceived as "colorless".  

I want to paint the birdcage and the antique chair, and perhaps re-upholster the chair.  The footstool will definitely get a slipcover of its own.  I may paint the sofa - I'm still undecided at this point.

I am fortunate that I have a lot of beautiful items that were chosen either by my mother or by myself.  We must have had the same mantra - only buy things you love and things that make you happy.

As the Dave Edmunds said - from small things big things one day come.

PS - I apologize for the photo quality.  My former camera is shot and I'm learning to work with a new one - hopefully my skills will improve.

Villa Barnes Giveaway!

Nifty neat-o, keen-o giveaway at one of my favorite blogs - Villa Barnes!

Go on...what are you waiting for?  :)