STYLING OPEN SHELVES IN MY KITCHEN

Dayum y'all.....so much love for the new coffee table:)

Thank you!

I have moved a few things around until I make up my mind.  The acrylic coffee table headed to the guest room as a bench stacked with books.  I moved the pigeon basket back to the family room where it was long ago....and now I have sufficient time to think about it.....which could be anywhere between 2 weeks and a year......give or take.

I don't like to be rushed ya know.....

Anyway......guess what?  I have some shelves to show you today.  From my house.  I know right....who am I?  Some crazy blogger?  Well I was looking at them on Christmas eve day and all of a sudden they were stripped down and I was cleaning them.  

Again....who the heck am I?

Here is the before!

Hot.  Damn.  Mess.

I had just been shoving crap on them and really not paying attention.  But hey....I am cutting myself some slack because we all do that right.

They aren't perfect yet but and I could have definitely weeded them out even more but in reality I use these everyday.  They were the only upper cabinets I had in my kitchen so I thought long and hard about removing them a few years ago.

I think I am an "over accessorizer" on shelves and sometimes I have to stand back and edit.....and maybe I am not there yet.... 

BUT.....in actuality these have to be functional for me and they are fitting that bill right now.

What I use on a daily basis is on the first shelf. Dishes and such.

I love finding pretty pottery and flea markets.....especially when it can actually be used for something:)

I have never regretted taking the cabinets down.....not one minute!

You are probably looking at the before and scratching your head thinking they don't look any different.....haha

At least they are dusted and washed so there's that.

Somebody asked about the basket on the DR table and I got it at a flea market.  I wish there had of been 2 of them:)

Last night in the middle of the night I woke up and one eye was stinging and watering to the point I could not even open the eye.  It was crazy and it went on for over 15-25 minutes.  I was freaking out thinking maybe a spider of small bug bit my eye and I was going to be blind.....I always take everything to the extreme.

It seems to be OK this morning but I have never experienced anything like that in my life....out of the clear blue!

I will be posting on Thursday instead of Friday this week....joining a few friends in discussing Design Trends for 2021!  They asked me 4 months ago and you would think I would be all organized and such but heck no.  

I have not even started the post yet which is a quality I hate about myself.

Hang in there people!

Shaydraggingtoday

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MY HOUSE

I almost hate to post since there is so much going on our country.....I'm not blind but I feel like you might come here for some normalcy.  

I don't really want to start "that" conversation as I know how passionate everyone is about their beliefs.....and I am OK with that.  

We are all friends and have been for 11 years so let's just agree that this is a safe place and we will keep it light hearted and discuss my new coffee table instead....haha

A few months ago I went to the sample sale at the mart and stumbled across a Worlds Away waterfall coffee table and it stopped me in my tracks.  Rose and I both just stood there....thinking "do we have a client who could use this".  It was such a deal we just could not walk away so I bought it and we both said we will find someone.

So funny because when I walked over to put the sold sign on it there were a couple of designers standing around deciding to buy it and I said...."stand back people.....it's mine".

Well per usual for me it just hung out in a corner of my LR waiting for some love.  Over the holidays I scooted my pigeon basket coffee table out of the way and played with some styling.  

Big Mistake.

I kind of love it.  Crap.  Now the pigeon basket coffee table is in the corner.  Crikey

Of course I was on a roll and brought in my amber jar.....

And then I remembered I had this mudcloth which I was going to have pillows made out of so I tucked it on the seat of the sofa!

The rattan chairs were found on Craigslist many years ago and I had them painted!

I

I found the vintage Chapman sconces at Scott's probably 15 years ago....and the end tables at Tuesday Morning so long ago.  They were wood and I painted them as I love the lines.

I've had the sisal rug for a while and you can find one similar on Overstock as I have seen them before!

The small table is actually Currey and Co and was ordered for a client.  When it came I opened it to check for damage and just placed it in my room to see how it looked:)  She is probably reading this and thinking "well now it is used so I want a discount"....hahahaha

The black marble tray is from Target.....many years ago.

And my beloved Swan......Dawne Raulet Art.

I have already moved things around in the DR but here is that basket I bought for a client....and after I posted this on Instagram she reminded me it was hers.....haha.

So here is the before of the LR

I can't decide.......whaaaaaaaa

I know it is a completely different look.  I will be so curious as which one you prefer......

I will tell you that this shot was taken by a professional so it does look pretty good.

What to do.....what to do?

I hope you guys have a great weekend.  It's so cold here in Atlanta right now.  It's a Scotts weekend and next week is The Mart!  Plus I am so overloaded with work....which is a good thing I know but I am a little overwhelmed.

Shayconfused

68

THIS AND THAT

Well...we made it to 2021.....but just barely....limping over the finish line.  Whew!

I gotta say I did not do much during the week after Christmas.  Cami and I spent a lot of time together and well....that was alright with me.  I did a little organizing around the house [left over initiative from the "great office makeover of 2020"]. 

Which by the way I am still giddy over:)

Anyway just some updates from the last week.  

Part of the problem I declared myself housebound was because I started watching binging a series called A Place To Call Home.  It's set in Australia and is quite the story [7 seasons].  One small problem....it's on a channel called Acorn which of course I don't have so I am having to buy the seasons.  I am kind of OK with that because TV is really my only source of entertainment [besides rearranging my house].....cause: pandemic so there you have it.

Anywayyyyyy......let's recap the week.

I made the decision to try this coffee table in my LR and well.....if you saw on Instagram it might be a keeper.  Here's the thing.....I have been very into that amber color lately....and this just fueled that fever:)

Yesterday I headed to a clients with a new pillow and a nice wall of art.

Hard to tell but this was a HUGE wall and these did the trick!

I went over to my friend Tina's house just to visit and then we started rearranging everything.  Which was like a domino effect as that led to painting dining room chairs [her not me].  Then I said "hey I bet I have some fabric we can cover the seats with" and boy did I learn a lesson.  I have been doing this for 25 years and I never met a chair seat that did not pop off with 4 screws.......until now.

My suggestion might have been a little hasty when I said "don't worry about getting paint on the seat cover....I am sure there is a way to get them off".

Long story short....nope.....it can be done but not as easily as I thought.

Still learning at 68.

I saw these colors on SW Instastory....all good neutrals from Sherwin Williams.  I have used most of them at one time or another!

I saw this great table for a client in a consignment store....[which she promptly bought] then I mentioned to her about painting the walls in her dining room black and boom....she sends me this picture.

Love an obedient client....haha.

I love having the space to play with fabrics in my office:)

I also discovered a new design duo......

Pierce & Ward

Let's take a peek.....

I love all of the coziness they create!

The kitchen below killed me......seriously in love with the tile application!

Go check them out!

New Years Day I slipped away from binging....I felt like I might get bed sore’s if I didn't move around:)

Got dressed and went over to Sudi's for some chili!

So that is pretty much it.....just a little dump for ya of all things that are happening around here!

Oh yeah one last thing....some one asked me why this vent got covered up in the office....over the washer and dryer.  It was a useless vent from our old HVAC system....

Shayheadinginto2021

 

13

BEFORE AND AFTER OFFICE MAKEOVER

I am so glad you enjoyed the tour of Pam's getaway home!  What is amazing to me is that while it looks old....it is not.  It was all newly built in the last few years!

Another thing is Pam is the sweetest person ever....

So how was Christmas for everyone?  Mine was very low key....I stayed home Christmas Eve day, night and most of Christmas until I walked down to my sisters for a quick dinner!  We ate on paper plates because her DW is broken....... we still have not started her kitchen!  Soon though.....planning is the most important part!

I have hinted for a while that I decided to do a little makeover in my office/laundry room.  This was my husbands domaine....and well....he is gone so I decided to make it mine!  

I can't tell you how good it feels to have this room be purposeful for me!  Let's start from the beginning...well I say that.....but it was such a quick decision I did not take before pics when it was a complete mess...and when I say mess I truly mean it.

One more thing....I needed to stick to my budget...using smoke and mirrors which really means PAINT....which as we all know is a game changer!

Here is the laundry area....after I had cleared most of it out.  It took a few days to go through everything and find new homes for a lot of it!  I mean why is there a roasting pan in here:)

To the right of this picture there is another knee area and a window which is where my ex sat.  I literally never occupied this space.

So what was the plan?  I decided to remove all the upper cabinets and paint.  Also leaving the tile floor, bottom cabinets and the countertops which are cheap laminate!  Luckily 30 years ago I picked a neutral :)

And it's painted.....SW Urbane Bronze!

Below you can see I was excited about accessorizing the space...haha!

Alrighty then.....

Yup....the excitement was building.....

As much as I wanted white oak floating shelves I decided NOT to spend the money and went with using Poplar for them.  My guy put a nice lip around them so they looked more finished.

I ordered the brackets on Etsy and they came in a week.....

Can you feel how excited I am?  Seriously y'all this was a long time coming!

Every time I got overwhelmed  I would soothe myself with a little shelf styling....haha.

This was the dining room table....and the rest of the LR looked the same!

It  took three whole days of the weekend starting on Friday.....

Not only do you have to go through everything you have to figure out where to put it.  You might think the upper cabinets were better for storage but they weren’t.  The open shelves are so much better and visually help when the doors are open from the LR/DR.

The next thing to decide was a rug....to cover the ugly tile!  I went to Scott's and brought some home.  Now you know I am a neutral girl so of course I brought 4 neutral and I threw in one odd one:)

While I loved the one above.... when I put the colorful rug down it was a game changer!

In my opinion it looked the best and also you noticed the rug instead of the tile.....winner!

I just took some fabric and put it over a spring rod to cover the extra knee hole [after using iron on tape to clean up the edges] and it is also another place for storage now....clever girl:)

So here ya go.....

Black baskets on the top shelf hold some of my fav fabrics.  The printer used to be over by the other window and it you could see it.

Oh yeah....I ordered some cheap oil rubbed bronze knobs from build.com....

And  for the shelves I did not buy anything new except for that little basket to put the faux Target fern in!  I shopped my house and basement!

All of the art came from flea markets!

I remembered I had 2 blinds left over from when I took them out of my keeping area and I hung them myself which is a little amazing as I do not hang curtains ever!

Here is the washer/dryer side.  I did buy the white baskets at Target....

And I got the large white shelf at Ikea!  Best find ever as it fit's perfectly and makes that space very useful!

I brought the lamp in from my bedroom....

I ordered the chair from Overstock.....

I am thrilled with it....and I am so glad I did not rip everything out as what a mess and expense that would have been.

Now when you look towards the office this is the view....I know so many pictures...can you tell I am excited?  Of course it will always be a work in progress as I can use this area to practice styling!

It was such a long time coming.  Sorry this is late but I forgot to set my alarm and I was up finishing up Bridgerton on Netflix last night!  I was so so good.....but I had to go workout my knee is almost 100% [boy that took a long time]  and get Cami walked.

I also did a little makeover [meaning re-accessorizing] on my kitchen shelves, keeping area and LR so there are some fun post coming!

Y'all I am officially divorced now.  It took 461 days....after 31 years together and not a single word to me.  So there you have it.

Shaystillamazed

 

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