Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

May God Bless You And Your Families! Hope you enjoy time spent with family and friends!

Tapestry Anyone? Would U Frame It?

Well in my pursuit for a new bed I found this........
tapestry from an auction for pennies and it's in great condition.......is that not how it works? When you're looking for a specific item it's no where to be found......when you are NOT looking for something, it presents itself out of no where?
I think what I liked about this piece was the subject matter but on closer inspection......it's the color within. I got it home, and it's all the colors that are currently in my home. What would you do with this......would you frame it? It's 4' X 6"! The search for a bed continues!

Looking For A New Bed/Bedroom Design

O.K. as many of you already know my bedroom has been giving me fits! It's a long narrow room that was originally two smaller rooms that we opened by taking down the wall between them. I have decided that instead of just making this work (it's been almost five years now) I'm going to completely redo everything including buying a new king sized bed to replace the queen. My husband and I neither one sleep very well in it so it's time to rethink things although it's been a while since we've purchased a bed. I've read all kinds of things about the "sleep number" beds and have slept in a couple in hotels...... unfortunately a few nights in a bed on vacation is not the best way to tell if a bed is going to work for you because you're usually exhausted anyway from activity and travel time so tend to sleep like a log. Will any of you share what bed designs or manufacturers you have found to be the best??? It can be very overwhelming and I just don't know where to begin. I'll be making a large purchase and don't want to waste time or money making this decision. ANY suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.
I will be repainting (so the wall strip painted will blend with the wall although you'll still be able to see the outlets...no room for any type of T.V. mounts or cabinets) and this is the other side of the room that the bed has to face. The room has a slanted ceiling (lower side that the bed has to go 0n) so I cannot get a canopy of any kind.
Bedding, rug and all palm tree artwork accessories will go..... The two wall scones are oddly located too so I'll have to work with that.....my fault on placing those .... we had tried our bed going the other direction on the wall originally to the left but it just was not enough room on one side with the door on the other side and no room for night stands at all.....so this seems to be the best layout. This is a platform (bamboo flooring) with a step down to the sitting area.
This is the other view of the sitting room....the settee will stay along with the silk stripped drapes that you can barely see on each side of the fireplace. I'm also considering painting the fireplace and changing the lighting.....mainly the chandelier......and the Tiki Hut over the closet door is going too.
The main reason we set the room up to accommodate a sink, mini refrigerator and coffee area (hidden below on far right) was because our main bathroom down stairs (which is right off of this bedroom) only has one sink verses a double and both of us could get ready in the morning. There was very little room for dressers as well. Also.... thinking long term maybe someday one of our parents would be staying with us in their elderly years could serve as a private suite for them. This search should be interesting.....

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

I took a couple of hours on Friday and drove around looking at the fall colors........
A serene park located only a few miles from my house......in the country ......
And around town......a grape arbor located in the biblical gardens .......a popular place for wedding photos.......
Beauty and symmetry is in the eye of the beholder is what I say! I don't know why but I've always loved things that look balanced, well kept and where harmony resides....PEACE. This place has it.
I live in the country.....but a nearby city has approximately 15,000 people......if you can call that a metro? This is a building located downtown that sticks out like a sore thumb because of it's architecture compared to everything else surrounding it, however, the small quaint town is called the Orthropedic capitol of the world. Some of the best products are created here for hip, knee and spine replacement. On this side of the building the VIP's have a bird's eye view of the park and a lake beyond with a biblical garden, amplitheatre and pavillion to the right. See bottom photo for better view of the building
Steel art sculpture in the distance.....love the brick
My favorite time of year. Enjoy!

Get A Load Of This Design!

Remikz - A Collection Of All Things Entertaining

How about this sink design? I've been scanning the web for bathroom ideas and ran across this one and it just made me chuckle. I could see this in a Vegas washroom....although I've never been to there to see the sights!! Someone has a vivid imagination I would say....what do you think?

To Paint OR Not To Paint....that is the question?

This is our quest bathroom. We remodeled this family farmhouse four years ago. I just have not had the time or money to really dedicate to getting it finished the way I would like. We found the old tub and was stuck with the gold fixtures that came with it.....thinking I would eventually change them out later, I bought the silver/gold fixtures for the sink and lighting. Getting this house done within a year was the goal (since we had to gut/demo ourselves) so I didn't spend as much time on the upstairs and now I'm regretting it. Since this is the only tub we have in the house and I'm the only one that uses it, had envisioned a more feminine look with a chandelier instead of a light above the tub with an exhaust fan! I want it to be a retreat....my own little space to go to in our house.
The colors are from the adjoining bedroom/art studio across the hall. They are pretty basic in that none of it is permanent and I was trying to tie in the fabric from my art studio chair just so it would not look totally off to me every time I went in to paint. The side table was given to me and then I found the leather mirror to go over the sink. I started to go a different direction with this room at first thinking I wanted to make it more like the downstairs with all the rustic leathers and copper sinks but it just doesn't work in here. So neither of those will stay.
Here's all the odd angles of the ceiling and walls. I can fit a small side table or shelving into the little cove behind the tub.....but of course I have not found the right piece yet....guess I should have had the builder put in the shelves he wanted to!! I thought that would be boring as well as predictable. I don't like a lot of things sitting around to dust, however, I have taken everything out of this room just so you can see a blank slate.
This wall does go up higher but it has the exhaust fan and is not peaked.....see previous photo.
Keep in mind that in the little cove area at the end of the tub is a hidden outlet for a lamp or I could also have music to relax to.
This is the other side of the room opposite of the tub and the wall goes to a peak.....and the wall I was thinking of when I bought the piece of furniture below the following photo. I don't know why I agreed to lighting placed in this spot! Can you ever have too much lighting? I think so....when all these lights are on in here, it becomes a sauna!! Thankfully I asked to put them on dimmer switches. This is a small space and very awkward to decorate. Any suggestions? I have a feeling my search continues....! I need help from all my friends here in blog land....what do you see in this room? I can change almost anything except for the sink, tub and flooring! Flooring is tile.
This is the piece mentioned above .....78"H X 25"W X 17 1/2" Deep (I would have 23" to walk between the cabinet and the tub).
As I mentioned in a previous post I had attended an auction where 10 auctioneers were all in the same room working/selling 10 different clients' finds..... at the same time. It reminds me of Wall Street chaos but it's so fun to go to every year with my parents as they look for antiques to fill their store. I rarely buy for myself and just bid for them but I found this piece and thought it was unique. I'm not sure the period but my mom thought it looked like a 30's, 40's, or even 50's variety....it's unmarked. It's hideously covered in filth so I will give it a disinfecting as it appears to have been in storage somewhere. Many of the people who buy and sell do so from Chicago and bring the pieces in from there.
I originally wanted it to occupy a space in my upstairs bathroom for towel storage but I had forgotten a light fixture on the wall where it would go was a little lower than I had remembered.....I know, I know.....measurements are nice! Can you say buying on a whim? I may change that to a flush mount sconce otherwise I would have to take the finial off....which it just lifts out of a hole on top. I'd rather not do that. I noticed that it has a little shelf that pulls out below (was this used as a side piece in a parlor to put a drink on or what?) and behind the lower doors is shelf storage just right for guest towels. The upper portion is lighted.....although someone had a Red light bulb in the socket? Strange....you see all kinds of things and people at the auction house. Would YOU paint this or not? What color? I could not pass it up and got it for a great price. Green is one of my favorite colors and I do have some of it in other rooms so it could go somewhere else.

Color & Building Trends In The Midwest

HGTV Photo (designer Katie Levie) I like everything about this room but my favorite is the echoing arches and ceiling. It represents what I"m seeing a lot of lately. I attended a local Parade Of Homes last night and here are some trends I took note of as I browsed the seven homes here in the Midwest:

Exterior curb appeal - landscaping/exterior materials more extensive (more than usual)

Smaller and more affordable homes (for average people) ranging from $200 - $395,000.

Elaborate details throughout with special attention to ceilings and floors (more than usual)

Organization for families - almost every home had the built-in lockers for children

Larger laundry areas

Color trends more neutral with accents of blacks and browns (greens, blues, grays, tans and some rustic reds) ...still see chocolate but lighter

Lots of textures in the room and nature items brought in....tree branches/small tree trunks...etc.

STEEP NARROW STAIRWAYS (what's with this or am I just getting old)? More cost effective I guess.

Still lots of TV viewing areas, MANY MANY rooms with wall mounted TV'S (does anyone read a good book these days)?

Ho Hum lighting from local superstores

Lots and neighborhoods smaller and more pricey.... the homes are very close together!

Everyone can see each other in their back yards, no privacy

More people downsizing and more people discontented with what they have

Well we cannot all live like the Jones'.........