MY NEW BLOG!

SO after taking the summer off and doing some soul searching I realized 2 things.

1- I love to blog but hate the pressure of having to blog

2- I needed help!

So my friend Lauren and I combined our blogs and now have a joint blog.

it's

houseofchicandpenoche.blogspot.com

Please join and become a follower. I promise that now with 2 of us there shouldn't be a week that goes by without at least 1 post. We will always be shooting for 2-3 but 1 is really all I can promise since we're both busy mom's.

Thank you for following this blog!

Stacey

Before and After Bedroom

This Before and After is of our Master Bedroom. It's still a little bit of a work in progress. But I wanted to make this post mostly about the paint colors I used.
BEFORE: This is the ugliest color on earth! A fleshy peach color that ruled the WHOLE house!
So behind the bed I painted that wall a greenish/blue color from Pottery Barn called Wythe Blue.
Then I painted a taupe brown around the bottom of the rest of the room. It's a color called CityScape from the new Martha Stewart line at Home Depot. It's an amazing color! Can I just say that I love colors that can't decide what they are. For example this color is really taupey in my room but a warm grey in the bathroom! I also thought the paint went on really well and it's not very expensive either!

I did this damask stencil in our last house, but I really loved it so I did it again. The top color above CityScape is call Turtle Dove from BEHR and it is also my new love! It's this great blueish, green with even a hint of yellow. It's so vintage-y, it reminds me of the Palace of Versailles.

I could look at it all day.

To do the stencil, apply the top color over the dark, to give it a "bleeding" effect.

More Wythe Blue

So I now enjoying being in this room soooo much more! No more peachy flesh!

Revamping an old Frame

Revamping an old frame! My mantle has been a thorn in my side! I've changed a billion times since we've moved in, and I think I'm finally getting to where I like it. Anyway, here is a project I'm finally posting!
A place to display old family photos.

I have this frame I bought at a scratch and dent sale at Pottery Barn years ago. As you can see the middle piece has always been loose. I thought it was time for some revamping.
I sprayed painted the outside this aqua color that I love. It krylon at Home Depot, the best spray paint out there!
Next I mod podge on some paper with a fun damask print.
Lastly I spray painted the inside part white and drilled some holds for hooks at the top.
Instead of laying out my pictures into the grid part of the frame I decided to clip them on useing cafe curtain clips. I used a combination of old family pics and new ones.

If you do anything PLEASE READ THIS POST!!! Happy Mothers Day!

I've been waiting forever to do this post! But I've been waiting for Mothers Day and now my Library books are over due! What does this have to do with that?! Well.........

I was at the our cute little public library in my little country town (the best eclectic book collection ever!)and I stumbled across a little biography about Frank Lloyd Wright. Being a lover of all things Design and Architecture and wanting to keep my mind "sharp as a tack" I decided to check it out.

Wright is someone I love and abhor (no not adore, ABHOR). His professional life I amaze and covet over and his personal life (to say it nicely) puts a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyway, hopefully you all know about F.L. Wright, and I don't have to do a post about him too because I WILL DANG IT! But to put it in one sentence, Wright "is one of the most innovative and influential figures in modern architecture." His works include the House of Falling Water, the Guggenheim in NYC, and is basically "the Father" of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Any of this ringin' bell?!

So that brings me to the point of THIS post. As I read this little Bio, it mentioned Wright's mother, Anna Wright, and I was so moved and awed at what it said, "Humble livings and lack of financial success did not however, prevent Anna from exhibiting her tasteful sense of interior decoration at the home....things which she liked she surrounded herself and her family. Years later when Wright wrote down his own ideas about interior design, they corresponded in many significant details to the environment that HIS MOTHER had carefully constructed during his childhood." I love that! She used what she had and her creativity and surrounded herself with things she loved. I feel like that is what my life and blog are about. I feel like this speaks so strongly about mothers and what an impact they have on their children. To me, she will always be "The Mother" of the Arts and Crafts Movement!

This is the only pic I could find on the internet of Anna Wright. She is the one holding the baby.

One Man's Trash Mondays

I really really debated giving out this secret........because I don't want my stash to disappear! BUT I figure there's not that many readers and those people who do read my blog ROCK and deserve this little reward so I'm letting you in!

Next time you're at IKEA skip the store and head straight to the AS-IS department. It's a bargin shoppers dream! Sure you have to rummage though bins and boxes but it's worth it.

So my secret and favorite is the little cubbies tucked in the back full of odds and ends of cabinetry! Like below, I found this kitchen cabinet glass door, for $3! Nothing was wrong with it so I took it home to re-purpose it.

I added the vinyl lettering and the little knob at the bottom, which went in like a cinch because there was already a hole there!These holes where already there too because that's where the hinges would go for a door, I used those for hanging instead!
I drilled little notches into the MDF so the screws in the wall would have something to catch and the door wouldn't just slide off of them. Now I have a lovey dovey room! Oh and the lacey curtains I also found in the AS-IS for $9 for the pair! I've also found taller doors, boards, frames sheets ect....Rummage through boxes my friends, rummage though boxes!

One Man's Trash

Welcome to my new Feature, called "One Man's Trash." Every Monday I'm going to do a post on Thrift Store, Yard Sale, or even "Dumpster Diving" finds! Most Posts will be showing a way to refurbish the item. But sometimes they'll be perfect on their own. LIKE.......

This amazing find I found at the D.I. (a thrift store here in UT). Vintage (I'm guessing, 1970's) Canister!
So amazing! Who would give these away? And I got the whole set for $5! Say what?!

They're all metal with that great avocado green color and I LOVE the style of the words!

When you find "Finds" like this, they can be used in unconventional ways. I will probably be using these in my office to hold my paint brushes, markers and such. I'm a little concerned about the metal being used with to hold edible items. But If want to later put them in my kitchen for decor, I will!

Dish Towel Curtains

This a projectt I don't think I ever posted, but these are also cafe curtains I made for the kitchen in my old house. This is the simplest way!

I found these dish towels and feel in love with them and the fabric was a perfect light linen.

Love the little birdie silhouettes!