HGTV Dream House Great Room

So what can you learn from looking at this great

Great room?

Let's to go through the space and talk about

what design principles you can use from this example.

In the above photo the furniture is gathered around the

center of the room facing the fireplace which

is the focal point of the room.

It creates a wonderful conversation area.

1. Converstion Area (the furniture is balanced in the space)

2.  Three Lamps in a triangle pattern.

3. Similar Patterns and Colors throughout the space.

4. See how the Rug anchors the furniture.

5. Natural Elements

(flowers, apples)

6. Notice the Different Textures on the table...

wicker basket, the wooden boxes

as well as the shiny glass candlesticks. 

And of course books...I love books in a room.

7. Fabric

(the different toss pillows)

8. Staggering the heights of the items on the coffee table

makes it more pleasing to the eye.

See how you can take ideas from this beautifully designed

 Dream Home and use a few in your own home!!

Try at least one in your house today!

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PILES OF PILLOWS

Since I got my sewing machine for Christmas, I have been slowing but surely improving on my sewing skills.  A sewing class will be my next step, but so far, I have learned by trial and error and a few tutorials from my talented mother.  She has been sewing since I can remember.  She would often times stay up until all hours of the night making my sister and I something to wear.  When we would wake up the next morning, her creation would be waiting for us at the end of our bed.  Had a paid more attention, I could be an excellent seamstress by now.

Pillows are one of the easiest things to sew, since it's basically two squares (or rectangles if you want to get fancy) sewn together.  It is pretty hard to mess up.  Since February, I have been on a pillow making frenzy.  I am very fickle when it comes to pillows so I don't like to spend a lot of money on them.  A remnant of fabric, preferably purchased from the clearance table, some stuffing (or an insert), and some thread is all it takes.

Here is a little collage of some of the pillows I have made recently.  

1.  I made the blue one for our family room.  (the plaid one in front was made by my mom)
2.  I bought the pillow, but made the rolled flower and attached it to the pillow.
3.  This is my latest creation.  It is part of the project my mom and I stayed up until 2am working on.
4.  Another one for the yet to be revealed project
5.  I made both of these (two of each) to go on the love seats in our living room.
6.  The sassy striped pillow was made for my daughter's recently updated room.
7.  These were made from my inspiration fabric for my daughter's room (my first attempt at adding trim).
8.  This stipe pillow is another outcome of the 2am project.  (hint: it's outdoor fabric)
9.  I made the small coral pillow for the family room. (the other two were made by my mom.)

So, now you know what I do in my spare time. I would love to learn to sew well enough to make my kids something and have it sitting at the end of their beds when they wake up.

Any talented seamstresses out there that want to come by and give me a few lessons?

I am linking to:
Savvy Southern Style
Truly Lovely

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Lumbar Pillows

Recently a friend of mine gave me a few yards of fabric.  She has an issue with fabric just like I do.  She thought it would go great in our casual living room since it is very similar to the fabric I used on these wingback chairs. 

It's a wool herringbone and very similar in color the the wool on the chairs.  

I have seen lumbar pillows popping up everyone and I really wanted to add one to each of the love seats in our casual living room. I was inspired by the following images. 

via Apartment Therapy 

via Apartment Therapy 

via Southern Living 

via The Little Green Notebook

And here they are......

I still need to add a little more stuffing and stitch the bottoms closed.  I would have really liked to add piping, but I'm just not there yet.  My mom is in town this weekend and if we get a chance,

I would like to take little sewing lesson from her. 

Since I am so fickle when it comes to decor and fabric, I'm pleased with the outcome and the price tag ($0).  Like I said, the fabric was given to me and I had plenty of stuffing on hand.  If I change my mind about them in a few months, I won't feel bad.  For now, I'm loving them.

Completely off the subject of lumbar pillows:
We had a strange start to our weekend.  My parents came in town to watch the kiddos while my husband and I went away on Saturday to celebrate his birthday.  They brought along my 9 year old nephew and my 6 year old niece.  On Friday night, I suddenly woke up around 2:30 a.m.  I noticed quite a few lights on so I got up to check things out.  I heard water running in my boys' bathroom and when I went in there, the tub was running and was full of scalding hot water.  I immediately panicked and yelled for my husband.  We went to check on the kids and they were all sound asleep.  Apparently, my nephew and niece have a habit of sleep walking and one of them must have wanted to take a bath in the middle of the night.  Thank goodness he or she didn't actually get in the tub since the water was scalding hot.  I had a really hard time going back to sleep that night for fear that one of them would get up again.  The next morning, neither one of them had any recollection of this.  Scary!

I am linking to:

Savvy Southern Style
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
The Shabby Nest
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Somewhat Simple

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Pretty Pillows from Allem Studio

type='html'>We saw this adorable pillow line at the New York Gift Show and we thought you might want to check them out.  The pillows are made of cotton/linen fabrics and are either embroidered or silk-screen printed.  They're so pretty and fun....

These run about $90-120 each and you can find them on our decorative pillow section...

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Creative Decorating for a Tuesday

Use two (or three) tablerunners horizontally across a table. Gives you a different look and they can double as placemats.

marthastewart.com

So let's just say that it's Tuesday (because it is :-) ) and you're looking around your house wondering what little thing you could do today to shake up your decorating a bit. Just a little. Not much. Just something fun or different that you may not have tried before. The list of things you could do is actually unending, but here are some ideas...

If you've never layered art on your fireplace mantel, why not try it for a different look?...

myhomeideas.com

If your artwork is too small, make it bigger by attaching a thin piece of painted wood to the back like Just A Girl did for her spring mantel...

Paint a chalkboard on a door...

Country Living Photo Keith Scott Morton

We've talked about painting the backs of bookshelves and papering the backs of bookshelves, but why not make it a little more interesting by doing a little of both and mixing up the patterns?...

idealhomemagazine.co.uk

Arrange your books by color...

Style At Home

Paint a funky mirror a fabulous color...

marthastewart.com

Add some lace to your favorite pillow...

Style At Home

Mix up your bar stools with different finishes or paint colors...

Style At Home

Update your family photos and make them a focal wall in one of your rooms or hallways...

myhomeideas.com

Think outside the box on a new way to accessorize your dining room walls. This dining room wall would be a great one to use for inspiration!...

Photo by Michael Partenio via House Of Turquoise

Paint your front door a bold or just different color...

houseandhome.com

There was a question in the comments on my decorating with mirrors post on whether I knew how to make a new mirror look old. I actually didn't, but found some sources that do....

e-how article How Do I Faux Antique a Mirror?
marthastewart.com How to Antique a Mirror
HGTV.com How To Distress a Mirror

Have an awesome day!

No commentsRead more

Creative Decorating for a Tuesday

Use two (or three) tablerunners horizontally across a table. Gives you a different look and they can double as placemats.

marthastewart.com

So let's just say that it's Tuesday (because it is :-) ) and you're looking around your house wondering what little thing you could do today to shake up your decorating a bit. Just a little. Not much. Just something fun or different that you may not have tried before. The list of things you could do is actually unending, but here are some ideas...

If you've never layered art on your fireplace mantel, why not try it for a different look?...

myhomeideas.com

If your artwork is too small, make it bigger by attaching a thin piece of painted wood to the back like Just A Girl did for her spring mantel...

Paint a chalkboard on a door...

Country Living Photo Keith Scott Morton

We've talked about painting the backs of bookshelves and papering the backs of bookshelves, but why not make it a little more interesting by doing a little of both and mixing up the patterns?...

idealhomemagazine.co.uk

Arrange your books by color...

Style At Home

Paint a funky mirror a fabulous color...

marthastewart.com

Add some lace to your favorite pillow...

Style At Home

Mix up your bar stools with different finishes or paint colors...

Style At Home

Update your family photos and make them a focal wall in one of your rooms or hallways...

myhomeideas.com

Think outside the box on a new way to accessorize your dining room walls. This dining room wall would be a great one to use for inspiration!...

Photo by Michael Partenio via House Of Turquoise

Paint your front door a bold or just different color...

houseandhome.com

There was a question in the comments on my decorating with mirrors post on whether I knew how to make a new mirror look old. I actually didn't, but found some sources that do....

e-how article How Do I Faux Antique a Mirror?
marthastewart.com How to Antique a Mirror
HGTV.com How To Distress a Mirror

Have an awesome day!

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Etsy Fave: La Pomme

I am loving these sweet, embroidered and hand-stamped pillows from Apol Lejano-Massebiau, a Filipino expat now living in the South of France. Many of these "pillows" are actually filled with lavender -- perfect for working on a good night's rest (or just pretending you're the one living in the South of France), and really don't you prefer these peaceful birds to that creepy Lunesta butterfly thing? You can get to know more about Apol here and can purchase her creations here.

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