Magnificent Magnolia Wreaths

If you are lucky enough to be in "The Triangle" for those of you not in the loop that is RDU or said with a drawl.... Rawleigh, Derm, Chapel Hill.... then you need to know about Daniel Vogel of Flowers By the Bucket. Throughout the year Dan delivers seasonal flowers right to your front door in a bucket or two however you request right from his farm. He is a super nice fellow & he has an amazing green thumb.

Daniel Vogel of Flowers By the Bucket

Currently he is stocking his sleigh with his custom fresh Magnolia Wreathes. Dan delivered mine the day after Thanksgiving & they are stunning!!! Big, glossy & no open centers! Jiminy are they bodacious.

Daniel trades out the flower buckets for a fresh crop throughout the year with just a little phone call. Here he is earlier in the fall delivering some of his finest Fall lovelies. I am fool for Dahlias & his are gorgeous.

And how about the pineapples??? How stinking cute are they???? These came from The Cement Barn in Cerro Gordo, NC which for those not familiar is on the way to Myrtle Beach..... duh.....

I really loved the larger one above but was too large for my porch but ain't it grand??? The Cement Barn is a mecca of concrete! You can stay for hours combing the field.

Planning on fetching this fun pagoda on my next trip.

Aloha!

I Can Can; Can You.....

Can, Can, Can you do the Cancan...  Transforming an outdated bench was as easy as opening a can of paint!

Ooh la la ~  I was watching something on TV about the Moulin Rouge while opening a can of paint to begin yet another Before & After project and the Cancan just popped in my head. However perhaps the fumes fiddled with my brain.... Which leads to me to re-post this Blog Post from Emily Biggs over @ South of France Studios on why it is so important to wear a mask while painting. Seriously, I myself have had the fumes from using Kilz knock me off a ladder when the room was not properly ventilated. She also gives the reader other great tips on DIY furniture painting.

South of France Furniture Studio

If you are lucky enough to be in the  RDU Triangle (Sidebar ~ pronounced Rawleigh Durm if you are a native) then you need to head over to South of France Studios in Cary for all things to do with painting furniture. What a charming spot to go hang out & imagine all the possibilities.

Emily has the best workshops with a hands on approach that helps take the fear away if you are a rookie. I have been painting forever & I recently took the Paint Couture Workshop & learned lots of new techniques along with painting problem solving. Check out the schedule here.

Emily & Rebecca Reed; In House Interior Designer @ SOFFS helped me pick the perfect shade of Sherwin Williams paint for my bench (seen above) to match my curtain fabric. They custom blended their exclusive South of France Chalk Paint & I am thrilled. Now if the curtain work room would just call....

Emily Biggs of South of France demonstrating

It is a great time of the year to pick out a piece of your own furniture & head over to South of France & update that sucker by taking a Paint Your Own Workshop. Emily & Henri will be waiting for you!

Henri the Shop Pouch

Moi?  I am off to practice my high kick!

Salute to The Pink Pagoda

What a perfect week to post my Before & After vintage secretary. This week over at The Pink Pagoda Jennifer (Linda, note I did not call her Jenn....) is having a Blue & White link up. The staging for this secretary all came together via TPP.

Blue Willow Note Cards from The Pink Pagoda

As soon as it was delivered knew I wanted to stage this grey & fuchsia lacquered secretary with blue & white. Where does one go for blue & white accessories??? Straight over to The Pink Pagoda ~ stat! Wanted to frame her darling blue willow note cards in gold frames. Originally I was going to do 3 identical cards framed; one on each shelf. Jennifer offered to do 2 other designs to work with her blue willow note card size. Love them lined up together. How adorable are these??? Her  prints are available here. She is wonderful to work with!

The miniature blue & white Staffordshire pups also came from Jennifer. So sweet! These are available in her shop's porcelain collection.

Nancy Drew Books covered in white wrapping paper

I needed small books & wanted them to be white so I scavenged my Mother's basement & found an extensive collection of Nancy Drew's and covered four of them in white wrapping paper. Love them with these petite blanc de chine statues.

Jennifer really prompted my passion for blue & white. If  you are new here; I have never used blue & white in my decor. Crazy: right???  I am old as dirt & yes, I have been living under a rock.... Both of these books are a must for a blue & white aficionado. Flair by the late Joe Nye & A Passion for Blue & White by Carolyne Roehm.

Oh yeah; here is the before sitting in the shop where I found it; a beautiful piece with great bones & detail. The fretwork was in great shape & the height was perfect. 

Check out The Pink Pagoda today for The Blue & White Bash where all Jennifer's friends are sharing their love of blue & white.

                 

One Thing Good About End of Summer

Overstock Navy Retro Indoor/Outdoor Rug

One good thing about the end of the season is all the great clearance merchandise for outdoor living. Here in the South we have plenty more porch time so gotta' go for the gusto. I snagged this bad mama jamma rug on Overstock for practically nothing. Seriously, there are millions more over there to choose from; well a least hundreds.... 

This loop pile rug is as soft as a cloud! Water beads right up as tested on Sunday & it is a breeze to wipe clean. No kick backs from Overstock just like to spread the bargain love when I can.

Bodacious Bamboo & Black Bath

I mentioned the pink marble top to my hall bath vanity last post. Have avoided showing this room (from my renovation in case you are new to the blog) as the wallpaper that I LOVE is a bugger to photograph. Will break down & have it shot professionally once the shower curtain arrives. But for now put on your sunglasses.....

I fell head over heels for the mylar foil  Sampan wallpaper by Meg Braff & knew right where I would use it. The drama behind the black door is a tiny bath which became tinier when we divided it into a "powder room" area & the bath/toilet area. The tightness of the spot brings new meaning to the term water closet..... The Chinoiserie mirror and the silver foil wallpaper help the space feel larger, sorta' not really....

The foil effect of this Mylar paper is wonderful with dim lighting. Full force of the light used to take these images is wicked. Do not enter under the influence... The slab of marble was a flea market find hidden in the corner covered in shellac that made it appear apricot. Could not see any details but I knew it had potential. What a great surprise when it polished up to a shell pink with gorgeous veining.

The Karl Ens pair of flamingos have the perfect spot to preen. Ain't they the just the coolest???

The chest is "all lacquered up" in black. Love the effect of the total piece including hardware in a high gloss black. It pops against the black & white marble in an "offset" pattern with a light grey grout.

The drawers are done in a silver metallic to coordinate with the wallpaper. Sexy huh??? Yeah, it is a captivating touch.

The toilet & tub are now behind the frosted glass doors. Waiting for the shower curtain for the big reveal. Note; wrapped the ceiling in this paper to heighten the drama.

Sampan by Meg Braff

The coral & pink in the bamboo patterned Sampan is so Palm Beach Chic! Now that wallpaper is back I think we will see more foils. Def have that 60's vibe  that I love ~ so Babe Paily! Why yes I am as old as dirt..... While not for the faint of heart in a small space or on a ceiling, foils can add just the perfect touch.

Before ~ White Of Mebane Vintage Chest

Found this French Provencial chest @ a tag sale & it was the perfect size for the space in the bath. Here is the inspiration to do the all over high gloss lacquer & coordinating drawers from Pinterest.

Pinterest

Black doors.....

The bath is behind the door on the right. A subtle space that makes for quite a surprise when the door opens. For the most part all my interior doors are black except for a few closets that just needed to disappear. Along with being oh so Dorothy Draper-esque black doors are awesome for hiding finger prints & for me they add a calming effect.

My friend Linda @ Calling It Home  has black fever too! Check out her post When In Doubt, Paint it Black. I think it is contagious!

Little Dancer of Five Years

Not to be confused with Degas Little Dancer of Fourteen Years but easily confused by the quality of sculpting. This here little ballerina is by far my favorite thing in my house!

How about these two beautiful gals! Back Story; in the South there is always back story.....  Above the gorgeous blonde is Kaye Pass Lambert the sculptress who molded & sculpted this amazing terracotta sculpture of my namesake niece; Junior. Kaye won the lottery when she became my roommate in college ~ HA! Actually, I was the lucky one! We met back before the war through our sisters who had met in college & we became fast friends. Lawsey does she know some back story.... I have a few things on her so her lips are sealed..... And as it goes in the South the namesake niece & Kaye's son became friends in college & even went on to law school at the same school. I know, right??? Hard to keep up....

Anywho, I wanted a sculpture of my niece; the ballerina in her tutu. Commissioned Kaye Lambert Sculptress & we went through old photographs. Kaye picked this adorable pose.

How about we go behind the scenes of the artist studio where the real magic happens! Kaye is skilled at her craft & so precise. All things I am not... for sure opposites attract.

This is where it all began, that hunk of clay reminds me of that song He Took a 100 pounds of Clay.... Check out those tools, this is a serious process.

How talented is she??? I mean it, Kaye has got the gift. And check out the profile on that child, the girl can sculpt!

Look at the details. The tutu is so stinking cute & those ballerina slippers are precious!

The neck ruffle & tutu are a beautiful bisque porcelain with an overall terracotta glaze. To die for!

Here are the girls showing off! The Ballerina is strutting her stuff atop a beautiful piece of shell pink marble

that was rescued from the center of the top of my hall bath vanity.

Here they are perched in the resting spot of the sculpture. Don't you love how Kaye's dress goes with all the pink. Totally unplanned, really.

Kaye does custom work & is delightful to work with. Visit her site & you can see for yourself she is one talented lady that I am lucky to call friend & blessed to have in my life. As for the ballerina, she is still obsessed with tutus as seen here on her way to court in her adopted hometown of NOLA.....

Original art sets your house apart like no other element of design. It truly lets the uniqueness of your personality shine through. Find artist that you connect with & have some fun with it.