Monday, November 29, 2010

Christmas chairs

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .
BHG.com
What do you think of decorating your dining chairs for the holidays?
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It doesn't have to be too ornate

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or complicated.
country home

In fact, I think simple is better.
Womans Day

But if you're looking for another
Womans Day

easy and inexpensive (depending on the idea/materials you use)
Country Living

 way to add a festive touch to your dining room or kitchen,
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 one of these
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ideas
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could be the ticket...
Menu Holder from Country Living  Photo Susan Gentry McWhinney

Are you looking for a quick slipcover idea for the holidays?  BHG.com suggests making one out of table runners tied with ribbon...



This is a little more work, but I think kids would love these Snowman Chair Covers, and you could use them all winter!

Would you/do you add chair decorations to your list, or do you already have all the decorating you can handle?

PK Out and About - Linda Thiltgen Designs

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

When I was out and about this weekend, I ended up at  Stonecrop.  Much to my surprise and delight, I ran into artist Linda Thiltgen.  I knew she was a Minnesota artist who followed my blog, but had never met her.  What a positive, genuine, nice person she is!  We were able to chit chat a little bit about creating, blogging, etc. and it was really fun to meet her.


While I was there I snapped a few photos of some of her creations.  (To learn more about her designs, check out her website.)


I love that everything she does has an inspirational message. These reminders were a perfect way to start out my week!
Hope yours is starting out to be an awesome one...

IMPORTANT NOTE:   I've only heard from one of the giveaway winners.  I'll wait until Wednesday night, 12/1/2010, and then I'll need to choose new winners to replace the ones that I haven't heard from yet. :-(

Saturday, November 27, 2010

A Photo Christmas Wreath

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

Country Living Photo Victor Schrager
A simple idea, this Christmas wreath, but I really like it!  Don't you?  You could use photos from previous Christmases to create a Christmas memory wreath.  If you wanted to dress it up a bit more, you could add a bow.  I think it would also be a great look to clip photos to a real wreath.

On another note - I survived Black Friday shopping. :-) Since we weren't too wrapped up in getting absolutely everything we needed purchased yesterday, we were able to relax and enjoy the morning.  Hard to believe Black Friday shopping could be relaxing, but it really was!  It was just fun being together with friends -  and all of the shoppers, Christmas music, decorations, etc. really got us in the Christmas mood.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Christmas Decorating with Ornaments

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .
Canadian House and Home

How's your Thanksgiving going? Ours has been great so far! Our tummies are full of turkey and everyone's just hanging out right now (the tryptophan has kicked in so a few are snoozing :-)), so I thought I would take a few minutes to publish this post that I already had started. Nice thing about a laptop - you can work on your post and still be in the middle of the action!

I pulled my Christmas tree and some ornaments out of storage last weekend but, other than setting the tree up, haven't done much with any of it yet. Once I do get around to decorating though, I would like to use ornaments in more places in my decor than just the tree.  Just in case you're thinkin' the same thing, I've rounded up some inspiration for you.

Just even a single ornament, strategically placed, instantly adds a festive touch. Whether it's sitting on top of a little vase...
Country Living Photo Steven Randazzo

In a bowl as part of your place setting...

Country Living Photo Don Freeman

An ornament simply highlighted in a frame (LOVE this...)
BHG
or in a little jingle bell wreath...

country living

and placing your ornament on a mirror, gives you double the impact!

Country Living Photo Ann Stratton

If one ornament isn't quite doing it for you, you can frame a group of them in a shadow box...

country living photo victor shrager
 
The images below are from the Decorating With Ornaments slideshow from BHG. Isn't it a cute idea to use the ornaments as little vases?   And of course ornaments in vases, whether it's a bunch tied up with a bow or just a few added to a natural arrangement, is always a good idea.

Pinecones and ornaments make a nice textural display...

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 and who doesn't love a cloche filled with pretty ornaments?
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1) I really like the idea of an ornament garland, and isn't this fresh mantel display pretty? 
2) silver and green ornaments add the perfect finishing touch to this greenery for a festive entrance.
Good Housekeeping

Wrap some ladder rungs with ribbon, and add some hanging ornaments for a Christmas display that's truly unique!

BHG
 I never get tired of seeing a branch tree, and this ornamented one from Life in the Fun Lane is no exception.

Or if a branch tree isn't your thing, would you be interested in a branch/ornament display above your table? Many of us already have chandeliers above our table that would make this hard to pull off, but would it work above a console table in a foyer?

country living photo victor shrager
Having pretty ornaments in your windows would make doing dishes so much more fun, wouldn't it?...

country living photo keith scott morton

Ornament wreaths were all the rage in blogland last year and I'm still loving them.  Find out how to make this one here.

The addition of an ornament makes a gift that much more special...
Good Housekeeping

This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with ornaments, but I thought this Modern Christmas Tree Skirt from BHG was fun, and the shapes on the skirt sort of mimic the ornaments on the tree...

Well, tomorrow I'm going to do the whole Black Friday thingy.   I haven't gone for many years because  we always have company, and we do this year as well, but the schedule just happened to work out last minute so that I can go with some friends.  I'm kind of excited to experience the chaos!   Should be fun.  :-)

Hope you all continue to have a wonderful Thanksgiving day/weekend!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .
Martha Stewart

Speaking of Thanksgiving :-) - I just wanted to say a big  thank you to all of you for subscribing, following and just generally checking in on this blog.   I appreciate it so much! 

It's hard for me to believe I've been blogging for well over a year already (I talk more about the blog journey here), and I'm really looking forward to seeing what another year of blogging brings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you have an awesome day...

Giveaway Winners

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

Leaf and Berry Napkin rings at allyou.com

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Here are the winners of the giveaway...

Winner #1 is Cape on the Corner
Winner #2 is Sunya (blogger profile not available)

Winner #4 is Heather (Blogger profile not available)
Winner #5 is Three Dogs at Home


Congratulations to the winners!!! Please e-mail me with your full name and address as soon as possible so I can process the winnings. 

Stenciled Table Runner at allyou.com

I still can't believe Thanksgiving is Thursday already.  I do feel like I'm pretty much ready for it though, other than needing to pick up some last minute things at the grocery store.  How about you? 

Hope you have a fantastic day!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Corner Window Treatments and other Corner Inspiration

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

A Soft Place to Land
I received a question about corner window treatments (hardware specifically) in the comments on this post, so I decided to do a general post on corner window treatments.
I haven't had to deal with corner windows before and am definitely not an expert on them, so I just dug up as much info as I could find for you.  It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, but here's what I found...

BHG has a slide show on Window Treatment Ideas for Corner Windows

Southern Living suggests hiding the hardware behind a pelmet...

Phoebe Howard used a simple tailored, pleated valance to contrast the modern corner windows in this New York apartment makeover...
House Beautiful Photo Francesco Lagnese


These soft roman shades are a pretty option  in this little nook...
Massucco Warner Miller

Young House Love shows you how they mounted their corner curtain rods in this post...

Designer Meg Braff chose to use two different types of window treatments on the corner windows in her guest bedroom.
House Beautiful Photo Simon Upton

E-How has an informative articles on Window Treatments for Corner Windows and How Do You Hang Corner Curtain Rods?

Tammy from In Stitches had the following to say about corner window treatments

         "When I am treating a corner window there are a couple of different methods that I use. Obviously, if you are using a valance or a rod pocket panel then you can just butt or bend the rod because it won't show. If I'm using panels and the rod will show then I have my installer miter the rods in the corner if they are wood. Another option is to use a corner swivel bracket made by Kirsch."

She uses the following hardware from Kirsch and Helser Brothers and you can contact her here, for more information or if you are interested in ordering.


Iron Forge has made to order custom corner rods

JC Penney has some corner curtain rod connectors.

Smith and Noble currently has several options for corner window hardware...

Some more hardware options at Quality Curtain Hardware.

It looks like Highland Forge has rods and brackets for corner windows and they show you in-depth how to measure for a corner rod
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And just in case you're bored with this post because you don't have a corner window, here's a little random corner inspiration that has nothing to do with window treatments :-) ...

I've shown this image in at least one previous post, but I still love the idea for accessorizing a corner with art...

Massucco Warner Miller
Or how about this idea from Southern Living?





Phoebe Howard placed the sofa at an angle to compensate for an odd corner in this living room and then accessorized behind it with art on an easel.
House Beautiful Photo Franseco Lagnese

Gotta love a corner gallery wall...
 
myhomeideas Photo Laurey W. Glenn


Pottery Barn's take on the corner shelf...

How about a corner picture frame?   It's a clever idea, isn't it?!!!  (Yvonne Schroeder via Apartment Therapy)

Happy Monday, everyone! Don't forget - today is the last day to enter the GIVEAWAY!