Unlocking the Possibilities

Cleaning out My Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:44:00 +0000

Are my Christmas cards done yet? Nope. Anyway, here's a pic of a friend and me. I can't figure out how to turn the picture. Thought I did already. Guess not. Why am I holding my hands like that?

Here with my sis-in-law, nieces, and daughter at my niece's recital.

My living room window treatments being installed.

My husband says, "Is that cow print?" Um. NO!!!!!!

My favorite post workout drink....chocolate milk. YUM.

My proof that I actually ran. Slow as Christmas. But I did run.

Goofing off in Academy. Life goal: learn to play tennis. Maybe it'll happen.

My sleepy baby doggie.

Very proud of my porch container. It no longer looks like this, mind you.

We're getting pedicures. Yep, we're both brats. It was fun though!

Well, that's probably all until after Christmas. Hopefully, I'll have some pretty client photo's to share then. Merry Christmas, ya'll!

Long Hair and Short Hair

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:14:00 +0000

While we were taking my son's senior photos, I decided I should take a new photo for my blog. My hair was longer, and I'm a few years older, blah blah.

Here's my old photo. I feel like I look like Padington Bear. Anyway, my hair here is really short.

Well, I've already cut my hair again. Long hair for me means stringy and impossible to keep smooth and straight. So much for keeping my photo current. If you see me with short hair, long hair, glasses, no glasses, eye make-up or not, it's still me!

Do I Really Need a Suburban?

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:07:00 +0000

I tell myself that I should have a car with better gas mileage. I don't really need a suburban....nah.

Client Project: Dining Room

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:53:00 +0000

Ok, so there are a lot of pictures.....This is a project from last fall actually. As you can see, a bold color was chosen for a specialty wall finish. More of Renee's handiwork.

Love these panels. They have a hidden tab in the back for a very clean look and feel. Linen and silk. Yum. The fabric on these chairs is a fabric that you just want to run your hands over. It's a linen with a raised chenille pattern. Textilicious.

Lots of layers. Little bit o metallic.

Due to the metallic layer, it looks different in different lighting. Love the greyer shade.

My client had these chairs already, but we reupholstered them, adding a skirt.

If you look back up at the second picture, you can see, off to the right, a version of these. These were our inspiration. Too bad these weren't the right color combinations. Too good for me, I have Renee' who can whip up something better than these....she added metallics. My client wanted some drama. Drama it is.

Can't visualize your window treatments? Never fear, Monica can sketch them out!

Here's a close-up of the lead edge, focal wall, and darker shade of wall color on the ceiling. Sooooo, we painted the walls, ceilings, added a specialty finish for a focal wall, refinished the dining room table (darker stain), reupholstered the side chairs, added end chairs, added window treatments, rehung the existing chandelier to center it over the table, and added artwork and accessories.

If you'd like us to help you out with a project, give us a call! We can help you as little or as much as you like.

Thank you to my awesome client!! We are continuing to work together on her home. Such a pleasure!

Sticky Notes To Do List Clean Out

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:59:00 +0000

I'm a little crazy with the sticky notes. They're great BUT they won't help me if I don't go back through them. So, that's what I'm doing now. I will try and post a legit picture of a recent project IF I make it through this stack in a reasonable amount of time!

Client Project: Dining Room

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:16:00 +0000

This canvas is a custom piece I had made....love the way it turned out. Thanks, Renee'!

Here's a great shot of the ceiling - we did a subtle metallic finish to give the room a soft glow. Here was the photo (below) that got the wheels turning on the double chandelier and the metallic ceiling.

I found this over at The Magic Brush but cannot find the specific post! I will check into that and get back to you....

This was my inspiration for the artwork. It's from Ballard. I wanted the colors to be the colors already established in the dining room color story, so we (we meaning I had Renee' paint it) created a new piece with colors I wanted and the size I needed. I also wanted to add birds.....and metallics....

These wonderful clients sold this house and have bought a new house and want to recreate this dining room in the new house. I told them I knew of a good decorator.

To my clients,

THANK YOU!!

Funnies: Randon Pictures of my Life

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:24:00 +0000

Major the Lab and Joey the Maltese. Joey has his own bed but like to steal from Major who is so easy going. Poor thing only gets the corner!

Don't remember where I got this. I think someone else had it on Pinterest. I do love me some Pinterest.

Um. That's not how you do it.

It was a bid day. We got a new frig and it makes - drumroll - ICE!

She made her first credit card purchase! Aww. No, that is not HER card. It's mine. Do you see that look?! (Mom, you are a dork. Whatever, Mom).

My first tomato of the season. We had a ginormo hail storm that wiped out my three tomato plant garden so not so many tomato sandwiches this year. Next year....

In and Out has made it to DFW!

My girlfriend sent me an alert. A cute skirt alert. She bought the yellow. I bought a coral/cream version.

Our view driving out on our last day of vacation. This is where we stayed. OH, so cute.

Client Project: Window Treatments and Bedding

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:10:00 +0000

Sorry about the shadow on the first photo....

This client had an established color story, so we just added fabrics to coordinate with what she already had and wanted to keep. She wanted to keep her rug and wall color. The challenge was the width of the window, size of each window, and the space above the windows. Due to the width, side panels only would have left an abundance of wall space between the panels. Each window was too narrow to add panels between each window. The panels would have looked like toothpicks! The small amount of wall space above the windows due to the tray ceiling above limited how high we could take the panels. Bummer. I like to take the panel as high as we can to visually expand the room. We chose a lighter fabric and added mirrors between to address all the issues without creating more issues!

For the bedding, she only wanted two layers of pillows because she didn't want to cover up the detail on her bed, and with dogs and kids, less was just fine. Also, the coverlet or duvet needed to be washable. We purchased two luxury coverlets and sewed them together to create a large coverlet. Don't you hate it when you wash your coverlet, it shrinks and then barely covers the mattress!?

This method allowed us to have a gorgeous drop with enough room to add a comforter underneath and still have adequate fabric to cover the mattress or overlap with the skirt. Oh yeah, she kept her red skirt, too.

The toile pillow goes in the chair, but for the picture, I slipped it on the bed and then forgot to take one without it. It never fails that I forget to take a particular shot of something! I'm so excited by the outcome that I forget, I guess.

This was such a fun project! I'm so grateful to have the clients I have. Thank you, clients, for providing the opportunity to work with you!

Christmas Tree and Centerpiece Inspiration & Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:40:00 +0000

These are pictures one of my girlfriends sent to me after visiting a friend. My friend said I just had to see it. What I noticed is the quantity of stuff, like that very technical term? All the layers of ornaments, ribbon, pics, garland, metallic, glitter, different sizes - that's what makes this tree and centerpiece so yummy! Here are a few other things I noticed that I think really make a difference:

Do you see how she's used her current color scheme as her Christmas color scheme? Look at the back of her shelves painted green and her red toile drapes. When you use your homes current color scheme, everything turns festive. Love it!
Do you see the giant ornaments just tucked into the tree? Having variety in the sizes of ornaments helps each piece standout more. If they were all the same size, it would all run together. This is a feast for the eyes!
The pics. The pics. Do you see where they extend beyond the branches of the tree? She used leaves, greenery (not even glittery greenery - it's nice to mix it up), berries, and bling. This will extend the size of your tree, and also, bonus points, thicken up your skinny minny tree that you got on sale at Garden Ridge. Like me.

To have a tree like this, prepare yourself for a day of decorating. It take time, and money, to layer this on. I put my tree on an old quilt so I can just scoot it around to reach all sides, and then, when I put my skirt on, it add some more pouf. Also, don't decorate just one side, it will cause your tree to lean and make those gaps between the branches more obvious.

While I'm at it, we offer seasonal decorating - trees, banisters, mantles, and centerpieces. If you're interested in setting up an appointment, give me a shout at priscilla@decoratingspaces.net for more information or click over here to my services page for a quick overview.

Oops, forgot to link to a post on my tree....here's the link to see my tree!

Art

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:55:00 +0000

I found these at an antique mart. I've seen these before at Canton, too. They aren't too hard to come by. I wanted something above my then 16 year old son's bed that he would appreciate. They are old Chevy and Ford hubcaps. I like the reflective metallic because our house is dark due to all the shade, especially this room. My son chose the wall and bedding colors = dark. I added the white euros and accent to help, but I think the hubcabs help, too. I'm working on getting the accent monogrammed, so I will give you an update soon...hopefully. I started this room 1 1/2 years ago, so what's the rush?! ;)

Starbucks and Errands

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Ya'll. Oh. My. Have you had a salted caramel mocha latte? Well. Today, here in Flo Mo, we've finally dropped below 90, so to warm up I thought I'd head over to Starbucks. I have a giftcard but totally forgot to use it. Ugh. Anyway, I thought how good could this actually be? It's uber yummy! That's my random thought today. I hope to have some photos to show you of what I've been up to. Window treatments, specialty treatments to ceilings and walls, tile, granite.....

Now, I'm off to the pool store for chlorine and Ulta for some Moroccan (sp?!) oil for my hair.....errands.
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TV Console Update

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:50:00 +0000

Better Homes and Gardens I Did It!

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:18:00 +0000

BHG I did it! Craft Closet

BHG I did it! Chalkboard Wall

The I Did It! page, the last page usually, of my BHG magazine is one of my favorites! The picture above is Vanessa Holbrook Kleypas' dining room. I thought, "hey, maybe she has a blog, too." Well, I thought right - This & That. I was so excited! She has a beautiful blog, and I noticed that she follows a lot of the same blogs I do. In my mind, we are now besties!

Vanessa's kitchen

I was thinking that I should submit some of my work. Wouldn't that be the coolest thing ever to be featured?! I was also thinking you should enter, too! How about every Friday I have a link up to your blog and your submission to BHG?

Here's my first entry -

Teen Room

So, head on over to Better Homes and Gardens I Did It! to submit your projects, and link up your post (not your blog but specific I Did It! project post) here to share! I would be so excited to win and excited for you if you won!

What's for Dinner Tonight?!

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:49:00 +0000

This is what started it all. I was in a rut. I didn't feel like cooking anything. I was tired of the same'ol same'ol.

Over at Jones Design Company, Emily shared her go-to recipe. She's mentioned it a few times and how much her family loved it. I thought I'd give it a try. My daughter loves olives, so I thought it'd be a good fit. This salad, without sounding too incredibly cheesey, is an explosion of flavor. Seriously. We've never had anything like it, and everyone loved it!

So, I've been on a mission to find meals that are light but don't scream "DIET" because my husband just ain't gonna eat it. The kids have been asking, "What's for dinner tonight?!" It's awesome! I love that we're excited and are trying something new. I've sorta been redesigning our dinners. Hmmm. What a surprise.

You should try this. Here are a few other hits that we've loved.

Dijon Mustard Chicken Fricassee

My son asked what was for dinner, and I spit out "fricken chicken" by mistake. I meant to say Dijon Mustard Chicken Fricka....Frickasay. Whatever. He looked at me a little funny. We had a good laugh over that one that of course was retold at the table. I feel like I'm saying a cuss word. It was wonderful though!

Turkey Meatballs

The end of this recipe is a little confusing, so I just had to wing it. Don't remember what I did. There aren't specific instructions for how long to cook them or at what temperature. I think I baked them at 350 for 30 minutes or so. Much better than I thought they would be. The best meatball I've ever made.

If you make any of these, let me know what you think!

[Mini Project] My Bedroom Art

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 02:49:00 +0000

My bed has been off center between those two windows for I don't know how long. It was recently starting to drive me crazy. I couldn't hang any artwork above my bed until the bed was centered because it would've only made the off-center bed more obvious. By the way, sorry for the awful picture. I took it with my crackberry (shout out to The Dean).

I asked my husband to please please please help me center the bed. Should have done it the right way by taking the mattresses off, measuring, etc., but no. We just moved it. Heard a few cracking noises. Why do we have to do everything the hard way?!

Well, after we moved the bed, I remembered these prints that I purchased during my last trip to Canton. I had worked them into my living room shelves but decided above my bed would be much better. I love them here!

Ok, I know this really doesn't qualify as project material, but I was so happy to have this done! If you wanna see some projects that truly qualify as such, click on over to -

Thrifty Decor Chick

So, what did you do over the weekend? Any projects for you? I'd love to hear about them!

Ceiling Fans

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:15:00 +0000

source

I'm on the hunt. On the hunt for a new ceiling fan for my bedroom. We have low ceilings so I need a flushmount or, as I've learned, a snugger style. That sounds like something from an Austin Power's movie....anyway.

What I don't like - light kits that look like a body part, light kits that look like a flower, too much detail.

What I do like - simple design, oil rubbed bronze look or chrome would be cool.

What I'm not sure of - should it be white to blend in, assuming my ceiling will stay white OR go with a dark stain??

I think I'm leaning towards the 4th choice. It reminds me of a vintage school house light. Work with me. I think we should keep the light kit. It'd be great to eliminate the light kit and install cans. Why not dream big? While I'm at it, I'll plank the ceiling too.

I'm gonna dig around and see if I can find the original fan from when we moved in. Hideous. Man. It had so many lighting options....and it was quiet. We changed it out for a very noisy but cheap fan from Lowe's. Now, we can't use it becaue SOMEBODY can't sleep with the noise. And it's not

the-only-child-one-of-us.

Ok, so what's your vote?

J Crew Sale Update Update

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:57:00 +0000

Remember when I told you about the J Crew Sale? Remember when I said they sold out in MY suit? Well. I decided I'd try a smaller size. Why not? Guess what? They have the smaller size, and it's shipped. Yay! I'm not obsessed. Just determined. One more day out by the pool to take advantage of the ridiculously hot weather. It's been hot, ya'll.

[Fabric Combinations] Day 4: Red, Taupe, & Peacock Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Today's color combination is a tomato red, tan taupe, and peacock blue. I love the multi-colored fabric and the traditional medallion type fabric (I'm sure there's a real name for these).

I'd say these are both on the traditional side. The "t" word is sometimes thought of as a bad word, but I mean it in the best way possible. How would you describe these fabrics?

Sale Update

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:31:00 +0000

A break in our regularly scheduled post of fabric combinations. Remember the sale at JCrew? Well, I ordered this suit.

I was very excited. I got an email stating that they sold out! Rats! Rats! Rats! Oh. Well. Just thought I'd let you know. I know you've been losing sleep and all.

[Fabric Combinations] Day 3: Peacock Blue, Olive, and Celery Green

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:15:00 +0000

Ok, this might be my favorite. I've been know to change my mind. Remember, I said if I had a store-front, I'd sell fabric? I love fabric. Who doesn't? Anyway, the combination today has Peacock Blue (isn't that a great name?), olive green, and celery green.

Gorgeous! It's called "Punch Love Blue." How cute is that? I would love to name paint colors, fabrics, lipstick, and nail polish. I could come up with a few....but now I'm drawing a blank. I'll come back to that. You can find it at Calico Corners, too. Hope you're enjoying this as much as I am!

[Fabric Combinations] Day 2: Red and Taupe

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:06:00 +0000

Today, the fabric grouping is a brick red, with a little taupe, little olive green, and a little gold. I love this fabric!

You can find it at Calico Corners. Wouldn't this make a great roman shade? The repeat is 16". Love! I'm loving the olives lately. I'm talking fabric but like to eat them, too!

[Fabric Combinations] Day 1: Raspberry, Blue, and Celadon

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:37:00 +0000

I thought I'd do a series of posts on fabric combinations. I'd enjoy a post on fabric, so hopefully, you will, too!

It's always so much fun putting fabrics together. The colors in this grouping are a raspberry red, a grey blue, taupe, and a celadon green. So, what do you think? What space would you use these fabrics?

Random: The Second Coming and Joey

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:47:00 +0000

(Posting from my phone sure is easy!)
This morning as we're driving to the orthodontist - Erin is getting her braces off today! - we see this cluster of clouds, sun, and rays. This always makes me think of The Second Coming. Is this what it'll look like when He returns?
The second (hopefully it displays as the second) photo is of our little Joey. Life is hard for him, isn't it? He calls me Mimi.
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A Picture Says it All

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:35:00 +0000

I'm going through pictures and couldn't resist. Here's where we stayed while some work was being done at our house. Ummmm. Seriously?! It had a sleeper sofa so all four of us were in the same room. Paul asked if his morning bath would wake us. For those of you who don't know my husband well, never in a million years would he take a morning bath. This still makes me laugh.
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Projects: Upholstered Bulletin Board

noreply@blogger.com (Decorating Spaces) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:41:00 +0000

Just maybe, I should've tried to get the wrinkles out? Anyway, this is a quick project (my kinda project) that offers some vertical organization. We're a house of "stackers." Stacks of bills, stacks of papers, stacks of files, stacks of clothes. You get the idea. Bulletin boards help.

Here's what you'll need:

: bulletin board

: fabric (I used linen from Premier Fabrics).

: poly batting or sweat shirt fabric (Sorry, I can't remember the proper term....jersey?)

: fabric scissors (I accidentally stole this pair from a local fabric store and keep forgetting to take them back. See the tassel? That's to remind whoever uses them that they DON'T belong to you!)

: staple gun

: push pins

: coke zero (very important)

1. Cut the poly batting to cover only the front of your board. (This board has been recovered multiple times and the batting has been reused each time).

2. Whatever size board you have, allow an additional 3" to cover the frame of your board.

Here's what the front side looks like.

3. Staple your corners first. Rotate - left top, right bottom, right top, left bottom. This keeps the fabric tight and helps to avoid having slack.

4. Fold down one side and staple.

5. Fold down other side. Staple. Rotate corners.

6. If you haven't kept hydrated, take a sip.....

7. This is what it will look like after you've stapled the corners. Rotating again, staple the sides a couple times each. The more you staple the tighter the fit.

8. Trim edges.

These are push pins I found at the container store. Wish I would've bought more. Cute push pins are hard to come by.

This board is for my 17 year old son. He didn't really appreciate his initial. Not cool. I told him once you start using the pins, there won't be a "K" anymore. Oh.

There you have it! It probably could use some more staples in back.....I'll get right on that.

If you want some more "how-to's," head on over to....