Mise en scène

This should FLY off the shelves!

2012-02-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Have you heard the news? Conde Nast will publish a special edition of Domino Magazine on April 17. Too bad I can't pre-order to make sure I can find it!

Forest of Brownies

2012-02-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

For the super bowl, Mrs. Lane, my alter ego on WordPress.com whipped up some brownies. The recipe can be found here and is from Pampered Chef.

The Horsey Set

2012-01-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

I am in love with the paper on this room, Sanderson's Paisley Circles, on Heather Clawson's Habitually Chic blog.

My very astute daughter, fell head over heels in love, okay, that's an exaggeration, with the ashtray on the table.

Her shopping addicted mother searched on ebay and found one!

Smoking is waning. Even so, I wouldn't use this as an actual ashtray, as the design might be damaged. It is so pretty, if you are in the market for some Tobaccoania, or something lovely to use as, say, a Calling Card Dish, or as we say in my family, a CCD, and your budget allows, it should fit the bill, nicely.

I do want you to know that I have zero connection to this seller. Nor can I attest that the images of the item are accurate. I just found what appears to be an Hermes ashtray and, as I can't buy it, wanted you all to have the opportunity! If you decide to bid, ask lots of questions of the seller!

2012-01-06T03:58:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I am overwhelmed and unable to post a full blog. However, the eye is always active and searching for beautiful objects, settings and rooms. Thank goodness we have Pinterest. It is a visual clipboard that is often all I have time to accomplish. You can follow me on Pinterest here.

The Law School Apartment Mood Board

2011-09-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

The pictures aren't ready yet. Shoot, not even all the stuff is in the apartment. But, rather than wait until winter break, I have a couple of mood boards to share. The second of which is closer to reality, with some of the Ikea furniture used. There are still a few fantasy pieces in it, the Layla and Grace nightstand, for example, this is an apartment on a budget, after all and a $680 nightstand isn't really in my budget, either!
You will notice that my daughter's style is not as beachy as the Ektorp white furniture. Nor as Belgian as their new grey-brown finish. She is more modern and opted instead for the black Hemnes finish. I thought that dual Hemnes dressers either side of the dresser would be perfect and eliminate the nightstand. She did the math and opted for the less expensive combination of nightstand plus 6 drawer chest.

We plan a few Ikea hacks, but they are minor touches, just changing out hardware. Possibly painting the nightstand yellow. Shhh! The student, my daughter, doesn't know I am anticipating that. I still have dreams of finding something at goodwill or consignment which can be used. Why am I the only person unable to score the $10 table? **Le sigh**
Below are a couple of the plans I drew in my moleskine gridded paper notebook. I love that notebook! Yes, professor, I have a few dimensionless walls!

Color, Color Everywhere

2011-08-05T05:02:00.000-07:00

Available from Shades of Light

I am so ecstatic that color is back in a big way!
The chairs, above, were noted by Jeffrey Alan Marks at the Las Vegas Furniture Market. Thanks to Stylebeat, we got to see the webinar.

In fact this chair, with it's lovely green reminiscent of Mary McDonald's Master Bedroom and Bath home tour, also from Shades of Light might need to find a way home with me.

I was thrilled to see that the beige on beige with accents of beige look, though not dead, is being punched up with pops of color. I wish I could find a picture of the Belgian Look Book Case with the Honeysuckle Pink interior! Visualize this bookcase punched up with a pink interior. This has me so enthusiastic, I am creating fabric designs in Pantone's Honeysuckle Pink for use in my grey living room, rethinking the plan for the family room and considering where else I can add a punch of colour.

Since repainting my creative space Revere Pewter, the plan has been to add an orange lamp. Consider these lamps, the Gourd Lamp, on the right, has been my go to dream choice for a while, but the lamp on the right would work as well.

I hope this has inspired you to color your world!

Black, white, grey

2011-06-07T07:02:00.001-07:00

I am absolutely in love with the furnishings and finishes in the country home owned by Ingrid Oomen. Suzanne Dimma takes us on a tour on the Canadian House and Home website. The simplified color palette of white and black is at once soothing and intriguing with a heavy dollop of sophistication ladled into the mix. The cherry armoire adds warmth to the space to keep it from becoming clinical.

Dark Baskets top the cherry armoire, lifting the eye up to the ceiling.

The fireplace and cherry armoire, at opposite ends of the living area, serve to balance one another. The cabinets next to the fireplace were custom designed by the designer.

A faux bamboo Hollywood Regency style server is doing duty as a bar. I wish it could come home with me! But, I would have preferred a larger piece over it rather than the clock. I'm visualizing a starburst mirror or even a large black-framed rectangular mirror.

Ikea Cabinets were augmented with moulding.

Contrast is artfully achieved by juxtaposing the dark stained pine floors against the white cabinets and walls.

High contrast again with the dark framed mirror above the custom Carrara marble vanity. In the video, Oomen describes how the support for the wheelchair compatible vanity was created using brass piping, which she had plated.

A basket is employed to hold towels next to the curvaceous cast iron tub.

More progress on the basement

2011-05-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Another one of these is gone.

And this has taken its place.

These are going. Okay, went cheap, not a good thing to compromise the look for the price.

These will take their place.

The builder white is gone, YAY! Replaced by Revere Pewter.

More is left, carpet, possibly wood flooring in the sewing area, a proper island, be it a repurposed piece of furniture or cabinets. The existing cabinets are to be painted, white, black, charcoal, still vacillating. Then the hallway toward the powder room needs painting. Not the last of the builder white in the house, but damn close to it.

Currently planning a wide horizontal stripe.

Be sure to head over to Susan's for more Metamorphosis Monday!

At long last the peony has bloomed

2011-05-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

I say at long last because it took a long, long time for this plant to start to bloom. So long that I wondered if I had planted it wrong. Frankly, I believe that it is planted in too brutal of full sun. It is more accurately full bake.

Paint it Black

2011-04-11T04:47:00.001-07:00

Before (During)

After

There isn't much to say, except I have been going back and forth on this for some time. Should it be red? Should it be black? Black paint chips went up, red paint chips went up. Large black sample boards went up. Large red sample boards went up. I was happy to hear Sarah Richardson admit to the same design paralysis in her own house. Well, paralysis may be a bit too strong. Though I have design creds, I sweat color in my own house. Want to knock out a wall? Rearrange the kitchen? No problem! But, color? Well, let's just say I can contemplate beige with the best of them. See those randomly place paint chips? I am currently contemplating a warm taupey grey for the walls. In fact, under that white piece of paper with the hole cut in it to expose only one color in the fandeck strip, there are two colors side by side. Back up 10 feet and tell me which one is Benjamin Moore 1522 and which one is 1530! For that matter, which one is actually the same as OC-48?

Sometimes you just have to go with it. As I have black paint on hand, satin enamel suitable for wood work, the door was changing now. After all, as I was taught in design school, "Paint's Cheap! Just do it. You can change it if you don't like it."

Be sure to head over to Susan's for more Metamorphosis Monday!

Chrome

2010-09-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

Chrome is the new oil rubbed bronze. For bathrooms, if you are planning a new bathroom rehab, plan it using chrome - and Victorian Chic. This doesn't mean that you should start ripping out the oil rubbed bronze yet, do go ahead and finish that bathroom that is part ORB and part brass all oil rubbed bronze. Oil rubbed bronze is a classic, as is antique nickel. Frankly, polished brass is also a classic, it fits the Georgian style, though it is on the wane now, it may come back around as soon as we are grow tired of the everything-painted-white-shabby-chic and it's variants.

Cursed with builder grade faucets? No, plastic handles never looked like the crystal it ws attempting to emulate. Upgrade them to a curvacious Fin-de-Siecle look for very little money.

Frankly, there was a time when we wouldn't have dreamed of planning an all white kitchen, or bathroom, it was simply too Post-WWII. Also, the WWII generation tossed ball an claw tubs out of their houses with a vengenace, too uncomfortable, not modern. Now all white with a ball and claw tub is the epitome of elegance again. take a look at these beauties from Overstock.

This is a basic color board for a master bath, based on a Fin-de-siecle look.

And they are all mine!

2010-08-13T04:44:00.000-07:00

I am very excited! I just received my first batch of samples of my fabric designs from Spoonflower. I ordered the 8" by 8" samples of my favorites and they arrived yesterday. Since they are small, the patterns are not completely visible on many. For example, two yards of the black, green and blue fabrics would look something like this. The fabric which they use for the samples has a very fine hand, I chose the lightweight cotton sateen.

The Guest Room

2010-07-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Remember this? My very first blog post, was about this Concept or Mood Board. That month and the summer was full of Prom and College so I never got back to the results.

Be sure to head back to Susan's for more metamorphosis Monday postings!

The guest room had become a dumping ground for laundry, stuffed animals, and cast off furniture. The swing arms lamps are touch lamps, which don't work with a wall switch, hence the need for a regular style table lamp, the little bronze lamp on the table. Tables and their cloths, cast off from other rooms, found their way into the room. Pictures banished upstairs to give a home to Christmas decorations, never returned after Christmas and never recieved just treatment. In short, the room had become a dumping ground of last resort.

The original plan for the room was a major attempt at trying to out-Buatta-Buatta, or out-Faudree-Faudree, or however you want to say it, the plan was w-a-y over the top and not really my style or a reflection of what I want now. In fact, the plan never really progressed very far past being painted. I no longer wanted 5, 6, or 10 different fabrics. I no longer wanted a fussy, over-stuffed room. Now I am increasingly fond of high contrast, clean lined design. White furniture against a black or deep mahogany wall. Simple one color fabrics, preferably cotton or linen, paired with one accent fabric. No or fewer faux paint finishes. Simple, calm, relaxing.

When I first started to remake the room, I created a mood board. Prior to this, my Mood Boards or Color Boards were begun after many hours at the drawing board, creating the plan. This time, I wanted to work in a more conceptually free starting place. I found a photo of an Oscar de la Renta Marigold silk faile ballgown with an embroidered skirt. This became the center of the board. If you squint just right, you might be able to see it on the mood board picture.

Additional images followed, fashion mixed with interiors, most of which were cabinetry, not bedrooms.

The swing arms had to go, happily, my daughter wanted them in her room, where they 'fit' better. The white down comforter was fine, but, for warmer weather, it was replaced with a matelasse coverlet. I found "Blanc de Chine" style lamps at Target. I might have gone with gourd lamps, were I shopping today, but I like the height and the black, slightly flared, drum shades on these. I kept to a yellow and black and white scheme, using the image of the Marigold dress as a model to shop for accessories, most of which were from Target and TJ Maxx. The center pillow will be replaced with a matelasse sham, soon, though I like the pattern and the black and white, the pink is too much. The print, which I originally used in a Designer Showcase, many years ago, was moved to another wall and replaced with a photo gallery. Most of the frames were purchased at Michaels.

Luxuries in Light: James Beebe Hawes

2010-06-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Decorati Access is a beautiful site where you can be inspired, shop and get design advice. Today, McLean, Virginia based James Beebe Hawes is featured. A few of my favorite photos from Decorati and his site are here. More of his beautiful portfolio can be found on his site and on Decorati, Luxuries in Light: James Beebe Hawes

I adore the artwork, above, reminiscent of a window, over the fireplace.

This is one of my favorite uses of symmetry, I jokingly called it "two chairs and a tall thing" after I realized how many were in my favorites file.

The light pours into these serenely beautiful rooms.

The Chandelier and fireplace lift the eyes up, while

the neutral colors and low furniture reinforce a calming effect on this deck.
Which is making me rethink that deck stain, just kidding.

ThinkGeek :: Penny! knock knock knock Shirt

2010-06-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Lane and I are fans of Big Bang Theory. I know a theoretical physicist, I can attest that she is equal parts Penny, Leonard, and Sheldon. Maybe when life gets a little saner, I will be back to posting about decor and other things. In the meantime, I can at least enjoy that a shirt exists out there which makes me smile, then burst out laughing!
ThinkGeek :: Penny! knock knock knock Shirt

Snow Damage Redeck

2010-03-20T14:13:00.001-07:00

The snow damaged many things about the yard. A five year old Japanese maple just starting to grow to be a beautiful tree snapped off at the top. Four foot hollies were bunny munched. The snow covered them completely such that only the tops rose above it. The bunnies could easily reach them and had a feast! The plants will grow back, but other things need more direct intervention.
We have a bench with a beautiful back. The original cushions were never wonderful. After the weight of snow, and summer sun damage, the cushions were torn and needing replacement. A year ago, I set up the mood board for the plan to rejuvenate the deck. The local home improvement store now stocks tall chair cushions which are close to the plan.

Be sure to head back to Susan's for more Metamorphosis Monday transformations!

Go Bold or Go Home

2010-02-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

Joni of Cote de Texas has admitted to a carrying around the Dec / Jan 2010 House Beautiful for the lovely rooms on the cover. I too have been carrying it around, but for a different article than the rooms of Jill Sharp Brinson. These are very inspiring rooms!
Truly, there are several inspiring spreads in that edition. But the one that hit me right between the eyes for an awesome solution to a design problem I have been turning over and over in my head, was the piece on Mary McDonald's interiors in LA. You see, we have a new design dilemma, what to do to update a room to suit a young lady whose room hasn't changed much since she was thirteen. This room happens to have a red wall very similar to the red in the McDonald dining room.

Recently, my older daughter graduated from The University of Oklahoma, and moved home with an internship and further preparations ahead for law school. Which brings us to our design dilemma. What to do to make a room, originally created for a young teenager, appealing to a young adult?

A few years ago, not long after we moved into our house, we painted her room Ralph Lauren's Devonshire, with an accent wall of Hunting Coat Red. These paint chips don't quite depict the color as brilliantly as it exists in reality. The hunting coat red is very vibrant, both colors are less blue than they appear here.

That's pretty much where we stopped, a few pieces of artwork were hung, a few pieces of furniture were purchased, to replace the small chest we bought for her as a baby, but no drapes or window treatments, beyond providing privacy, were ever added.

Slowly, as the collections that are inevitable with middle school and high school and college gather in one's life, the room took on a look that was comfortable, but less sophisticated than she would like.

Now we are needing some drapes to up the sophistication factor.

This leads to our next style dilemma: The Mid-Century Madness

Oh, one other thing, lately, owing much to the Series Mad Men she had become especially fond of, as she put it, all things mid-century. If we change any furniture, she wants them to have some comfort factor. Think more Eero Saarinen, far left, less Bertoia, near left.

Now this is a style which surrounded me when I was younger, much younger. We called it Danish Modern when I was living it. The term Mid-Century is more recent and appears to have been coined for Cara Greenburg's book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s. My mother was a Colonial (for the den and some of the bedrooms) and French Provincial (for the Formal living room) decorator rather than a Danish, International Style or any other kind of Modern decorator. In our mid-century suburban ranch house, we lived the mid-century style: it was around us, both in the homes of friends and sprinkled in to ours. We had an Atomic Starburst clock and the candle sconces that usually came with said clock, comfortably ensconced in the same room as the colonial highback couch, some onion bulb lamps, nestled near the French Provincial furniture and an atomic TV light. Ours was orange, and melted on one side from the time it fell over! The country club, where my father was golf pro, had Danish modern chairs. When the club remodeled with a more Ralph Lauren / East Coast "Country Club Style" and less California / Palm Springs / Rat Pack / Danish modern style, they were cast off in favor of heavier stuff. While we are examining Mid-Century, let's not forget the influence of television shows. The Dick Van Dyke show, set in a very modern, very California style suburban house placed in New Rochelle, New York, oozed Mid-Century style. I've checked it on realtor.com, Rob and Laura Petrie's house can't be found in New Rochelle! The picture below is from The Babuk Report.

So now we have two problems.

First, what to do to add window treatments to a red wall, that won't diminish it, since we don't want to repaint it just yet. Second, how to update the style to add some mid-century style without a total redo and lacking those off-white linen drapes that we left back in that ranch.

Achieving a Mid Century look is not so easy when the room has a British Colonial decor. Lacking, as my daughters' like to say, the fundage to completely redo the room in mid-century modern, we started to ask some questions. Could we keep the British Colonial furniture, yet still create some mid-century sensibility by adding some accents, say drapes, lamps and artwork simultaneously upping the sophistication? Can we infuse the room with the Rat Pack / Mad Men feel?

Draperies being the first addition brought to mind another problem with Mid-Century design, purist Modernists generally lack window treatments. The architecture was stunning, if there were drapes at all, the windows were a wall of beige, slubby beige. The sense of the time was that the architecture, the view, and furniture were the stars. Everything was the star except the window treatments. It was as if the designers, dare I say it, just stopped designing at the windows.

We turned again to the article on Mary McDonald, and a clue emerged in the very first question of the article, a reference to "channeling Tony Duqette". So, we channeled, actually we surfed. This Duquette designed house in Bel Air, CA, seems to have the right mix of drama and serenity, modernity and traditionalism. Though it is a bit more Hollywood kitsch then suits my daughter. And the drapes, if taken completely literally, would be red. Tough to match and to find. So, on to the next consideration.

Now, slubby linen is wonderful and would make a definite Mid Century statement, but we have that aforementioned red wall, which we had no desire to repaint, we have that British Colonial feel already going on in much of the room and that fundage issue, slubby linen ain't cheap, especially now that it's popular.

So we stared at the wall and moved our heads this way and that, to better see the possibilities. We visualized it empty, not tough as it already was. We visualized it draped in damask and visualized it draped in ikat. We considered whether to go, as McDonald had with a dramatic, patterned fabric; considering this fabric and that fabric.
Were we going to have to go custom? Would these fabrics, though graphic, push push the look forever out of reach of the Mid-Century modern that she craved?

Then, it hit us. Considering all we knew about Mid-Century Design its origins in the thirties, the shared references to International Style and to Streamlined Art Deco, we realized that what we needed was the industrial inspiration that these designers embraced and transformed. What makes something industrial? Especially, how do you get the look of the mid twentieth century? What was the embodiment of post World War II industrialism? Steel.

Steel colored drapes, cool, out-of-the-machine-shop steel colored rodding, This says industrial. Silken fabric, a nice curve to the finial marries it to the existing look in the room. To complete the look, a white down comforter replaces the country-style snow man flannel comforter and future additions are planned for an upholstered headboard, a Danish modern bedside table and desk chair and a Lamp with Modern sensibilities. But for now a black steel bookshelf replaces the american painted end table. (I know, on what planet is that British Colonial?)

Here's is the mood board.

The pictures of "The Look, So Far" aren't turning too hot. Seems I need to learn how not to breathe, even with antishake, I shake. Here are a before and two afters:

Be sure to head back to Susan's for more Metamorphosis Monday transformations!

BTW, was anyone else out there taught to spell dilemma dilemna as I was?

Blog Makeover

2010-01-17T06:41:00.000-08:00

Blog Before Picture Click for Larger

Finally! I found some time to work on a makeover of this blog. If you are reading this in your google reader, you won't see much of what was changed, you'll need to hit the blog page to see it.
The most obvious change is the header and the background color. I like a page with some richness, so the background changed to grey and the letters changed to white. For all those who prefer black 'ink' on white, you'll want to keep reading this page in your reader.
So many times images loaded were cutoff at the right side, on both the side bar and the main page. Those had to be expanded.
This meant that the header needed expansion, truthfully it needed a lot of things. Long admiring Susan's collage header at Between Naps on the Porch, I created a photo collage for my header. I used Adobe Fireworks but Susan has a tutorial on how to use Picasa to create a collage.
This rendered the Title less than readable. I changed it to Edwardian Script ITC, blew it up and we have the results you see now.
I added an image description and image citation style, which you can see above on the "old page" image. It's not working out as well as it did on the "Women of our Time" page I created sometime ago, the image of which is below. I am fairly certain that the success of the page from which the image was taken has to do with the table structure which kept everything in line and behaving.

Not all the print could be white. Links were rendered in various shades of green.
So, what do you think? Better? Worse? Not really different? Leave a comment and let me know!

Be sure to head over to Susan's for more Metamorphosis Monday!

Pink!

2010-01-09T05:56:00.000-08:00

I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of pink, which is odd, because my favorite color is red. Odder still, pink roses abound in my garden, in fact I eschew red in the garden! Perhaps my less-than-beautiful mind believes pink to be simply a pale imitation of red.

But this Robert Abbey lamp could make me change my mind. It's just the right pop of color for a my soft grey, pink and white fantasy bedroom, a Benjamin Moore Dove White room with a white fluffy down comforter and white matelassé pillow shams. In summer, the comforter is changed for a white matelasse coverlet. These pillows are Sferra from Neiman Marcus, but JC Penney has a lovely collection.

A white linen box pleated valance and draperies at the window with a soft pink grosgrain ribbon placed precisely one and five eighths inches from the bottom of the valance.

A beautiful bouquet of Madame Ernest Calvat roses, from my garden, in a fat round antique mercury glass vase, from my Granny.

I'd place these on the antique, white bedside tables. This pair from Regan & Smith, might be just right. But,a small skirted round table will suffice until the budget allows.

To ground it all on the fantastic cinnamon maple floors, an Antique Oushak rug, from Keivan on 1stdibs. This keeps it from becoming too cotton-candy-ice-creamy.

To end on especially beautiful note, Jacksonville Florida designer Phoebe Howard has some lovely pink rooms.

The Blind Side

2009-12-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

I just saw the movie The Blind Side, this week. You are going to want see this movie, too, at least twice. The movie stars Sandra Bullock, one of my favorite comedic actresses, in a dramatic roll, Tim McGraw, as her husband, Sean Tuohy, Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher, Jae Head as SJ Tuohy and Lily Collins as Collins Tuohy. The movie is the true story of how Leigh Anne Tuohy takes in a young man from the projects, a side of town about which she knew little, in fact, had rarely seen, certainly not up close and personal. Although their intent is to give Michael a place to stay for one night, very quickly he becomes a part of the family. This young man gives as much to his new found family as he receives. Michael and the force compelling him forward, Leigh Anne, are inspiring.

I feel just a bit guilty that the movie sets are also inspiring, constantly vying for my attention with the wonderful story! Although I was in awe of Leigh-Anne and Michael and the events surrounding Michael becoming a part of the Tuohy family, I couldn't help but drool over the Tuohy home.

Of course, one of the reasons that the sets are drool-worthy is that Leigh-Anne Tuohy is an interior designer. Set decorator Susan Benjamin has created a set in Southerm Traditional style using rich coppers and camels. The home sharply emphasizes the difference of the dual worlds which become part of Michael Oher's life during the movie. The draperies in the living room are fully pelmetted. The dining room chairs perfectly coordinate with the rich caramels of the damask tablecloth and the grasscloth on the walls in the dining room. The kitchen is done in beautiful creams and slates. ABC has an interview with the Tuohy's in which one can see that, although the colors are different, the beautiful Southern Traditional decor is on the mark.

This movie is truly a "real good feel good" movie. You will cry, laugh, fear, rage, and finally puff with pride at the experiences of this family as they become a family. Shoot, you might even become a Ravens fan!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

Flowers on the table,...

The table is set,...

A pitcher of cool water,...

Ready for Elizabeth Lane's wonderful food!

Be sure to head back to Susan's for more Tablescape Thursday!

Before it changes again for Christmas,...

2009-11-08T19:09:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd post the plate arrangement. This is the one area that changes with frequency around the house. I don't often change the pictures on the wall, especially since I often end up peppering the wall behind the pictures or the sconces with holes moving it around to just the right place. This is especially true of sconces, which often have issues with being level, or not so much. So, moving a picture in my house means spackle and paint, ugh. But rearranging things on the buffet a deux corps, piece of cake, and no walls are harmed in the process.
Last Spring, I went bunny, totally bunny.

Don't get me wrong, I love bunny, but after a while, well, I think I caught them staring at me. Just kidding, the spot just needed a change and a little editing discipline applied to it.

It's calmer, though it still might need a bit more editing.
Be sure to Head back to Susan's for more Met Monday.

Fall Mantle, Again

2009-10-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

Fall is definitely upon us, the week of winter we've recently experienced in the Mid-Atlantic not withstanding. Every week there are changes to the leaves, outside and in. My mantle, notice I spelled it correctly this time, has been getting some intense attention to the detriment of the rest of the house hold Fall Cleaning. At least the mantle has been dusted!
This time, Mr. Mise en scène was responsible for the nest phase in the decor. That, and the squash molded, sigh! Real is wonderful, but one has to watch out for the mold. Mr. Mise en scène, wanting to put out our plush pumpkins, went in search of them finding them with the fall picks that I had been trying to avoid. I have been trying to stick to three rules: Simple. Simple. Simple. We did need something to take the place of the squash. So, out came the picks and up on the mantle they went.

Mantel for Fall

2009-10-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

It's fall and the mantel needs an update. Not only had the candles been there since Christmas, but a lot of extra things migrated there, especially when the new floor was installed. The Christmas candles needed to be stored, the breakables needed a new safe place, the arrangement needed simplification. In short, I needed a new look! Double time! I bought three buttercup squashes, gourds hadn't yet arrived at the market. White pumpkins were nowhere to be found. The squash has wonderful texture and great color, but they were not large enough to be the only mantelpiece. Looking around the room, I found the "remote" box, that created a perfect centerpiece for the mantel. Two brass candlesticks anchored the left side. Removing one section of one of the candlesticks created an asymmetrical balance.

Be sure to head back to Susan's at Between Naps on the Porch for more Metamorphosis Monday.

The Powder Room

2009-09-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

Big things have been happening at the Mise en scène abode. The latest is the powder room, which, if you read my earlier post, you know that this was an unplanned change. It began with a new floor and a premise: pedestal sinks are not really pedestals, they are wall sinks with a "fancy" post underneath. To properly install a pedestal sink, it needs to have a board behind the wall. In the building boom that in progress when we built our house, a few things got missed.
Adding to the difficulty was Mr. Mise en scène's decision to just touch up a few spots of the paint. Well intentioned, but a problem. You see, though there is no sunlight to this room, the paint had faded. The touch up's ending up making the room look like a sunburned giraffe.
Because of the noted lack of a board behind the wall, the cost to simply reinstall the pedestal was going to be costly. To replace the lackluster pededstal, for that matter to install any pedestal, required the board, ripping out the wall, installing the board, repairing the wall and installing the pedestal. And all that plumber time to install. All for a builder grade pedestal that I have never liked.
So, bottom line, what began as a new floor, ended with a new bathroom. Everything but the toilet and the medicine cabinet has been replaced.
Now all y'all know that sometimes, just sometimes, saying something like "Honey, we need to paint before we install the vanity" to your husband can cause a lot of argument. In fact, mentioning that the sunburned giraffe had to go, even after the sink was installed and a long weekend was approaching, brought on the arguments. But the sunburned giraffe paint had to go, in fact the red had to go. As I was silently adding this to my contractor list, those things I accomplish somehow, after saving enough money for a contractor, Mr. Mise en scène saw the light and the serious paint study began. Up went the candidate chips, mostly all in a variation on taupe, and a few blues and greens, go figure, were splayed upon the wall. Every trip to check the paint, a few came down. Finally, we settled on
Benjamin Moore's Alexandria Beige, HC-77. A few more shopping trips to get a towel ring, the bathroom toilet paper holder, and a light fixture. The light fixture was my thrifty treasure, I had my eye on a light priced at $110, for which I would have to wait a while, a long while. While in Lowes I spotted a very nicely styled light that was $45, I could have sworn it had been marked down from $78, which I cannot confirm now. In any case, $45 vs $110 is a hefty savings.
Not only did Mr. Mise en scène paint, he installed the toilet paper holder, the light, and the towel ring. Then he got on a role and installed a new outdoor light, to replace the "jelly jar", hung doors on the "home theater" cabinets and repaired a wall in the upstairs bathroom, installing a toilet paper holder there too. Mr. Mise en scène is getting steak tonight. I'll even get my alter ego, Elizabeth Lane, to whip up some Sauce Béarnaise to accompany said steak.
Below are the after's, keep scrolling down they are there, and be sure to head back to Susan's and Rhoda's for more Met Monday and Thrifty Treasures!