redecorranging

Project Graduation

May 18, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 27 Comments

Want to know what I did this weekend?

I did what I do best. I redecorranged—that’s a technical term for ‘redecorating by rearranging what you already have’.

I gave this room a makeover a few years ago for my daughter Caiti and we have both loved it so! It has such a relaxing, artsy, vintage ambiance.

The burlap bedskirts, silver-patina walls, and mirrors create an atmosphere that begs you to strum the guitar and curl your hair. Caiti recently moved into the guest room (which has less ambiance but a t.v. and a very comfortable bed) so I cleaned and redecorranged this room today in anticipation of the arrival of my sister and her daughter Hope. They will be coming on Friday for Taylor’s graduation and a post graduation pajama party—and to stabilize my ever-deteriorating/emotionally unstable self. I also added the window mistreatments today which are just linen fabric hung with alligator clips.

All I need now are a few small love gifts for our ‘guests’ and 3 more clones of myself—so that I have a chance at finishing the enormous ‘to-do’ list that currently bewilders my sensibilities. For now, I breathe deep and enjoy this lovely little bedroom.

And I hear you whispering about the oil painting that’s leaning against the bed. I like it there. Just leanin’……just taking a break from the hard, busy world. My sister will have no patience for such nonsense. She’ll offer to hang it for me. She’s one of those people who’d you’d definitely pick first if you were gonna be stranded on a desert island. She just has good sense and knows how to use all manner of power tools and even hung bead board in mother’s bathroom by herself. I’m sure she could start a fire with a piece of flint and a rock. Yeah, she’ll want to hang that picture and then offer to install an outdoor lighting system before she heads home. But I digress. What do you think? Hang it or lean it?

Post-edit: I’m joining Kelly’s children’s room tour with this ‘teen’ room. Click here for more fabulous decorating ideas!

Wall of Frames

May 13, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 50 Comments

You can see my inspiration picture here. What I really wanted to do was hang ‘faux’ board and batten and paint the walls. But when Stevie said to me “Step away from the paint brush,” I figured I should listen. At least for now. So to jazz up, or ‘cottage’ up my living room, I embarked on a picture wall adventure. I did not buy any new frames for this project. I shopped the house and found a wealth of treasure in a box that I brought home from my medical practice two years ago. There was no shortage of frames and certainly no shortage of pictures in this house. Now, they’re all in one place.
I’d also like to find a fig tree or something similar to decorate the book stacks , but for now magnolia branches work perfect.

Maybe I should remind you of the ‘before’ picture. Obviously taken at Christmastime.

I wanted something ‘black’ on the wall, so I wrote my favorite passage of Eight Cousins on a little chalkboard and hung it as the anchor.

And since we’re running out of bookshelves, these stacks of books are the perfect solution.

Do you have a wall of fame?

The Making over of my Bathroom and my Imagination

May 4, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 42 Comments

Edited to add: I’m joining Kelly’s ‘Show us Your Bathroom’ Party so if you’re visiting from Kelly’s blog, welcome. You can see more decorating posts by clicking the pictures on my sidebar! To my regular readers, you can see lots of cute bathroom decor by clicking here.

I also just wrote a post about “Why I’m not a Feminist”. It’s sure to be controversial. Click here to read.

Decorating my home is not just a hobby for me. It is a part of a quest to create for my family a haven, a place that inspires us, beckons us to retreat from the world; and calls us to notice and enjoy the beauty all around. And my tastes are changing. I’m finding that my spiritual need to live simply and authentically translates well into the practical side of living too. Decorate with items that you love, that are beautiful, that inspire you. First, I want to show you the inspiration for my bathroom makeover. This bust of some Greek/Roman goddess/fairy beckoned me to bring her home. And I promised her that if she was 40% off—and still on the shelf—the next time I went to Hobby Lobby, I’d welcome her to our family. So, she was. And I did. We’ve named her Juno in honor of the great fun we’ve had studying the ancient Greek and Roman myths.

This bathroom makeover was an attempt to simplify—using what I already had—and adding a little paint and a little statue named Juno.

The walls got lighter…..

The tired and clunky medicine cabinet was removed and replaced with a simple mirror.

And Juno took her place upon the throne.

Maybe only the towels stayed exactly the same.

The project was cottage inspired–using the colors of the sea–with some natural elements such as shells and starfish to accent.

The vanity cabinet was painted a very dark brown….

and the two front cabinet doors were replaced. (I know, I’m schizophrenic—take the kitchen doors down, put the bathroom doors on). The look is so much more sleek and clean (minus the two wet, smelly dogs in the picture). I wanted to add a few quaint little details like vintage glass knobs and a towel ‘rope’, but those will have to wait for now.

Several smaller decorative items were removed in favor of the one large Roman goddess/garden fairy. She makes a bold statement in this little room. And though I have never been a fan of myths or fantasies, C.S. Lewis and George McDonald are teaching me. I am currently reading the book Phantastes by McDonald; a book that C.S. Lewis said, ‘baptized his imagination’. That alone intrigued me enough to want to read it. But mythopoeic writing is difficult for someone like me to read. It takes discipline and a certain sticktoitiveness, which I sometimes do not possess. It helps that my husband happens to love mythical writing and is re-reading the book with me so he can help me through it.

Here is what Lewis says of mythopoetic writing, “It is in some ways more akin to music than poetry. It arouses in us sensations we have never had before, never anticipated having, as though we had broken out of our normal mode of consciousness and ‘possessed joys not promised to us at our birth’. It gets under our skin, hits us at a level deeper than our thoughts or even our passions, troubles oldest certainties till all questions are reopened, and in general shocks us more fully awake than we are for most of our lives……it finally lets us feel in our face the sweet air blowing from the land of righteousness.”

I think I finally get it. After struggling through the first 60 pages of that book…..twice, I finally feel that ‘sweet air’, an nearly inexplicable goodness, a ‘baptism of my imagination’. And Stevie tells me that Lewis’ book “Till We Have Faces” takes it all to another level. I highly recommend the books, but I cannot tell a lie; the bathroom makeover was easier. Maybe Juno will help remind us that this longing we have for fairy tales, for adventure, for truth and meaning, is given to us by God. And His story is the culmination of all myth and fairy tale; the miraculous and mysterious come to us in the flesh, to bear our sin, and be our Savior.

When I’m finished reading these, they stay in the Fairy Cottage Bathroom! With Juno.

And I’m also reading one of McDonald’s fairy tales to the girls, The Princess and the Goblin. They find it wonderful and magical and are never satisfied with just one chapter a night! Do you have a favorite fairy tale/fantasy book?

Edited to Add: This bathroom has no natural lighting and it’s hard to get a picture that captures the colors well because of the necessity to use the flash. I am not a fan of flash photography. The bathroom walls are very similiar to my kitchen walls…..a very light (almost white) green.

Feathers, eggs and painted wood…..

April 22, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth 26 Comments

Today, I’m giving you a sneak peek into my ‘Cottage Kitchen Makeover’. And I’m planning on hosting a Mr. Linky party of my own Monday when I make my big reveal. I hope you’ll join me…this is my first attempt to host…and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that maybe a few a you will show off your ‘Painted Wood Projects’ then. If you’ve painted any wood surface (cabinets, floors, picture frames, ANYTHING—-or if you’ve been wanting to paint some wood surface in your house but haven’t gotten around to it, link up and show us your plans. Spread the word on your blog and let’s get everybody painting this weekend. Of course we’d love to see stuff you painted months or years ago too. That’s this Monday April 26th.

Now for Mrs. Nester’s Linky party, I have a confession to make. I have no L.Herbert Feathers and Eggs prints….. at least not yet. I’m always late for the show. Two seconds too late. Johnny come lately. Like those ten years I kept wearing blue eye shadow when everyone else had moved on to the natural look. I do have a couple spots where they’d be perfect though.

First, in my guest bathroom that has also recently had a makeover, I’d love to exchange my faux eggs print (that I printed off the internet from this site) for 3 or 4 authentic ones.

It’s pretty cute but I need something bigger there.

Or maybe in place of this bird print that’s hanging on my newly painted kitchen cabinets.

Or maybe here….in lieu of plates. I love the plates but I never know when to stop with an idea. We have nothing to eat dinner on because all my plates are hanging on the wall.

And now for more teasers……these cabinets were very standard oak finish with the doors ON.

So my painter and I have been very busy this week.

And because my kitchen is 10 years old and not built by me, the lighting has always been an issue for me. Hence, the 17 lamps I used to have in the kitchen. But I bought these little bookshelf lights from IKEA and voila……custom lighting.

Make sure you come back on Monday for the rest of the reveal.

And link up with me for the love of painted wood!

Thank you my friend Mrs. Nester for hosting and for so graciously sharing all of your wonderful ‘nesting’ ideas!

White spray paint+green plants=Spring

March 19, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth Leave a Comment

Warning, you may need a mask to enter this post ’cause I’m Hooked on White Spray Paint.

First, let me start this little spring-y goodness with an introduction. Meet my new pool guy. He is a her. Her name is Emme, she’s eight years old and she is excited about her new job. Come July…..she will likely have quit or been fired. But for today, she vacuums like a champ.

And now through the delirium of the vast amounts of paint fumes I’ve inhaled, I give you ‘spray-painted spring’. Almost everything you see in the following pictures has been spray painted white. The check out lady at Lowe’s very surely suspects fowl play and may not be party to my antics if I try to purchase another can. But spring has sprung at my house. Come on in…..

Eggs, birds, and nests…..

Succulents, moss, and starfish…….

A once-hideous ceramic bird that begged me to take him home from Goodwill and paint him white. I said yes. He loves me. I consider myself a sort of wildlife rescue organization. If you hear of any other birds in need of help, let me know.

A very distressed garden bench moves inside

Beautiful silk fabric lightens up the room…..and God Himself decorates most wonderfully on the weeping cherry tree….

And this luscious rye grass…..was planted about 10 days ago. You must do this. It will restore your faith in your ability to grow things. Or at least your ability to plant things and watch them grow.

More succulents in white urns……

And a little cheery silky lightness to the beds…….where we enjoyed our new favorite movie….. Sense and Sensibility.

So, here’s my advice to you: look around your house and collect things you think should go to Goodwill. Then spray paint them white and call it ‘spring’. Rescue some birds ‘in distress’. And I would also advise planting some rye grass seeds in various pots so that they will be ready for Easter. Or plant the seeds in small glass containers for place settings for Easter dinner. Plant some succulents inside. Spray and plant. Plant and spray. Spring will thank you. And so will the birds. Visit Rhoda’s site for other spring inspiration.

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The Spring Winds Blow

March 9, 2009 by Edie Wadsworth Leave a Comment

In my twisted logic, spring equals a can of white spray paint and some comfy flip flops. So while my girls recited “The Wind” by Robert Louis Stevenson, I braved the March wind with a can of spray paint and anything I could find in my house that looked worn and wintry. Enjoy my spring ‘fluffing’ while I share this delightful little poem with you. You should memorize it.