Pier One Hits

I have a love/hate relationship with Pier One. Some of their stuff is beyond cheese, like rooster canisters and other ugly kitchen stuff.

But then they have some funky accessories and furniture. Who knows what to expect from them?


I found this neat mirror/wall art:

And these pretty drapery panels:

I Suwannee found this great rug, too.

Anything I missed?

Bath Mini-Renovation

Our hall bath is what I lovingly refer to as "retro". Our home was built in the early 60s so we have the ubiquitous mid-century colored tile baths. The guest one is blue and white. Our master was lavender and white, although it was renovated before we bought the house. Why do I know the tile was lavender? I've been picking it out of the yard for almost 2 years! The reno people didn't do the best clean up job.

In any case, the vanity needs to go. I think it's original and is sporting a billion coats of white paint. It's worn, ugly, too low and plain old tired. I mean, look:

I actually like the blue and white tile.  It's in fabulous shape for nearly 50 years of wear!

How many layers of paint can you put on a hinge before it stops working?  I think the previous owners were going for some kind of record.

It's an odd size: 51".  Not stock.  So I'm looking into custom options. I want to replace the whole thing a new unit with the same footprint.  The tile doesn't continue under the vanity so we'd have to re-tile if we installed a smaller one and I'd be pretty nervous about finding matching blue tile.

I'm shooting for a look like this:

via This Old House

via DecorPad

I'll see how the quotes come in and then decide.  But now it's in my brain and I am a one-track kinda gal.

3 Years!

Image: Andrew Paynter

Wow - time flies.  Happy 3rd year of marriage to us.

Lands' End Canvas

Last week, I took advantage of a sale at clothing retailer Lands’ End. I don’t typically shop there but they were offering an additional 25% off end-of-summer sale prices and there were some serious markdowns to be had.

I placed my order, received my items and was happy. A few days after my items were delivered, a small brown note card arrived in my mail box hand-addressed to me. Inside was a hand-written thank you* from Carol, a customer care specialist at Lands’ End. The note praised my choice of an orange cotton cardigan and includes an email address for any feedback I have about the products.

Wow! From a biggish brand like Lands’ End, this personal touch really impressed me.

*I was inclined to think it was a really good print job, but this blogger received a card and the handwriting and content are different.  Looks like a real person is writing them!

Skins

Considering a cowhide rug for the dining room. I know they are either loved or hated. Some decorators think they are "over" because they are in IKEA. Bah to that I say. Folks have been using them since the dawn of time for all kinds of purposes so I can't see how they are over?

These metallic printed ones are neat but a little pricey:

Zebra's a classic-- via DecorPad

Glossy black floors + pale cowhide = glam via DecorPad

Another from DecorPad

Layered over jute or sisal is sweet. via Southern Living

Love the eclectic look here - HouseandHome.co.uk

What I've Been Up To...

Still painting!! Despite my crappy paint job which I'll need to touch up, I'm liking the new guest bedroom color: Benjamin Moore Shenandoah Taupe. Lesson here kids: stir your paint!  See my spots where it's not quite right?  I got lazy one night and wanted to put in 30 mins of work but didn't thoroughly stir my paint can.  D'oh!  Now I have MORE work to do!

Dollywood

We hit up Pigeon Forge, TN, Dollywood and the Great Smoky Mountains over the Labor Day weekend. I'd never been and it was a *trip*. Not a place I'd want to spend a ton of time but a great long weekend getaway. If you like mini-golf, chain food and never ending traffic, that is.  But we had fun.

Pigeon Forge and the surrounding area is gorgeous.   Dollywood itself is a pretty little theme park.

Dolly's bus!  This is a home/whatever blog so I thought a quick peek into her bus might be interesting.  It's done up in cherry cabinetry, tooled leather seating and what one might deem "RV posh".   It can make the trip from Nashville to Los Angeles without needing to refuel. Dolly also loves to cook and will whip up entire meals in her tiny little kitchen!

Her bedroom takes up the tail end of the bus and is complete with a large bed, vanity and flat-screen TV. There's also a bathtub right outside her bedroom with a tub that's about 10" deep. Kinda comical but Dolly's tiny so I guess it works.

Shenandoah Taupe

Paint issues persist. After some feedback on my idea of changing the brown wall to pink:

I've reconsidered. I stopped in to Benjamin Moore last night and checked their mistints rack. Shenandoah Taupe in eggshell stood out:

It's kind of a "greige" that's been trendy (which means it's about to go out as soon as I paint) but at $5 for a gallon, I figured what the hell and grabbed it.

Here are a pretty use of it I found on the web. I think it might work. Except, instead of just repainting the accent wall, I think I might do the whole room, again. Shoot me, please.