Some Days, I Feel Exactly the Same Way. . .

 

 

 

 

Thought you might enjoy hearing a little of the soundtrack of my life. . .

 

2012 Blog Squad!

Well HELLO!  How the heck are ya? I’m thrilled to announce a little…uhh, announcement. I’m so excited to be joining the True Value Blog Squad again for 2012!: I’ve loved working with True Value and love my local TV so I’m psyched to get going again this year! I’ve mentioned my True Value’s AWESOMESAUCE spray paint aisle: Stop your drooling, I know. And the fantastic hardware aisle:

Our Patio: Before, During and After Photos

 

Alright, sorry for the big teaser post yesterday.  As promised, here’s the rest of the photos of our patio finished for the summer season.

 

This is how our patio has looked since we moved in last summer:

 

 

 

Arranging outdoor rooms can be just as tricky as indoor spaces.  Besides the grill, we also wanted to include comfy seating (and a place for naps), and a small table and chairs (that we already had) so the kids could eat outside as much as possible this summer.

 

 

 

 

Once the furniture arrangement was in place, I added an outdoor rug (that had been rolled up in our garage) to define the “lounging area” and brought in color with my accessories and a few plants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These old ice cream stools came from my parents’ attic.  I had thought of using them indoors, but they weren’t kind to our wood floors and they ended up making better side tables outdoors:

 

 

 

 

This empty (covered) corner was the perfect place to add a lamp.  I can actually read out here at night (well, you know—in theory).  I used the big, metal panel that I’ve had for a while as art.  I would like to work on another art piece for this spot (I have some ideas) but for now, the friendly lion is here to stay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our cat wanted to be part of the action.  Did I ever tell you the story of how we ended up with two identical cats?  Yeah, I’ll save that for another day.

 

 

 

And, in case you’re wondering, I’m happy to report that we actually use this space on a daily basis. 

 

 

Decor Shopping…Penney and Company

I have been a fan of Michael Penney’s since his early days with Canadian House and Home.  He has since left the magazine and then did a season working on Sarah 101 with Sarah Richardson and Tommy Smythe (currently airing Tues nights on HGTV Canada.)

His latest venture is opening up his very own store in Whitby (Ontario) filled to the brim with everything quintessentially Michael. He is also taking on decorating clients, so if you live in the area, it’s certainly something to consider.

My sister lives in Whitby so whenever I go to visit, we always stop in to see what’s new as Michael is always bringing in new and interesting pieces.  (I snapped these photos on a visit there last month so some of the items may not be available.)

Love the exterior of his shop painted Farrow and Ball’s Arsenic, one of Michael’s favourite paint colours.  It definitely causes passersby to stop and take notice.  Another smart idea is having your website address on your storefront window.

He related that a woman bought this sofa without seeing it in person. It certainly is a showstopper!

When I interviewed him early last year, this is what he had to say about his style: “ the common thread is traditional elements mixed with fresh colours and casual comfort.  I like to reinterpret the work of the decorating greats through a modern, more loose perspective.  I can get into modern and edgy looks, but my heart strings are always pulled most by fresh, colourful and effortlessly comfortable rooms.”

 

I bought the wicker table that’s beside the sofa with plans on painting it black or a fun colour for possible use in my bedroom.

You may recognize these chairs from the June, 2012  issue of Style at Home.

In this photo, you can see where the pool tables were when the  store was a pool hall for many decades.  

I look so tiny compared to Michael (I’m really not that short – he is very tall!)  We had a lovely chat about the history of the store, items for sale and decorating in general.  If you haven’t been to Penney and Company, it’s definitely worth the drive to Whitby!

Securly

Today…. is
not a store review… But a topic that’s close to my heart…

Is your home
‘internet’ safe for kids? Is it? Although Dubai is safer than any other part of
the world… it’s still not completely safe…

Saying that …
I’ve now found Securly… and my house is safe!! 

Securly
allows parents to make their entire home WiFi network kid-safe in one easy step
- blocking adult sites, X-rated videos on YouTube, protecting their privacy on
Facebook and blocking inappropriate keyword-searches and pages on Google,
Wikipedia etc. Securly was founded by two network security veterans with a
combined 17+ years of security experience.
 The founders
quit their Sr. Manager and Architect roles at some of the most respected
security companies in the world – McAfee, Huawei-Symantec – to form Securly
with a mission to make home networks safer for kids.

Do check them out... and like their Facebook page for more ideas... I've never seen anyone answer a question as quickly as these guys... They are super friendly... and awesome to interact with... And if I'm saying this... who is not tech savvy at all... you simply have to beleive me.. 

Sign up for free... and protect your kids today... 

Prepping Our Patio

 

One of our priorities this year was to make our patio a place we could actually use and enjoy.  Our other priority was to do it spending as little money as possible.  It was a complete blank slate when we started.  This is how it looked the day we moved in last June:

 

 

 

 

Our one “splurge” for the space was this sofa and two chairs we ordered from Target.  After comparing it to other outdoor furniture, I still consider it a good deal.  (And, as I mentioned before, you can order it by the piece, instead of as one bulky matching set.)

 

 

 

After getting the big pieces in place, my first trip was to my local garden center:

 

 

 

My success rate at keeping plants alive through an entire, hot Carolina summer isn’t the best, so I opted for a few colorful, *inexpensive* plants.  I spent less than $50 total.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, for the rest of the patio, I literally shopped our attic, garage and house.  Several of the accessories I found just needed some fresh paint.  I used one of my favorite colors to give them a lift:

 

 

Rust-Oleum spray paint in “Fern”

 

 

 

We touched up the garden stools (a Big Lots purchase a couple of years ago) after scraping last year’s peeling paint with a wire brush.

 

 

 

 

 

Remember the white mirror in our old master bedroom? 

 

 

 

It also got a green makeover.  I’ve definitely gotten the bang for my buck with this round mirror.  I bought it (at Kirkland’s) ten years ago for the living room in our first house, and two new colors later, it’s still around.

 

 

 

 

I found this lamp base (originally a dingy yellow) for $10 at a thrift shop a few years ago.  It has been patiently sitting in my attic until now.

 

 

 

We added more lighting with small eye hooks and this $12 string of lights from Target:

 

 

 

And, the rest of my color palette was determined by these fabrics I had leftover from other projects:

 

 

 

Before, during and after pictures to come. . .

 

 

PS—Thanks so much for your kind words about the Better Homes & Gardens article!  I appreciate you sharing in my excitement.  You all are very nice to me, and it makes me love blogging that much more ;)

Over the fireplace

Hey hey! I mentioned yesterday that I was feeling the NEED for some DIY up in here. (Hea?) I’ve been planning a project for months now and just needed to figure out the details – mainly the exact materials I wanted to use. Ever since we covered our corner fireplace last year, I’ve been planning a treatment over the mantel to finish it off a bit. It has looked just a bit nekked to me all this

Outdoor Sectional

My vision for our small suburban backyard always included a sectional on the patio. There is just something about them – they create a relaxed, intimate atmosphere when entertaining and are comfortable enough to lie down on and read a book or even take a nap.  (That’s what the hubster is looking forward to!  He’s going to hate me for saying that!)

See? Don’t the eight of us on this sectional look comfortable and cozy?   This photo was taken after BlogPodium when a few of us decided to head to a patio for some food, drinks and more chit chat.  (PS Recognize any of your favourite bloggers?)

I had perused retail sites looking for a sectional with the required dimensions – 96” x 96”.  If you’re going to have a sectional, might as well be big! I figured this size would easily accommodate eight people.

When I found Ana White’s Outdoor Sectional Plan online, I knew it would be perfect.  (In case you haven’t heard of White, you can read an interesting article about her here.)  The sectional is made up of 24” x 24”  individual pieces so it’s easy to reconfigure, carry, store etc.  She recommends securing the sectional pieces together but I will see if that is necessary.

via Ana White

Now I just needed someone to build it.  I’m pretty handy and have taken woodworking courses in the past and built furniture but time was an issue!   I remembered reading about a table built by Kerry’s Dad, Jim, on Shannon’s blog.  Lucky for me, he was available to build the sectional.  He worked on it diligently for two days, modifying the plans somewhat to accommodate the wood sizes that were different from those specified in the plans.  I used 5/4 x 6 x 8 premium cedar used for decks from the Home Depot.

Here it is sitting nicely (but looking a bit naked) on our new patio.  I was thinking of staining it a dark grey but think I will just apply a clear topcoat and retain the light wood colour.  Any thoughts?

Photo credit:  Leah Kirin

This is how it looked on Saturday evening for the Blogger Backyard party sponsored by the Home Depot.   What do you think? 

The green striped cushions and the seat cushions were custom made by Tonic Living using outdoor fabric. 

The table and outdoor rug from Home Depot were brought in for the party.

Photo credit: Leah Kirin

Here is (almost) everyone that was at the Blogger party.  (Will do a post once I have all the photos!)  There are 8 1/2 people on the sectional and looks like one more could squeeze in!  I love it and I envision spending more time outdoors now especially in the evenings chatting with friends over a good bottle of wine!

Hope you have a great week!

(This post is sponsored by the Home Depot.)

If you require decorating advice, contact me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis(dot)com.

Haven conference, finally!

Well, it finally arrived – after a year of planning, the Haven Conference happened last week and I really find it hard to put into words how wonderful it was. I know you’re probably seeing a lot of these recaps all over blogland today, and I know how hard it is to see these if you weren’t able to attend or just plain have no idea what the heck we’re talking about. So for those reasons, I’ll try

Our House in Better Homes & Gardens

 

Hard to believe it was a year ago that Better Homes & Gardens came to shoot our house. . . (For those of you who are new to my blog, it was actually our last home; we moved right after they came.)

 

After many months of anticipation, my friend Katie texted me this picture last weekend after spotting it at the grocery checkout first:

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t wait to get my copy in the mail, so we made a little trip to the bookstore, where I may or may not have bought 10 copies.   (Well, I assumed my grandkids would want to see it some day. . .)

 

 Look!  Our story even made the cover :)

 

 

My mom and I had a little photo session by the newsstand—despite weird looks from the guy who was stocking the shelves.  (Mom thought it was because he read my blog.  I don’t think so.)

 

 

 

And, since this will most likely be one of the highlights of my adult life, I have to say a big thanks to:

Sherry Hart—who was gracious enough to send pics of my house (without me knowing) to her editor friend in the first place

Lisa Mowry—Sherry’s editor friend who thought my house was BH&G worthy and made this happen :)

Rob Brinson, Annette Joseph and team—for coming to NC and making our home look great in photos

Kathy Barnes—for writing such a beautiful article

My sweet friend Katie—who has been around for the entire process, starting with me calling her squealing with excitement on the phone last spring

My family—for putting up with my projects, the constant rearranging of our house and for managing to look “normal” for our article

 

photo courtesy of Jessica Higdon :)

 

You can read more about the shoot here and here.

 

 

After all of that, who would’ve thought that being in Better Homes & Gardens would’ve been the second most exciting thing to happen to our family this summer?

 

 

The Weekly Story- wk 84

Hello my loves…. Is it ok for me to say… I forgot about the weekly story
today?? Well actually… I forgot it was Monday… *sobs*… I really did!!!

Just that I’ve been super busy at work… and have been juggling so much
lately… its unbelievable… Sometimes I think, I’ve taken on so much on my plate…
so much more than I can eat…. Or even hold… Do you feel that way sometimes…

*sigh*… it’ll calm down.. I sure hope!!

We went to this gorgeous place on Thursday… TWG at Dubai Mall… here are
few images… It was me & older daughter… quality time… We ate lavishly…
chatted away to glory… and had big girl type giggles and conversations… Oh..
how I’ll miss all this.. when she’s grown up… :-(

They’ve got tea… and tea… and tea cups… and pots… and teas.. and teas.. in
all flavours… Flavours you’ve never even thought about.. I had.. the ‘crème brulee’
tea… *smiles* You’ve got to check their site to see the selection of
teas… its simply wow!! TWG Tea Company!! 

Here is a pic of the
girlies over the weekend… They had a friend over… so were allowed to totally
mess up the room. Once the friend left… they sorted, mopped, cleared their
rooms.. And then they made dinner for themselves…. ‘macaroni cheese’… and ‘butter
cookies’… Was totally thrilled to see my younger kiddo… wash the dishes and
then even sort them… keep them neat & tidy and then wipe them dry.. It was
a proud mommy moment *smiles*

Hope to see you this week at ....  'The Weekly Story' linky party ~ open from Monday through Wednesday every week..

1. Do a post on your blog, about ANYTHING! and it can really be anything – example – a fun recipe you tried out, a craft project, a DIY, a table top, a few candles, coffee with friends or a good book or a movie review… The list is endless… just about ANYTHING… and anything about YOU !! *smiles* ... It can also be 'anything pretty' ...


2. Original photographs only... No images from other websites or magazines please!! This is about YOU.


3. Link back to my blog.... only as a courtesy, so we have more people joining the party.


4. Copy the 'permalink' from your post (not the link to the front page of your blog).


5. Add your 'permalink' to the 'inlinkz' at the bottom of this post.


6. Click the link before you. Don’t forget to comment and if you like the blog, please follow!!

Any questions, email me on coloursdekor@gmail.com




Please note, you DO NOT have to be a follower of my blog to join the party.. I'd love to see you here!!

Please grab the Colours Dekor 'The Weekly Story' button!!

 

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