Wishing you and yours a wonderful Memorial Day!

But most of all, to those who have served and are currently serving our country...

simply saying "Thank You" will never seem like enough, but from the bottom of our hearts, for all that you have done...

Thank You

You are our heroes!

XO







I just hopped over to her site and saw this:

"Place an order now through Monday, May 31st and receive 25% off your entire order!"

Awesome, right?

There's more...

"If you or your spouse is a U.S. Veteran or Active Military you'll get FREE SHIPPING too!"

Sweeeeet!

The Free Shipping doesn't apply to us, but I love it that she's doing this for those that have so graciously served our country.


So if you've been waiting for the perfect time to buy a few custom vinyl wall decals for your home, then you definitely need to take advantage of this Memorial Day sale!

Need a little nudge?

Check these out:


And there is way more where that came from.

Click Here to head over to her site and to see the details of this sale.


Which reminds me...

I've been wanting to add something above the doorway of our dining room-turned-playroom-turned-bedroom. It's the perfect spot and I know just what it should say.

Time to talk to Eileen and work out the details!



Happy Weekend

and


Happy Browsing!





The winner of the

$75.00 Gift Certificate

to spend at

Lisa Leonard Designs

is...


from the blog

Classy & Fabulous!


( I had to laugh when her number came up on Random.org! I have no preconceived ideas about who should be the winner - either does Random.org! I'm quite fond of all of you. It's just kinda funny that it ended up being a Karla...and with a "K"! I know, it seems silly, but she'll understand!)


Karla, send me your contact info and I will get you set up with Lisa!

Congrats!!



Thanks to everyone for playing along.

It was a great turn out, so maybe we can convince Lisa to do this again with us in the future!




"Renovating My Beach House" really should be titled "How I Finally Convinced My Husband To Let Go of the Stained Wood Walls". You see men love wood walls. For seven years, my husband and many of our male friends would actually cringe when I told them I dreamed of painting it all white. "No, No they would say, this room looks like a mountain lodge; it reminds me of hunting and camping!" And, I would argue "WE ARE AT THE BEACH!"

Over time I renovated every other space in the house. Lady luck finally smiled on me when our heating bills got too high. "We really should replace the single pane glass windows," my husband reasoned. Of course the original windows were odd sizes and to save money we needed to buy stock sizes. New cut outs in the wall meant new trim mouldings. The original walls were an orangey stain which I couldn't even begin to match, and all of sudden we HAD to paint! So really this post should be titled " The Magical Transformation with Paint" because that is what it truly turned out to be.

The photo above is the house as I bought it seven years ago. It is our living room and dining area taken from the original real estate listing.

Here is living and dining area before we painted.
A few gallons of primer and some Farrow and Ball Paint in Pointing and even I was amazed at the transformation!
Here is the fireplace. No matter what I tried I could not remove the 40 year old soot stains.
Paint hides everything!
The antique dish cupboard used to just blend into the wall.
And now it is a focal point in the room.
I've been playing around with some shells, dishes and antique pewter and here's what I came up with. I love to change the accessories, but for now I really like this monochromatic look. Oh, and the baskets below hold flip flops - it keeps things more organized in the entry area.
Here is the couch area before - I forgot to put the back cushions on the couch in this photo. Notice the different heights of the window and door mouldings. This used to drive me crazy.
And here is the same space painted. The different moulding heights just fade away - see paint can hide many flaws. Also look closely at the ceiling. You can see a hint of blue. The ceilings are painted in Farrow and Ball's Pale Powder and they look amazing. They are darker than they photograph. The pale blue really picks up the color of the ocean. Isn't the view amazing?

The eating area before. When we originally purchased the house, the half wall was actually a full glass window and a a door. We winterized the porch and opened the area up. It really visually enlarges the space.

The after photo shows how cohesive the space looks with it all painted a uniform color.
Here is a close up of the four season porch before.And the amazing after!
Here are close ups of the Willow Furniture I bought off the back of artisan's truck 10 years ago at a flea market. I have owned the weather vane for 20 years. I bought it at a barn sale in North Carolina. Wisteria is now making an exact reproduction. So now I am not sure that mine is actually old or a 20 year old reproduction, but I love it just the same. You can see I keep moving the accessories around.
We still have a lot unpacking and finishing to do on these rooms. I have some roman shades ordered and a really fabulous fireplace screen on the way. We will get to all that when we move up there for summer in June, but I wanted to share with you the progress to date.
.
We are so thrilled with how it turned out. My husband turned to me and said "I can't believe this is our house!" A little bit of paint can really transform things- I hope this inspires some of you to paint those wood walls. I'll be posting the outdoor transformations once I finish the gardens, so keep reading!
(all photos Willow Decor)

A huge Thank You! to Romantic Homes Magazine for featuring Willow Decor in their "Site Seeing" section. Grab a copy and see my Breakfast Room, or read more about it here! If you haven't looked at Romantic Homes lately do pick up a copy - I love their fresh and pretty interiors and helpful tips and ideas!! Thanks so much to Romantic Homes!


Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is the last day that you can enter for your chance to win a

$75.00 Gift Certificate

to spend on a gorgeous Lisa Leonard design...


If you haven't taken advantage of all 4 chances to win, then Click Here to read all of the details and place your entries!

.......................................................


I have spent the day with three of these:

And many cans of this:


The entryway is getting a little makeover.


Fingers crossed that it turns out how I am envisioning it!


Luckily, Ellison is playing her heart out with the twins (her best friends) which means that I can get away with doing a project like this in the middle of the day.

I am convinced that there is nothing cuter than little girls just being little girls! Between playing dress up, dancing and singing, and pretending that they are shopping, being mommies, and taking care of their babies...they are quite busy little ladies! I can't help but smile listening to all of their giggles!

Here's hoping your day has been as enjoyable as ours!

XO




When the owners of this Maine home purchased it, the house was in a state of disrepair. But they knew the house, built in by sea captain Ambrose Childe between 1855 and 1862, would be the perfect summer retreat for their bustling family.
They hired one of my favorite architects/designers, Linda Banks, to renovate and restore the home they called "Big Pink". Linda drew inspiration from the homes seafaring past. To honor the history of the house and its location, she chose an earthy palette of blues, greens and taupes and accessorized with Audubon prints and nautical items.
The salon above was filled with historic details like the intricately carved frieze over the door, gothic door panel and original mercury glass door knobs. These details were painstakingly preserved. Notice how much texture the jute rug brings into the room.

Through the salon you can see the dining room above. Linda keeps the old home looking fresh with a mix of armillary style chandelier and heirloom antiques like the lovely chest. The palette is neutral with soft wall color and jute rug. The scientific charts on the wall add to the nautical, sea captain feel.

Period features figure prominently in every room, like the original fireplace. It's presence is enhanced by the beautiful antique mirror hanging above.

The home is filled with nautical reminders of the sea captain who lived here before the family. Notice the ship model, water charts and Audubon print above. Again a neutral palette and jute rugs allow the many small rooms to blend together seamlessly.
The library is a soft pink. Chairs are upholstered in a fabric with a coral motif and sea inspired rug create a pretty oasis for reading and relaxing.
The completely renovated kitchen is wonderful mix of white cabinetry and soft blue/green island. The counters are honed absolute black granite. Large windows over the sink and a glass door from the foyer flood the space with light.
One of the smaller bedrooms is done in a soothing blue and white palette. Notice the wonderful moulding around the floor to ceiling window which Linda does not hide, but highlights with soft sheer curtains.
Two new bathrooms were created from one of the bedrooms. White beadboard wainscotting and Clarence House wallpaper in La Mere Beige add to the playfulness of this sea captain's home.
A small bathroom was moved to make room for a landing library with views of the ocean. Notice the book shelves built above the windows to increase storage space.
Special thanks to Linda Banks for a peek into another gorgeous ocean home which captures both the history of it's past with the updated features needed for a family of today.
'
To read more about this home in Maine Home and Digest click here. To see more of Linda Banks' exceptional work read previous posts here and to tour her personal home click here and here. To visit Linda Banks' website click here and finally to visit Linda Banks' store Simply Home click here.
(all photos property of Linda Banks and not to be copied with out permission)



***This Giveaway Is Now Closed***



Well, Hello!

It's been a while since I've been here.

Getting back to reality with Will flying again has been a big transition for our family. But we're hanging in there and getting back into our old routines. Which for me, means a return to blogging!

So as a "Thank You" to all of you for sticking around while things got back to normal around here, I have a giveaway for you.

It comes courtesy of Lisa Leonard Designs and I was *giddy* when she contacted me asking if I would be interested in doing this with her.

One of the perks...I got to choose a necklace of my own, and let me tell you, making a decision on which one was the one was no easy task. Ultimately, I went with the...

Family Tree Necklace


...and I love it!


I've worn it every day for the past week and it has rapidly become my favorite necklace! It's big enough to make a statement, but light enough that it can be worn with almost anything - dressed up or dressed down, it works! I think the tree is adorable and I love having our names around my neck.

So what was making my decision so hard?

This one:

It is the Captured Heart Necklace and I think the gold background with the stacked silver hearts is just beautiful. I'm certain I would have been equally happy had this been the one that I had chose. But for now, it is sitting on my wish list.


A few other pieces of inspired jewelry that you will find in Lisa's store are...


the Together Necklace

What a sweet gift for all of the soon-to-be-wed couples!


Lisa also writes a blog. I dare you not to get lost in her photography...


Want to know how to enter and what you are playing for?

Lisa has generously offered to give one of you a

Gift Certificate to her store

worth

$75.00

Nice, right?


(If I could win, I'd be clicking "add to cart" on that Captured Heart Necklace as fast as I could!)


You've got 4 chances to enter:

1. Browse through Lisa's store and leave a comment here letting me know which item you would choose if you are lucky enough to win.

2. Become a follower of Lisa's on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/lisaleonard

3. Become a follower of my blog.

4. Post about this Giveaway on your own Blog or on Facebook with a link back to this post.

FYI:

**Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry! Each comment will only be counted once, so if you have 4 entries, you will want to leave 4 comments!**


This Giveaway will run from Wednesday, May 19th through Wednesday, May 26th at midnight (Pacific). I will announce the lucky winner on Thursday, May 27th.


Good luck to you all!!

And many, many thanks to Lisa!

XO




 

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