The Decoration

But how can you say "no" when you find these at a garage sale?

My friend, Kelly, who lives down the street from me, had her garage sale with a couple of friends on Saturday. We were supposed to do our garage sale on the same day , me referring people over to her and she referring people over to me, but then....well, you know.
I decided to drop by her house that morning to see how it was going (they were flooded with customers!) and to see if they needed anything because I was heading to the store. And as I'm walking up to her driveway I see this perfect pair of old, beat up, gorgeous oars!

Price: $15

Was that too much?

I'm not sure, but I was sure that I wasn't going to let anyone buy them out from under me!

They still have the metal hardware on them, which I love!

And they stand at a whopping 7 feet tall!

They're perfect!

Now I just need to decide where to hang them. I would love to build small brackets and hang them together horizontally in the living room, but I'm not totally convinced yet. I have considered breaking them up and putting each in a different room, but I think they'll make a bigger (and better!) statement if I keep them together.

And then there's always the option of displaying them outside...

As you can see, my mind is far from made up.

The "perfect spot" will come to me - just have to give it some time!

(I'm sure my husband will laugh at that last comment - when it comes to decor "Impatient" is my middle name!)

It will come to me...



How about you?

Any good Garage Sale finds this past weekend?

A while back we entered our Board and Batten Project that we did in our family room into Apartment Therapy's Do It Now! Small Projects Contest.

We uploaded all of our photos, wrote out all of the instructions and after we hit the "submit" button we received an email telling us that we would receive yet another email letting us know if our entry was selected as a participant. Just because you entered, didn't automatically give you a spot in the contest. We didn't hear a peep. I was disappointed, but chalked it up to being a different kind of project than what they were looking for. No biggie. We'll try again another time.

I woke up this morning to find this email in my inbox:
(This email was sent to six of us that entered)

"Congratulations to all!! It is my pleasure to inform you that you are the six winners of our "Judge's Choice Awards" for Apartment Therapy’s second annual DIY small project contest. You have received Honorable Mention in your category. As with all our contests, every submission was a winner and had something valuable to offer. Still, your outstanding submissions really stood out to our panel of judges!

This year we posted about 80 amazing submissions across five categories that showed how inspirational and creative small DIY household projects can be. Thank you for your remarkable contribution.

Our six judges will each be awarding an honorary prize of their own, which is completely at their discretion...

Once again, thank you so much for being a part of our AT community."

YEAH!!!!!

Judge, Christina Batch-Lee (from Etsy) representing Apartment Therapy chose ours as her favorite project! Here is what she had to say:

Why Christina Chose It: "My pick for the best in decor is How To: Board and Batten. I'm still so impressed by this project! When I first came across the after photo, it took me a moment to "find" the project itself, because the finished results fit so seamlessly into the space and now defines the whole character of the room..."

"Karla and Will's thorough instructions really make this feel doable — and at such a low cost for materials — an easy investment with a big return.

I also love how they've interpreted a nautical theme for this room, with subtle details and material elements that add up to the experience of being in a cozy seaside cabin, or the berth of a ship."

Someone pinch me now!

Thank you so much, Christina! Your words mean more to me than you can know! I appreciate it so much!


How exciting!
I wish I would have known that we were in it!
But, lesson learned...when you enter a contest watch it like a hawk because you may, in fact, be a participant without even knowing it!

What an awesome way to start the day!

Here is the link to our submission:

How To: Board and Batten
Karla and Will's February Jumpstart Project 2009

and the link to what Christina had to say about it:

Christina's Favorite

I'm on Cloud 9...and I just might not come down...

Now we wait to see what our prize is!

The family room and kitchen before...

And how it all looks now...

with freshly painted walls and Board and Batten surrounding the space.

The cardinal points of the compass is an idea that I have had for a while, but with the holidays it was just to busy to turn it into a reality.

This is the reproduction map of our town that we got while in the city for our anniversary. My Handy Man (my husband) framed it in a beautiful piece of poplar. I love how it fits into the room and has meaning behind it...

We framed one of my husband's aeronautical maps of the Puget Sound in fence paneling. I love that it has a rustic feel to it. The map provided the perfect color, so it was a must for the room!

Adding the latitude, longitude and elevation was my husband's idea!

Our son loves to plant his apple seeds every time that he eats an apple. The amazing thing is that they actually grow!

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

I'm very happy with how it all turned out! The space is comfortable and cozy while still being fresh and bright. We were able to try something new for us by installing the board and batten and my vision for the compass turned out just as I had hoped. The family room and kitchen now feel like they actually fit in with the rest of the house. The disjointed feeling that the rooms had before wasn't something that I was willing to settle for. I think I accomplished a theme without it being "in your face" or over the top. This room acts as a true "family room" on a daily basis, so I needed to achieve the balance of functioning for my kids while still being a beautiful space for me! It was very time consuming and exhausting since I had to paint almost non-stop to get it done, but in the end the hard work is always worth the effort! And now I can finally say that this room is done!

The new Board and Batten in the family room and kitchen is finally complete! I haven't taken all of my "after" pictures yet, but here are a few.

Mt. Rainier decided to make a stunning appearance yesterday and I took these pictures to show just how important this window is! When you stand at our kitchen sink, on a clear day this is the picture we get to look at!

I'll post more once I can get some good shots of the room. I need all of this fog to clear up and the sun to come out. I added something unexpected to the ceiling that I can't wait to share!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

I have seashells scattered throughout my house. For me, they are the perfect accessory. They come in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colors and look great added to a display or all on their own. And I love that really beautiful shells make people stop and take notice of them. But, I've found that they can be difficult to find in stores, so I found a website this morning that has a great selection! I think I may try them out.

SeaShellCo.com

Do you decorate with seashells?