Picture Perfect

Via

Isn't it nice that we no longer live in the day where everything has to be picture perfect? Growing up,  I attended many Home Interior parties with my mom. They would make a "grouping," usually consisting of a picture, 2 sconces and a shelf.  We probably would have thought something like this was a mess.

Via

It's nice to have the pressure off and just hang what you like. By the way, if anyone has tips on how to photograph a picture under glass, please share. This room has open sunlight in the day and a light fixture at night. Both reflect.

I found this great fox hunt picture, navy blue mat and all at a local antique market. Marked down to $16. Sold!

This is all I will do for now. We have someone interested in our house and we haven't even put a sign up yet! Hoping and praying!

Via

More on the photo storage and resizing issues - Two more suggestions made: join Google+ to acquire more free storage or embed your photos from a host site like Flickr. 

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I thought it would make things easier by downloading Picasa. However, it proceeded to download every single photo and file off my computer. Felt very invasive! I'm sure there was an opt out button somewhere in the original process that I missed. Seems crazy that you'd have to go into the tools menu to opt out for each of your files. I can't be worrying about that. I'll go back to Picnik for now or just skip this whole ordeal of resizing!

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Reminder- E.W. McCall Giveaway! Enter now if you haven't already. Winner will be announced on Friday. 
Posting my thrifty find of the foxhunt picture to Coastal Charm!

Window Treating

Via

We all know about using drop cloth for window treatments by now, right?
I couldn't wait to jump on the bargain train and make a pair for my dining room.  

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The above look is what I wanted.  I would use my left over SW paint to paint stripes on the edges of the drop cloth. 140" drapes for under $25! Wow.
Somehow I missed the tutorial on painting drop cloth. 

The Yellow Cape Cod

Most tutorials, like The Yellow Cape Cod's, are about using regular curtains. Maybe that's the difference. Let's just say, I went through half a can of paint on one stripe. Could it be that drop cloths are used for soaking up paint? hmm...Not to mention the paint was dark navy.  I didn't have the patience nor the paint to finish so on to plan B.
Some type of blue floral print like one of these-

Via

Via

I really love the bamboo shades too, which I hope to have eventually.

Found this fabric at Hancocks' on the clearance bin. $6 per yd.

Don't you love the color codes on the edges of fabrics? 

To be honest, I wasn't sold out on the fabric at first. But at that price and knowing it'd be a temporary fix, I could live with it for now. 
They turned out better than I imagined.

A little iron on hemming tape on all sides and up they go. No lining since they'll stay pulled back.

 Sometimes ignorance turns to bliss.

Dining Room in Blue

A coat of blue for the dining room walls. The color is Sherwin Williams Dark Night.

 
We started from the floors up. They were sanded down and re-stained. A sisal rug from Overstock.com was added for texture. (I will talk about the window treatments another day.)

Since we are temporarily living here, china and most breakables are still packed away.  Melamine plates from Target are a quick and inexpensive fix for the hutch, also a great alternative to china for little hands.

For grown up dinners, these salad plates from Marshall's are layered with everyday white dishes for a splash of blue.

Also from Marshalls, is this lamp with a blue animal print shade.

I bought the finial from Tuesday Morning's years ago. Look how closely the inside of the lamp shade matches the wall color.

The splashes of red were added to tie in with adjoining rooms.

If we stay in this house, I'd like to add white plates or more framed prints to this wall. 

Textured runner.

Looking through blue colored glasses.

Quite a change from the before-

I'd also like to replace the light fixture.  Even thought about trying to break off those pesky metal leaves but I better leave well enough alone for now.

Posting to:
Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Open House at No Minimalist Here
Wild Wednesdays at Chatty Chicks
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage