Fall at Pottery Barn

They do fall so beautifully ...casual fun !

Bedroom Storage

Sometimes in a small bedroom there is hardly room for the bed let alone your stuff...here are some clever ideas to add a little extra storage....

Weeding

I am not a huge fan of weeding especially in my vegetable beds.  Weeds in moderation can serve a valuable service as companion plantings protecting vegetables from certain pests.  Many common garden weeds are edible as well.  Weeding is a necessary evil of gardening even if you take the lasie faire approach I do.   Weeds like bind weed can strangle out just about any plant, they make garden beds

DESIGN AEROBICS part one

 Day after Day, walking 10 to 12 hours daily, and never tiring, well maybe a little, is my happiness, the exercise, a bonus. I could never do this at home, I would be bored beyond belief, but looking at pretty things........I'm there! Here's some of what I brought back

First stop, my suburban Chicago shop, Scentimental Gardens, in Geneva, Il.

 A market stand, England 1930's, hand made and signed

 French papers, letters, legal papers....just an odd assortment of miscellaneous papers, circa mid to late 1800's. Great for covering books or simply framed in a gold leafed, thick, wood frame. These could be an autopsy report and it would not matter, they are so lovely!

 An authentic, large, double sided pub sign. I fell for the subject and the colors

 A pair of vintage consoles

 Faux bois (fake wood) planter with handles, French, circa early 1800's

Do you like demi-lunes? I am crazy for them and all their uses. This pair is from Sweden.

 Isn't the patina stunning? Hard to capture here but the primary color is a faded blue

 A design trend I embrace; metal stands with antique fragments or objects. This is a hand carved wood fragment from France, turned lamp

 My friend Herb makes mirrors and assembles and frames antique engravings. This is his mirror, attractive in it's relative simplicity

 The drama is this attachment, an iron hawk. Herb was visiting a metal re-purposing facility. To his delight there was grand panel after grand panel of gating from an estate in Hungary, a massive gate and a pair of Hawks, on the ground, about to be discarded!

 At both the gift show and the antique venues a noted trend was yellow. Could you embrace yellow? I never thought I could, but it is pulling me in

 One of a set of hand colored engravings (1796) of birds. Look closely, Herb has a touch i love; the cut edges of his mattings are all gold leafed, elevating and enhancing the art within. We are planning an Autumn trunk show in Chicago with a surprise guest.

 From England, a darkly stained gate leg table

From France, a metal potting bench. This resides in a new addition, our kitchen room, food stuffs to follow....... My intention is to paint the back plate and the top in chalkboard paint leaving recipe tips on the back. Anyone know of a good quality chalkboard paint that really works?

 Over the potting bench is a hand crafted light fixture by a gentleman that collects elements from former light fixtures, plumbing supplies and other assortment of finds. Don't you love his craftsmenship?

 Cannot believe I am selling both of these, having hunted them for over ten years. Old European cutting boards with legs, not just any legs either, each is carved from one piece of wood. Having been to a friends gathering, she had vintage cutting boards filled with cheeses, olives, breads and fruit. The wine was out and the candles were lit. All of us "oohed and ahhhed" over the display with the raised boards.

I am always asked "how do you give up these pieces?" Easy, I enjoy possessing them for a moment and then get further joy from seeing delight on my clients face.

Ironstone in our kitchen room

 Let's move over to my Chicago shop, SG Grand. Here is another of Herb's mirrors, up close it appears quite aged.

 Love mixing contemporary and vintage. The lamps have a clean lined look with the aged pieces

 Ok, adjust your eyes here, ever try to photograph glass?! My friend Lisa crafted this coffee table. From France, an oversized ruffled planter kissed in faded turquoise. Her metal worker crafted the base and attached the planter. I think she is a design genius

 "Odd" you maybe saying to yourself? Of course it is! Love adding a touch of whimsey and in this case   puppet forms (racy) from belgium

 And one for the ladies.........Original art, Empire chest, Rococo mirror and re-furbished regiment trunks from England

 Adore black accessories in a room

 I am over the moon for leather, add the look of a Chesterfield and I fall in love

 A Beidermeier styled chest from Portugal. In reality it is burled maple in a rich honey tome, but look at those lacquered legs, a style popular in Portugal

 Care to make a statement?

 I found five ottoman's on this trip, am addicted!

 More frames from Herb, 200 year old hand colored engravings and that ever-present gold leafed matting border

 Mid-century, a total of three

 Care to guess what these are? Stumped? Or did you guess French drain-tiles, you would be correct?!
Backed by a three-panel screen dressed with French adverts I made

Lastly, care to guess on this beauty? We are displaying it as a side table, but it's origin is a hand crafted bee skeps made of wood and "stitched", from France.

Part two is the gift show......

For a great read, my shop manager Bart, whom I also think is a genius (but one who can't bother commenting on my blog......hmmmm) shares a furniture history lesson, copying art and design, over the top creativity and utter frustration
www.simply-grand.blogspot.com

Hugs,
Debra

A Frustrating Gardening Season

Everyone is talking about the weather!  We had a two week heat wave in March so the fruit trees blossomed only to hit with heavy frosts after the heat wave.  The frosts damaged the blossoms so fruit production will be low and it took out several local crops that broke ground too soon due to the heat wave.  April was cold with below average precipitation.  May was quite warm with below average

My Ornamental Garden Plans

When we first viewd our new home, the garden that accent the front and sides of the house as well as the perimeter of the back yard appeared lush.  When we moved in, we quickly realized thistles were quite problematic in most of the garden beds.  The plantings were ecclectic, and too much.  Once again we resigned ourselves to ripping out the gardens and starting fresh with the look we wanted.

My New Square Foot Garden Raised Bed

Yesterday I told you about my new PVC raised gardening boxes in the far top left corner.  At $59.97 each on sale, they certainly were not a cheap way to build raised garden beds especially since between the two I ended up with 16 square feet of growing space.  My husband doesn't like the new PVC beds so he picked up some spruce to build me a wooden raised bed.



The new raised bed is 4' x 12' x