As I deck the halls here at our Cottage In the Woods, I’m making the transition from the red color scheme {that went with the furniture we’ve had for the past three seasons} to a pale blue and cream look that goes with the newly painted walls and new furniture we got this year.

Of course, red would go with our new colors but . . . I really wanted to use the soft, romantic palette of  silver, blue, cream and blush pink. It’s all so frosty & icey. 

Our new stockings are wonderfully soft and have a bit of sequin bling  - I got them at Lowes, one of my favorite places to shop for home decor items, believe it or not. I love the little pom at the toe of the stocking – adorable!

My stocking holders go right with my color theme – this pink little bottle of champagne holds my stocking. The blue bottle {which you can see at the far end of the mantel} holds my hubby’s stocking. I thought they were a fun and festive touch!

We’ll be taking these bottles with us to the hotel in downtown Cleveland on New Year’s Eve but until then, I think they make great stocking holders!

I’d love to know what bits of creativity help you create your Christmas & holiday touches this year!

This past weekend we got the Christmas tree out. I cannot believe it’s already that time of year. The months have just flown by!

Trimming the tree and decking the halls helps me make the transition to the holiday season but have you thought about what a difference your trim makes to your doors and windows?

I just ran across some before and after photos of the wall of doors/windows in our living room. It really is amazing how the trim either adds to or takes away from the decor of your home. So since this is the trimming season, take a look and just what a difference your trim makes.

BEFORE – our house was built in around 1992 – sadly for us that seems to be the time when everyone was in love with oak. It. Is. Everywhere in this house. Ugh! And if that wasn’t bad enough, it was the honey stain!

So, little by little we have been replacing it. What we haven’t been able to replace yet, we have painted (for the most part.)

I am embarrassed to admit that this is how the living room looked for the three years we have lived here. We have been updating other rooms but because this one just was what it was.

DURING: The first step was to pull out those window grids. WOW what a difference! Kind of like getting braces off your teeth!

Since privacy is not an issue and there is a deck right outside with lots of rails, removing the grids should have been a no brainer! The Before was really  such a visual mess!

AFTER: We replaced all the trim and painted it. Another option would have been to have just painted it. However, we are slowing replacing all the standard trim with 1×4 and 1×6 trim like you would see in homes built 100 years ago.

I love the character it adds to a house. Best of all, it’s not something you see in every home you go in to.

‘Tis the season! I can definitely tell it’s fall nesting season. I have been super busy working with home owners who want to dress their nests to get ready for the influx of visitors who will invade during the holiday season!

We are stripping wall paper, replacing carpet, and updating light fixtures, counter tops, drapes and wall color. We are also replacing dated furniture in many of the projects.

Just a heads up – if you are ordering new furniture or even light fixtures, plan on delays!

This year has been horrible for delays. Manufacturers don’t seem to have as much in stock as they usually do and I continue to experience delays even with items that are “in stock”!

It’s very frustrating when you’ve got deadlines and delays of “in stock” products aren’t even coming in on time. So, be prepared. Try to find items locally if you can . . . I try to use local businesses but often they are much more expensive than ordering online.

Just last week I needed a new kitchen sink and faucet for a client whose kitchen we are completely remodeling. I could order them from a local company who I get a MAJOR discount from – I pass this along to my clients.

Sadly, there was almost a $400 difference between the discounted price I was quoted locally and what I could order online! My client didn’t mind paying a bit more to order locally but that was just too much (especially because we were not being charged tax or freight!)

So, as you dress your nest, look for deals online but expect a few delays from some of the larger manufacturers. It’s all worth it but it can be a little frustrating!

What’s on your “Honey Do” list for fall nesting season? We’d love to hear about them!

{photo credit}

I call it the “fifth wall” – look up and you’ll see the most oft-forgotten wall in your house:  the ceiling.

If your fall nesting instincts are kicking in and you want to dress your nest and give it a kick of character, try dressing your ceiling. I know it’s not the first thing that may come to mind, but what an impact your ceiling can have on the feel of a room.

I know when we were remodeling our kitchen a couple of years ago, I made sure the ceiling was an integral part of the design. We only have 8-foot ceilings in our house (wish they were at least 10 feet but I’d LOVE 12-foot ones!)

We planked the ceiling using Armstrong’s easy plank system. I choose the Woodhaven planks which were smooth. We added a couple of faux beams to the kitchen ceiling after planing it and were amazed at what a difference dressing the ceiling made. The depth and dimension added so much character to the kitchen.

Another great product for transforming any ceiling is from a company called Ceilume. These ceiling tiles can be glued directly onto a ceiling or can be used in a drop ceiling. With prices ranging from $1 – $3 a square foot, it would be easy to makeover your ceiling on a tight budget.

And you don’t have to cover every square inch – you can just do a medallion-like section and trim it out. What an easy way to dress your nest this fall!

Etsy is such a treasure trove of goodies, don’t you think?

I can spend serious time searching out finds and today I thought I would share my latest with you.

Aren’t these monogrammed bookends fabulous? I ordered a pair with a “K” for our new bookshelves in the living room.  They’re from Amy & Teresa at www.NextDoortoHeaven.com. If you join Amy & Teresa’s email list you get 10% off your order!

They have such great items in their Etsy shop. I ordered the coordinating door hanger for our master bedroom.

What are some of your favorite Etsy finds? Share them with us please.

I love quotes – a turn of a phrase can so simple wrap up our feelings and they are a tool to use in decorating as well. Print up a quote you love and insert it into a picture frame. Place it among pictures to help you tell a story – that’s what I did in our bedroom hallway {pictured below}.

Quotes on a wall make for such interesting art. Over the past few years a lot of businesses have popped up that do vinyl letters but 15 years ago when I was working on a little retail paint-your-own-pottery shop in California, that was not the case. That was the first time I used words as art/accessories. {Click here to see photos of that project.}

 This photo from Wonderful Graffiti shows a great idea for those bare walls. {BTW, thru July 31 Wonderful Graffiti is having a sale 20% off!}

For a little inspiration, look through these quotes on the beach & sea, quotes about summer, and these on summer love.

It has been another wonderful weekend. Even though it seems like it rained most of each day, we seemed to have good weather when we needed it!

On Saturday we went on the Historic Home & Garden Tour in Chagrin Falls. It’s held every other year and we missed the one two years ago so I was bound and determined NOT to miss it this year! Thankfully the rain held off for most of the tour!

Red was a popular color on the tour, or at least it seemed to catch my eye at every turn. I am a red (white and blue) kind of girl!

This mail basket {above} on one of the front porches of a tour home was a rusty reddish brown.

Doesn’t this red geranium arrangment in metal boxcharm you? Believe me it had all the charm of the beautiful home it was in. It was a favorite and such a creative container.

This unique bell outside on the entrance to a barn caught my eye and had me seeing red.

The show stopper was this wonderful mix and match red patio table and chairs below. 

I also thought this flower box with feet was so clever! What an easy way to dress it up.

I love going on home and garden tours! Such inspiration.

It’s day two of our beach house remodel here on Pawley’s Island, SC. Today it is raining – that takes away the distraction and temptation of the beach! Despite the rain it is still a nice place to be.

I snapped this photo above of the wavy sand yesterday morning during my sunrise walk on the beach. Since this is a working trip, I brought my paint decks from both Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore. Before I leave, I plan on creating a “Pawley’s Island” color palette from one of the decks. The paint colors will be inspired by the beautiful seaside. 

When I was walking on the beach this morning I noticed that even the sand has many colors! Who knew?

Here is progress on our kitchen thus far. This first photo is from yesterday. They had just started work on removing the cabinets.

 The last picture is from today. . . these southern boys really do know how to demo!