My New Blue Bench

Hi, everyone!  Hope you're having a great holiday weekend!

As I mentioned before, I've really been loving soft greens and blues lately, and find myself adding small touches of the soothing colors here and there.

This past week I found this sweet low bench in the palest shade of robin's egg blue/green.

It's shabby and somewhat stained, but of course that didn't deter me a bit from bringing it home!
It's got the chippy patina that I adore.

I wasn't sure where it was going to go, but I found a spot for it in our office.

I have a brown wicker settee that I got for a steal awhile ago...it used to be upstairs but I had brought it down to fill in a space in the office.

I piled it high it with pretty pillows, most of them made by my friend Carol.  (She has included one of her creations in my 2 Year Blogiversary giveaway, here. It's not too late to enter!)

Since this piece is more for looks than actual use for seating, all these pillows aren't a problem...although the cats enjoy snuggling in them!

I placed the bench in front of it, as a 'coffee table'...

...then used a vintage napkin as a 'runner'...

...then stacked a couple of blue-covered decor books, and used an ironstone platter as a tray...

...then added a faux topiary and a concrete bird.

Voila!  Seating area complete!

I think the 'love seat' and the bench make a nice pairing don't you?

Here's a view toward the front hallway...that's just a portion of my decorating books. (Anyone else addicted?)

If you look closely, you can see a sneak peek of some other changes that I made in here next to the settee, but I'll save that for next time!

Thanks for stopping by...and Happy Memorial Day! :)

Saturday Spotlight: Jen from City Farmhouse

Hi, everyone!   Kris from Junk Chic Cottage and I wanted to do a regular feature on our blogs, something unique that hasn't been done before.   So we came up with an idea to 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' in a more personal way.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland, and we thought it would be fun to bring you a closer look at the person behind the blog.

Every week on Saturday we will spotlight a blogger and have them tell us a little bit about themselves and their blogs.  You will be able to see and read about each of the bloggers on both Kris's and my blog. 

      

Today I am truly honored to have Jen from City Farmhouse as my guest!  Jen featured my home and promoted my blog when I was just starting out-she's supported and encouraged me from the beginning, and I'm eternally grateful to her for that!  She is a 'rock star' blogger, amazingly successful, and I admire her fabulous style and creativity!

Please sit back, relax, and enjoy getting to know Jen better!

Hi friends of the sweet & talented Susan!

I am so thrilled to be here!

My name is Jen

&

I write a DIY & decorating blog called,

City Farmhouse.

My blog is about the journey to decorate my home with meaning & love,

on a VERY small budget.

I make, I sew, I paint & find bargains,

you name it, I do it, or at least I try:).

When we found our DREAM home 3 years ago,

my husband & I were in awe.

We had been looking for 4 + years and it was so worth the wait!

It was nestled down a long tree lined street, just steps from the bay.

We had saved for years for this home & knew it was right from the moment we stepped in.

I have taken my time decorating this home

& I am still working on projects, but that is half the fun, isn't it?

I am amazed & inspired everyday by the friends I have met through this blogging journey

{Susan being one of them!} & what I have learned.

Welcome to our Family Room...

This console was $10 at a local thrift store,

what a steal, right?!

This coffee table was an IKEA hack & so much fun to make,

you can find it HERE.

This is my nook, dining room & kitchen

Here are a few pictures from my Holiday Tour....

I finished this project recently & love how the cream and beige stripes turned out.

It amazing how a little paint can transform a space!

We have this little nook under our stairs & while I would love a built in,

this work well for now.

I love being able to change it easily with the seasons.

And this is where we spend a lot of time as a family, our playroom.

The color palate is cheerful & you can see lots handmade touches around the room.

I love this space!

I fell head over heals for this front porch & we have enjoyed lots of time out here as a family.

Speaking of still having many projects, this is one of them,

my master bathroom.

And my master bedroom, which is underway, yay!

This is our view.

I feel so blessed to wake up to this every day.

I also share recipes, you can find them HERE....

and lots of DIY projects & tutorials HERE.

Thank you for letting me share my story & home:).

Have a beautiful day,

Thanks so much, Jen, for joining us today and sharing your breathtaking home (and views!)

Please visit Jen at City Farmhouse, then hop over to Kris's blog to read more about Janae from Not So Shabby-Shabby Chic.

Have a wonderful day! :)

Back Stoop Spring Style

Hi, everyone!  The main entrance that we use is at the back of our house, and has a tiny stoop.
Even though this area is small, I still want it to be BIG on style!

It looked like this throughout the (looong) winter...

It was definitely time to switch it up to spring!

I kept the barn door there as a backdrop, and the shabby little tricycle stayed, too (just 'cause it's so darn cute!)

I replaced the wreath with this metal 'parking' sign that was stored in our basement.

I love the bit of whimsy that it brings!

In place of the sled there is now a chippy green bench (that used to be in the dining room)...

...that I topped with an old gas can that I just got at the flea market.

I love that it has the look of a watering can. I was drawn to its patina, and the long spout, and the writing stamped onto it, and the wooden handle, and...well, all of it!

I filled it with a few lime green/yellow silk hydrangeas from Pier 1 to add a pop of color.

 (Plus they pull out that same color that's peeking through on the trike.)

Combine all of these elements together...

...and my back stoop now has some long-awaited 'spring style'!

What do you think?

Thank you so much for stopping by!

(And please don't forget to enter my 2 Year Blogiversary Giveaway HERE!  :)

Saturday Spotlight: Meg from Oliver and Rust

Hi, everyone!   Kris from Junk Chic Cottage and I wanted to do a regular feature on our blogs, something unique that hasn't been done before.   So we came up with an idea to 'spotlight the real life behind the blogger' in a more personal way.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland, and we thought it would be fun to bring you a closer look at the person behind the blog.

Every week on Saturday we will spotlight a blogger and have them tell us a little bit about themselves and their blogs.  You will be able to see and read about each of the bloggers on both Kris's and my blog. 

      

Today my special guest is Meg from Oliver and Rust.  Meg's blog is one of the first that I found when I began blogging, and I was smitten with her style!  She has many fabulous collections and she displays them in such fun and interesting ways!  
Please sit back, relax, and enjoy getting to know Meg better.



First off thank to you to Susan for asking me to join in this series.

I think it is a neat idea to see the blogger behind the blog as we are so often focused on the home behind the blog.

Anyways my name is Meaghan but I mostly and especially in blogland go by Meg.

I blog over at Oliver and Rust  and have been doing so since 2010. I watched Julie and Julia soon after we moved from our starter home into our "forever" home and thought what a great way to chronicle the changes that we knew we were to make in the home we had chased for 6 months before it became ours.

The rest they say is history. I hit the publish button on the then blog MT-Tails and have been chronicling our homes changes ever since. (there have been a lot of them)

I have to admit I spend most of my time behind the camera so finding a photo of myself for this post wasn't easy. I have had getting head shots on the blog on my to-do list for about a year, obviously it still hasn't worked it's way to the top.

I grew up in the same town I now live in and my wonderful parents still live in my childhood home. The redoing/demo-ing the house gene comes from them. My mom to this day is a chronic furniture mover. While I don't move furniture around nearly as much as her, the interior decor part of my brain came from watching, learning and many times doing the actual moving. 

My favourite food is pizza, my favourite drink is red wine and my favourite movie is You've Got Mail. I can always be twisted into a Harry Potter movie as well. Just things to keep in mind if you come to visit.

I live in our home with my best friend and husband, our dog Milo, and two cats Sammy and Oliver (yes he was the inspiration for the name). Trevor and I have been together for 14 years and married for 9 of them. We spend our time doing anything from home repairs/renos, off roading to travelling to all of the places on our wish list.

 We were fortunate enough to be asked to have our home featured on Houzz last year (the above photo is from the shoot that day on our front porch) and we have been working steadily towards having a vintage home decor business for the last year or so.
We have also been working towards making ourselves nuts but we have declared June as a no reno/project month so that we can enjoy the summer. I think it is important for us and everyone to step back sometimes and remember to enjoy the life we stress about daily

I do not blog professionally and between the blog, life, my online store, painting furniture I spend my days working as a Registered Dental Hygienist.

Most people don't recognize me until they see me like this.I have found that while this career is interesting, it is not creative enough for me on a daily basis therefore I blog and junk.

Thanks again for reading a bit about me and feel free to visit my vintage eclectic farmhouse global home (yep, my house may have some identity mix issues) anytime at Oliver and Rust.
I am always painting or changing something!

 

Thank you, Meg, for sharing with us!  (And good luck on your business goals-how exciting!)  Please visit Meg at Oliver and Rust, then head over to Kris's blog to learn more about Donna at My Shabby Chateau.

Have a great day! :)