CREATING A FUN (AND FUNCTIONAL!) ENTRYWAY

Well, I most definitely have not been a good blogger…but I have been a good designer! I’ve pulled in my first e-design clients ya’ll, and so far it’s been so much fun and quite a success. It began as a small project – a 6×6 project, to be exact. I was asked to liven up a very empty entryway into a semi-open concept, California home. After reading through the client’s completed questionnaire, I quickly realized how well-matched our vision and design style was. I probably couldn’t have hand-picked better clients myself! So I hit the ground running, full of ideas and excitement.

Entryways can be a little tricky though, for two reasons: 1. they’re kind of like the windows to the soul. It’s that important first impression – you want to let your personality shine, but you don’t want to tell your entire life story in one breath (entire life story = way too much clutter for a miniscule space!), and 2. storage. Yep, kind of boring, but totally necessary. You have to make your entryway functional. As much as you may want a pristine cowhide rug, a marbled console, and an oversized vase filled with cherry blossoms, that just ain’t gonna work if you have two dogs, a kid, and a husband that doesn’t understand the concept of style.

So you have to start with the basics. Review your lifestyle and the ensuing wear and tear your entryway will receive, and go from there. If you throw off your shoes the moment you walk into the house, designate a space for said shoes, and a small bench or stool to put them back on as you leave. If you’re always giving yourself a final onceover before heading out the door, hang a mirror above a console and gather a few lip glosses in a decorative bowl to have at the ready. If you have a big family, a lot of coats, and very little closet space, you just may want to throw in a coat rack and a few organizational, catch-all pieces. Catch my drift? Once you have your basics covered, you can start piecing in the fun, quirky stuff.

(Over-sized mirror + console with catch-all bowl + personal touches and greenery = quirky elegance via Hi Sugarplum)

(Customized vintage storage + family organization + major greenery and quirky pendant light = major “modage” boho via Vintage Revivals)

So that’s what we did. They knew they wanted some kind of streamlined, modern storage. They have one, well-behaved dog so they knew they needed a place to hang the leash, and they knew they wanted a catch-all basket and some greenery. With that in mind, I pulled together this initial draft moodboard to make sure we were on the same page…

Simple, yet colorful and eclectic. The dash wallpaper you see above is actually a light, cotton fabric that will be applied to the ceiling (the rest of the walls will be white). On a side note, I’m omitting the full design concept / layout to give my clients a little privacy, but luckily they loved  it! They were a little unsure about the semi-floating shelf, however, so I went with a variation on the design to give them a new perspective:

Not a huge difference, eh? I swapped the hanging drawers with some floating, open shelving – perfect for draping some greenery! – but in order to better balance the open shelving, I went with a simple, DIY coat rack on the opposite wall for small accessories (totes, hats, scarves, leashes…).

In the end, we went with a lovely, modern floating console (just fyi: in the design layout, decorative hooks are included for the leash and other small accessories!) and I, and more importantly, my clients couldn’t be happier! Here is the final product board…

Not too busy but still functional, fun, and full of personality! What do you think? Would you have gone with the floating console or the aluminum open shelving (totally a personal preference – I love both options, obviously)?

Like I said, I really think I got the Golden Goose of a first client, and I’m looking forward to future design projects. With our styles and communication so aligned, next in line will be their great room, dining room, and kitchen – so stay tuned!

If you’re interested in my e-design services, feel free to head on over to my shop on Etsy or just shoot me a message and I’ll be happy to help you as best I can!

GREENWOOD ANTIQUES & AN APRIL SALE…

Well, you know I can’t go too long without a shop update…

Not the best quality photo as it was taken with my phone!

After much sanding and painting, I fell a bit in love with the blue console table you see in the corner. Apparently, a client did as well – the piece sold in a single day! I can’t wait to share with you the DIY process and a few more pictures of the piece (coming Thursday!).

The small blue and white coffee table also found itself a new home and the bookshelf you see in this picture…

…finally sold as well! The winter months are typically the slowest so I’m definitely looking forward to the warmer months ahead. Once things start heating up, I will be a painting machine!

(for immediate shop updates and sale items, follow me on Instagram!)

In other news, a fellow Greenwood shop owner and I will be hosting our first quarterly sale of the year! Come join us April 12th – 13th at our “Flea Into Spring” Spring cleaning and vintage market. You’ll find fully refinished products, “project” furniture, handmade craft items, miscellaneous home décor, fashion pieces, and even a few baked goods made by me! For a little added bonus (or bribe?), you’ll receive a 10% off The Modage Cottage and Miss Homebody coupon for your shopping pleasure at Greenwood Antiques! So mark your calendars…

GREENWOOD ANTIQUES, BUSINESS CARDS, AND A SHAMELESS PLUG.

Aye yi yi! I fell off the blogging bandwagon for a bit, but have actually been a busy bee in my silence and have much to share with you!

First, I’ve been in the process of updating my very own space at Greenwood Antiques and have been quite the painting machine! Walls, furniture…..nothing is safe from my paintbrush these days. Here is a quick evolution of my space since Feb. 1 (forgive the quality of the photos – most were taken with my phone!):

This is the space before I moved in. There are definitely some cute pieces, but I was ready to shake things up a bit and add a little pizzazz….

The space was a bit of a mess at this point, but I was in the process of moving in! I started by painting the wall, which somehow took far longer than intended. Painting straight lines is not an easy feat! And while I still need to paint one more stripe on the wall, I think it adds a fun pop of color, yes? The drum table, turquoise mirror, and cola cooler that you see in the pic quickly sold so I immediately had to reorganize…

I think the hardest part about this job is having to sell pieces that I absolutely LOVE. Frankly, everything that I have in my space I have either had or would have in my own home – and they are not easy to part with! That perfectly rusted industrial arrow, for example, was love at first sight and when it sold, I cried a little on the inside. And that obelisk topiary that you see behind the pink chair, oh my! This was a piece that I immediately brought to the store because I knew if I brought it to my home, it would never leave. I cringed the moment it sold. *sigh* But in the end, I suppose this is not a bad problem to have!

This is what my space looks like now (that fan is another piece that I had a hard time parting with!). And I’ve got a few more pieces in the works that I’ll be sharing with you later in the week!

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Next, thanks to Natasha from My Cute Lobster, I’m excited to finally have business cards!

I know, a long time coming. And for just a little shameless self promotion, if you are within the Charlottesville area and want to add that extra oomph to a piece of furniture or require some added inspiration for your party planning, feel free to contact me!

A FARM TABLE + CHIPPY WOOD PANELS = A VERY HAPPY WIFE!

Ack! I was having a few computer/internet issues yesterday and quickly gave up on writing a post before I tore all of my hair out. But for today, my laptop is back up and running – I pray to the computer gods that it lasts just a little while longer!

So, over the weekend my husband and I drove out to the quaint town of Orange, about 30 minutes outside of Charlottesville, to pick up a farm table that I had found on Craigslist. And let me tell you my friends, it was a steal! Unfortunately, I don’t have photos as it is currently in pieces in the back of my husband’s car, but I can’t wait to put a paintbrush to it.

Currently, the table looks a little something like this:

I’m not quite sure on what look to go for, however, and would love some input! Here are a few options:

Natural wood top and distressed grey base.

Shabby chic white.

Stained top, white base.

Or stained top, and base with a nice pop o’ color!

I’d love to take a vote and hear your thoughts!

While in Orange, my husband and I also stopped by an architectural salvage shop called Salvage Wrights and let me tell you, if you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend stopping by! It was  like stepping foot into a little piece of heaven. Weathered wood, chippy paint, shabby shutters, old barn doors, oh my! And the prices are really quite reasonable.

In the midst of looking for a barn door to replace our bathroom door with, I came across some fabulously chippy wood that had come from a patio ceiling of a 1910 farmhouse (and here is an interesting fact: did you know that patio ceilings are often painted sky blue to prevent wasps from nesting? Apparently, the wasps actually believe it to be the sky and will nest elsewhere. I may have to give this a try!). Each panel was 7’ long and there were dozens of them. And at $.50 per linear foot, I couldn’t say no! So I piled 10 boards on top of the farm table and went home a very happy wife.

The very next day, in our excitement, my husband and I threw together a frame fashioned from two of the chippy panels. Here’s a little sneak peak:

This guy will soon become a perfectly chippy chalkboard (and will be for sale in my Greenwood retail space) – tutorial coming Thursday!

A BIT O’ PICKIN’ & SOME DECORATING.

Well hello and I hope everyone had an excellent weekend! I spent my weekend picking up a few things for my new space over at Greenwood Antiques (more on this below…) and, of course, finally picking out and decorating the Christmas tree. I’m not quite finished with the latter – I’ll be adding a few handmade pieces throughout the week – but the lights, the bulbs, and ribbon are on and my home officially feels like Christmas. Hallelujah!

But, back to Greenwood! Greenwood Antiques has a bit of a Old Lucketts Store feel, but without the fan base….(yet!). It’s located on a beautiful country road with views of the mountains galore, and wineries and orchards located just around the corner (pictures coming soon). It’s quite heavenly, actually, so if you find yourself in the Charlottesville area, I highly suggest that you stop on by – 7572 Greenwood Station Rd., Greenwood, VA. I’m sharing a space with a friend that has her own fabulous pieces (I will have my portion of the space up and running in January) and we’d love to see you! Here are just a few things I managed to pick up over the weekend that you will soon find in my space…

An old industrial arrow, and some iron (and incredibly heavy!) horse heads.

Yet another industrial piece and a chippy green wire basket!

A concrete foo dog (don’t you just LOVE foo dogs??!) and industrial iron letters.

I also picked up a couple of furniture pieces that I’ll be refurbishing soon.

Now, onto Christmas! I wanted to keep things fairly simple this year, and went with a white, gold, and silver theme, with a few birds thrown in there for good measure:

(I’ll be adding a handful more bulbs and some handmade vintage sheet music ornaments…)

Unfortunately, the twinkle is lacking in this daytime photo, but you’ve got yourself the gist of it!

Tell me, have you managed to get your tree up and fully decorated yet?

GIVEAWAY WINNER AND HURRICANE PREPARATION!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! I was in DC for the Marine Corp Marathon (not to run, I’m not quite as crazy as that!) to cheer on some friends – I’ll be sure to share pictures with you later. Incredibly, the weather actually held through the entirety of the marathon, but we are now bracing for the hurricane to hit. Luckily, Charlottesville is slightly on the outskirts of the worst of it, but even here, schools are shut down and public transit stalled. And just recently, we received a blizzard alert through 2PM tomorrow!

My husband and I have been running around finishing up a few errands before the potential loss of power, hence the delayed post today, but I know a few of you are anxious to hear the winner of the vintage sheet music giveaway!

Sheet music craft idea!

So, without further ado…the winners are (drumroll please…)

Beverly Meng

and

Laurie from House of 34.

(Ladies, please email me your home address and I will get your sheet music sent to you ASAP!)

Thank you all so much for participating! I will have another giveaway coming soon so please keep your eyes peeled.

And remember, I do have vintage sheet music and booklets available for purchase in my Etsy shop…

DIY THURSDAY: SHEET MUSIC WREATH & A GIVEAWAY!

Don’t you just love Thursdays? With the holiday season quickly approaching (I can’t believe it’s already the end of October!), I thought I’d share with you a quick and easy project that just may help with your holiday décor…

I’m sure many of you have seen Miss Mustard Seed’s sheet music wreath:

When I first set my eyes on this adorable wreath, I fell a little bit in love, so I set out to make my own.

First, I loaded up my makeshift work station (aka my living room floor) with all the items I needed:

1. A stack of vintage sheet  music (which I happen to have BOXES of…)
2. A glue gun and glue
3. Ribbon
4. Scissors
5. Pine cone (optional)

Really, that’s all it takes! Now, some of you may be wondering where in the world am I going to find vintage sheet music? To help you along with this little problem, I will be giving away TWO large stacks of vintage sheet music for TWO lucky readers! The how and the when is revealed at the end of this post, so read on my friends!

After I had all my supplies on hand, I began by folding and carefully ripping a few sheets into eighths (you’re welcome to use scissors, but I happen to like the distressed affect ripping gives). With a few more sheets I then did the same with fourths and then with halves.

Once I had enough pages torn, I folded each set of eighths, fourths, halves, as well as full pages into cones, using the glue gun as needed.

I continued to fold these miscellaneous sized pages into cones until I had enough to my liking, and then the fun really began!

*Please note: if you happen to be doing this project on a surface you do not want to get glue all over, make sure you lay down a mat, newspaper, scrap piece of paper, what have you, BEFORE you get glue gun happy in order to protect said surface!

Per Miss Mustard Seed’s wreath, she may have begun by gluing her largest set of cones together into a circular shape to create a solid foundation, and then proceeded to layer each varying size set of cones over that to get the final product you see above. I, on the other hand, wanted to go for a slightly more disheveled look, and so began with the smallest set of cones, using a cut out circle as my backbone…

This is the backside of the wreath in progress (and I was actually working on newspaper, but moved the wreath to the carpet for picture purposes only!)

I then began vaguely layering each varying size of cones into the gaps, using plenty of glue in the process, until the wreath was to my liking. Once all the cones were in place, I glued a small pine cone into the center just for that little extra oomph, and glued ribbon onto the backside to hang. And the final product….

Viola!

I just love how it turned out! Of course, this wreath could stand on its own anytime of year, but with a little added garland, it would make the perfect holiday décor. You could also consider making miniature versions of this wreath as Christmas tree decorations, or to use as a bow for those special presents.

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Now on to the important part!

TWO lucky winners will receive a large stack of vintage sheet music for your crafting pleasure. All you have to do is follow me via Facebook, Twitter, or email (or all of the above), and leave a comment below each time you do so. I will select two winners at random.

This giveaway will close on 10/28/12 at 11:59 EST. Winners will be announced on Monday!

If the wreath wasn’t inspiration enough, here are just a few more things you can do with sheet music…

If you weren’t one of the lucky winners, you can purchase stacks of sheet music from my shop

LINKED TO:

MY ETSY SHOP IS BACK UP AND RUNNING!

Hello my dear friends. I know, I know, I’ve been absent for a few days – I managed to get myself distracted with a few projects around the house, and more importantly….MY ETSY SHOP!

Yep, my shop is back up and running, and while I only have a few items listed at the moment, I’ll be adding much more throughout the week. In the meantime, take a peek around and let me know what you think!

TGIF – enjoy your weekend!

A STUDIO, A SHED, & A SHAMELESS PLUG

When I first began writing this blog, just a few of months ago, I was on a desperate search for a studio, as you may have seen from this post. Not just any studio, mind you, but a space so full of vintage character and industrial charm that simply stepping foot into it would transform me into a state of inspired bliss.

And for a brief second, I actually thought I found it; obviously, the space was being used for storage, but try to imagine it as a blank canvas…

(note the list of dates on the building – these are flood lines! The James River is just a block away…now with a well-built levy, of course.)

Oh, be still my heart! The distressed brick and original wood beamed ceiling (the track lighting is an added bonus!) makes my heart go pitter-patter. The only downfall: location, location, location! While located in the heart of Scottsville (about 20 minutes from Charlottesville), the heart of Scottsville consists of half a block of storefront…and nothing else. Beyond this is farmland, a few gas stations, and a dollar store.

Of course, despite this one, huge downfall, my heart was still set on this little building, but being a bit risk adverse, I decided to test the market with a 12×12 space at an antique mall down the road first. And for once, I can actually say that I made the smart move.

Yep, I sold next to nothing and my little dream of becoming a shop owner went straight to the gutter.

Now, I haven’t fully given up on this dream, but I have become slightly more realistic with it. Rather than jumping headfirst into the unknown, I’m taking baby steps. First things first: find a space to store my pieces!

I’m in the process of closing my little 12×12 nook in Scottsville, which means that all my vintage and furniture items will be finding their way back into my home…

…but have I mentioned to you the lack of storage space in my house? No attic, no basement, no garage, and a shed the size of a hobbit’s home (or a Mattie-Lu size pup…):

It’s cute (the shed and the pup) but the lawnmower and garden tools already fill the shed to the brim!

So, I’ve decided to build a new one. And amazingly, my husband actually agrees with me! We’ll be keeping the shed you see above – possibly converting a portion of it into a chicken coop (more on this later…) – and will build an additional studio shed in the far left corner of the yard. Here are just a few ideas…(click on the below pictures for link to original source)

(I’d build a one level extension to this on the right side, but I love the idea of having a portion of the shed two levels to create a loft space feel.)

We are debating whether to go with the rustic vibe (my husband’s idea) similar to the shed we currently have, or the glam cottage style (my idea…). What do you think?

Lastly, when finished closing up Scottsville shop, I will be reopening my Etsy shop – this is where the shameless plug occurs. Please keep your eyes peeled for the Grand Reopening! Here are just a few items you will be able to find in my shop:

Refinished drum table with matching parfait chairs.

1965 military issued bookshelf (refinished) and misc. vintage items.

Refinished wicker-back French provincial chair.

Cute little copper pot!

Lots and lots of sheet music…

A chippy turquoise chair.

And much, much more. If you are interested in any of the items listed above, feel free to shoot me an email and we can make arrangements.

Cheers!

…UH, AND WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO?

If you’ve been following my blog and the few meager posts I’ve made thus far, you may be wondering what the heck I actually do. Well, I often ask myself the same question! The short of it is this: I collect vintage items that make me smile; I style, refinish, and distress furniture pieces that simply need a little TLC; I create or recreate pieces that I would be proud to display in my own home (if only I had the space! I think a mansion would do just fine…); I’m a home decorator and events planner, and, well, I’m a jack of all trades attempting to take experiences and passions and roll them into one, perfect business.

Am I certified in any of these things? Absolutely not. I’m a newbie in this old world of vintage; I picked up furniture refinishing due to a little curiosity and a lot of frugality; I’m a freshman DIY’er, a self-taught home decorator, and an events planner by default due to 1) volunteering for the responsibility in my previous job(s), and 2) getting married and planning my own wedding, which I thought was pretty darn awesome (if I do say so myself…).

Perhaps I’m too confident in my potential, perhaps I have my head a little too far in the clouds and my feet a little too much off the ground, but…whatever. Thanks to my amazing and hard-working husband, I had the opportunity to move forward and take the risk, and I chose to take it. It would’ve been a crime not to, even though it continually scares the bejesus out of me!

So, I’m getting a custom logo created and business cards ordered shortly thereafter, all with little more than a dream to strive for – hoping that one day, this little venture could turn into some kind of career for me. Fingers and toes are crossed…

In the meantime, here are a few images of my work…

Click HERE to see before…

Before and After

More Before and Afters…

Even More….

And even a few children’s pieces…

To briefly use my blog for self-serving purposes…you can find all of these and much more in my SHOP, once I have it back up and running!