Project Monday

As you recall I painted all the inside doors of my house black.  

 Oh how I would love a total powder bath reno with a base that makes a statement...

...and a sink that sits on top with some interesting hardware and change the mirror and lighting. 

 Of course that would mean a floor issue, then a wall issue, and a total paint over.  Not ready for all of that and we don't plan on staying here until we are taken out feet first. :)

I opted to wield the black paint brush again, and tried like crazy to dismount the tp holder.

Even while standing on my head with my readers and a magnifying glass I could not get that sucker off.  Hate those things,  sort of the way I am not fond of towel bars.

Funky Glicee's on opposing wall.

♥

Would you like to make your house a lovely home?

Contact MD for online or personal design.

The Hills are Alive

In beautiful North Carolina!

Fabulous blogger's weekend with these sistah's!

A weekend retreat in a lovely cottage in the mountains of North Carolina to gain inspiration (and drool) from the show house in Cashiers, a lovely quaint community nestled in the mountains. 

Angela -  The Painted House - our stunning hostess with the VERY mostest

Shannon - Shannon Berry Design - our resident celeb, who had a beautiful guest room in last year's show house and took us to some of her fave stomping grounds

Lori - Lori May Interiors and her BFF Heidi (who is on her way to blogging herself)

Rhoda - Southern Hospitality

and Moi!

Have I teased you enough?  You'll have to wait, more is coming!

♥

Do you want to make your house a lovely home?

Contact MD for online or in person design!

Foodie Friday

 It's the weekend...

...set a purdy table...

...arrange some flowers

and put out some of your favorite cheeses, fruit and don't forget the vino!

Enjoy!  ♥

I'm off for a 'girlie' weekend to go visit the Cashiers, NC design house, and then every little antique/junk store between there and Asheville.  Will take pix!

Do you want to make your house a lovely home?

Contact MD for online or personal design.

Scott's Antiques

I know all around blog land most of you have heard of Scott's Antiques that comes to Atlanta every month. It inhabits 2 giant buildings and some out buildings and tents.  It is amazing how much 'stuff' is out there.

I went a couple of weeks ago on the 'hunt' for some things.

While on my hunt I found a feller who makes these chicken coups and the birdhouses above.  

Years ago when I lived in Alaska, our 'girls night out' activities including making baskets.  The varieties of these reeds brought back lots of fun memories of laughter and girlfriends.

So many great colors and sizes.

This is an interesting greenhouse/outdoor room.

Love the top on this table...

...and the zinc top double sink. Perfect for a mountain retreat!

Great chest, really like the shape.

 Everywhere you look there is painted furniture.  I think a little goes a long way.

Bamboo umbrella stand, lots of $$$. 

Original art deco.

How about these doors?  So much goodness can be done with them.

Chandy's anyone?

These actually were pretty reasonable.

How lovely these French doors would be along one side of a house.

Mr. MD loves his truck and gives me looks when I want to drive it (which is about twice a year).  He thinks I am going to 'do something' to it.  Sooo, I took a picture to show him the lengths I went to make sure nothing would happen to it! :)

♥

Do you want to make your house a lovely home?

Contact MD for online or personal design.

Foodie Friday

Enjoy the weekend!

How about a little shot of dip....

The Dip is as follows:
1. Refried Beans
2. Sour Cream
3. Guacamole
4. Pico De Gallo
5. Queso Dip
6. Cheese

7. Green Onion

...and a yummy margarita?

We like 'em frozen!

Ingredients

• 2 quarts ice cubes


• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate


• 12 fluid ounces tequila (measure with empty limeade can)


• 1/4 cup Cointreau


• Garnish:


• margarita or kosher salt for the rims


• lime slices cut in half

♥

Do you want your house to be a lovely home?

Contact MD for online or in person design.

Project Monday: Sideboard Reno Part 2

I must be honest, this job was one of the more difficult I have done in a while.  Check here for part 1.

We left off with me repainting the sideboard and starting over. I know now why this type of furniture has the price tag it does, lots of man hours. 

I did a mix of 'pure gold' and 'antique gold' for some embellishments.

So I found some grooves...

and detail to bring out on the sideboard,

as well as the top drawers.

The smaller drawers show the wash over the gold around the framing....

...did NOT like with the gold or the wash, so I repainted for the 3rd time.  Oy.

'Raw Umber' wash over the paint, much better.  

I decided to take the hardware 'down' a bit. 

Of course, one thing leads to another. I softened these with the liming wax also.

Chose Annie Sloan wax to get the sideboard job done.

Washed and waxed.

All in all I think it turned out well. Not super thrilled with the 'shine' but definitely needed wax to seal the paint. 

♥

Do you want to make your house a fabulous home?

Contact MD for online or in person design!

Foodie Friday

I am always trying to find something new and interesting to try food-wise, so to keep me looking I thought I would share what I find with you!

Today, from Williams Sonoma Recipes this 

"Tomato Tarts with Basil and 

Fresh Goat Cheese"

looks so yummy and I will be trying it out on Mr. MD (Moore Designs)tonight.

For the best flavor, prepare these tarts at the height of summer when all of the colorful heirloom tomatoes (my absolute favorite) are at the farmers’ market. Select a goat cheese with a rich, creamy consistency and a full, tangy though not overly assertive flavor.

Ingredients:

• 20 to 25 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips 


• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 


• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved 


• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling 


• Salt, to taste  


• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, about 10 by 12 inches, partially thawed 


• 5 oz. fresh goat cheese 


• About 1/2 cup milk 


• 1 large red tomato  


• 1 large yellow tomato  


• 6 medium tomatoes, quartered 

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 400°F. 

In a small bowl, combine two-thirds of the basil, the garlic and the cherry tomatoes. Add the 1/4 cup olive oil, season with salt and toss gently to combine. Set aside. Place the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface. Cut into 6 rectangles, each about 4 by 5 inches. Place the rectangles on a baking sheet and prick them all over with a fork to prevent the pastry from rising. Bake until light golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand on the baking sheet. Leave the oven on. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, using a fork, mash the goat cheese. Slowly pour in the milk, stirring until the cheese mixture has a smooth consistency but is not runny. You may not need all of the milk. Cut the large tomatoes into slices 1/2 inch thick and season with salt. Gently spread a heaping tablespoonful of the goat cheese mixture onto each pastry rectangle. Using only the large, center slices of the large tomatoes (reserve the remainder for another use), place a slice on each tart. Bake the tarts until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Place the tarts on individual plates. Season the tomato quarters with salt and scatter around the tarts, dividing them evenly. Top each tart with a mound of the cherry tomato and basil mixture, again dividing evenly. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes. Garnish the tarts with the remaining basil and serve immediately. Serves 6. 

Bon Apetito ♥

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Breakfast and Brunch, by Georgeanne Brennan, Elinor Klivans, Jordan Mackay and Charles Pierce (Oxmoor House, 2007).

Do you want to make your house a lovely home?
Contact MD for online or personal design.

Project Monday: Sideboard Reno Part 1

After seeing Providence Ltd's Mona Thompson's beautiful sideboard in her DR and then from the pages of Suzanne Kasler's book 

Inspired Interiors

Suzanne Kasler

                                   Mona Thompson                                                                  

I found the courage to do some antiquing of my own.  Of course Mr. MD couldn't believe I would  paint it!

I chose to use chalk paint as my base.

I have never painted with this type of paint which I have since found out that chalk paint is actually equal parts of latex paint and plaster of paris.  Next time I will mix my own as the marketed brand is pretty spendy.

I had no clue how to put the stuff on...heavy, light?  So I went light and there were brush strokes which I was not too keen on. I used a mix of antique gold and metallic gold to embellish a bit.

The top...hmmmm, not sure.  This is after a wash of 'raw umber', again not sure of what I am doing.  Use a brush a rag?  I didn't want a ragged effect, so I used a spongy brush.

Drawers didn't look too bad and really OK with the wash. Details are hard to tell with my ipad camera.

I wanted to wax the sideboard and did some investigating about this wax.  Do you see how the can says CLEAR?

Uhhh, that doesn't look clear to me, but I thought maybe it dries clear.

I tested on the smaller drawers...nope not gonna do.  So I went online and did some more investigating and found that 2 coats of the base is best - I did one.

Soooo, back to the drawing board. I started over. Gave everything a good second coat. Today I will 'embellish' and  'wash', wish me luck.  I hate anything that looks 'homemade'!! That derned perfectionism, killer.

 The great thing about the chalk paint is it will go right over varnish so no need to sand, strip or cuss!

More investigating on the right kind of wax and how to apply, think I have found the right kind. 

♥

Do you want your house to be a lovely home?

Contact MD for online or personal design.