Almost Done

I'm about finished with the bedroom redo. I didn't do anything spectacular, but it does feel brighter and more open with the new paint. I think I will paint the (banged-up) closet doors white sometime this week, and that should finish this project.

Larry's side of the room, with his shelf of Vietnam memorabilia, the license plate we found
near Ilfracombe, UK, etc.

My side, with my collection of ballad books and a small art of my West Virginia book collection.

Birds dominate my corner.

A pretty corner for my lingerie cabinet.

I painted Larry's wardrobe as part of this change-up. It was pretty rough, with missing veneer, etc. We peeled the veneer and gave it a coat of soft gray and off-white.

Going from the dark plum on the bottom half of the room to this pale green was a big change, but we both like it now. I wasn't sure about it at first.

I am glad to get this done--it's only been waiting for 2 years! Next up--replacing the kitchen countertop tile. I am not looking forward to that. Maybe I can just go away for a week or two. I wish.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Up to My Ears

Do you ever have an idea that seems great, and turns out to be more work than you would ever have thought?

I decided that we needed to paint the living room. We've had the same color now for about 10 years and it was worn and I was tired of it. The problem is that the living room is tall--about 13 feet in the front, 10 in the back. But we've divided it with a chair rail, so I figured we could paint the lower part easily and leave the top to do in winter when there's more time for big projects. Sounds like  good plan, doesn't it?

But first I wanted to put up this long shelf we got from our buddy Carl who tears down old buildings. In one old shed he was taking down was this beautiful oak shelf in great condition with an excellent finish, being used to store cans of oil and other junk. I wanted it up over the big window in the kitchen, to hold my metal trays. Now, this was actually a pretty simple project and I felt like we were on a roll.

To paint the lower walls meant, of course, taking down all of the trim, which also needed freshening up with new stain.That was step one. I thought I was going to paint the lower part green but I didn't have enough of the sage green color I wanted so I went with white, since that was the paint I had enough of.

Bad idea. Didn't like it at all. So I took the bucket of white back to the workroom and started adding greens--any and all greens I had until finally, after a little gray and brown and who-knows-what, I had sage green. A lot of it!

So I repainted. That was day one.

Day two was the second coat of the green, which I really do like, and getting the trim boards ready. Very messy work. Then while they were drying I thought I'd paint this little table that used to be my mother's. The top was ruined and I always kept it covered with a cloth, but I thought it would look great if I sanded the top down and re-stained it dark, and painted the bottom part white. I already had the stain out (and all over my hands) from the trim boards.

Well. I sanded and sanded and it didn't look good. Stained it anyway and it looked worse. I sanded it again and painted it butter yellow. The veneer started to bubble up! What??

Got out the heat gun, pulled off all the veneer, sanded and cleaned it.

While that was drying I painted the wardrobe we use as a coat closet. It was pretty beat up and I thought a coat of paint would freshen it up. I got the first coat (of 3) on it and went back to the little table.

And the underlay on the table top had bubbled up in one small spot! I have never seen that happen before. I thought, well all right, I can live with it since this is for me anyway. I put a coat of sealer one it, let it dry, painted it again, sanded for the distressed look and put on the brown glaze for that old look. Every single tiny mark left by the sander showed and looked terrible! No pics of that, maybe later. Because that is where I left it.

By then it was late and I was tired and aggravated. We managed to get all the trim boards put back in place and that was where we stopped.

Yesterday, Mother's Day, I didn't touch the living room. I made us a good breakfast and we ate out on the deck and enjoyed the beautiful morning.

And then I planted flowers, lots of flowers that I've been buying and waiting for the rain to stop long enough to get them in the ground. In the evening we enjoyed a fine dinner prepared by our son Derek--his fantastic barbecued chicken with veggies, salad and grilled bread. Ahhhhh....

So the living room project, which I thought would be a piece of cake, is still not finished and it looks like it will be another day or two before it's done. Because I also have all these pictures and mirrors and a shelf I want to put up...

Stay tuned! It has to get done sometime, right?

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Breaking Up Christmas, and the New Sideboard

Well, it's officially over, at least at my house. I took down the tree today along with all the inside decorations and some of the ones on the porch. I hate to see it go, but it's time. I took some last photos last night and this morning, just so I could look back and remember how it was.

This last photo shows my new joy: a big ol' sideboard--or buffet, if you prefer to call it that. I am so in love with this thing! I have space for linens and silver, serving dishes and wineglasses, and a lovely big top for display. When our former oak table and chairs went home with one of our sons, the kitchen opened up and I have so much space now--enough space to add this piece.

After taking down the tree I started rearranging in the kitchen, and I am almost done, at least with this part.

And inside the drawers, look at all this space! I guess most people already have space for these kinds of things but in our small house with few closets, space for non-essentials is a luxury (although to me, pretty things are a necessity!).  I'd like to get some kind or organizers for the side cupboards so the glass isn't so piled up, but it's still better than the way I had it stored before.

Still more to do but it's been fun getting this piece integrated into my kitchen!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Baby's Breath: Simple Beauty

 A friend posted a photo of an old meat grinder used to hold a spray of baby's breath. Inspiration! While at the store the other day I saw a bucket of these tiny white flowers and decided to take some home.

I used some of them in an old silverplate pitcher and put it on the table that used to be my mother's bedside table when I was a girl. Now it is my end table. 

I added a little calla lily candleholder, the white alabaster bookends, a stick I picked up in Lake Erie 2 years ago, and a bronze statuette I bought at a library silent auction about 20 years ago.

While I was at it, I added a couple photos and some fruit to the other small table.

Then I cleaned up the meat grinders and hooked them to the kitchen windowsill.

 I got the little birdhouse the other day at goodwill, and the lucite stems at a yard sale several years back.

 There's a springtime look to it, isn't there? Spring is slowly making its way here, even though we still have snow on the ground and freezing temperatures at night.

At the other end of the big window, I used a little crock I just found at Goodwill to hold a few wood spoons, and added a little cat carved from coal. The cat isn't perfect, has a few chips but that doesn't bother me. I'm not perfect either.

It was nice to make some simple changes; somehow it brightens up the house. A simple bunch of tiny flowers can do a lot for a little.



Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Snow and Paperweights, in That Order

More snow last night. We've had very few snow-free days in February, which suits me just fine. I like the white outline of the hills, the brightness of the landscape.

Of course, I don't do much of the shoveling although I'm pretty handy with the broom, which works quite well with the light dry snow we get when the temperature is low. Larry gets out early to clear the walks, with the help of a canine crew who really just get in the way.

We've been lucky in that none of the storms has dumped enough to require plowing the driveway--and if it was a little deep, we just stayed home. The pleasures of retirement, only going out when we want to instead of fighting the weather to get to work every day! I shudder to think of my old commute, 52 miles one way, in weather like this. I love winter, but those drives were hard on my stress level, and the return at night wasn't much fun either. There were times when it would take 2 hours each way. Long, long days.

This winter reminds me of my first years in West Virginia, when January and February were usually snow-covered. It's how winter should be, in my book. Spring is coming--the daffodils are peeking out of the ground and I see little bits of determined green emerging beneath winter's blanket. Yesterday I bought onion sets, adding them to the basket with the waiting lettuce seeds. Spring will come. Maybe not as early as in past years but sometime in March we will be planting gardens.

In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the snow while we have it. And play with my paperweights.

I've been accumulating paperweights for several years--not really collecting them because there is no rhyme or reason to my selections. I just like them, and especially like the way they look when the sun shines through them. They've been on the back of my desk in my workroom where, sadly, there is no sun. This weekend I figured out a way to display them on the table, where they get the full benefit of the morning sun.

Candleholders, I decided, make excellent pedestals for these colorful orbs. I also used that cracked early American pattern glass jar that I don't have the heart to toss out. The beaded stems were a thrift find and add a little more sparkle to the table on this icy cold morning.

Some of my paperweights were gifts from friends,but most were simply picked up along the way. The pretty one with the butterfly I found in a thrift shop in Sistersville about 13 years ago.

 The pretty lavender orb was a fun addition to my stars-and-planets programs a couple summers ago. I put it on one of those light bases made for crystals and it looked otherworldly.

This West Virginia paperweight was a gift from my dear friend Suzette, who so gets what I like.

Breakfast is certainly brighter and more colorful now!
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Fall Decor, Natural-Style

We grew our own fall decorations this year, for the most part. I wanted my own pumpkins again--it just galls me to have to pay $4 and up for a pumpkin! So we planted a few, and also planted butternut squash and birdhouse gourds.

It was a good year for my gourds and pumpkins, and I have plenty to decorate with. The corn shock is also our corn, and the hay is from my son's field. The mums are store-bought--and why is it that I don't mind paying $4 for a pot of mums, but balk at the same price for a pumpkin? I have no idea. The mums will go in the ground when their bloom is finished, and perhaps a few will make it to next year.

I added the old bike because we'd had it in our booth. We put it in there too late for the summer yard decor people usually like to use old bikes for, so we brought it home and used it for our own purposes. I think I might decorate it for Christmas too--I can see it with a basket of greens and some red ribbons, can't you?

Up the porch steps,

it's the march of the pumpkins! and gourds, and squash :)

We have LOTS of gourds; what to do with so many? Any ideas besides making birdhouses and rattles?

The butternut squash are easier; they'll be part of dinner, and maybe part of pies too. I like them best with butter and cinnamon sugar, or with butter and honey, or mashed liked mashed potatoes...lots of uses!

I bought quite a few mums, more than usual. They were so pretty this year I couldn't resist. I hope they will survive winter and come back for me next year. My luck with them is only so-so given the way winters are here--freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw so the poor things hardly know if they are coming or going.

I have a tote full of fall decorations up in the building but haven't had them out in years. This year, I don't really think I need them but if time allows we might get them out anyway. Soon leaves will fall and add their own touch to whatever arrangements we make, another touch straight from Mother Nature.

Have you done any decorating for Fall yet?



Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.