A Room with a Past

Logically I would now give you the update on the dining room.  But, instead I'm taking you to a room on the second floor that is coming together a little faster than the dining room.

I spoke of the floor refinishing in an earlier post.

  Because I kept the toile wallpaper,

and the painted finish above the picture rail, this room went together rather quickly.

The verse that wraps around the room near the ceiling reads, "The dream is always Running ahead, To catch up, to Live for a moment in unison with it, that is the Miracle."  I am keeping this as a reminder.  It is not an easy lesson for me to learn.

The window seat in this room is one of my favorite features of this house.

Over the years I fluffed it ...

and streamlined it.

This incarnation lasted a little longer than it should have based on the fading of the fabrics. 

The sheer fabric on the windows was the same pattern as the wallpaper and the window seat was a cotton of the same toile as well.  The cushion was completed with a 7" fringe along the front edge.

I began this new look by refreshing the window cushion with an extra layer of padding.

And new fabric replaced the faded toile.

Neutral colors and a little more tailored look.

Curious about the window treatment?  I swiped it from the two windows in my kitchen. 

Moving things around the house gives them new life.  You will see alot more of that in the next few posts.  I miss these in the kitchen especially since I have not replaced them with anything...but I will.


  These ratten interlocking circles were on rods that measured 36" so I asked my brother to cut one in half and I had a rod for each 18" side window.

The middle window was not so easy.  It measures 42" so the 36" pole I had was not going to work.  I found a broom handle, painted it dark brown and had Dan cut it to length.  Then I unwrapped each strand of rattan circles, and rewrapped them with raffia onto the new rod.  I needed about 5 extra strands. I was able to salvage small sections from the bottom and I cut them apart, hooked several small pieces together, and hot glued the connecting ring.

It worked out great, but I don't recommend it unless you are really task oriented.  (notice the hinges on the window seat..it lifts for more storage)

I don't need total privacy in this room and this is just enough to filter the light.

This table was given to me in payment for a color consult I did for a neighbor.

I gave the entire table a wash of dark brown paint and a coating of wax.  The two feet in the back are the "before," the two in the front the "after."

This is the brown wash as I was applying it.  I wiped off the excess, let it dry and then added the wax.

 That process added some luster and yet maintained the worn, distressed look of the table.

I moved the rug from the living room to this room.

This cabinet has been in my bedroom for years.  This is how it looked when I bought it.

I did a seven layer peeled paint finish on it years ago.

(FYI: the post on the window pane can be seen here.)

It has now been given the new responsibility of holding my magazines and DIY books.

I recently purged a huge stack of magazines and created space for new ones.

I refinished this table 25 years ago. It has been used all over the house. In fact it started out in this room and now it is back.  It seems this room is becoming the place to display my older treasures. Typewriter, paper cutter, and suitcases for a start.

I found this sweet little clock at Goodwill a couple years ago.  It has been resting in my studio until now.

A while back I mentioned that I made a trade with a friend.  We were both ready to part with a few treasures friend to friend. 

This dress form is one of the items I got in the trade.

I have a thing for dictionaries so when I saw this stand I knew I had to have it.  I have not gotten around to sprucing it up, but I will.

I blogged about this lamp a while back.  It was a great little find.  You can read about that here.  I admired the picture in an antique mall while visiting my sister in Nebraska.  My sister and her friend surprised me with it as a gift.

The chairs and the pillow were blogged about here and here.

And the story of the flower pillow is here.

So what's NEW?

These two pillows were purchased at Home Goods.

Lamp shade is from the non returnable clearance bin at local lighting store.
The French script fabric on the chairs was purchased on line.
The fabric on the window cushion is from JoAnn's remnant pile (with 40% off coupon.)

EVERYTHING ELSE was bartered, traded, gifted, recycled, or purchased from a thrift shop, antique mall/store, or yard sale. The typewriter and one of the globes were compliments of my niece and nephew. The other globe from the home of my friend's father.

The Eiffel Tower plan drawing I purchased at an antique mall.

The glass doorknobs under the dome served as hooks for my living room curtains years ago.  The photo is of my granddaughter taken approximately 10 years ago.

I picked up the shoe stretcher at a yard sale recently for $2.

This collection of trinkets are things I save knowing that someday they will come in handy.  There are some things I just enjoy the sight of, and if I can find a way to display them, it makes me happy.

So, stepping back..

you get the broader perspective.

There is still some minor tweaking to be done.

Like this wall for instance.  The door is always open so that covers the majority of the space but I need something cool on the wall above the dictionary.  By the way, those are old sewing machine drawers on the floor.

I almost forgot to show you those.

Thanks for checking in and following what is happening with my home.  I'm having a good time mixing things up and stirring the energy of the space.  Can't wait to see what new things develop because of it.

I am linking to:  Common Ground
                           Miss Mustard Seed