Fabric 101

One of the things I have learned to love is fabric..Above is one of my latest sewing projects....I fell in love with this material and have decided to make curtains with it...I want to have them in my living room...but that means re-painting and re-covering chairs...am I crazy??? Kelly has been the culprit to my love of fabric and she has been teaching me a lot about sewing...she is a seamstress...and does amazing work!!

Despite the fact that most of these I won't personally use I wanted to show you the fabrics and my thought process with each of them...let's see how different we each see things..

The above fabric is an ultra suede...perfect for recovering chairs or an ottoman..yes?



A tone on tone linen stripe this would make beautiful drapes....




An olive green chenille type fabric perfect for accessory pillows or re-covering an ottoman...




This plaid reminds me of a Ralph Lauren type chair for a stately type library or office.....what do you think?

Oh lookie here....toile that's beige and red with wildlife instead of people this reminds me of a vintage room that shabby chic cottage style....or maybe something French???

This beautiful linen fabric didn't show up well but is incredible in person, this would make beautiful drapes for a bedroom don't you think? Paisley look with greens, golds, so many options here.....

I fell in LOVE with this fabric the colors are so warm and the pattern is beautiful...imagine where and how you could use this....so many possibilities....

I love this fabric I think it would be wonderful with an Asian theme.....beige linen with raspberry roses imagine using it with a slate colored tweed.....how yummy would that be? or do you see country???

Once again my pineapple fabric...do you think it works with my British Colonial decor?.......

Hope you enjoyed touring the fabrics.....this is just a few of the fabrics we have collected...see something you like? See something you would want?? What would YOU be willing to spend for a custom pair of drapes? Just food for thought....I have been really busy lately buried in life...I hope to try and get around to see each and every one of you soon!! There are several of you so it may take a while but just know each and every one of you are always in my thoughts and prayers!!

Hugs and much love French;) xoxoxo

Undercover

Too many things to keep up with right now...going undercover for awhile! Sometimes life just gets in the way of blogging;) See you all soon!! Hopefully with some good news and some new stuff and ideas!!!

Hugs French;)

xoxoxo

Metamorphosis Monday

Be sure to check out all of the other postings over at Susan's here;)



I didn't have anything prepared so put I this together in quick order despite the fact that there have been a few more changes that I haven't taken pics of yet...This is was the original builder entry light...plain and simple with very beige walls




In this picture you see the difference lighting can make;)





This was how we originally had the entry set up...use what you have until you can put it all together..

View from the other direction...I wanted a new hall table and was having trouble finding one until...

I found this one...It has copper inlaid in the front and leather straps to look like belts coming down the front...the bonus was that it also has storage space to hide stuff;)

Found a mirror that matched it quite well style wise...were on a roll now!

That stark white door in the background just wasn't cutting it so...a half a quart of black paint and voila a whole new feel...now what isn't shown in pics is that the glass on the sidelites was changed to a patterned glass that looks really nice and removed the white muntins...

I really liked this piece and still do;) and it was liked so much that it was used as an inspiration on the Rate My Space TV show...we were the last episode of the first season and had a blast doing it!






View now from the front door...Still want to stain the stairs a darker color possibly change the spindles to wrought iron...always a work in progress...

I think G-mans' honey DO list is getting longer by the minute;)

Hope you enjoy all the posts shared during this Met Monday;)

Hugs French xoxox

Oooohhh and Ahhhhhhh "French" Style

When I get overwhelmed like I have been lately I have to take a few minutes to indulge in the things that make me feel good.....rooms like these take my breath away and carry me to a far off place where life seems so much simpler...

A place where the only decision of the day is what will we have to eat for breakfast?




A place where perhaps breakfast will be served to me before the sleep is washed away from my eyes.....





A place that feels like heaven on earth...where the outside falls into my lap and feels completely calming and refreshing....a place that washes away the here and now and promises of better days ahead....

A place that feels luxurious and...... yet so comfortable and unpretentious....

A place like this I could call home....Honey not this year but maybe next this is where we will be...

"I LOVE YOU G-MAN"

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Have a romantic one bloggers;)

Hugs French

xoxoxox

Metamorphosis Monday

You can see more Met Monday before and afters by visiting Susan's blog here

Hubby said the laundry room didn't look that bad and at first I didn't think so either...then I took a picture..typical builder wire shelving left everything open for viewing and I hated that..so a visit to Home Depot was in order.

Some paint, these cabinets, new lighting and a bit of work and voila! A completely new look! All for less than $300.00!!

The only thing that is new now, a new washer and dryer since mine went kaput a few months later! This is an easy do-it-yourself project that we managed over a weekend! Eventually we plan on actually expanding the size of the room to add cabinets and a counter for folding and extra baskets as well as a place for a larger pantry!

Hope you enjoy all the other Met Monday make-overs!!

Hugs French;)

xoxox

Tablescape Thursday;)

Welcome to our first Tablescape Thursday;) hosted by Susan over here;0)

So what does one do when out of ideas and dishes? Go to a friend's house of course and borrow their dishes, table, stemware, etc... for a few hours and snap some pictures;)

I knew that Kelly had several dishes and a beautiful room and table to display them on so I invited myself to play a little with her stuff;) See the detail in the cup isn't this sweet!! The dishes are a light aqua color so soft and pretty;)

It was easy with all the stuff she had to throw this together...I would stand there and say "nope...somethings missing" and off she would run and gather more stuff. (lol)

The center piece is a mirror she made that usually hangs in her sun room, we used it as the centerpiece...then we realized we had a theme of sorts and out she pulls this fun vase to set in the middle of the table... and look at the tulips isn't that kind of unexpected yet fun!

The crisp white napkins and rings I had brought with me and look they look perfect up against her setting!

This was fun and something I truly enjoyed for a day! A nice little escape from the chaos that seems to be following me;)

The wall color in the room even matches the lovely setting it's so soothing isn't it?

Look more circles on the candle holders!

Well I hope you enjoyed looking at something different today!! A big thanks to Kelly for putting up her stuff and her house for me to use and play with.... friends like that are "priceless"!!

Hugs and enjoy the rest of the tour as I am sure there are many lovely spaces to look at;)

Hugs and much love

French;)

xoxoxo

Need prayers and an Extra Warm Welcome!!

First, please say your prayers as I spent the last almost 7 hours in the ER with a friend who has been admitted to the hospital. He is my best friend and I love him dearly. We have been the best of friends since 1996 when I first moved here to the states. He has since retired and has been in ill health the last few months. He is my friend, my confidant and the kindest most gentle soul I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

Second, I need prayers for my family...it's been a difficult few months for me back and forth to the doctors and just when my specialists appointments were finally scheduled my employer cancelled my health insurance and have basically fired me..Yeah I think I need a lawyer...and the money to get one...I can't even discuss the hell I am going through...enough about that...

I can't be all doom and gloom so finally some good news.....


Third, my dear friend from RMS, (kiakai or Kelly) who I regularly talk about has FINALLY after much persuasion started a blog. This lady has taught me so much over the last year since we met, we took Interior Design classes and have also worked on a few projects together. She is my rock when it comes to design. NOBODY can turn junk into beauty better than she can! She is an awesome seamstress as well. Please stop by her sun room which she has done with a budget of $215.00!!! It will take your breath away. Have any questions about re-upholstering, sewing, staining, building, molding etc....... she knows it all and all the tricks of the trade!!! You can find her here at: please give her a warm welcome;)

http://muchtodowithnothing.blogspot.com

Much love French;)
xoxoxo

Metamorphosis Monday

When we first moved into this home we had no idea how we were going to tackle these huge cathedral ceilings and massive walls...however, I did know that because of the architecture I wanted the fireplace to stand out so we added the green color to that wall, the green is in the same family as the sofa. The new TV no longer fit in the armoire so it had to be moved to the bedroom and this is what I was left with...ugh...not the look I was going for, but time, money etc...you can't completely see it but that wall goes way up...

Then I had these mis-treatments going on too...nothing was working and I was becoming increasingly frustrated..then hubby and I realized other than the huge TV wall the problem was the fireplace it was much too traditional for the look we were trying to achieve and the paint needed to be carried on to that huge monstrous wall..yikes! I love my big round mirror and assumed because of it's size it was best placed on the biggest wall.... but thanks to some very patient ladies from RMS and a wonderful hubby that big bad boy had to be moved!

Finally, the look we wanted, cream glass tiles, a hearth and a big chunky mantel..and look the mirror fits much better here! All things by trial and error. Don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone and try new things.../a>I loved that big 3 piece armoire when we bought it and now those two end pieces are sitting in my garage...I need to find something to do with them but what??? hmmm that's a project for another date...

It's always a work in progress but getting there...I just wish that once I could complete a room from beginning to end without having to wait for the money to do it;) We are planning to add a header above the TV and add some much needed lighting for the space. This is the room we live in the most...but hubby says nothing more inside until we start on the backyard...it's a mess maybe one day I will have my tropical getaway back there...maybe....

All I know is that I am so lucky to have a handy man because if not we sure wouldn't have this much done;) Don't forget to check out more of the Met Monday's ideas just click on the badge on my side bar to take you to Susan's and the list!

Hugs French;0)

xoxoxox

<