Romantic Country Rooms #4

Aren't these rooms lovely also? Girls, look at some of the ideas in these room, adapt them to your homes and run with it.

Pair a red and white check chair/sofa or cloth with a kilim rug and some old pottery found at a garage sale. Do NOT be afraid to mix several patterns in a room. I think it's dramatic when done.

Or look around your house or your mother's or grandmother's house for some old furbelows (trims) and bibelots to showcase in your homes. Showcase them magnificently!

Add drama with a bold color somewhere in a room.

Or find what you might consider an ugly oddity and showcase it. I'll bet you it will grow on you. That has truly happened to me.

While I absolutely love pink and most colors associated with reds, I'm not averse to other colors, especially yellow. Yellow is a cheery color when you have a dark house. Nuuuuu, I'm not changing my walls from pink to yellow, but I truly LOVE pink and bright yellow together. I guess the owner of this room does too because she pairs those bright yellow walls with a red/pinkish sofa on the left.

~*~

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Unveiling the Living Room Now

Now, you know I can't stop once I'm on a roll, right? Okay then, once I put the covers on I noticed that there was a bit too much white in the room in that area. I love white and love those curtains, but it needed some color behind that sofa. I then put up the curtains I talked about here. I like it much better and will even more once I can get that Solartube in the ceiling. (I'm saving for it!) But before I show you the big photos of the sofa I thought I'd show you the fabric, texture and makeup of the slipcover up close.

So here is the room now. The curtains have a color in them that makes the red Thomasville chair go with it even if the photo looks odd. Colors aren't exactly true on monitors as much as in person.

And I also put this pillow that I bought at Ethan Allen 15 years ago back on the sofa. I like a mixture of pillows on my sofa and don't think it's too formal to put on there. Even if it is formal, I like it and that's what matters. :-)

~*~

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Customer Inspiration - Karen and John's home

Welcome to this week's customer inspiration and Karen and John's lovely home! Karen, John and their three adorable children recently moved to Michigan but before leaving DuPage County purchased a number of pieces from Jubilee Furniture to take with them. So, let's take a look at what they've done with what they bought!


entertainment centers are quickly becoming the newest "white elephant" and yet are often very nice pieces of furniture which provide a lot of storage - if you can see past using them only for storing your television - and that's exactly what Karen and John have done. By adding crates and boards the piece has been adapted to meet their needs (and keeps things looking tidy behind the closed doors). Karen writes: "We bought this media cabinet particularly for an interest piece in our living room and to house our stereo amp and some photo albums (we've not yet hung anything on the walls, hence the pile of stuff on top)."


both the futon and the floor lamp are from Jubilee - though Karen did purchase a new lamp shade (again, if you can see past the often battered shades on our lamps - you'll find some really nice lighting). I love the pillows Karen's added to the futon and how they warm up the neutral color of the futon fabric

both the table and four wooden chairs are from Jubilee Furniture (two fabric chairs are from IKEA) and John did refinish the table top but, "we left the legs rough, for that instant weathered look. The table and chairs were not an original set, but they look great together!" Yes, Karen - they do look great together and John did a nice job refinishing the table top - it looks fantastic!

Karen mentioned she didn't even get downstairs to snap photos of the rest of the furniture they purchased from Jubilee Furniture. What with moving to a new state and having three young children to get settled, I'm impressed she took photos and emailed me at all!

Okay everyone - if Karen can take some photos and email me - there's no excuse for the rest of you! Email me photos of how your Jubilee Furniture purchases have enhanced, changed, prettified your home and I'll share every Tuesday.

Next Tuesday, we'll take a peek into Mandy's fun/retro apartment!

Karen ends her email by writing, "You had just what we needed at just the right time." How cool is that! Thanks for sharing, Karen!

And so, dear reader, that's this week's "customer inspiration." I'll close with these excellent words from Dr. Seuss: "Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one."

Blessings!

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Lorena's thumbtacks

My birthday was recently and a sweet friend gifted me with these adorable handmade roses thumbtacks and magnet for my fridge. I absolutely love receiving things like this in the mail. It just makes my heart sing, lifts me up and gives me joy to know someone is thinking of me. Are they not gorgeous?!

Then of course I had to show you where my little ribbon tree is in my house. That's not to say it'll stay there forever, but for now, this is where I'll display it. And yep, I put it inside a little box that has a faux fern in it. I just like doing things differently and that give me eye candy for my soul. :-)

~*~

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Napkin Rings for Pink Saturday 9/25/2010

Happy Pink Saturday. Click the icon below to be taken to Beverly's other participants.

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I've collected napkin rings for 25 years at least. I simply like the look of them all gathered in a bowl for visual effect or as I like to call it eye candy since I'm a very visual person anyway. So after hunting in the garage attic for our garage sale in mid June Love Bunny found them and brought them down to sell. I held them back to perhaps put them on eBay or my selling blog La Maison Rose. I truly cannot abide Mr. LB selling them for 50¢ for dozens of them like he did my other thing—pillows and shabby chic storage boxes. Does this mean I have "separation" issues?!

I have rabbits, teddy bears, roses, Christmas, fabric ones, rooster, some purchased in Ireland, simple wooden ones, silver, masks, a few plain ones, some seashell ones and many that just touched my heart at that particular time.

~*~

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Showcasing the New Slipcovers and a Peeve

I finally received my new slipcovers! Now remember, these were made for another Ethan Allen sofa with the same style as my 15 year-old sofa I bought from them that they don't make any more. They just happened to have the same sort of style with an inch or two difference. This was the post where I first introduced the difference in styles. It fits almost perfectly but remember it was only $400.00 and it was custom made for the other sofa that was just a tad shorter. I'm well pleased with it. I can wash it but I don't think I'll ever have to wash the main section, just wash the cushions if they get dirty from visiting kids and grandkids.

Here I'm just starting to put them on.

I realized after taking this photo that I had knocked the ribbon tree over.

Here I uprighted the ribbon tree but the photo lighting is not as good or accurate as the above photo.

~*~

While I'm sitting here blogging I want to add one more thing to this post. Another lovely blogger put her thoughts on her blog and gave me permission to quote her. They also struck a chord with me so here they are:
I've spoken about there being room for all types of bloggers out there. But I have one more thing to say about blogging that has to do with basic good manners. House/cottage, nesting, crafting, creative blogs are, by their nature, more cozy and welcoming than are political blogs, for example. I spoke of those bloggers who get hundreds of comments and never return the favor. I realize that keeping up with hundreds of comments on each post is impossible. We're all busy and sometimes it takes a while before we can return the visit. But when several comments are made over a long period of time and no effort is made to respond, whether by email or a visit to the commenter's blog, well, that sticks in my craw. It's rude and there is no room for that. I know it has happened to all of you. It certainly has happened to me. Those are the blogs I stop visiting.

So here's my suggestion: If your blog has become so impossibly big that you can no longer take the time to communicate with your readers who are, after all, the reason you have become so popular, then perhaps you should stop blogging. Because you've already lost the heart and soul of what made your blog so attractive to begin with.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. When I see so many ads, the heart and soul isn't there anymore.
~*~

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Wing backs, wing backs and more wing back chairs at Jubilee Furniture this week (as well as other fabulous furniture too!)

Greetings from windy, overcast, MUGGY DuPage County! I don't know if there's a storm system heading our way, but I've been having trouble loading my photos with blogger.com and have had to restart my computer several times, so I won't push my luck with lots of chit-chat but will get right down to showing you some of the new-to-us items we received for donation this week at Jubilee Furniture!

So, let's begin!

beautiful sage green sofa for $135

Conover slipper chair for $95

clothing butler for $5

though this dresser looks like it has nine drawers - it only has six - but don't you love the hardware? Priced $65

this queen size black metal headboard, foot board and side rails is priced $65 and the queen size pillow top mattress and box spring are $95

this three drawer dresser is $50


nightstand for $35

there are four of these wonderful chairs - though they need to be refinished - and are priced $100 for all four

this is a gorgeous oak pedestal table - and I should have measured how wide it is 36"? 40"? - and is priced $135

this is also a super nice tile top table and six chairs - but three of the tiles do have cracks in 'em - so it's only priced $135 for the whole set. Such a deal!

here's another nice dining room set - this time a table, one leaf and four chairs for $165

small rolling kitchen island for $45

here's a Sportcraft foosball table in excellent condition for $135

I love, love, love this four drawer retro nightstand? mini-dresser? and it's priced $45. Wouldn't it be a perfect candidate for a makeover? Paint each drawer front a different color and each square knob yet another color and then take a photo of the finished product and email me at sgalbraith@outreachcommin.org and I'll showcase it in my weekly Tuesday installment of "customer inspiration" (did you see Megan's place this last Tuesday? Gorgeous!)

white wicker chair for $40

IKEA sofa with a black and white striped slipcover for $95

we received four wing back chairs for donation this week and here's the first of the four and one of my favorite (though I really like 'em all!). Chase's Upholstering upholstered this chair (see how they finished off their work with buttons in an area you don't normally see and it doesn't really matter? That's quality!). There is a small tear on the top in the back of the chair and that's the photo on the bottom right. This wing back is priced $125

this oak bookcase with three adjustable shelves has glass doors and is priced $65

these Early American style pieces are in fairly good condition and the love seat is priced $50 and the sofa $65 (small rip by the price tag on sofa)

there is something about this smaller buffet that I really like - and it's priced $95

look at this sweet drop leaf table! Priced $40

this is a gorgeous sofa by LJ Design and the fabric has an almost wood grain look to it (can you see it in the photo on the right?). There are a couple of small stains and one rip along a seam that should be an easy fix (says the woman who cannot sew) and is priced $95

the top photo of the North Hickory Furniture Co. wing back chair in orange and blue is new this week and there are two of them and both chairs are in excellent condition and - I think - gorgeous and they're priced $145 each. The wing back which is blue and brown is one we've had for a couple of week - but so similar to the other two that I thought I would show it to you again - plus I've reduced the price of the blue and brown one to $95!

leather sofa for $85 (ottomans aren't new but fyi they're priced $50 and $35 - one has a rip)

we received some outdoor furniture this week and I've priced the chaise w/pad $40 and the four swivel chairs (that sort of rock too) for $85 (no table, unfortunately - but there is an umbrella and stand for $30)

nice leather recliner (does not rock) for $85

pine square coffee table for $55

love seat in excellent condition for $125 and the matching wind back (and the fourth one we received for donation this week) is $85. There's also a sofa that matches, but it needs a leg put on and I didn't get a chance to examine it - but if it's as nice as these two pieces I'll probably priced it $165

this is a gorgeous roll top desk and is priced $135 (don't you love the eagle on the drawer pull?!)

beautiful two piece lighted china cabinet for $165

Well, in the two hours I've been working on this post the sky has lightened up and it might turn into an okay day! Regardless of the weather - it will be a fabulous day at Jubilee Furniture when we open today (Friday) at 1 until we close at 8 and again tomorrow (Saturday) from 9 to 4!

Blessings, grace, peace and love to you, dear reader!

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