Fall Decorating - DIY Tablescape

Last weekend I worked on a Fall Tablescape.  It was a lot of fun to put together!  I started with the DIY centerpiece box I build last year (Find the easy tutorial HERE) and then filled it up with a whole bunch of fall goodness.

The white pumpkins are real, but the gold ones are inexpensive plastic ones I bought at Hobby Lobby and spray painted gold.  

The gold leaves are from last year too.  I found some oak leaves in the yard, pressed them flat for a few days in between books, and then spray painted them gold.  Quick and easy!

The green hydrangeas might just be my favorite part.  My mom cut these from her yard earlier this summer and dried them.  She brought me over a whole bunch - they are so pretty!

The purple-blue flowers are some type of thistle, I think and came in a grocery store bouquet.  They were in water, but I think they will dry really nicely here in the centerpiece.  The other bits of greenery are Lamb's Ear, a perennial we have growing in the yard.  They were  a perfect filler for the centerpiece box.

The place mats are brand new - I just bought them from Crate & Barrel.  Find them here.

I'm sharing this post with Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life. 

A New, Old Chair

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This past Summer my sister and I each inherited a chair from our Grandparents house.  These chairs have been around for as long as I can remember and as long as my Dad can remember too.  We had the chairs reupholstered and my chair now sits in my living room.  The upholster was really impressed with the quality of these chairs.  He said they were made in Grand Rapids but he couldn't tell by who.  It's not surprising that the chairs were made here - Grand Rapids, MI was once known as the Furniture Capital of the World because of the great number of furniture manufacturers.  My Grandpa remembers that these chairs were purchased from Klingman's - a furniture store in GR that unfortunately is closing after more than 150 years in business.

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You might remember me mentioning the chair when I posted about the ottoman I recovered to match the chair.
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I could kick myself for not taking photos of the chairs before we took them in to the upholsterer.  Here are the only photos I could find of the chairs back when they were at my Grandparents house:

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{ me at one year old in the chair }

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{ with two of my cousins; I'm the one in the blue & white dress }

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{ with my Grandpa in the early 80s |}

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See the small amount of green in the last photo?  That was the true color of the upholstery on the chair.  A pretty color, if you ask me, but after 40 + years you can imagine how worn it was looking!

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And the finished chair now:
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I've considered painting the wood on the chair, but for now, I'm leaving it as it is.
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It makes me happy to have this piece of our family history in my living room.
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{ You can find the new upholstery on my chair here }
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{ If you are in the GR area, the upholsterer we used is:  The Fabric Place, located @
3101 Broadmoor Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, Ph 616.285.9000.  I highly recommend them! }
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Home Tour - Kitchen

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Back in June my home was on tour over @ Remodelaholic.  I've decided to repost the tour on my own blog, room by room.  The first installment of the tour was my screen porch and can be seen right here.   Today I am sharing my kitchen, back hallway, half bath, and foyer.

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I live in a condo that is almost 5 years old. When I purchased the condo it was framed in and ready for drywall. The floor plan was pretty well set, so I didn't make any changes there, but there was still time for me to select all of the materials and finishes.

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We'll start the tour in the back hall. The garage entry is off of this hallway, so when I come home and open the door, this is what I see.  To the right are the laundry room and half bath; to the left is a large closet.

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The floor is 12" x 12" tiles of natural slate from Daltile. Paint color is Benjamin Moore; Texas Leather AC-3. I used this in the back hall, foyer, and master bath & closet. This is now one of my all-time favorite colors. It's a perfect neutral - not too warm, and not too cool. I especially love how it looks against the white woodwork & wainscoting.

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To the left of the back garage door is a little nook.

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Here's the half bath:

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Paint color is Benjamin Moore; Georgian Brick HC-50.

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Once in the kitchen, the view back down the hall looks like this:

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At the end of the hall is the kitchen. My kitchen, dining room and living room are all one open space. I can see everything from the kitchen.

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The wood floor is bamboo. Paint color is Benjamin Moore; Huntington Beige HC-21.
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The base cabinets are cherry with an espresso stain.  They almost look black in the photos, but they are a very rich, dark brown.  The wall cabinets are maple in a creamy white with a glaze on top.  I matched an off-white paint color (Benjamin Moore; OC-6 Feather Down) to the cabinets for the woodwork and trim for the rest of the house.

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The range I have is this Jennair Dual Oven.  The top portion is a small sized oven and the bottom portion is a full size oven.  I love the option of using just use the top oven if I'm just heating up something small and the ability to cook two things at once at different temperatures is great too.
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.I don't like to keep a lot out on the kitchen counters, but one thing that must stay out is this salt & pepper set I bought in Positano, Italy. 

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The three stools came from Pottery Barn.  I like how the warm honey tone picks up on the same tones in the bamboo floor.
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The tile backsplash is this porcelain tile from Crossville Inc.

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Here's a view to the foyer and the stairs to the lower level:

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That big, blank wall at the back of the foyer has been my nemesis since I moved in.  I can't seem to find anything I like enough (or that is affordable!) to put there.  I'm thinking maybe three large fabric wrapped canvases, but, I'm still not sure.

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The view from the foyer toward the half bath:

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That's it for the kitchen.  Next up on the tour will be my craft room!

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This post is linked to:

Room by Room Party @ Cottage & Vine

Home Tour: Screen Porch

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Last month, my home was on tour over at Remodelaholic (Thanks Cassity!).  I thought that I would share my home, room by room, over here at my own blog. 
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First up - the screen porch.  In the summer, this is my favorite place to be.  It's a great place to drink coffee in the morning and the perfect place to end the day with a glass of vino.  
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I love filling the porch with lots, and lots of plants.  Maybe too many (but can you ever really have too many?!).  The porch faces South, so it gets a good amount of sun during the day.  Everything grows really well in there.

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I hang a fern in this spot every year and then over-winter it inside. 
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Do you see the snake plant (sansevieria) behind the impatiens?  It gets to spend each summer "on vacation" in my screen porch.  It's the highlight of it's otherwise dreary life spent indoors in my half bath.

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The resin wicker furniture came from Pier One a few years ago.  I made the throw pillows with outdoor fabric from JoAnn's.  The coffee table is by Smith & Hawken from Target.
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I bought the outdoor rug from Grandin Road three years ago.  Unfortunately, it is showing some wear spots, so I think this might be it's last year in the screen porch. 
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I hope you enjoyed the tour! 

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I'm linking up to:  The Boardwalk Bragfest @ Bobbypins Boardwalk, Whatever Goes Wednesday  @ Someday Crafts, Show Us What You're Working On @ Me and My Bucket,
It's a Hodge Podge Friday @ It's a Hodge Podge Life,  Favorite Things Friday @ A Few of My Favorite Things,  Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge, Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous, New Friend Friday @ The Girl Creative & Trendy Treehouse, Make it for Monday @ Cottage Instincts.