Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Color Your World

Sometimes the most common flowers, make the most impact:


















Take the "lowly" azalea....so common, yet so bold and impactfull !




Don't forget about them, they're in your yards, free for the pickin'!


If you know me, you know that I'm a BIG fan of Blue and White Spode...











Notice anything different? I decided to add white azaleas to the pink...



Do you like them better with white? I couldn't decide...









I'm not a big fan of pink, but today, the sight of these vibrant flowers put a big smile on my face!



Join the tablescaping party going on at Susan's!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

I Got My 15 Minutes of Fame, BUT...nobody told me!

Last week I was bored one night and decided to Goggle santamaker...

I expected to see some of my old posts, which I have, in the past, but to my surprise I saw a link with a picture of the hutch in my porch to the HGTV website in a feature on porches!

Okay, that was flattering, (I used to post on RMS a couple of years ago and I understand that once you press the "agree"button when you are downloading your photos on to their site, your pictures and ideas belong to them), but it would have been nice of them to email me and let me know ! I have no idea when it was "published", just glad I had my 15 minutes of fame!


So here is the "article":





Decorating Patios, Porches and Decks: Make the Most of What You Have

See inspired ways for creating or transforming an outdoor room without spending a dime.


You can push the boundaries of design in an outdoor space. Think about existing furniture in a new way. Rate My Space user santamaker converted an old hutch into a plant stand, using garage-sale silverware as a whimsical accent.

more From HGTV.com

So, how is this a Metamorphosis post, you might ask?
Because this hutch has seen many faces...

I could not find a picture of it in it's original state, when we first bought it, circa 1980.... It was "blond" with some stencilling on it. It was our first major furniture purchase as a married couple and it was part of a dining room set. We still have the oak table and use it in the kitchen.

When we moved to Chattanooga in 2000, I wanted to paint some parts of it white to go with my kitchen. (Notice I had already started my love affair with blue and white.)





When we moved into a house in Columbia, S.C. in which there was no room for it in the kitchen, so I transformed it to my crafting hutch and painted it all a solid white and got silver knobs for it. It looked nice in my craft room, because I had white cabinets and everything looked cohesive. This is the only picture I have of it in this stage, you can barely see it on the far left side (profile of it).



Then we moved here and I decided to put it in the back porch, but it didn't look right stark white, so I "distressed and antiqued" it.



Got some rusty fleur de lis knobs...



Found these fun spoon and fork cabinet pulls at a garage sale:


Here it is as in the "article"... I emptied the drawers of my junque and used the drawers as planters for pretty flowers in the spring.



Here is what it looks like today:













This old gal has seen lots of days, but she keeps changing with me and my homes...

I guess we all have to take a lesson from my old hutch...(bloom where you're planted). This is a fun piece to play with.... I love to change it up all the time.

Enjoy a lot more transformation's over at Susan's place....BNOTP for Met. Monday!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

A Quick Trip to Germany........

Recently I had the pleasure of going to Germany for a quick trip...

I was enchanted by the Alpine buildings...





Colorful flowers every where......


Love the mandavilla wrapped around this light post...




Let's go in the shops and get an authentic Alpine outfit, shall we?!?


I'm ready for a tall glass of coke, wait....make that a cold lite beer..........


A horse and buggy ride is in our future....



Question is, which horse?





Let's hop on this one...



Is it time for dinner yet?! I'd like to eat here, I hear they make a great bratwurst......



Each sight is so picturesque...


Postcard perfect...

Oh my goodness, we almost missed this shop...


I'm in Blue and White heaven...




I'd like one of each, please... the best part of traveling is bringing back a souvenir, don't you think? Any of these plates would look wonderful in my dining room.


We've had such a great trip to Germany, I'm so glad you decided to come with us....


APRIL FOOL!!!!!! This was a "Quick" trip to "Germany" because it took us about 2 hours to drive there from N.W. Atlanta, Ga....!



This is Helen, Georgia! Located in the beautiful North Georgia mountains. It was a struggling little town full of unemployment when someone had the idea to replicate his experience in the Bavarian region of Germany. The mountains and rivers provided the perfect back drop for this fun little Bavarian town .


Hope you enjoyed the visit...
Please go see some more Outdoor Wednesday posts at Susan's A Southern Daydreamer: here.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

A Surprise Tropical Metamorphosis






A while back I surprised my parents-in-law with a bedroom makeover while they were enjoying a well deserved cruise for their anniversary....


Although they liked their room well enough, it didn't reflect their love for the tropics that they enjoy so much.... So I thought I would freshen up their room with ....

with new pillows, shams, bedskirt...





lamps, ...
art........



window treatments.......






I covered the top of their storage trunks with fabric from the window treatments...



added a luxurious throw...




a little tropical greenery ....










then I went to work on their bathroom...





New art and window treatments here as well....




a tropical arrangement for the vanity with Mom's favorite flowers, bird of paradise and antheriums.......


I was pleased to have found this copper art work for the wall...




and TAH-DAH.....



Paradise found............

My parents in law are the best a girl could hope for. They were so appreciative and surprised, it was really a rewarding experience for me!

P.S. I have been able to enlarge my pics by adjusting the html, but for unknown reasons it did not work tonight....has something in blogger changed, or is it my computer?! :o(

Please join us at Susan's for more transformations!