Dwell By Cheryl Photobucket Portfolio Design Services Contact

"Happy Places" Recap

Hi all!  Hope you had a great weekend and are looking forward to the swiftly approaching Forth of July holiday.  Is it just me or is this Summer flying by? 


Today I'm wrapping up my Babies R Us Happy Places event.  I'm pleased to say it was success.  I had so much fun putting it all together.  Of course now I totally want to decorate a nursery.  Any takers?

I was ask to share tips on how to create a dream nursery and to do so I pulled together three looks. 


  1. Jungle scheme
  2. Beachy Nautical scheme
  3. Soothing Yellow and Gray scheme (a personal fav).
 
 
Hands down, my favorite look was this sweet jungle themed nursery that centered around three wooden animal wall hangings that I thrifted for $1.99 each.  What made this room a total showstopper was this beautiful cotton linen that I "borrowed" from my fabric supplier.   
  
 
 
The soothing tones and junglesque floral make it a total no-brainer for a nursery.  I love that the colors allow you to pull in coordinating fabrics to create a pulled together designer look.  Honestly, I don't want to take it back.
 
 
I shared five tips for creating your dream nursery.  They are as follows:
 
  1. Get Inspired- Inspiration can come from anywhere (ex. furniture, art, family heirloom, etc.), but an entire scheme can be developed around a single inspiration piece.
  2. Develop a Game Plan- Know what you need and what you don't. Developing a game plan will help you to feel less overwhelmed in the sea of choices.
  3. Get Started- Dive in head first and "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good" - Voltaire.  It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.
  4. Make it Your Own- Just because they sell it as a set, doesn't mean you need to buy it.  It's the personalization that makes a space take on a designer look.  A "bed in a bag" or a "room to go" will never get you a dream space.  Look for coordinates and use opportunities to mix things up.
  5. Don't Forget the Finishing Touches- Design is in the details, so don't over look them.  Fill the bookshelves with books and meaningful trinkets, spring for drapery, add in art and beautiful fresh flowers.  These are the details that many lay individuals miss that designers don't.
 

I come from a family of educators, so teaching is in my blood.  Needless to say, I jump at the opportunity to share my passion and limited knowledge with whoever will listen.  As my Daddy would say, "I was happier than a cowboy with a new pair of boots."  Can you tell I'm from Mississippi?  


I even had a couple of friends show up to show their support. 

Thanks Marisa and Deborah!
I had a blast and I am so very thankful for opportunities like this. 

Make it a great one!!

Friday Find: White Owl Antiques Mall

As a blogger, you realize how key it is that you capture just about everything you even THINK you may want to blog about later.  However, every now and then you completely drop the ball and forget to take pictures.  Such was the case on my recent visit to White Owl Antiques Mall in Concord, NC.


My road dog Marisa and I ventured northward this past weekend on a quest for goodies for our client projects and White Owl was top of our list. 

I had heard of White Owl back when they first opened, but just never thought to stop by until now. Boy, am I glad I did.  White Owl Antique Mall is located in the heart of Concord, North Carolina on the corner of Brookwood Ave. & Spring St. NW.  It's very easy to find.  Like most antique malls in the area, it offers thousands of square feet of vintage and collectible finds being sold by local dealers. 
Honestly, I expected it to be pretty small.  I mean after all, it's around the corner from Gibson Mill, a HUGE antique mall less than a mile a way.  Well, again I was wrong. It boasts two levels of goodies to stroll through and the prices are awesome.

On the very first aisle we ventured down, I spotted this beauty...


I carried it around the entire afternoon, but even at the fantastic price of $15, I couldn't think of a place I could put it.  Urgh! "My name is Cheryl and I'm addicted to lamps." 

I also have a hard time resisting brass figurines. 


These were no exception, but in the end, they ended up in Marisa's cart.

Courtesy of: Marisa Wilson
She also scored this beautiful original art.  Love the rustic frames!
 

Courtesy of: Marisa Wilson

Courtesy of: Marisa Wilson
My favorite fabric supplier, Nancy, sells at White Owl and has the loveliest booth.  It's packed with gorgeous pillow covers and affordable fabric.
  
 
After several hours of wandering through the entire space, I scored a couple of yards of accent fabrics for my current client project, a few accessories, and these brass pheasants I've wanted FOREVER.  Actually, I've wanted them since I spotted this photo on Houzz many moons ago.


You know I had to hit 'em with a little Brasso.

Left = AFTER/ Right = BEFORE

Here's where they landed....



That's the beauty of thrifting/antiquing, you just never know when that treasure you've been looking for, or never knew you needed will turn up.

White Owl/Act Auctions

White Owl also hosts auctions every Friday night and Wednesday afternoon.  Needless to say, that's next on my list. 

Have a great weekend!

"The Painted Back Door"

Every now and again I get a wild hair and start a spur of the moment DIY project.
 
 
Oh who am I kidding?  Often, I get a wild hair and start a spur of the moment DIY project and a couple of weeks ago I did just that.  It was the start of my vacation and I'd been contemplating painting my back door for months.  It actually started after the interior front door painting (CLICK HERE) DIY project.  After the front turned out so well, I'd sit on my sofa and stare at the back door and think about how very sad it looked.  So I finally bit the bullet and jumped in head first at about 9:00 p.m.  I do that.
 
 
For this one, I went back to the leftover paint from the front door project and it worked just as well here.  I'm a big fan of Valspar Ultra (Paint and Primer in One) and I used the satin interior finish.
The paint covered well as usual and I love the rich very dark gray. 
 
via Valspar.com
 
Well, by about 11:00 that evening,  I was out of steam and out of painter's tape so I called it a night.  It just so happened that I was leaving for vacation the next day so I ended up leaving it just like this for over a week.  Yeah, I do THAT too.

 
Well, this weekend I was back at it again, determined to finish up the project.  Initially I figured it would be pretty simple given the fact that there really isn't much "door" to paint.  I was WRONG.  It turns out taping off and painting the muntins on the door (wood grid on the glass insert) was a major pain.  You need to get the painter's tape perfectly lined up or you end up having to touch up areas or scrape paint off the glass.  Either way, it wasn't fun.  Of course, the good DIY projects never are.
 
Given the door was painted white previously, I had to get in every little nook and cranny.  It was pretty tedious work and I'd say all total, I spent about 5 hours on the project.  It wasn't difficult just tedious. 
 
However, in the end I'm glad I did it.  In fact, I should've done it long ago.  It makes such a big difference.  Check it out for yourself...
 

 
  

 
 I love that now when I sit on my sofa and look back into the kitchen, the crisp black door is staring back at me. 


It's also a big plus that now the interior of the front door and the back door match.  Because who wants mismatched front and back doors?  Lol!

 
Until next time....

Friday Find: Catawba River Antique Mall

Yay! It's FRIDAY! Hopefully you've had a great week.  Thankfully mine went by extremely fast.  This weekend I'm working to pull together the content for the Babies R Us Happy Places event on June 29th.  If you're in the area, I'd love to see you there.  Don't forget to tell your friends and family who are expecting or have small kids about it.


Today's Friday Find is a little jewel of a place I thought I'd share with you guys.  I had an opportunity to visit weekend before last and had such a great experience.



The Catawba River Antique Mall is a multi-vendor antique mall located about 20 minutes south of Charlotte in Belmont, NC.  You may not know it, but I'm a sucker for an antique mall. I find them so very relaxing.  I could browse around for hours looking behind every nook and cranny for a great deal.  I appreciate that each vendor has their own style and niche, and you never know what's just around the corner. 

 
Even though it's fairly new and a bit smaller than others I frequent, my experience at Catawba River was right up with the others. 

 
 
They had an excellent selection and the price points were extremely affordable.  And let's face it, that's what's important to me.  I was probably most excited about Emily Clark's (my favorite blogger) booth and it did not disappoint.  It was filled with carefully curated finds, all at reasonable price points.



I was so excited to pick up a vintage oil painting from her collection that I've since added to the gallery wall in the making in my home office.  There were a number of items that I could've easily walked away with, but with my vacation just days away, I was on my best behavior. 

This natural weaved ice bucket with faux bamboo handle and tongs was SWEET!  In fact there were tons of cool ice buckets, perfect for the ever popular bar cart. 


I couldn't believe the great prices on brass pieces. 


This huge pink and green needlepoint was only $18.00, but the picture doesn't do it justice. 

 
I loved these mini fishing net floats.  Without a doubt, they are the perfect Spring/Summer accessory.
 
 
It was touch an go for me on these chairs.  I seriously almost went back to get them, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how I could rearrange my living room to accommodate them.  Boo.  : (   I was obsessed with the lady like fushia, green and gold floral. 
 

My favorite find of the day was this mini JuJu Hat. I've added it to my gallery wall as well.  I've been dying for a real one FOREVER.  You may recall, I blogged about them HERE.  Perhaps this mini version will suffice until I can acquire a large one.


 
If you're in the area, I'd recommend checking it out.  You just never know what you might find. 
Have a great weekend!
 

Casual Living: On the books...

Well it's mid-week and I'm back in full swing again.  I've begun my latest client project and I'm excited to share that the design plan has been completed and approved.  The clients are a young family and they prefer a casual kid-friendly style. We've decided on a navy and coral scheme for their living and eat-in kitchen space, and I couldn't be more thrilled with the plan for the space.


I'm most excited, as usual, about a couple of the upholestery projects.  We've got big plans for a set of wingback chairs.  I'll keep you posted as things progress.  Be sure to follow along on social media if you don't already.  You'll get all the behind the scence on fabric selections and purchases along the way.


"A Brasstown Break"

Well, vacation is over and it's back to the grind.  I'm not complaining at all because I had an awesome time relaxing last week with one of my dear friends.  It was so awesome that I've decided to share the experience with you.

 
We ventured to what I have to believe is one of Georgia's best kept secrets.  Brasstown Valley is this quaint resort and spa tucked neatly away in the picturesque North Georgia mountains. 


The views were absolutely amazing.  I was looking for one of those destinations where the goal is to do absolutely nothing, or at least very little and this place hit the nail on the head. 


 
Between lounging by the pool and enjoying the spectacular spa services...


 
...it was the perfect place to get in a little rest and relaxation.  Likely our favorite part of the trip was coincidentally the outing that almost wasn't.  At the recommendation of a shop owner, we ventured a few miles away to the Crane Creek Winery.  I'll be honest, we had pretty low expectations for this small town winery and thought we'd find not much more than a backyard garden with a few grapevines. 
 

 
Boy were we WRONG.


I had to remind myself that I wasn't in Tuscany a couple of times.  Seriously, how did we not know about this place?  The view from the vineyard's deck was just the tip of the iceberg. 


The wine was unbelievably yummy, and we're pretty tough critics. 

You know it's not a trip unless I go shopping, so yes we worked in a little thrifting too.  I love checking out the local home décor fare.  Certainly a rustic (even Native American) flare was noticeable.

 
But there were your typical thrift stores as well.  I scored these vintage hobnail pendants for $3.00 each!

 
I still can't get over the beautiful scenery.  It was so beautiful that I even looked into real estate properties.  Hey, you never know when you'll be ready to buy a second home.

 
All in all, the trip was just what I needed, and it didn't hurt that I was able to share it with a great friend, snowcones and boiled peanuts included. 
 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...