Dwell by Cheryl

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.

Jungle scheme
Beachy Nautical scheme
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:

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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!

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

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.