In “The Little Brick Cottage”, we have a boiler with old cast iron radiators for the heat source. When we bought the cottage, though the radiators worked great, they were kind of ugly. The two bedroom ones were each painted the same color as the ... Keep Reading...
Happy Spring to Easter and Back to Spring Tablescape
Pretty much every season I decorate the dining room table accordingly, (click here to see what I did for Christmas last year)…but never the same from year to year. Mostly because I don’t exactly remember how I did the previous years, and I just wind ... Keep Reading...
Little Brick Cottage…Front Entry From Start to End!
Yay! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be able to start this new series…because it means the “Little Brick Cottage” is done! Yep, all done, every single room! So this, part 1 in the series for ‘reveals’ of the completely renovated antique brick ... Keep Reading...
Monday’s Simple Cleverness…Command Your Decorating!
This product has recently come to my attention and due to its cleverness I must share it with you today. Maybe you’ve all heard about 3M Command Strips. I know, I’ve seen the commercials too, especially at Christmastime. You know, how they ... Keep Reading...
Neighborhood Tour: Upper Arlington, Ohio
If you’ve ever been to Columbus, Ohio, I sure hope you were able to go to the Upper Arlington neighborhood. The beautiful architecture of the homes includes several styles of Tudor as well as Storybook Cottage. Whenever we tour the neighborhood, ... Keep Reading...
Monday’s Simple Cleverness…Give Yourself Some Painting Grace
Maybe you all know this already, and I’m a slow learner…very, very possible. I know, though, when I had a professional painter give me this 'painting grace' tip, it was like a lightbulb went on. Duh! So here is the tip: When painting trim, if the ... Keep Reading...
Little Brick Cottage…Kitchen Sneak Peek
I’ve been a painting fool at the “Little Brick Cottage” for the past 3 weeks. We have a wonderful family that will be moving in very soon, so the push is on to get it done and ready. Here’s a mini-tour of some of the kitchen details. First ... Keep Reading...
A Very Sweet Trestle Coffee Table
In our living room, I have this trestle coffee table. Besides the fact that it’s super cute, it bears really special sentiment too, because my dad made it for me several years ago. We had given him a box of milled scrap wood we had gotten from a ... Keep Reading...
Little Brick Cottage…Come See the New Light Fixtures
All the ceilings at the little brick cottage have been painted and all the new light fixtures have been hung. Most of the lighting I bought at Home Depot, but a couple I bought at Menards. In keeping with the farmhouse style and age of the house, I ... Keep Reading...
Monday’s Simple Cleverness…Oh the Fun to be Had with “Fun-Tac”
Well that’s what I call it, “Fun-Tac”, I don’t know, is that a brand name? or just what I thought package said? Let me explain what it is and what I do with it… So this brand says “UHU tac”…I have no idea what UHU stands for? (Universal Holding ... Keep Reading...
Monday’s Simple Cleverness…A Couple of Tricks Make Patching a Hole Simple
I cannot begin to count how many times I’ve moved around and changed pictures, so I’ve dealt with my fair share of ‘patch jobs’. I’ve learned from disappointing mistakes a few simple tricks that make it go much smoother. These are 4 simple steps ... Keep Reading...
Little Brick Cottage…All Primed and Ready!
Time to open up the paint cans at the “Little Brick Cottage”, Yay! Actually, it hasn’t been that long since we started this adventure. It was the very end of December when we closed on this charming property, so that means in about two months ... Keep Reading...
Monday’s Simple Cleverness…Fabric Covered Buttons
As I’ve been working through the living room lightening it up, I designed and sewed new window treatments. These valances I made had a fabric covered button detail on them and in case you don’t know how to do that, it’s so simple but clever, I ... Keep Reading...
Little Brick Cottage…Kitchen Cabinets are In!
Yay! We have kitchen cabinets and counters installed at “The Little Brick Cottage”. I went there the other evening to take photos and I had my 7 year old granddaughter with me, she’s been there a few times before with me. However, it’s been so long ... Keep Reading...
Monday’s Simple Cleverness…Humidity Tray for Houseplants
Let me just start by saying that even though I love plants, including orchids, I am by no stretch of the imagination, any sort of a plant expert. I just know what has worked for me. Here’s a bit of simple cleverness I read somewhere years ago ... Keep Reading...
Tutorial: Living Room Window Treatments…
In “Our House” I’ve been working on lightening up the living room color scheme. I showed you how I changed the covering on the Pottery Barn bench ottoman and now it’s time to show you how I made the window treatments. I purchased the fabric ... Keep Reading...
Living Room: Lightening it up with new Window Treatments
As I addressed the living room at “Our House” in my quest to lighten it up, I knew that the window treatments were going to have to be changed. This is what they looked like: I made these valances a few years ago, when I had more reds and ... Keep Reading...
Little Brick Cottage…Windows
I wasn’t planning on installing new windows in “The Little Brick Cottage” right away, I knew the old windows were just that, old, with single-pane glass, but they did have aluminum storms that had been installed probably around 40 years ago…so I ... Keep Reading...
Monday’s Simple Cleverness… Shedding a Little (more) Light
I love, love, love track lighting! When you change things around in the house as much as I do, the ability to move around light fixtures that easily is an amazing ability. One little, but very wonderful, track light fixture I have found is this ... Keep Reading...
Little Brick Cottage, more updates…
Yesterday I told you that we now have the bathroom sheet-rocked at “The Little Brick Cottage”. Well, that’s not all we have sheet-rocked… The kitchen was so ripped up and patched with junky paneling, that we decided ... Keep Reading...
Little Brick Cottage Update…
Let me just say that much work has been happening at “The Little Brick Cottage” for sure! The bathroom was all re-plumbed and re-electrified, and now sheet-rocked: ... Keep Reading...
