Lettered Cottage- Guest Bedroom, revisited

I get a lot of questions about the wood wall in our Guest Bedroom, so I thought I'd re-post this little video Kevin and I filmed last year while uncovering our "buried treasure"...



Of course the room looks different now...





...you didn't really think I could leave well enough alone, did you? :-)

Layla

Awesome Item Alert- Rockett St. George

I LOOOOOVE these antiqued wooden signs from Rockett St.George.

The description on their website reads:

A beautiful, handcrafted, wooden, antiqued sign - "All you need is love...Love is all you need", taken from the famous Beatles song, comes in two separate pictures both measuring 92cm x 46cm. Both pictures put together measure 92x92cm.
Each set of 2 pictures are unique pieces of art. All are completely handmade and handpainted. The artist uses real wood and painted finishes that create a warm, aged look. Each sign is signed on the back by the artist.
This makes an absolutely fantastic gift for any loved one and great wedding present idea!
Please note: this item is made to order and takes 28 days for delivery.

Makes me miss my musician hubby....but I really love this item!

Barn Beam Stool Giveaway

Don't forget! Today is the last day to sign up to win this baby:



Head on over to Houzz.com to sign up!

Lettered Cottage- Water Ski Sign

Hey y'all!

(My Southern hubby must be wearing off on me...I'm from Minnesota, and don't think I've ever type the word "ya'll" until today) :-)

I am so excited about the latest addition to the Living Room here at the Lettered Cottage.

The girls at White Flower Farmhouse sent me this great, old, hand-painted water ski yesterday and I absolutely LOVE it!

That Lori sure can wield a paintbrush- she did all the lettering by hand:

I love how the slate blue matches my shutters flawlessly....and the fresca blue-colored shadow on each letter is the perfect too...

It's even neat that the sign actually points South...which is what direction the beach is from our house. :-) (I know, I'm a nerd)

Slowly, but surely, this place is being accessorized, which makes Mr. LC very happy.

Because believe it or not, when he's not doing this...



...he is consumed with creating an inspiring place to live, just like me. (How did I get so lucky?)

And speaking of Mr. LC- it's his birthday today!

But unfortunately he won't be here today- so honey, if you're reading this- (and I know you are)

HAPPY 35th, I LOVE YOU!

Layla

Colorful, Modern Photo Consultation

(Hover over the photo with your cursor to see my Photo Drawing and the "before" photo!)

I worked on a really fun, modern, Photo Consultation recently, and thought I'd share it here today.
My clients dilemma was figuring out what type, size, color and style of artwork to hang on one wall in her Living Room. She also wondered if any of her existing artwork might work.
Lastly, she and her family are huge fans of color, so she really wanted to inject more of it into this area of the room.
She said she and her family love their green shaggy rug, so as you can see from my photo drawing, I suggested bringing in a little more green in the form of decorative, moss-covered balls, accessories on a narrow, dark wood, wall ledge- and stripes in some of the throw pillows.
To further satisfy her love of color, I also injected blue, orange and charcoal gray.
The large, dark orange piece of framed art really pops against the complimentary bluish gray accent wall, and the orange tones in the cognac-colored leather throw pillows, and hammered copper bowl on the coffee table really speak to the orange tones in the artwork.
The bi-fold shutters doors in my drawing got a coat of black paint, to give them a more interesting presence. I love dotting the color black around a room, so I also suggested black on the framed art. Because the curtain rod and coffee table legs are already black, there would be a very well-balanced feeling throughout the space with my suggested additions.
That "symmetrical sprinkling" of color occurs again with the white mat around the orange artwork, the white sofa and the white lampshade.
The charcoal gray table lamp base is from Crate and Barrel, and while it makes a strong statement, it also blends nicely with the bluish-gray wall color behind it- allowing the artwork to really be the focus of that wall.

I love this fun, yet sophisticated, style and can't wait til she sends me their "after" photos!

Southern Living Giveaway Homes

I'd love to win this first house, because it's only about an hour from the Lettered Cottage...

Carolina Jessamine Cottage - Callaway Gardens, GA

Sugarberry Cottage - Beaufort, SC

Cottonwood Casita - Bryan, TX

Whisper Creek Cottage - Asheville, NC

...but they're all amazing!

Calligraphy Atlanta Winner

Congratulations Lynn of Somewhere in the Sun! Your the Calligraphy Atlanta winner!
Please email Faith at CalligraphyAtlanta@yahoo.com to claim your prize.
I'd love to see what you end up using your monogram on!

Thanks to all that entered!
Layla

Shutter Style on BHG.com

Loved this on BHG.com today...

Shutter Style

Add character to plain rooms by propping architectural salvage, such as these vintage shutters, against a bare wall.
Budget Tip: Rotate accessories in and out of rooms to keep them fresh. You'll save money by not purchasing new items, and the ever-changing accents will create intriguing displays.

A $50 Amazon.com & A Photography Giveaway

PJ over at the"Seens from the Backs of my Eyelids" blog is giving away a $50 Amazon.com "e-gift certificate" this week.

Just head on over to learn more about how to join her "You Write The Caption" contest and be entered into the drawing.

You have until midnight, Sunday 6/28 to enter.

The winner will be drawn on Monday, 6/29 and will receive his/her gift certificate on, or before, Wednesday 7/1.

Good luck!

Also, Kelly at Kelly Ann Studio is also giving away one of her fabulous prints. It's called "Heartpages". I have the same one here at the Lettered Cottage and I LOVE it!



Good to those who sign up to win it!

Awesome Item Alert- Ruffled Shower Curtain

I have always loved this bathroom:

There's a great, inexpensive version of the fabulous shower curtain for sale on Target.com.

Pop on over if you'd like one for your bathroom!

Houzz.com Interview

Visit Houzz.com today to read my Lettered Cottage interview, and to sign up to win this lovely little barn beam stool I chose to give away from White Flower Farmhouse courtesy of Houzz! (They're so sweet!)

Calligraphy Atlanta Giveaway

Originally from the New Orleans area, Faith Miller began writing calligraphy as a high school student with a heavy background in art. These days, she enjoys writing as an outlet from her job as a wife and mom of three. She's worked with clients such as Valentino and Cartier, and you can see her work in the Fall issue of "Brides Atlanta" 2008.

Here are some samples of her beautiful work...

Faith has graciously offered to give one my readers a free, custom monogram. Here are a couple of examples of a couple she has done...

These designs normally start at $40 and go up, but if you win, she'll create one for you for free in the style of your choice!

The process is this:

1- Pick which style font you'd like your monogram in
2- Faith will sketch up a rough draft for your approval
3- Tell Faith about any changes you'd like made if necessary
4- Faith will sketch up another draft implementing your requested changes
5- Your final copy will be scanned in at a high resolution version and will be emailed to you
6- Lastly, she'll mail you a hard copy version via snail mail

Then you're free to use the monogram on whatever you'd like to put it on.
The sky is the limit!

To enter this giveaway, just let me a comment here with your email address or blog address. Then make sure to visit Calligraphy Atlanta and say hello to Faith!

Contest ends at midnight on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009. Good luck!

Flea Market Shutters & Frames

What do you get when you find two dark smoky bluish-gray shutters, for $12 a piece?

Jewelry for your oversized mirror, of course! :-)



Kevin ("Mr.LC") has been begging me to "accessorize" the walls on either side of the big mirror in our Living Room for loooong time. And I was all for it, because it looks so lonely to just stick one flat object, up on a 'sea of wall'...



But until now, I just hadn't found the perfect, inexpensive way to do it. Gotta love the versatility and charm of old shutters!

I love the dimension the louvers create...and their color is just the direction I want to move in palette-wise.



No more navy blue (I've already re-painted the coffee table legs black). Now I'm thinking more smoky grays, light dusty grays, espresso browns, khakis, blacks, ivories and whites for this room. There's a reason I'm drawn to monochromatic color schemes, and I've decided I'm not going to fight it. I'm going to follow my heart, and let the shutters be my inspiration!

They hang down a little lower than the mirror does, so we're going to make a shelf for that area to display candles on, to make it all nice and symmetrical.

When I saw the slightly chippy, wooden, dusty gray-colored picture frame below marked just $8.75, I snatched it up faster than you can say "patina"...and the two little medium-toned wood ones were just $2.00 each...

The coordinated beautifully with each other and the rest of our furnishings...



I immediately took out the artwork that came in them, and they're now hanging to the left of the fireplace- peacefully awaiting the addition of some of our own art and photography...

My dog, Maximus, seems to like the new look... :-)



'Til next time,
Layla

The Lettered Cottage = TLC

When I named our house, I didn't even pay attention to the fact that the first letters of the words "The Lettered Cottage", are "T, L and C". Someone brought it to my attention the other day, and I just had to smile because of how completely fitting it is. :-)

This house was SO badly in need of TLC when we bought it. And as you've seen from the recent photos of my Guest Bathroom, there are still lots of rooms that could use some.

The Guest Room, on the other hand, has received lots of TLC, and looking at how far its come really motivates me to create a design plan for our Master Bedroom re-do later this year...

Before:

After:

But re-doing a whole room takes time and money, and if you're short on both, sometimes doing a quick mini-fix on a inexpensive, flea market find with potential can be just as fulfilling.

My most recent mini-fix was an old table for our Dining Room. I spent about 30 minutes sitting on the floor painting its legs black one day. Sure, my bones ached when I stood up, but I love the way it turned out. I'm thrilled that we finally have enough places for the whole family to sit when they come over for a meal now!



I'm not going to be using any of the chairs that came with it, but they'll do for now.

I have plans for long benches on each side and two upholstered or wicker chairs on the ends.I like the way the newly painted black legs speak to my black painted pantry screen door...

Other inexpensive, new additions to the Dining Room are the rattan-sleeved drinking glasses are from TJ Maxx...



...and a big, lidded enamelware pot that was only four dollars at Angels Antiques in Opelika, Alabama...

The hydrangeas are from out in front of the house, and I can't tell you how happy they make me every time I pass by them!

Have a great weekend!

Good luck with whatever mini-fix (or major fix!) you are tackling!

:-)

Inspiring Bathroom Photos

I've had a ton of requests to post the photos that were included in my Smilebox slideshow, so without further adieu....