Pocketful of Blue

We have been working on sprucing up our second floor hallway. New doors and railing were added back when the bathroom was remodeled and we finally got new carpet just a couple weeks ago. The bookcase at the top of the stairs got a fresh coat of paint. Since this is really the kids floor, I wanted to style the bookcase with their books and things that have special memories for them while looking nice at the same time (for me). I tried to stick with the colors red, white and blue as much as possible for somewhat of a cohesive look. "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars" were big hits at our house. Both of my kids made a ceramic turtle in 4th grade so I included those. They loved the "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid" books. Using baskets and containers to group some items helped to keep it looking organized and not too cluttered. And here are the darlings now looking so happy and appreciative that...

I made a few changes at the end of the hallway  that leads to our master bedroom. After all, it had been the same way since January! Can you imagine?? this is the before . . . . . . and here it is now. The screen is an amish herb drying rack. I purchased it over a year ago at a shop we stopped at while on vacation.   I bought it to use as wall decor but just never found the right spot for it until now.  This hallway is kind of narrow so hanging the screen horizontally gives the illusion of the space being a little wider. I did dry brush a little white paint on the actual screen to give it a little softer look. I love the smooth, aged wood of the frame too. I added my HOME sign on top. Don't you think they look good together? I kept the white porcelain birds and added  my topiary to the little table. (We'll pretend the annoying light switch isn't there, okay?) I'm glad I finally found...

I recently bought my second ever can of Annie Sloan chalk paint. This time I bought Coco. I used it to makeover this little table at the end of the hall by our master bedroom. Here is what it looked like before. I painted the main part of the table with ASCP Old White and the drawer fronts with the Coco.  I was surprised when the drawer pulls came off in four separate pieces. I decided to leave off the back plate for a more simple look  and brushed on a little of the old white onto the pulls.  The top was accessorized with a little basket I purchased at the shop where I bought the paint. Of course I couldn't go in there and only buy the paint, could I?  I like how my porcelain birds look in it.  Now don't be jealous, but I also added my huge collection of 5 old thread spools. The one marked "Sox" was our kitty's toy but not anymore ~ sorry Sox! I don't think you can buy anything for 15 cents anymore and ...

 ~ ~ ~ ~ • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  •  ~ ~ ~ ~ Hi Everyone, I made some changes in the little hallway that leads to our bedroom. ~ this is how it looked for a long time ~ ~ and this is how it looks now ~ I found this plate at a yard sale a long time ago and I love it. I love it even with its little imperfections. But I had never really found a good spot for it. With the little bit of yellow in it, I thought it might look good here with the yellow of this little table. Then I just added some flowers in pretty jars. I found the jars at Joann Fabrics and thought they were pretty with the design on the front. They were very inexpensive ~ $3 for the small one, and $4 for the larger one. (They came with lids also.) Doesn't it look kind of sweet?  ~ ~ ~ ~  •  ~ ~ ~ ~  ~ ~ ~ ~  •  ~ ~ ~ ~ A simple little change to freshen up this spot for spring and summer. ...