The Perfect Cottage Counter Stools!

I am so excited to share my new kitchen counter stools!

I searched high and low for these.

Ordered two other sets of stools and sent them both back.

Then, looked and looked and looked some more. Don't get me wrong, I love a good hunt. But I can honestly say, I've never searched harder or put more thought into a piece of furniture.

These are the Rutland Counter Stools from Ballard Designs.

They are reasonably priced, they are super sturdy and they have great bones.

But, with all that going for them, the custom cream linen ruffled seat covers just make the stools (in my humble opinion). Aren't they pretty? Made by the incredibly talented etsy seller, Christiana Liddle of Ruffled Linens, these ruffled seat covers are absolute perfection.

Oh, and they wash like a dream!

 I feel at peace with my purchase and now I can allow myself to move on to the next hunt. Grin.

And for you dish lovers, I switched my Christmas dishes for something a little more romantic. I love decorating for Valentine's Day--gives me an excuse to bring out the Haviland!


I have a fun Valentine's Day cake tutorial coming up soon, so stay tuned. Wink.

~The Lemonista
Linked up to:
Feathered Nest Friday
Savvy Southern Style
The Shabby Nest
Coastal Charm

Displaying Holiday Dishes ~ The Friendly Village

We've had these charming holiday dishes for some time.

The pattern is The Friendly Village by Johnson Brothers. They belonged to my husband's Great Great Aunt Toni, who lived to the ripe old age of 102.
 
Although we try to use these dishes every Christmas, they spend most of their time packed in boxes. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's dishes that are easy to access--get used. Dishes in boxes--don't.

This is our first Christmas season in our new home and I'm so excited to have room in my new kitchen to make better use of these pretty dishes and put them on display.
The best part--these dishes are dishwasher and microwave safe AND the pattern is still being produced--So if one of my kids breaks a plate, I just order a new one. Wink.


Did I mention these dishes are reasonably priced?
Yep. That too.

Here's the turkey platter mounted to my dining room wall.


and a nook in my kitchen.


and yet another platter above my sink :-)


I've been recovering from major surgery and unable to drive so I used fresh roses and rosemary from my garden and some silver mercury glass ornaments as accents.


Now how nice does my breakfast look on this festive plate. I look forward to using these dishes every day this Christmas season.


If you have special dishes that you love. I hope this posts gives you a few ideas how to enjoy them for more than just one holiday meal.

Enjoy,

~The Lemonista

Feathered Nest Friday

Updating A Vintage French Sofa

I've always loved old French Provincial sofas. My parents have had a lovely French Provincial sofa since I was born and I knew that one day, when I had a home with a beautiful living room, I'd have one too.

I think when people picture French Provincial furniture, fancy and impractical comes to mind. However, with the introduction of Shabby Chic by Rachel Ashwell,  Rustic Elegance by The Willows,  French Country Cottage by Courtney, and the like, these vintage furniture pieces can be updated to be practical and beautifully casual.

I asked the very talented ladies at The Willows in Phoenix, AZ to find me one of these vintage French sofas and work their magic to give it new life. Boy, did they ever deliver!
Just check out this fabulousness~

Before:


After:

The upholstery was recovered in a taupe linen burlap fabric.

Before:


After:

The wood was refinished in Annie Sloan chalk paint.

I'm so thrilled with this sofa, I can hardly stand it! And the great thing about having a vintage sofa re-done verses buying a new one--the vintage sofas are built like iron!

Total LOVE.


I really love this room. It makes me sigh to think of what it will look like one day when the rest of the decorating layers get completed.

~The Lemonista


Linked to Feathered Nest Friday
Linked to Watcha Work-up Wednesday

Halloween Mantle ~ Spooky Apothecary Mason Jars & Vintage Bottles

Perhaps it's all the Downton Abbey I've been watching, but lately I'm hooked on vintage pretty things. With that inspiration in mind, I started working on this years Halloween mantle decoration.

I love old bottles and jars with unique colors and shapes. I'm always trying to think of new ways to incorporated them in my crafts and decor.

I stumbled across a set of $6 handmade spooky apothecary labels on etsy and I realized what a cute addition they would be to my pretty vintage jars and bottles. 

To add some realistic flair, I filled the jars with the follow:

Bat Droppings: Chocolate covered raisins

Toad Oil: Olive oil

Vampire Blood: Red wine

Love Potion #9: Water tinted with food coloring and a dried rose hot glued to the neck of the bottle. 

Witches Brew: Water tinted with food coloring

The bat droppings have been quite a hit around here, but I must say that mommy might prefer the vampire blood :-)

I added an antique reproduction cast iron scale, found at Home Goods, one of my velvet pumpkins, and a couple of white pumpkins from the grocery store. Voilà--A spooky, yet vintage and pretty mantle. 

The center of my display is a black & white picture of our family in an antique frame, but you could substitute any vintage looking mirror with an ornate frame and get the same look.

View of mantle from my kitchen.
Love.

Enjoy,

~The Lemonista

This project is linked to Feathered Nest Friday

Shades of Grey ~ French Farmhouse Chalkboard Tutorial

Don'tcha just love chalkboards? There's something so vintage and nostalgic about them. Chalkboards have lovely shades of grey that fit the rustic elegant farmhouse style popping up in so many magazines and catalogs. You can reinvent your chalkboard design daily, so no worries getting tired of the look. And with the new chalkboard paints on the market, they're an inexpensive way to decorate just about any wall. . So if you have wall space that you'd like to give that vintage feel for cheap, listen up, cuz I've got the project for you!

This chalkboard is made from a slab hollow closet door bought at the Home Depot for $28.  I had a large wall to fill so I bought the largest closet door available. It measures 80" x 36". Like I said--BIG.
Since I used a slab door, there were no pre-drilled holes to worry about, so this door was purchased prepped and ready to paint! Yay! Here are the paints I used:


The paints cost $10 each. I used three coats of magnetic paint and then two coats of chalkboard paint.
I found the magnetic paint difficult to work with, and honestly, I wouldn't bother with it again. The chalkboard paint, however, went on like a dream!


Working in my art studio, aka the garage, I elevated the closet door on a couple of drink coolers (yes folks, it's pretty high tech around here). I used a foam roller to paint and I followed the directions on the cans for drying times between coats.


Once the paint had dried I brought my new chalkboard into the entry hall. It had to cure for a couple of days (per directions on the paint can) then I needed to rub the entire chalkboard surface with white chalk . Now my chalkboard was ready to rock!


Using a stud finder I screwed two large wood screws (about 3" long)
into studs on either side of the wall. Then I mounted D-rings on the back of the chalkboard, using plastic anchors, since the door is hollow and I didn't want the little screws pulling through from the weight.
Finally, I hung the D-rings on the back of the chalkboard on the screw heads mounted into the studs.

The chalkboard looked nice just like this but I couldn't resist a little more flair.

I added two antique reproduction cast iron Fleur De Lis soap dishes found on etsy by Alacartcreations. Aren't they the cutest chalk holders you've ever seen! Since my chalkboard is made of wood, I just screwed them right into the board. Grin.


Better, but it still needed more pizazz.
I thought about topping the chalkboard with some type of molding, sort of like a crown, and came across the perfect wall plaque at Ballard Designs.

The Pruvost Plaque was exactly the shape I had in mind and it even came in an 80" width! But at $269 plus shipping, the price was a little more than I wanted to spend, so I did the only thing a girl could do--I searched the net for knock-off blog tutorials to make my own plaque.

Here is the best tutorial I found:
Ballard Wall Plaque Knock Off Tutorial

Then I drew a pattern on brown craft paper. Once I had the design I wanted, and my instructions in hand, I knew it was time to solicit my retired father for help. Grin.


I printed up the knock-off tutorial above and shipped Dad my pattern. Next, I explained to my Dad that I wanted the wood to have a weathered grey look, so he stole a few of my mom's boards from the horse pasture fence, tee-hee (sorry Mom).
*Weathered boards from old wood pallets would also work well to achieve this look, or you could just stain some new boards. Wink.

When I got my wall plaque back from Dad, I was almost speechless (almost). It turned out even more fabulous than I could have imagined and added the perfect finishing touch to my new chalkboard.


I am in LOVE with my chalkboard wall!


I find myself doodling new pictures and messages all the time.




The best part is you can re-create this chalkboard and decorate a LARGE wall on a budget!
Slab closet door: $28
Chalk board paint: $10
Mounting hardware: $6
Cast iron soap dish: $21 each

Wood plaque: Cost of materials (which was free for me since we used boards from an old fence).




Hope this post inspires you to give a chalkboard project a try.

~The Lemonista

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Linked to Project Queen