23 September 2008

So I love to decorate...

(In case you hadn't noticed) Here's a few fun ideas I've recently used in our new house, and thought I'd share them with all of you! (For more pictures and ideas go to http://southgadwall.blogspot.com/)


I've always hated these oversized window ledges they put above the front door. What an awkward area to decorate! I remember asking our builder if they could just "leave it out", along with all the niches and extra frou frou stuff. He thought I was crazy. Anyway, after much anguish this is what I came up with for ours, and I rather like it now:

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I began collecting these bobbins several years ago, and the idea to use them as candle holders came from my mother-in-law who is an interior designer. I figure I can add little pumpkins up for Fall, evergreen branches for Christmas... I'm going to enjoy being creative with it. :)

I am to ribbon what a seamstress is to fabric. It excites me with all it's great uses - little girls' hair, wrapping, picture hooks, napkin rings, it's uses are endless. So I save every scrap! To keep it all organized and to show it off in a fun way I keep mine in a large jar. Each piece is wrapped around an old clothes pin and secured with a straight pin. I can't take credit for the cute storage idea, I stole it from a friend in the area. But I love it! Here it is on top of my craft armoire in the office:


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I am anti-matchy. I don't like for things to look too well put together, I love a good piece de resistance in a room, I avoid "sets" of furniture, etc. I love knobs. Especially one-of-a-kind. Seriously this is one of the things I've been msot excited about for our house - finding fun knobs for all of our cabinetry! Lol. I stumbled upon these at one of my favorite craft stores, Hobby Lobby. They didn't have enough of one kind of knob, but they all went together so beautifully I didn't care. They have an aged look to them, some are big and chunky (more like door knobs), some are small, all are unique.

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So hopefully there are a few ideas some of you might enjoy using. I love swapping ideas, yours are always welcome to me!

16 comments:

Anne said...

i love knobs, too! anthropologie always has great ones. thanks for the ideas.

Anonymous said...

cute!! and I'm making a note about the red paint ;)

Char @ Crap I've Made said...

i love the ribbon and clothes pin idea! mine's currently just a tangled mess in a basket.

Lara Neves said...

I love your roosters! :)

Lee said...

Love it! You have such a great eye.

Montserrat said...

I love having different knobs too. Our kitchen has various knobs as well as our closets and bathroom cabinets. I love the color schemes in your house!

KAT said...

I love the knobs too.

One Fish said...

Want to come decorate our new house? I never even got around to decorating this one.

Tamlynn said...

I've always loved your spools. I wonder if you could put a sheer curtain on the high window above your front door, and extend the curtain past the window on the right so it is lined up with the right hand side of your door. I can tell that the spools are centered on the ledge, but the window isn't centered, so it feels off to me. Also, maybe a larger metal scroll piece that filled the space above your door and have it centered on that wall to be over your door and sidelight. You can tell me to shut up now. But play with your pic in photoshop and you can see if it is something you would like.

Sarah said...

And once again I feel in total awe. You are so good at what you do. I can't wait to see your place. We will probably be coming to Austin in the next few weeks!

Lei said...

Amy - I am told that brand can have an impact. That said, I used Ralph Lauren.

Char - I can see you doing something fun with that idea in your cute craft room!

Kerstin - oh a clean slate is the best!

Tamlynn - good ideas. I considered the curtains and decided I didn't want to deal with the dust sponge or the fading. We may have the shutter guys come back... of course that doesn't help center it!

Sarah - I can't wait!!!

Katie said...

Your home is so lovely. Please help me with mine. LOL. I love what you did over your front door. It's beautiful.

An Ordinary Mom said...

Your house is darling! I will need your help whenever we settle down and buy a house :) !!!

Unknown said...

We have the exact same thing above our front door and I hate the extra space to fill. My interior designer sister-in-law painted it red to offset the golden beige on the rest of the walls and she did a great job.

You come up with it on your own. I rely on others. :-)

Shellie said...

I love those knobs and feel the same about those big high nooks. In another life I liked decorating, now the only decorating we do is called modern food fight. Maybe a few years down the road?

Shannon said...

Hi!
I just found your blog this am.....I really like it. I am in Austin too. Please get in your car and drive directly to Anthropologie..........they have THE best knobs and selection......I got 2 yesterday.
-Shannon in Austin