Grocery Store Decor

Here's my solution to boring switchplates...I call this "legume art". I've used dried beans on switchplates, mirror frames and even dressers. They're very cool, super cheap and always a conversation piece.

In my house in Rhode Island, one of the few things I was lucky enough to inherit with the vanilla box of a house we bought was a roomy bathroom (it's all relative --- this is the northeast and it's not new construction) with the original black and white tile.

Black and white beans from the supermarket, a glue gun, some polyurethane to finish and my black and white bathroom has a black and white lightswitch unlike any other. This template was an unfinished wooden switchplate that can be found in any craft store. An even easier solution is to glue over the existing switchplate. Just remember to leave enough space for easy mounting with the screws.

Stop and Smell the Roses

It's spring and all of us who have hibernated for the winter are now out and about. Front and backyards are being raked, seeded and weeded. And planted.

Climbing roses are so special and so easy. I've had climbing roses in every home I've owned for the past 18 years. But for some reason, completely foreign to me, the new homeowners of each house has taken them all down. Three houses and three homeowners decided these amazing beauties were not for them. We're not talking about Grey Gardens overgrown roses. They were beautiful, fragrant and trellised gems. Obviously none the folks who bought any of our homes had ever been to 'Sconset in Nantucket in June and July. One look at that charming fishing village with its climbing and rambling roses going up to the rooftops and you'll be forever hooked on a climber.

So here I am now in New England where English gardens abound and moderate summers allow for lush blooms. I'm starting yet again with the climbers and the trellises and I'm hoping against hope that whomever owns my home when we're long gone, will love these roses as much as we do.

Our favorite place to buy climbers is the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas (http://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/)

Recycle and Reuse

Recycling isn't just for bottles and newspapers. I'm all about transforming the old and making it new. These chairs were destined for the dump when they were colorfully resurrected. Prior to the transformation they were dated and drab. White lacquer finish and nubby-beige-circa-1980 seat cushions. A little sanding, priming, painting and polyurethaning did the trick here along with the addition of a finial on top. Recovering chair seats is easy (how-to demo coming soon).

For less ambitious folks, use decoupage decals instead of handpainting.