Florida Study cont.....

 I'm still ruminating on what to add to the pictures over my chair.....

I've found this tray.....

And I have these tropical bird wall pockets...

And some more Florida souvenir plates....

But I have to live with it a little more.....

And I'm going back up to Massachusetts in 10 days, so....

knowing the speed in which I figure this stuff out, I will resume this next fall.

SOOOOO.....

Let's continue onto the other side of the room.

I've already shown you guys my desk, but you aren't getting off that easy.....

Since I love this piece of furniture, I am going to 

SHOW MORE PICTURES!!!!!

According to Wikipedia:

Chinoiserie, a French term, signifying "Chinese-esque", and pronounced [ʃinwazʁi]) refers to a recurring theme in European artistic styles since the seventeenth century, which reflect Chinese artistic influences.^[1] It is characterized by the use of fanciful imagery of an imaginary China, by asymmetry in format and whimsical contrasts of scale, and by the attempts to imitate Chinese porcelain and the use of lacquerlike materials and decoration.

Chinoiserie is a mixture of Eastern and Western stylistic elements for both the decoration and shape

Just thought you might be interested.....

'Cuz that's what my beeootiful desk is.

I love the faux bamboo edging.....

How fabulous am I as a decorator??????

Look at how my computer matches my desk!!!!!

When I started decorating my home down heah in Flerida.....
I was originally going for a Miami Vice kind of vibe.....
So, that's what I had in mind with my desk chairs.

I had the arms finished in a blond wood for that 50's feel, and used the barkcloth from the rest of the room for the seat and back.
BUT
I wanted to accent the chair's shape, so I lucked out, and was able to find a solid fabric that 
EXACTLY
 matched the blue background,
 and used it for the banded sides with an accent welting in lime green.
It's these little details that can really bring added dimension to a piece of furniture.
For all those of you who are going to write and ask.....
The chair is by Nancy Corzine.


Being an old fart...
 (yes, I know I am always going on about that. It's my blog, I CAN REPEAT MY SELF IF I WANT)
I need a lumbar support pillow on my desk chair.
Besides being practical, they add another layer of color and pattern to a space.

I made this one out of vintage barkcloth, and added the lime green bobble trim that I found at a local discount fabric store.


While I sit at my desk, slaving away on my blog, for the entertainment of 
YOU
my high maintenance followers.....
I can sometimes overheat.....
So that's when my ceiling fan comes to the rescue.

I found one that went with my bamboo walls. It's by Fanimation, a great resource for interesting fans.

I keep a picture of my siblings on my desk, so I remember my beginnings, and remind myself never to take for granted the wonder of not being pounded into the ground on a daily basis. 
(I'm the youngest)

That's me on the left.
This coming September, my younger brother, David, is going to live near me for 9 months, as he's taking a sabbatical and working at Harvard for that time.
My older brother, Peter, and my older sister, Nancy, already live near me.
That means that for the first time since I was 11 years old, I will be living near three of my siblings AND my parents.
The only one missing will be my sister Ellen. 
I don't know if I feel sorry for her, or am jealous!!!!!


I have a little more to go over in this room, but it's just after 6:00, and if I don't post this now, you'll never get to read it, and then you would be sad...


Later, Gator

Repainting Paint by Numbers (frames)

Before I get to showing the next part of my Florida study, 

I want to take a little side trip.....

Now let me just start by reminding you guys just how fabulous I am....

I am a BIG NAME decorator!!!!!

I have been in too many magazines to count!!!!!

(yes, I can too count higher than three)

I've been on 6 magazine covers, that's right ladies and gents...6!

countless newspaper stories....

TV.......

and I have written two books.....(feel free to buy one or two or more)

Soooooooo.......

I am very smug when it comes to my decorating abilities.

The other day I was shopping at Crate and Barrel with my buddy Lissette.....

We were looking at the drapery panels that I have been hounding her to get for 2 years.

I don't go into retail stores too much anymore, as I have more stuff than I'll ever need.....

BUT EVERYTHING WAS SO PRETTY AND SHINY AND NEW!!!!

And my plastic glasses were all cracked and cloudy.....

And theirs were sooooooo nice.

So, I bought 9 of the smaller ones.

I wasn't sure I had the cabinet space, but Lissette assured me that I had room for 9.

When I got home, sure enough.....

I only had room for 6, so I was going to return the 3 extra ones, and would just make sure never to have more than 5 friends at a time.

If I found myself being nice to a 6th person, I would just nip that @#$ in the bud, 'cuz I would only have 6 glasses, and one was for MOI.

Now, you're probably thinking.....

Just 'cuz you have more than 5 friends, doesn't mean you have to invite them all over at the same time.....

But I don't like to leave anyone out!!!!!

It's just easier not to have a lot of friends.

wait.....where was I????? 9 glasses, only room for 6.....

This morning when I was thinking about returning them.....

(this is when it pays to be a big time decorator, even if I am retired!)

I REALIZED THAT THEY STACK, 

'CUZ THEY BE PLASTIC!!!!

You know, it's not every menopausal babe who would admit

 to being this clueless!!!!! 

OK!!!

BACK TO DECORATING!!!

I had figured that it would take me a while to get around to painting the white frames of my newly arranged tropical paint by numbers gallery wall.

Remember?????

It was this.....

But I decided to get off my @$$ and head to my garage workshop and paint them, so I could write about them and astound you guys with my energy and ambition!!!!!

The white was too much of a contrast with everything else, it needed to be softened. 

I mixed up my acrylic paints to match the color of the frames of the red parrots...

Here is a glamour shot of my work-space!!!!

So, after some trial and error, I mixed a color pretty close to the other frames, and then hung these babies back up.

 white frames                                 beige frames

Little changes that create a more harmonious arrangement.... 
And no.....
I didn't photo shop them, I really painted them!!!!!
I was going to write more, but I'm tired.
I HAD MY HAIR CUT TODAY,
I HATE GETTING MY HAIR CUT.
(and colored)
It's boring and tiring and smelly and annoying.


OY!!!!
I'll finish this on Saturday.
Later Gator

Decoupage for Dummies

Continuing on about my Florida cottage study.....

I had mentioned that I wanted to expand the look and feel of the wall over the chair, to reflect the fabulous changes I made to the wall over the loveseat....

I want more variety, not all the same frames.....

I found this tray on ebay, and won the auction!!!!!

When it arrives, later this week, I'll see if it works. I plan on hanging it on the wall along with some other stuff.

So

STAY TUNED !!!!!!!

I didn't tell you about this tray until I had won it, 'cuz I didn't want any of you snakes out there bidding against ME!!!!

In the corner of the room is a little split reed table that I got with an unfinished unstained unappealing wooden top....

So, I put on my thinking cap....

(it's a very good look for me)

and I thought about painting it a green color.

Nahhh.

Not interesting enough.....

thought some more.....

I KNOW!!!!!

DECOUPAGE!!!!!

Now, I don't have any children.

(never wanted em, don't know why, just didn't.)

 (Now, don't go leaving lots of comments about what I've missed out on in my life.....)

(I have 5 nieces and 5 nephews)

(even those are too much for me)

(great, now you're going to get me into trouble with my family!)

(OK, Betsy, take a deep breathe.... Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, decoupage....)

I had never decoupaged before.

Wait! That's not true... I did once before... just not lots of pieces... just one big print... not that it matters... now I'm just rambling on... I can't seem to stop.

So I went to Micheal's and bought a jar of Modge Podge. 

My friend and bidness partner, Kris, had to tell me about it, 'cause she has kids. 

All kidless people should be friends with kidfull people, so that they can learn about Modge Podge.

I had a bunch of vintage souvenir Florida postcards from old postcard sets. You know, the ones that come in folders. They are really thin, so work well for decoupage.

I started laying them out on the table.....

I glued them down with the Modge Podge as I set them in place, working the bubbles out as I went.

I really liked the way it came out, but I sort of wish I had painted the top green first, but 

IT'S TOO LATE NOW!!!!!

So now, here it is in it's home.

Of course, after I spent all that time embellishing the top.....

What do I do, but cover it up with #$%!!!

Till, next time

("cuz there's more to come about this room!)

Later Gator

Partying at:

Scary Story

Warning!!!!!

This is a scary story!!!!!

I don't usually blog on Mondays, but last night something truly 

chilling

happened!!!!!!!!

If you're easily scared.....

TURN BACK NOW!!!!

Last night.....

I was sitting in my den, playing a very intellectually challenging 

hidden objects computer game....

It was dark outside!!!!

No one was about.....

AND THERE CAME A RATTLING AT MY WINDOW!!!!!

I looked out and.....

no one was there!!!!

I chalked it up to the wind.....

Then it happened again.....

rattle

rattle

rattle

rattle

rattle

I looked up and no one was there.....

Now, my friend Lissette's husband, Sergio, (they live across the street)

has been know to play games on me.

So I went outside, thinking he was going to jump out and call 

BOO

He has done this in the past.....not the boo part, but banging on my door at  night, just to scare me when he's out walking Chloe (the wonderdog).

But no one was there.

dum da dum dum.......

So I said to myself....

Self!! there has to be a logical explanation....

What would Stephanie Plum do?????

So I used all my deductive reasoning, and looked closely at the window.....

and I saw something!!!!!!

Yep, I saw something......

I tell ya, I saw something!!!!

I got a little closer.....

a little closer.....

I have no idea what the hell that frog was up to,

 but he 

scared the @#$ out of me.

And he pooped on my window sill!!!!!

This is my first blog that has nothing to do with decorating, and I ended talking about poop.

I'm loosing my mind.

Later, Gator

Tropical Paint-By-Numbers

Welcome to my study.....

.....a room of high art and refinement!!!!!

I am in the process of adding more stuff to my walls.

YES!!!!

THERE IS ROOM FOR MORE!!!

Come with me to explore the frontiers of my walls.

(sounds like a song.....)

(the windmills of my mind.....)

(the frontiers of my walls....)

It all started here, when I first viewed the house with the real estate agent.....

The previous owners had added a molding around 10" down from the crown, and painted the blue stripe for an accent. 

WHAT THIS DID WAS: MAKE THE CEILING FEEL LOWER!!!!!

Here is this house with wonderful 10' high ceilings, so, I KNOW!!

LETS MAKE THEM FEEL LOWER!!!

OY VEY!!!

So I had to go to the expense of tearing out another upgrade that had been added into my purchase price.

And while I'm complaining.....

I HATED THE CEILING FAN!!!!!

I changed that too.

Put this in my garage workshop!!!!!

If you work in your garage, it's great to have ceiling fans, along with a lot of light. There were two of these babies in the house, and both are now in my workshop.

I wanted to find a wonderful desk......

I wanted to find a wonderful desk.....

I wanted to find a wonderful desk.....

AND I DID!!!!!

Here it is right after I moved into the house.

White walls, white rug.....

isn't it pretty?????

It's green Chinoiserie. 

If I had envisioned a desk for my new tropical retreat, 

THIS IS WHAT I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF!!!

(if I had been that clever.....which I'm not.)

I found it in an antique store in Essex Massachusetts, and had to beg the dealer to sell it to me, since he was using it as his own desk.

I was very insistent.....

So, just like the rest of the house, I had wood floors put down and the walls covered in Kneedler Fauchere bamboo wallpaper.

Isn't it amazing what wood floors can do to a space?

These are hickory.

I saw this floor in my neighbor Joanie's house, and she told me where to get it!!!

Unfortunately, they don't make this floor anymore. Now all the floors seem to come with a chamfered edge, so they don't look like a real unfinished old wood floor. It's probably easier for the manufacturers to get a tight joint between the boards, with an angled edge. 

OY.

I started assembling the furniture in its new home.....

I found a great looking double chair that looks like a little loveseat that fit in the small wall space.

And of course!!!!! more split reed!!!!!

Only, this chair ended up in the guest room and I found another for this corner.

It formed a cozy little sitting area in my study. I actually sit here sometimes!!!!

Then I started collecting artwork.

I HAD AN ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT IDEA!!!!

BRILLIANT I TELL YA,

BRILLIANT!!!!!

 I would do a collection of tropical bird paint-by-number paintings from the  1950's!!!

And I would reframe them in nice expensive faux bamboo frames, so they were all in the same frame!!!!!

I started collecting them, and took them to the framer, and then hung them on the wall before the wallpaper went up, so I could see how they looked!!!

The room started coming together.....

Then the wallpaper went up.....

Now I had to rehang all this @#$!!

So, I got this far in my decorating, having spent money on re-framing the paintings, and not saving the old frames. 

After I hung them on the bamboo wallpaper, and stood back.....

I was underwhelmed.....

The wall looked flat and not funky enough to me.

I WANTED FUNK!!!!

I had unfunked the wall by re-framing the art.

AND IT COST ME MONEY!!!!!

So, I did what I always do, and lived with it for several years.

This year I finally did something about it.

I bit the bullet, and re-framed the paintings in old frames

 from other paint-by-numbers.

I had to buy cheap ebay paintings in the same size, and switch the frames.

THEN!!!!!

I bought more paintings, and left them in their funky old original frames.

Then I reworked the wall!!!!!

I need to repaint the white frames. I think a yellowy creamy color, like the two red parrot paintings. 

Now I need to goose up the other wall.....

I have ideas.....

lots of Florida souvenir plates and parrot wall pockets.....

But I need to ruminate for a bit.

Hope it isn't another 8 years..... 

I still have a lot of things to write about in this room.

So I will continue on Tuesday.....

till then.....

Later, Gator

partying with: