| Author | Content |
Terry
Murfreesboro, TN
(Zone 7a)
 January 10, 2006
10:02 AM Post #1966023
| Welcome to a forum to talk about all the things that make a house your home! |
Ivy1
Mystic, CT
(Zone 6b)
January 23, 2006
2:39 PM Post #1995374
| Thanks for starting the thread- these lazy days in winter make me want to decorate my old house with bright colors! |
shirleyt
Pearl River, LA
May 22, 2006
6:36 PM Post #2306838
| I see this is an old forum...why did it not go...It is a great subject...We all know that plants make a home...but other than that...good furniture that you love...I tell my kids buy one great piece of furniture a year and when you are old you will be surrounded with great things you love... I also find as I get older I am looking more toward bright colors than ever before...I painted an accent wall in my bathroom a terracotta pinkish color...added a striped shower curtain with the same color with white and dark blue stripes to pull it all together... It looks happy and bright... after the initial shock of Mama going bright everyone loved it...shirleyt |
bivbiv
Central FL, FL
(Zone 9b)
June 1, 2006
10:29 AM Post #2339441
| Shirley, I'm an interior designer, and I love it when people aren't afraid of color. Good for you! That's also good advice about buying one good thing a year, but it's hard for impatient people to do that sometimes. :) Good things really last; I still have a sofa I purchased 30 years ago. It's never been recovered, but it's had various slipcovers. Slipcovers...another good investment in something that can be both pretty and practical. |
shirleyt
Pearl River, LA
June 1, 2006
6:31 PM Post #2341067
| I know some people can just go and purchase a housefull of things they love at once..but lots of people can't... but one good thing a year is doable... My kids have taken it to heart and are collecting great things one at a time...things that are lasting...If you can get the needed money when home is purchased it is a great Idea to get everything at once...and enjoy the great bascis of living for life...some things do last...shirleyt |
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
June 18, 2006
11:51 AM Post #2404112
| I'm into buying furnishings that come from reclaimed/recycled wood and thus far have a coffee table, a kitchen island, and a bed (and my wood floors, while not furnishings, are recycled long-leaf pine from an old mercantile building in Chicago...at least 115 year old wood!) The island top wood has a cool history--it was part of a barge that plied the Mississippi River until it was sunk, where it remained for 100 years. Then it was dredged up and somehow (don't know the process) reclaimed. It's extremely heavy...called 'sinker' wood, I think.
I too am of the opinion that one should make furnishing purchases gradually...you love them more that way. My sister i l thinks she needs every corner filled the minute she moves into another house. Then she invariably regrets half of her purchases, sells them for pennies on the dollar, and buys more. I love all my purchases as I thought long and hard about them, and had to budget money to get them! |
bivbiv
Central FL, FL
(Zone 9b)
June 18, 2006
4:01 PM Post #2405051
| Connie, I'd love to see pictures of your floor and other things from recycled wood. One thing I truly love is old wood. I've heard of the sinker wood, but I've never seen it (might have seen a photo in a magazine once).
Our fireplace mantle is made of a very weathered piece of carved wood from Java that was used to adorn the exterior of a house. It must be at least 100 years old, and it looks very exotic.
To me, part of the fun of making my own home unique has been in the "hunt". I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly so much if I'd been in a hurry and tried to do it all at once. Maybe someday your sil will learn that haste does indeed make waste. I would never purchase something just because I need to fill a space and want it NOW. Like you, I'm willing to wait for the right thing...sort of like marrying the right person! :) |
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
June 19, 2006
12:05 AM Post #2406806
| Bivbiv...Good analogy! I'll look for the pics...I have them on a disk and need to place them in "My pics" on AOL so I can readily access them!
Are you self-employed or work for another as a designer? My ex was a homebuilder (he learned from my dad) so, while I don't have a design degree, I have worked with it all my life, and once ( before children...about 25 years ago!) had a firm called "High Design Interiors." (my last name was High!) |
bivbiv
Central FL, FL
(Zone 9b)
June 19, 2006
9:59 AM Post #2407685
| Hi, Connie. We meet again! :)
I'm self-employed, but I'm semi-retired. The last project I did was a beach condo this spring. I've done work for this same snowbird client every winter for the past seven years. Next winter, we'll be redoing her kitchen and entryway floors and totally changing a sunroom. This is at her house, not the beach. Now the beach just lacks window treatments which are in the works.
I, too, like to recycle. I found a ratty old hexagonal chair that was moth eaten and termite ridden, but I knew I couldn't find a new one that would be nearly so perfect for our Moroccan-flavored living room. $400+ later, it is just as exotic as I knew it could be. For that amount, I couldn't have found a new one I liked as well. What fun!
I also purchased a really, really ugly old sofa at an estate sale. It had no price tag, and the seller seemed surprised that anyone would even ask the price ($20.00). As we took it home in our van, my husband said I'd asked the wrong question. He told me, "You should have asked her what she'd pay you to haul it off!" Of course, the sofa itself is long since gone; but its carved wood arm has been decoratively painted and attached to the ceiling as a unique backdrop for a large Moroccan lantern. The other arm was cut in half and serves as a cartouche over a tapestry hanging on the wall. |
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
June 19, 2006
4:26 PM Post #2409184
| Okay...I found pics of my "saved" wood pieces...here they are
This is the kitchen island made of sinker wood...was a barge that plied the Mississippi about 100 years ago...then sank...then dredged up again about 10 years ago and made into this table (just the top is the old sinker wood)
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
June 19, 2006
4:28 PM Post #2409191
| And here is a close up of the wood itself...replete with nail holes! 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
June 19, 2006
4:31 PM Post #2409204
| And, while not furnishings, here is my floor made from rescued beams from an old mercantile building in Chicago...it's long-leaf pine of a type that is now almost extinct...about 115 years (that's the age of the building it was taken from) 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
June 19, 2006
4:33 PM Post #2409218
| And here is our bed made from recycled Peroba (sp?) wood from South America 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
June 19, 2006
4:35 PM Post #2409224
| And lastly, here's a closeup of that wood in the bed, again...with nail holes that I love! 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
bivbiv
Central FL, FL
(Zone 9b)
June 19, 2006
5:22 PM Post #2409375
| Wow! Thanks for sharing. Like you, I'm drawn to old wood with its nail holes and patina; these things help show the history of the wood, and I love that. All your things are lovely and character laden; the floor is really wonderful.
Gee, I think I've found a kindred spirit: An English teacher into puns, word games, mnemonics and old wood! :)) And you like spirals, too! I have a "thing" for spirals and barley twist legs. A rope design is used as trim on my kitchen cabinet doors.
I'll have to get a picture of my mantle. You'll appreciate it.
Marcia |
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
June 19, 2006
6:59 PM Post #2409699
| I'd love to see your mantle...looking forward to it!! |
jadeliz
Gillespie, IL
September 20, 2006
1:28 PM Post #2742605
| I am trying to find a good leather cleaner for very large sofa. I have found a few with tiny little cleaning pads and a spray foam, however it would take me forever to clean something this large with that method. I would also like information on a leather conditioner to keep the leather from drying out and cracking.
Has anyone ever tried dying leather? I have seen some of the ads, and am curious. |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
September 20, 2006
2:50 PM Post #2742846
| You might try the auto section at Target/Walmart etc, there are several different cleaning product made for leather car seats and I don't see why they wouldn't work on a leather sofa too. |
