Fireplace Project

Happy Wednesday! Wow, my last post got a lot of attention - thank-you! I have the chair for my next project - just waiting for the fabric to arrive :)

In the meantime, I have been thinking for sometime (ok, since we bought the house, um, a "few" years ago) that our family room fireplace is in need of an update. Here it is...

August Blues - Fireplace

... in all its pink-bricked glory (please forgive the lame mantel decor - I got started and then never finished). The brick is the same as on the exterior of our house and it really looks a lot more pink than the picture shows :( And, you can sort of see that it is a corner fireplace, with about 12" of wall space on either side. The wall color (Valspar Desert Fortress) is relatively new so it will be staying.

In the last couple of years (yes, these things take me awhile!) this room has taken on a beachy, country, farmhouse sort of feel. So, my grand vision for this space includes doing something with the brick to get rid of the pink, changing the mantel, and probably finishing off the wall above the mantel with beadboard and crown molding (since we used beadboard here and here). And, since this will have to be a LOW budget make-over, it will be done in stages, starting with the brick.

Here are some ideas I have collected (click on the links below to check out the source; and I have more ideas here)...

Cleverly Inspired

Decorate With A Little Bit

The Lettered Cottage

Beneath My Heart

A Great Adventure

So, what do you think? Whitewashed brick or painted? White mantel or wood (similar to our breakfast bar here)? Beadboard above? Replace the current screen? With what?

Do you have any summer projects?

I will keep you posted as this project progresses :)

Sherri

Matelasse Project

I am so excited to show this project to you! It's definitely one  of my favorites :) This was my second project for this client. She has a gorgeous house and was great to work with - she knew what she had in mind, but we were able to collaborate on the details.

August Blues - Wing Chairs Before

In this case, she had a matching pair of Calico Corners English roll arm wing chairs that she was wanting covers for; something a little more neutral. We talked about a variety of fabric options that would cover both the color and the texture of the stripes and settled on matelasse. My client was able to score some gorgeous Company Store bedspreads on Ebay (2 full size and 1 queen size), with the hope that we would only need the 2 full size ones to complete the project. I had white cotton duck cloth to use for the piping and seat decks (and some other special details!).

And here is the final result...

August Blues - Wing Chair After

My client requested that the skirt start halfway between the base of the seat and the top of the legs. The front legs protruded out from the front of the chair quite a bit, so we opted for gentle gathers at each corner to accommodate the "bumps."

August Blues - Corner Gathers

Knowing that fabric was limited, I made a pattern for the outer wing/side piece so those pieces could "nest" together when I cut them and, therefore, take less fabric. There was JUST enough fabric, so I was able to keep the queen size bedspread intact - yay!

August Blues - Outer Wing

Oops, and there you got a peak at the back ;)

August Blues - Back Buttons and Loops

Yep, covered buttons and loops - love that! Once that detail was done, it felt like I was working on a wedding dress :)

August Blues - Back Buttons and Loops

I love how the pattern pops from this angle.

And here are the chairs together in the room (sorry for the poor lighting - it was hard to correct!). Ready, just in time for a party she is hosting next week.

August Blues - Pair of Wing Chairs

And the best compliment? My client is thinking she may need to rearrange the room so that the back of the chairs can be seen more easily :)

It was a fun project. And now our boys are out of school, so I have one more client project to complete and then I will take a little break to have some family summer vacation time. I will post in the meantime as I am able ;)

Have a great weekend!

Sherri

P.S. I've linked up here :)

New Website!

Hope you are having a good weekend!

I just wanted to pop in to let you know that my new website has just been launched. I am SO EXCITED!!! I apologize if you have been trying to access it during the last few days - we had some technical difficulties (ok, I missed a little step along the way :/ ).

Anyway, please check it out here...

Thanks for joining me on this journey!

Sherri

Friday Five

Hello there! How has your week been? I don't know where mine went; well, I guess I do - we have all been under the weather and it finally caught up with me. Yay that it's not strep throat, boo that I have a sinus infection, yay that it was caught early. So, onto the five...

1. I have been working on an amazing slipcover project. It's for a pair of wing chairs and I can't wait to share it with you :)

2. I have also been working on redesigning my website at augustblues.com - now I'm just waiting for it to be launched on the web. I'll keep you posted on Facebook in the meantime!

3. In other slipcover news, I entered this contest, just for fun. There are some REALLY talented seamstresses around, so it's very inspiring to see all the entries. These are last year's winners - amazing! Wish me luck!

4. Oh yeah, our boys have one more week of school and somehow our youngest is already looking like a first-grader - how does that happen? I think our oldest is just ready to be done school - praying he can last 4 more days!

5. Ok, I'm having trouble coming up with 5 things (I guess it's been that kind of week), so I thought maybe you would enjoy a picture of our dogs...

August Blues - beagle

August Blues - chihuahua

Yep, kind of how I feel today ;) Tempting though it is, I will carry on with my day - going to mail my contest entry, do a bit of sewing, and then attend a couple of year-end parties at school :)

Have a great weekend!

Sherri

Master Designer

Just popping in to say... did you notice the new button on my sidebar? The fancy blue one? I can across this when I first started following blogs and thought if I ever had a blog, I would add it. Well, I came across  it again the other day and now I have a blog so I could use it :) And I was able to figure out how to add it - even better! This concept comes from Darlene at Fieldstone Hill Design and it goes as follows...

MD-manifesto-400w1

Isn't that great? If you would like to add this buttton to your website/blog, click here and follow the instructions. And while you are there, take a look around Darlene's blog - lots of gorgeous eye-candy!

Have a great weekend!

Sherri

P.S. I have been working on some great slipcover projects, but I am thinking I will enter some of them here, so will need to wait to share them until after the contest is over ;)

Friday Five

Happy Friday! How has your week been? Our week has had it's usual ups and downs and somehow it felt like a hard week, so we are glad it's Friday :)

I was inspired by this picture I found on Pinterest...

Plates (Matthew Mead)

Source

... to capture a few blue and white images around our home ('cause you know I just can't get enough blue and white!).

1. These books often find their way onto our mantel...

August Blues - Books

...because they belong to my husband and they are small, vintage, blue, and add just the right touch of "boy" to our decor (Note to self: see if I can find some more!). The glass mosaic candle holder came from Big Lots a few years ago.

2. This is in our youngest's room...

AUgust Blues - Boy Room

Two-tone blue paint job with molding in between. The picture was a happy find in the As Is section of our local IKEA - $0.25 for not one but two of these fun vehicle pictures (frames I had already)! You just never know what you will find...

3. This pitcher came from Target a long time ago...

August Blues - Pitcher

... back when we still lived in Canada and every trip to the U.S. included a stop at Target :)

4. This is in our ensuite bathroom.

August Blues - Frame and Plate

The plate is from my collection. The frame lost its glass years ago, so it got a coat of white spray paint. Note to self: don't use satin finish paint on a textured wall (and don't get me started on the issue of textured walls)!

5. Just keeping it real...

August Blues - Laundry Room

Yes, there is even blue and white in the laundry room - nope, this was not staged, these happen to be the shirts that are waiting to be ironed. The walls are striped - just waiting for some beadboard for the bottom half of the walls and then I can show you the rest of it :)

And I got through that whole post without any pictures of blue-and-white slipcovers or pillows :)

Do you have a favorite color combination? Do you use it in your home, or is it more likely to be found in your closet?

Have a great weekend!

Sherri

For This Mother's Day

A Holy Experience Mother's Day 2013

Source

Ann tells it like it is - make sure you read all the way through :)

Why Mother's Day is for the Birds

For all you mothers, in whatever stage of life you find yourselves, I pray that you will have at least a few moments to have your soul fed in its deepest places.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sherri

Friday Five

Friday

Source

How has your week been? I think we had a little bit of everything this week, and now we have Friday :)

Here are some good reads from this week...

1. A Whole Lotta Happy - from my new blog friend Camille. I've got to try this :) And check out the rest of her blog - great stuff!

2.Are you on Pinterest? The Nester has some thoughts about how we think about what we pin.

3. Another inspiring slipcover from Shelley. There are a lot of great slipcover creators out there - Shelley is one of them and she nails it every time!

4. Ok, this is not a read, but have you seen these? I used some for teacher appreciation gifts this week, but I may need to get some more for me:)

5. And if this Friday finds you like me, a little (or a lot!) weary and overwhelmed, please just read this...

May this weekend be everything you need it to be :)

Sherri