Garden Shed 'Project Redecorate' ~ The Reveal!

...finally!

 

 It took much longer to complete than I originally planned

but I LOVE it!!!!

 Here is a link to the 'Befores'

http://wildwomanjewelry.blogspot.ca/2014/07/day-1-garden-shed-redecorating-project.html 

and here is

'The Reveal'!

 

Here it is! My own little garden retreat fresh again! On the exterior, hubs leveled the whole shed, replaced the screen in the door and added new wide cedar trim around the doorway.  I painted all the trim and the flower box, cleaned up the garden and stuff around the shed and got a colorful zigzag mat for the entrance.

 

The trim is called Coastal Beige and the orangey-yellow is Honey Locust.  All the paint is Behr. I also 'pruned' my collection of rusty garden antiques for a cozy but less cluttered, junky look :).
 

My wrought iron table and chairs got a coat of rust resistant black spray paint.

 

The entire interior of the shed was painted - Coastal Beige on the walls and ceiling, Soothing Spring on the window frames, floor 'tiles' and some of the furniture and Citronella on the rafters and door.  My little table is ready again for writing, journaling, garden planning and daydreaming! The ice cream parlor chairs came from Quebec and received a fresh coat of white spray paint - they are waiting for new wood seats (hubs promised!) and are a sweet perch for guests.

 

A comfy wicker rocker is a peaceful spot for reading, a cup of tea, ukulele playing and snugging with our kitty!

...just for me!

I corralled my collections of birdhouses, watering cans and assorted garden bits on a couple of new shelves in the rafters.  I can see and enjoy them all but they are no longer all over the floor - yay!

I printed and framed a couple of my own photographs with inspirational quotes and placed them on the old medicine chest which also got a coat of white spray paint. Fresh garden flowers finish the vignette.

 

Window Box close-up.





I loved this color so much I painted the window boxes on the garage too!

 I'm so excited! I'm going to play my ukulele here this afternoon!

xo

 

Garden Shed 'Project Redecorate' ~ Day 4

 

I know this is bright ...

Stay with me :)

Day 1 - Garden Shed Redecorating Project

Day 1

Ethel and I spent a couple of hours yesterday in my garden shed taking some 'before' photos, inspecting and assessing its condition, necessary repairs, what to keep and what to toss (ok, I did most of the work while she sniffed the corners and scratched the table legs and rake handles).

The 'Befores'

 

 

 

A good sweeping to clear out all the webs, garden soil and pine needles ensued along with stacking everything off to one side...this weekend, the plan is to thoroughly clean all the walls and ceiling, scrape loose paint and toss/recycle anything not going back in.

 



I might have bought a yellow pillow today...but you'll have to wait to see that :)

My Garden Shed and Fresh Inspiration

About 10 or 12 years ago, hubs built me the most delightful garden shed.  I've LOVED it and spent hours there potting, reading, writing and enjoying my garden.  You can see some pics from this post in 2009 ( http://wildwomanjewelry.blogspot.ca/2009/06/garden-shed.html ).

 

 

In the last couple of years, I've kind of let it go, using it mostly to store garden furniture, tools and empty pots for the winter. Hubs says it looks rustic.  I say it looks like one flower box fell off the window. It's been such a mess and needed such a thorough clean up (read LOTS of time!) that I've just given it a lick and a polish in the spring and kept the door closed.

But I've missed it.

 

Fast forward to this past weekend...we took our annual jaunt to Bar Harbor (which was lovely and full of its notable quaint seaside charm!).  Saturday morning we walked down to the pier after breakfast to enjoy the water, boats and watch some local lobster fishermen setting out for the day. At one point I noticed a shingled building I hadn't seen before (we've visited for 24 years in a row and I notice these things :)... anyway, it was lovely and we wandered down to have a closer look. 

 

 

 It was a new section of one of the hotels that included several charming little shingled 'sheds' that were colorfully painted and gorgeous with overflowing window boxes.  Housed within were unique shops selling beautiful art, home décor and linens, and every manner of beautiful seaside decorative items.

I was giddy...

so giddy I forgot to take pictures.

 

And I was excited! Flooded with inspiration and enthusiasm, I thought of my own little neglected shed! I've already been to the paint store for a stack of color samples... and if I wasn't raining today and I didn't have orders I have to fill, I'd be out there right NOW!!!

 

      

                                                        

 

 My head is full of ideas for cleaning, updating, tossing, furniture, decorating, painting...and I'll post all the before and afters if you want to follow along!

Stay tuned!

A Holiday Table ~ Rustic Handmade Elegance in Red, White and Black

  ~ Some more ideas for setting your table for Christmas dinner, a holiday brunch or winter get-together -

start with fabulous red dishes! 

 I found these in the sale section at the supermarket a couple of years ago.  They were a great deal and are so pretty on the table! 

 

Choosing a theme or colors will help organize you and tie your decorations together making your table the talk of the party! Pick something you love or already have pieces on hand to use - this should be fun to prepare! I never throw out anything I think I might use on a table and am always picking up little bits and pieces on sale.  Just this week, I found four wooden 3D snowflake ornaments, three aqua blue and one pale golden yellow - I just know they will find a place on one of my tables in the near future!

For this table (and party), I found the most gorgeous heavy cotton fabrics in patterns of fresh red and white - they have an almost Scandinavian flair. I designed three patterns for ornaments, one each for a heart, dove and skinny evergreen. Handsewn and decorated with snowflake cutouts and stamped initial charms, they are a charming personalized party favor as well as pretty decoration for the table!

 

 

I usually set the table in layers. Here, a Christmas red tablecloth is the base.  Brown kraft paper comes next - it's great for sharing an inspiring quote, having guests sign or leave a message as a souvenir of our dinner or a canvas of entertainment for the kids to draw and color.  I use this a lot! Wide ribbon or wrapping paper runners are a colorful, easy and inexpensive way to add a third layer of interest. This sparkly red and white striped ribbon was in a gift wrap basket at the grocery store (and will reappear this season somewhere else!).

 

Black felt snowflake place mats anchor the centerpiece of the table. A mix of ornaments, candles, branches, holiday napkins, white candles and a sprinkling of silver glitter finish it off!

 

Let's Eat!

Table Setting and Friends for Brunch

 Saturday dawned sunny and bright and a perfect November day for a brunch for friends! We have a long and deep history and I just love preparing the table for these wonderful women.  I thought I would share the décor for this early November morning!

 

 Felted acorn ornaments are a charming favor to remind us of delightful day!

 

 

Meaningful words help us find our spots.

 



 

 The colors outside are carried in to the table linens and centerpieces.

 

 

...a hint of red for the holidays to come!

 

  Our kitty swatted these acorns all over the dining room while I was creating the centerpiece!

 

I had a delicious day! Thank you, my friends!