wall hanging for the dining room...

I've always loved botanical prints. I know they've become a bit trendy lately, but I still think they'll stand the test of time. And, all of you know I love green leafs! So, when flipping through the April issue of Coastal Living, I spotted this great kitchen in Charleston. Hanging in the background is this fantastic botanical. I even love the way it's framed---with the glass extending a bit further so that you can see the wall color. I'd spotted a great big scroll canvas botanical at Sophie's a few weeks ago. It had been $125, on sale for $25. Yep, another DEAL! :) I didn't buy it immediately because I honestly thought it was too casual for the dining room. I didn't just want to hang the scroll on the wall. So, as soon as I saw this pic in Coastal Living, I knew I had to go back to Sophie's, buy the wall hanging, take the bars off and have it framed. So, that's what I'm going to do. Let me know if you find any 1/2 framing coupons anywhere!

The inspiration from Coastal Living.

And, here's the wall hanging. Not a great photo, but the berries on the left and at the top (and in the bird's mouth) are all in that pale blue color that matches the kitchen and the lamps in the dining room. Perfect! This is also much larger than it appears in this photo. It's about the same size of the one in the Coastal Living photo.

Tile: DONE!

This has been done for several weeks now, but I guess I've just been lazy and not kept up the blog! Brooke finished the tile in the mudroom/laundry room. I think it looks really great. Next we'll be putting in french doors between the two spaces, a new door at the top of the stairs going into the kitchen, and a new door going outside. All with window panes. Let the light in!

Tile done---looking into the kitchen.

And, looking from the laundry room out. Yes, we still need to get our shelving up around the fridge for storage, and we'll put in a countertop under the window (the one to the left of the door in this photo). And, I'll be looking for an outdoor rug for the center of this space.

Out of order, but here's the tiling in process.

And, the first 4 tiles are in place!

photos and plates

This post isn't exactly exciting, but I'm FINALLY getting around to hanging some plates and photos that I've had for many years. It's sort of pitiful that it's taken me this long to get these things up. Can you tell I hate hanging?

Some of my blue and white plates above the bed in the guestroom. I think I might have a bit of an obsession with plate groupings. They're just so easy to do and fill up a space so well. Hanging them "randomly" is much more difficult than it should be!

Here are some black and white photos from our wedding. I hung these in the hallway between the living room and office. Easy to spot right when you walk in our front door.

A wide angled view.