An All-White Tablescape

I'm sharing this with Kathleen over at Faded*Charm for White Wednesday.   I thought it would be fun to do my first tablescape for Tablescape Thursday over at Between Naps on the Porch (isn’t that a delightful name?), and since I’m into white these days, I also chose my personal favorite

white foods -- vanilla ice cream and marshmallows!

…with cool water served in Cambridge glass flutes I inherited from my Grandmother.  

The carafe was bought at a store in Bellport, NY that sold all-white décor called

The Bellport General Store owned by designer Tricia Foley about 15 years ago.

There are mismatched lace doilies under the glass flutes.

A white butter pat with an ‘F’ for my last name on the table for no logical reason.

I just thought it was pretty.

I wish I had a ruffled skirt on my plain $20 Target chair slipcover.

I tried to make one and ruined a plain but perfectly good piece of linen.

The tablecloth is Rachel Ashwell's Simply Shabby Chic from Target as well. 

There's a matelasse spread underneath to encourage a plush look - I read that somewhere once.

I hope you enjoyed dessert, and come back for more soon!

Until next time, stay shabby!

My Shabby White Chandelier, Part 2

If only they sold brass wire already blackened with age! I haven’t discovered a product that will reliably tarnish new brass.

I painted the metal on these with Triangle Craft’s Sophisticated Finishes in Blackened Bronze from Michael’s, and it just sits on the surface and peels off easily.    It's very difficult and time-consuming.    I want something I can dunk them in.

After 4 months, the strand I purchased from Gallery 84 is finally starting to tarnish

after I soaked it in acetone, beads and all.

If only all the brass links on my chandelier looked like true old brass!

I have few pet peeves, but this is one of them.

This is what must be done when you find $15 yard sale chandeliers.   

Antique chandys are $1,500 and up.

This is the sole “English” prism I have, bought at Brimfield in September.    I don’t know if it really is an “English” style, or if these pendants are “French”, that’s what they’re called on Gallery 84’s site.

I haven’t looked it up in the library yet.

I have some prisms in the ‘chandelier hospital’, along with three arms that broke off.

I glue them back on with Crazy Glue.

Yummy original brass wire.

Sweet rosettes.    No place on my chandy for them so they’ll be in my art someday.

So, the top will look better when the 3 arms are fixed and hung.  

There’s just something about the sparkle of glass in a white environment!

I could just stare at chandeliers all day I love them so much!

‘Till next time, stay shabby!

My Shabby White Poufy Loft

I wanted a place where I could wake up and look out a window and see the mountainside across the clove, a place that felt like a secret tree house, a place all my own.

My sanctuary.

This is merely a feasibility study to see how a full-size down duvet fills the space.    This is one of the Rachel Ashwell Simply Shabby Chic pretties from Target – it’s close to $100 - one of the things I splurged on after I sold my first house.    I’m going to build a frame that will have under-the-bed containers for storage.     The mattress will be one of those inflatable ones as getting a real mattress into the loft is not only worth the challenge but a mouse magnet.

My favorite vintage sheet under puffy pillows.

My favorite white throw pillow, a gift my sister picked up in India.

Paper flowers around my ceiling canopy.    They're mainly to hide the gap.   There's no electricity.

ZuZu likes it and hopes you will come back to visit!

Until next time, sleep shabby!

My Chippy White Lamp Table

I’m bored with what I’ve been doing with my lamp table, so I made a 'tabla rasa' of my table and decided to go for all white.

I bought this table around 2004 when I worked two full-time jobs, knowing $95 was a lot for a wobbly table, but I didn’t have time for the hit-or-miss of yard sales back then when I needed something.    I painted it white.    It’s from a housewares/antiques store in High Falls, NY called High Falls Mercantile that’s been featured in Country Living.    Jeff and Larry are wonderful people – please stop in if you’re ever in the area!

I love its fluted downswept legs.   

Candles are one of the things that make a house a home,

so I started putting one of each kind I have on.

It still looked too ‘bare and spare’.

It needed height, so I put my $20 Marshalls repro mercury glass finial on.

It needed romance, so I found a bit of lace.

Nothing looks good without flowers to me, so I put a spray of pink silk flowers on.    I have to wait until late April for white flowers.    It’s hard for me do 100% white because I love pink so!

I tried a cute little box, but it looked ‘heavy’.

My dainty dollar store play crown looks better.     I’d love to find or make one of those pretty tiaras I see on other blogs and websites.     Maybe I’ll get lucky.

Angela Harris’ paper ‘bubble’ flowers gave a gorgeous effect, like lilies.

Until next time, stay shabby!

A Mantel of White

I’m experimenting with whites and silvers.   I can’t seem to break out of my candle setup, I love them so!

I will be sharing this with Kathleen at Faded*Charm for White Wednesday -

please have a look at all the pretty entries!

‘Till next time, stay shabby!

My Shabby White Slipcovered Loveseat

Do you notice anything different?    My loft ladder is gone!    My King popped in as I was trying to cat’s paw the nails in the floor out.    He grabbed the sledgehammer and in four or five thwacks had that ladder torn off!

Granted, I have to go outside and get it whenever I want to go to the loft, but the open space is worth it.   I'm very excited about the new possibilities.

I moved my Martha Stewart Kmart wicker loveseat first.   I bought it ten years ago as a part of a patio set for $200.   I love it here, but I also haven’t needed to go into my china cabinet yet.   I tried it with the chair and table this way, but liked them switched around better.

Before switching table.

After switching table.

The white denim slipcover is from my Ikea Ektorp loveseat, which remains in storage as there’s no way I can get it across our bridgeless creek and up the mountain at this time.   I can’t believe how much nicer it looks than the tablecloth I used to have spread over it.   I almost sold all my Ikea living room furniture - boy am I glad I didn't!

The cushions are too big for the wicker loveseat, so I put pillows on.

I actually like them all shabby-sloppy.   Not that it would be easy to sit there.

Just for kicks and giggles I put my antique chandelier on the ground the way Rachel Ashwell does!

The chair is this chippy white fold-up I've had since college.

A tiny space needs 'plastic' furniture ;-).

Eventually, I decided to be a good girl and arrange the pillows nicely.

I can’t wait to play around with it more!

I am sharing this with Cindy's Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

‘Till next time, stay shabby!

My Crush on Shabby Euro Blogs

I have a crush on the European and Scandinavian shabby blogs Belle Blanc, Made in Persbo, Schwanennest, Songbird, Stines blogg, White and Shabby, White Living, White Vintage, and Weisser Vintagezauber.    Please see my sidebar to link to them, they love visitors!

The great thing about all these beautiful blogs I follow is that they do all white décor without being too ‘bare and spare’ about it.

Stines blogg - I love this blog particularly because it’s done by a 21 year old student!

 

 Here are some of my favorite American examples of all-white décor:

 

disengno Karina Gentinetta

Patti Silverman

Photo: Country Living

Sue Balmforth of Bountiful.   This is one in is my heart.

Pink is a relaxing color, but white is the ultimate soothing color.    Done skillfully, it produces a fresh and friendly room instead of a cold and prim one.

So, I decided to redecorate in all white – take a peek!

...stay tuned, and stay shabby!