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Tag: decorating


powder room redo

6
March

sink and towels powder room pleasure in simple things blog

Who doesn’t love to see a good before and after? For Friday field trip today, I am sharing the progress of a pretty little powder room update.

powder room before pleasure in simple things blogMy good friend, Phyllis, decided she needed to update the bathrooms and laundry room in her beautiful, historic home. On a recent visit, I found her downstairs powder room was almost complete. With only a little styling left to finish, I had to admire the beautiful update she created.

bathroom with Pike's Peak Gray Paint by BM pleasure in simple things blog

before floor in powder room pleasure in simple things blogAfter removing floor to ceiling wallpaper, Phyllis started the powder room project by adding some molding detail on the bottom half of the walls. This is where a handy husband is very important! He crafted both the chair rail and the panel molding. This type of detail on the walls is a great way to add some interest to a small room! Next, for the toughest part of the renovation – removing the old tile floor. (I know, I know – the old floor looked great too, right?)

closeup tile mosaic pleasure in simple things blog

Phyllis picked out a pretty geometric mosaic tile pattern that also coordinated well with the tile she chose for the upstairs bath and the gray marble she chose for the nearby laundry room. (I can’t wait to see the finished laundry room – I will try and share that with you on an upcoming field trip!) The mosaic tile pattern was installed with a black tile border.  For the wall color, Phyllis chose a lovely shade of gray called Pike’s Peak by Benjamin Moore.

long shot of sink in powder room pleasure in simple things blog

Phyllis kept her sink, but decided to install a new, more efficient toilet.

long shot of powder room toilet pleasure in simple things blog

We all know good taste is not limited to shopping at expensive stores and Phyllis proved this, big time, with her mirror choice. After visiting many stores, she chose this beauty she found at Marshalls to hang in the new powder room.

mirror detail powder room pleasure in simple things

A little bling in the light fixture choice and shine on the wall switch definitely add an elegant touch to the space.

bathroom bling in powder room redo pleasure in simple things blog

powder room light fixture pleasure in simple things blog

Coordinating with a little bit of shine, Phyllis created a little orchid planting in a silver container specifically for the space.

orchid planting pleasure in simple things blog

Phyllis has plans to add a white plantation shutter to the window and a few more accessories to complete the space, but with the styling almost finished, you can see how pretty the new area came out!

Thanks so much Phyllis for sharing your beautiful new powder room on Friday field trip!

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at NancherrowShabby Nest, Coastal Charm, and French Country Cottage.

2 comments » | field trips, inspiration, style

dreaming of a white halloween

15
October

white pumpkin halloween

Who says Halloween decorating has to be black and orange?  I prefer white…think ghosts, tangles of spider webs, fangs…all white!  So, why not decorate with white?

Of course decorating with treats is a requirement…and there are some great white options.  Because I love white decorating, I often create white dessert tables at the holidays.  White is a fun option for Halloween treats also!

For visiting adults on Halloween, champagne bubbles are the perfect sweet!

white halloween treats

Decorating a white Halloween. Create a white on white polka dot pumpkin by creating white dots with acrylic paint, white nail polish, or white felt and glue. Champagne bubbles in treat sacks continue the dot theme.

Champagne bubbles for a white Halloween

These “yum” sacks are better suited to the young ones.  Fill with white jelly beans, mini marshmallows, or white gum drops to appeal to younger tastes.

halloween treat sacks

I made these ghosts from a traditional meringue recipe.  Flavoring them with root beer makes them a fun and different sweet for Halloween.  The color from the root beer extract also gives them a vintage color.  Eyes are easy to create with a toothpick and some black paste food coloring.

homemade meringue ghosts

If you would rather purchase your ghosts, the traditional ‘Peeps’ come in ghost form…

all white halloween decor

decorating a white Halloween

I hope you are inspired to create some white Halloween of your own!

white pumpkins

white halloween

Homemade caramel apples dipped in white chocolate and coated in sliced almonds still to be made ;)

white halloween votives

Some easy-to-make votives to spread your Halloween message…wrap votives in white linen stamped with appropriate letters.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Craftberry Bush,   A Pinch of Joy, and The Well Crafted Home.

1 comment » | diy, food & festivities, holiday

mini white pumpkins 3 ways

24
September

white pumpkin

I am not a big Halloween person.  Granted, I do like planting in pumpkins, making pumpkins, carving pumpkins, and eating pumpkins.  And… I certainly like candy!  But I’m really not into the whole black and orange decorating thing and I don’t find being scared out of my wits an enjoyable past time. 

It was not until the white pumpkin hit the scene that I took a dedicated interest in Halloween decorating.

I thought today I would show you some ways to use mini white pumpkins this season and maybe you too would get hooked on using them in your Autumn decor! 

Here are three easy ways to change up white pumpkins for autumn decorating.

white pumpkin

A really easy way to dress up a white pumpkin is with some metallic paint.  Just a little acrylic paint sponged onto a white pumpkin dresses it up for the fanciest of occasions.

white pumpkin and roses

Plasti Dip is another great material to use on white pumpkins.  It easily and instantly adheres to the pumpkin and can be tinted in any color.  I used some pink I had tinted from a previous project for these pumpkins.  Even the stems are fair game!  Love it!

Plasti Dip Pumpkins

For a Halloween party, black Plasti Dip dripped down a white pumpkin would look nice and creepy!

Plasti Dip pumpkin

Plasti Dip pumpkin

A really great thing about white pumpkins is that it is so easy to coordinate them with any color.  When I wanted some gray toned pumpkins to use with zinc items,  I just tinted some white pumpkins gray!  I rubbed the surface with a little black paste food coloring to get the perfect color to use with my table setting!  I sprayed the finished project with a matte finish clear coat.

gray pumpkin

What can you do with some mini pumpkins for your next get together?  Have fun with it!  Use hash tag #pleasuregram to share your mini white pumpkin creation on Instagram.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Remember to find pleasure in simple things,  Jackie

1 comment » | diy, food & festivities, holiday

a trip to marvin gardens

15
March

garden sign markers

Today’s Friday field trip is to Marvin Gardens in Wilton, Connecticut.

If you are a decorator or designer in Fairfield County, you probably already know about this gem of a place.  It houses an amazing array of all things decorative.  Inspiration lurks in every nook and cranny; indoors and out.

wire cage

antique

As it turned out, I probably didn’t time my visit the best for photo taking purposes, since the shop was in the middle of a move – moving the entire inventory to a new space a few hundred feet down the road.  The nice part about the timing of my visit was that a huge moving sale was in progress (through April 1st) and some items were reduced as much as 50%.  Very bad temptation…especially at this time of year when so many items were just crying out to be put in the garden or used as a container to plant something in!

collage of garden items

bird whistle

Today I will share a few of the items that inspired me…I will need to make another visit when the move is complete so I can share some photos of the new space.

old aqua box

mice

collage of colorful items

old bottles

Wonderful items, don’t you think?

marvin gardens sign

Truly a treasure hunt!

ceramic pots

A great place to find a unique piece for home or garden.

buddah head

Hope you enjoyed your visit to Marvin Gardens in Wilton, Connecticut.

marvin gardens sign

Thanks for visiting.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

(P.S.  It’s a yellow property…weren’t you remembering Marvin Gardens from Monopoly?…it’s yellow, right next to the “go to jail” square).

I am sharing at the Vintage-Love Party at Blue Egg Brown Nest.

Comments Off on a trip to marvin gardens | field trips, garden

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