Fancy Sandals

A free pair of the world's most luxurious sandals! Thats right~Starla Sandals, asked me to do a product review on their sandals.

More than happy to do the job, I went to their website and liked what I saw. It was like walking into a fancy sandal boutique~so I picked out a pair of turquoise and crystal studded golden leather thongs.

I love turquoise and I can imagine these looking chic with a pair of jeans and a white shirt as much as a bohemian caftan.  Oh la la!

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Something so glamorous about the late '60s~Model Marisa Berenson rocks this Valentino caftan and somehow I think these turquoise sandals would look just right...oh but I digress!
I was going to squeeze every warm day left out of our balmy fall  before my new sandals get packed away.  If I get to take that cruise to Bermuda next April, you know I will be bringing these beautiful sandals along.  They are dressy, yet oh so comfy!  The quality construction even made Mr. Maison Decor gush ( and I can't remember him ever gushing about anything unless they were a pair of cowboy boots)!

The best part of all, is that Starla is having a huge sale right now!  I am happy to endorse these sandals to all of my blog readers and friends~you won't be disappointed.

Starlas even has a blog~they have made lovely pin boards and this one shows the pair of pink rose stone sandals on gold leather that I almost picked for myself.  Isn't this collage just dreamy?
Click here for the link to Starla's website and check out their blog here.

Pretty Custom Draperies

 Did you know I make custom draperies?  At one time the bulk of my business was just making custom draperies full time! Sharing this info for my newer readers~anyway I pride myself on customer service, and once I install the window treatments I always come back if any problems arise and try to resolve the issue promptly.  I made these treatments about 6 years ago . 

 Silk panels with goblet pleats and an overlay swag in a complementary fabric that was the same as the roman shade underneath.

 The panels broke on the floor(that means they "break" like a mans pant on his shoe) and were stationary.  The romans were blackout lined for room darkening and privacy. 

 The romans were made out of a pretty pin tucked fabric as were the overlay swags.  My client called because one of the romans was not going up and down properly.  I used a rolled mechanism that has a continous cord loop to raise and lower the shade.  This rolled part gathers all the strings from the shade and winds it around a rod that twirls as you pull the cord.  The strings had gotten tangled, so I took it down and straightened it all out.

 So while I was there, I took some pictures of this pretty treatment to share with you.

In the adjoining bathroom we used just the roman shades alone. I like the tone on tone effect of the curtains and the walls, and after 6 years, this treatment is still looking fabulous!  The other thing I wanted to share was how much less I am making custom treatments these days.  I find myself being asked to install ready made draperies from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware.  It is a sign of the times, and you can get a decent look most of the time by installing panels with the proper hardware from one of these stores. Still, there are windows that just call for a customized drapery and my current project combines the ready made with the custom aspects of window treatments.

 Here are the materials currently in my workroom~champagne and blue dupioni silk with an ivory trim.

The sneaky part is that the panels are 96" long Pottery Barn panels that I am going to embellish with a long ruffle and trim.

 A long ruffle is added to the bottom of the PB panel.  However that leaves the stitching line of their hem in plain view~not so nice, right?

 A flat embroidered trim will hide this line and add elegance to the overall treatment.

This is the collage board for my clients living room. These are the actual fabrics, furnishings, mirror, plates and rug we will be using in the room.  Her windows are very similar to the room shown in the collage with an arched top~I think you can see that these panels will look stunning!

 These are for an online client from Pennsylvania.  I have been working with her to decorate her living room, dining room and foyer and will be sharing befores and afters by the end of the year!  Next time you see these draperies they will be hanging in front of an arched triple window~her ceilings were very tall, and we were able to stretch the budget by doing a combination of ready made with custom details. Custom treatments are only as beautiful as the styles and fabrics selected, and the same can be said of ready made treatments too.
To see my custom drapery portfolio, click here.

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Feathered Nest Friday!
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Kitchen Update: Moving cabs and making a tiny hutch

Transform a cabinet in your kitchen into a mini hutch!

Yesterday Mr. MD and I planned to reconfigure the cabinets around the refrigerator.  Since he had worked the night shift at the police station and needed to sleep in the morning, I used that time to create a mini display area for my purple transferware collection.  The cabinet doors over the stove were removed and the center shelf was taken out so I could outfit it with cuphooks for a set of teacups.

Here is the original kitchen before any of the changes.

This picture shows the painted cabs and the doors in place over the stove.

 Here is the empty cabinet~a blank box.

 A series of hooks set up one third of the way in from the front of the shelf and evenly spaced was my plan.

 Drill tiny holes so the cuphooks can grab into the melamine shelf. 

 With the shelf back in place, I wanted to add a plate stopper so I could stand plates up against the back of the cabinet wall. 

  In the cellar I found an old threshold scrap and a metal bar that I used as a spacer.  Hot glue was used to secure it in place.

 This trim piece will get a paint job, of course.  

 You know I just had to try it out, and so I loaded up the cabinet to see how it looked.

 I can't wait to remove the rest of the countertop so I can complete the beadboard behind the stove.  Doing a mini remodel, all things get piggy backed in a certain order, with necessary tasks done first. Happy with the cabinet mini hutch progress I heard Mr. MD waking up!  Time to remove the cabinets around the fridge and hope we don't have any hiccups.

 I had removed the little countertop to the right and the cabinet was swiftly removed by pulling out two wall screws.

 We were hoping the cabinets could be removed without disturbing the crown molding!  After removing all the screws that held the cabinet to the wall and the adjoining cabinet Mr. MD used a prybar to loosen the nails from the crown.

 We were having great luck!

 Here is my number one helper in his PJs removing the next set of cabinets. He is the best!  Our plan is to gain 9" of space to the inside corner, where it really was a dysfunctional set up.  The new 180fx formica counter is cut to that measurement and will be able to go in after we make these adjustments.

 I got a phone call from an old friend so I sat down to take the call in the middle of our project. Mr. MD took this pic of me sitting on the tiny step stool in the middle of the chaos.  Look at my face, all lit up with happiness as I see what we have gotten done in just one hour!  

 Back to work again, we realized we needed to cut away the floor so that the 9" cabinet would be sitting at the same level as the ones next to it.  Mr. MD used a grinder to cut out the space and it worked with such precision~but it made the room a smoky mess!

 He also had the bright idea to cut notches out of the back of the cabinet so we could just tuck the water line from the fridge through the cutout area and slide the fridge into place next to it.  It was genius and worked like a charm.

Here you can see the addition of the 9" cabinet.  The fridge is still pulled out from the wall so we can add the upper cabinets back in their new positions.

By suppertime I had it all cleaned up~what a difference 9" makes ladies!!

 I couldn't help but turn my attention back to the little display area I had created. 

A piece of foam architectural molding was going to be added to the cabinet~I wasn't sure if it would look good or not.  Wallpapering the interior with the beadboard paper and painting it is also in the plans.  By last night I had added the molding.

Here is what the kitchen originally started out looking like: Maple cabinets, no shelf over the sink, grey speckled laminate counter tops....

Now the  kitchen showing the display mini hutch before the trim was applied.

Another shot without...

 Trim piece added, yet still more to do to this little cabinet.

 Dinner was cooking, but I just had to grab this photo to share. 
Overall a big step in the right direction for a cute cottage kitchen~
 Next update will be the rest of the counter tops in place, the vintage drainboard sink, and the bead board back splash~its gonna be great!