Tea Cup Mug Exchange

Welcome to 

The Tea Cup, Mug Exchange 

Autumn 2016

Our beautiful hostess is

Stephanie from

The Enchanting Rose

 and to visit many more participants this season

make sure and visit her lovely blog

and the list of participants

Wednesday November 2nd.

Twice a year Stephanie forms

this wonderful event

bringing friends together from all over the world.

Each participate is paired with someone special to send  a tea cup or mug to.

In the end, you make two new friends.

This is a huge undertaking to set up 

and

Stephanie does an amazing job.

Many thanks of appreciation go out to her for all she does to make this fun

for all.

Without her tireless efforts to pull this together, it just would not happen.

Today I'm sharing my teacup

 but the big reveal is this Wednesday the 2nd 

for all those who signed up  September 12-21, 2016.

This week is the perfect time to share what we all  received!

My lovely tea cup was sent from Martha

of Martha's Favorites.

I opened my package to reveal all these special treasures.

Opening this adorable tea card from Martha first

was so sweet to read and receive.

Hand written notes are always the best gift, aren't they?

Just look at the gorgeous tea cup she sent.

Beautiful tulips surrounded by pretty gold trim.

The edge is gold and the inside of the cup as well.

I love the colors and the pretty details in the tulips.

So pretty!

Next in my gift box was this adorable vintage tulip vase in a coral color.

It actually looks pretty in one of my newly renovated bathrooms.

The petite serving tray stand matches it perfectly and I love this sweet treasure. 

Can you see little guest soaps on it too.

I'm thinking new bath decor here~~~~

If that was not enough, Martha added this adorable French tray.

I love the pretty design.

Another special treasure she sent is this very pretty crocheted doily. 

I love these works of art and use them throughout my home for display and more.

Martha also added this delicious tea called Plum Deluxe

with a honey pop to enjoy and stir my cup of tea.

I tell you it is delicious!!

I so love all my gifts Martha and this tea cup will have a special 

place among my treasured cups

along with the all the added goodies you blessed me with.

Thank you so very much!!

To visit Martha,

stop by her blog 

Martha's Favorites

You will truly enjoy your visit!

****************

My gift went to 

Cindy from

Creations By Cindy

And, like always, 

I was so excited to package my gifts and send,

I didn't get a photo of what I sent to her.

You'll just have to stop over and visit

Cindy to see.

Once again this has been a fun time of friendship and surprises.

Thank you for stopping by and sharing in the fun of the reveal.

Wishing you many blessings this season!

See you next week!

When a Room Finally Works!

Hi Friends!

Hope you had a nice weekend.

We enjoyed a beautiful fall weekend here in Texas

and more of the same is on tap for this week.

I hope to spend some time here soon.

With all the work going on here,

I'm sad to say, I have missed this space!

As some of you already know,

the last 6 months,

 I've been on a roll with my renovations

 and redecorating ideas.

Just when I think I've finished,

something has to change.

It's really the snowball effect when one update leads to another.

As for the recent renovations,

I am almost near revealing the bathrooms.

We are just waiting on the shower glass doors to arrive

this Wednesday then all will be complete.

However before this project began,

I did some big changes in our family/library room

back in August.

This room  is one of those spaces that is very difficult to arrange.

One large wall, one window wall, bookcase wall and half bath door

on another wall,  make this room a real challenge.

I've had furniture many different ways over the years

and recently I realized what the real problem was.

Sizing!!

Yes, the size of the sofa 

and the fact that I really don't have but one wall to work with.

This wall of windows is the best spot for the sofa.

It measures 93 inches long.

Most standard sized sofas run about 84 to 88 inches and more.

Love seats run around 64 to 66 inches.

I needed something in between but still seat 3 when needed.

So I began my search and found that Lazy Boy Furniture

makes Apartment size sofas.

Hurrah, the perfect size for the wall and still fit an end table and lamp.

These sofas have to be custom ordered and made  but you can choose your fabric 

and that is always a plus. 

This gorgeous sofa above measures 73 inches long

still allowing for a side lamp table that measures around 18 to 19 inches wide

to fill the space nicely without feeling tight.

Remember I had 93 inches to work with.

The fabric I choose was a soft light creamy wheat.

I did go ahead and have the manufacture add a coating of scotch guard to the fabric to repeal spills and more.

It has a lifetime guarantee.

I also love to place a sofa away from a wall or set of windows.

This makes for a conversation space.

The depth of the sofa was also important 

so the room wouldn't feel cramped.

Many of the newer style sofas are very deep front to back 

measuring up to 40 inches for some sofas. 

I needed one about 32- 34 inches and this was also a plus

using an apartment size sofa size.

It's nice to walk behind a sofa if possible to open window treatments.

I placed a large window style mirror behind this area which

gives the room a feel of being wider as this is what you see when you enter the room.

Over all it is a very large room, just not configured properly

with the placement of the doors and powder room and of course the book case.

We did not build this house, I would have placed things a bit differently. lol

Anyway, these sofas take about 6 weeks to complete.

Mine happened to be complete sooner, which is rare, but I was happy 

it arrived earlier then expected in just 4 weeks.

At the same time, I decided to have the side chair made too.

My inspiration for this room was to lighten it up.

With wood floors and wood bookcase, it sure needed a brighter look.

I could have painted these bookcases like I have painted the rest of the cabinets

in this house, but decided, 

since this room is a library,

the wood tone just looked better and more library like.

This fabric by Waverly in

Ballard Bouquet Robin's Egg Blue 

is one of my favorites and it was also my inspiration

to blend and brighten.

I have always loved it and wanted to add it somewhere, so this was it.

I ordered 3 yards of  fabric from Joanne's online

and it was enough to create a slipcover for this ottoman I already had

and a lumbar pillow for the chair.

There was even enough fabric left to create

a fall pumpkin with the same fabric.

Well when one thing leads to another, 

hubby has to have a comfy chair too, right?

So I also found this wall recliner in a darker chocolate leather to blend,

 but not be the same color as the wood.

Wall recliners do not need to be cornered to recline,

saving space and help with placement in a room like this one.

So the colors here are now ivory, blue and brown.

It's a warm cozy combo that can change easily

to another accent color if I decide that later.

You all know, that will happen in time! Don't you? lol

I'll take you around the room with a few pics 

so you can see how it all turned out.

Two hand sewn pillows for the sofa.

This sofa came with two matching pillows in the same fabric but

I always prefer to change those out with a color to coordinate.

Adding a soft cozy throw in aqua invites you to curl up

and enjoy watching TV or reading.

This little table was a great thrift find a few years ago 

and I simply painted it with chalk paint in robin's egg blue.

The lamps pick up the color of the recliner in the dark chocolate.

For the slipcover, I made a pattern layering the  fabric

over the top portion which opens for storage.

Measured down from there about 5 inches allowing for

seams and double stitching.

For the soft fullness I measured around the ottoman

and then doubled the length for the gathering.

I just wanted a soft fullness not a ruffled look.

Lastly, I pinned all in place and adjusted as I went.

For the corners I pinned and base stitched a double style dart

for the curve.

This is all done in just two pieces.

I base stitched everything first, then fit it all before I sewed

the final slipcover.

Hemmed the skirt and lastly pressed and done.

With about a yard of fabric left, I made a lumbar pillow and added

 a little end trim to complete.

This wood fireplace is on the opposite wall in the center of the room.

It gives another focal point beside the bookcases.

The gorgeous frame on the painting happens to be the same dark chocolate

like the leather of the recliner.

It's great when you have treasures in your stash that just work out, isn't it?

I added a little writing desk on this narrow

wall with a vintage drop down desk found many years ago

at a brick and mortar shop where my shop was also located.

See the bank of light switches? (not a fan of these)

I have plans for those.

That will be another post!

This old vintage hutch was my mother's and it holds my tea cup collection.

Painting it white, also lightens the room and blends with the tables.

This is the view as you walk into this room.

The wall color is called Churchill Maple.

It's a light wheat and just goes with everything.

The TV lives in the center of the bookcase behind the double doors.

Love being able to hide it away when needed.

I also love to anchor a room with a rug. 

This one under the coffee table is an indoor outdoor style.

Easy to clean when needed.

Take it outside and hose it down, let dry and ready to place again.

This room also leads to the second floor with a back staircase.

The door to the right is the powder room.

Now you can see why this room is difficult to place.

The bright French door leads to the patio and pool.

To the left, the open doorway leads to the kitchen.

The sign near the ceiling between the light scones  is hard to see in this photo, it reads,

"It's A Wonderful Life"

Before I end,

I thought I'd share a few ways, I utilize some of the space for storage.

Basket sitting under the coffee table hold extra throws, pillows, magazines and of course books.

Stacking boxes in the accent color used in the room, live under the side table 

ready to neatly store whatever.

So there you have it.

Sizing!!

Consider the size of a room and shop for furniture armed with your measurements.

It can make all the difference.

When you're in a showroom, thrift store, junkin trip and more,

items can look like they will fit till you get them home

only to find, the size may not be right.

This room is pulled together by mixing my very old vintage treasures

 with a few new treasures that worked.

It all makes a house a HOME!

Thank you for stopping by to visit.

I hope to share the bathrooms completed next time.

Till then, have a great week and see you soon.

Inspiration Begins First

Renovations for me always begin~

with an inspirational piece or style.

As you know, I've been mentioning 

my reno's here at

Rose Garden Cottage

taking place in two bathrooms.

Yes, two!

I know, a bit much to take on all at once.

But I figured while the dust is flying let's get it done and complete.

Now these rooms have been a bit of a work in progress over the years.

Starting with changes here and there with tiled floors,

cabinet painting and more.

This time, it's the final wrap to completion.

************

When I begin a project like this,

I always see it finished before I begin.

It's just the way my design style works.

At this point, I have  a mind set to work from as I go along.

I do at times sketch out a rough drawing, but most of the time,

I work by sight.

However, I always keep a design file on every renovation and project.

I love having it to refer to long after the project is complete.

Here was the starting point to my inspiration

for bathroom one on the second floor.

This is a guest bathroom, but now that it's almost done, I wish it was the master!!!

The inspiration began with this gorgeous summer sand glass tile in shades of earth tones and neutrals.

This was placed in the shower's shampoo box shelf and accent around the center.

I also used this for the sinks back-splash.

This floor was also my inspiration and already in the bathroom.

It is called ~ Cremfil Marble tile

 in shades of sand, ivory, white, light brown and very slight light pink.

This flooring looks amazing with the glass tile and new counter top. 

For the counter I choose a gorgeous Emperador Light Marble.

It is beautiful with the floor, glass tiles and wall color called, Winter Wheat.

This is a darker wall color for me and my light tones, but it lends itself to a great anchor for the room.

Beautiful blend of neutrals.

Let me share a little tip on countertops.

If you are only replacing the top and don't need a whole slab of granite, marble, etc,

source a slab yard that also specializes in fabricated tops for smaller projects.

These usually come in sizes of approx. 26/30 inches wide by 84 inches long. 

You will save thousands of dollars on purchasing a whole slab to do your project. 

Slab yards only sell full slabs, so if you don't need all that product, it's wasted money.

In my case, I only needed marble for the one counter on the second floor.

So picking out the smaller slab was a huge savings. 

All else with this smaller slab goes the same from the measuring, cutting etc.

You just don't have lots of slab left over saving money.

My contractor helped me source a company in North Texas and they were terrific.

Here you can see all the elements blended.

See the marble crack glazed over into the marble?

God made that!!

 This is why I love natural materials to work with in home design.

Now here we go just before the Demo began!

Below are the before photos.

This is 25 years old and dated.

Some have said, why take this out???

One thing I can say, looking back at these photos,

It's really not bad when it's kept very clean.

You know you can have old, but when it's clean it can work for awhile!!

What you can't see in the photos are the years of use and little cracks and imperfections

that warrant a take out.

The cabinet stayed because I already redesigned this beautiful solid piece and it's pretty in a soft shade of ivory with an antiqued French design on the cabinet doors.

 Demo Day 

went off without a hitch.

We have a great contractor who's crew is exceptional.

This is our tile guy who does nothing but tile and is

a true artisan professional and perfectionist.

I don't worry with him on the job.

Here is the second floor bath taken down to the studs.

And here is a pipe that had to be redirected 

because of my design idea for the placement of the shower's shampoo box.

No problem they said, and the plumber had it done in about an hour.

Okay, let me say, nothing is a problem when you pay for it, right???

Well let me say, in the end the extra $$$ paid off because it's gorgeous.

After demo, new walls go in made especially for shower and tub installation.

This wall behind the tile will never mold, mildew or rot.

Do you see the height of the new walls?

Well, my design idea was to take this the rest of the way to the window edge.

It made for more of an enclosure look and finish.

I went with very light almond subway tile for this shower.

The floor is also subway tile in 3x3 size with a matte finish.

This keeps the floor from being slippery.

After the floor was complete and the shower pan finished,

the walls were tiled next.

Moving on now to the before pics on the first floor bathroom.

Here was my starting point of inspiration.

This bathroom is also a guest bath and next to Mr. Southern DayDreams' office.

This gorgeous mosaic stone and glass tile was used in the shampoo box shelf.

It coordinates with the cabinet and granite counter top.

I'll share those in the final reveal.

Before photo with the 25 year old cultured marble walls.

Took the height a bit farther up on these walls too.

Taking it down to the studs once again.

Hardee backer walls also went in here to prevent mold, mildew and rot.

I have to say, there was none of that going on behind the walls we took down.

Great job on the builders part plus the old cultured marble, although dated, wears like iron!!!

Here's our tile guy again, working to perfection with each tile piece.

He was amazing!!

Well that's it for now, The project is nearly complete with the exception of the frameless

shower glass on the second floor bathroom.

That has to be custom made and takes about 10 days.

In the meantime, I am having so much fun putting the rooms back together

with those special touches that make it home!

I kept the wall colors

 I also repainted all the woodwork and doors.

To say I've been busy is an understatement.

But I love this work and feel blessed to work hard!!

Here is a little cabinet I finished and made over for the second floor bath.

Painted with an ivory shade of chalk paint.

I already took off the door here in this pic.

I get so excited to start, I forget the camera!!

This is the drawer with a pretty little stencil design.

I used bits and parts of other stencils to make a design like this.

The little dots are not part of the stencil, but painted with a stylus.

I like to add these in places I think need to have a trailing effect.

Raised rose design was already on this piece.

In fact, this cabinet is an old Rachel Ashwell piece from about 15 years ago or more.

The cabinet door is a mix of stencils used to create this design.

Three in all.

Here I used a burnt umber shade for the words.

It brings out the light brown in the flooring.

Love this sweet cabinet and it will live in the water closet on the second floor bathroom.

Great for storage and essentials.

On the wall above, I added a vintage drawer shelf

and I'll get pics of this for next time.

More photos to come of the completion soon.

But before I go,

I'll leave you with a sweet giveaway win I received from

our dear Cindy from

Consider It All Joy.

Cindy had a giveaway to guess art work done by herself and coworkers.

I won the giveaway to my surprise  and here is the darling gifts she sent to me.

The sweetest pumpkin set in ivory with rusty style leaves.

An acrylic box filled with crafting goodness.

Buttons, charms, ribbon, and sweet note tags.

Love all these elements and having so much fun using them.

Thank you Cindy!!

Make sure you stop by and say hello to this sweet lady.

You will love her!!

Thank you for staying to the end of this long post.

See you soon with the finish.

Till then,

Wishing you a great week.