It was only a matter of time......

Well, of course, in my fantasy of the mind, I actually believe that the 

peeps at Pottery Barn are loyal readers of my blog 'cause they think

I am some kind of design savant......picking the next BIG design trends....HA!

Seeing a really good knock-off of the vintage Euro bench that I scored

at last year's Farm Chicks show in the recent Pottery Barn catalog only

contributes to my delusions!

Will break d.i.y. rules for subway tile...

My parents came to visit this weekend.  My dad is a handy guy. 

I got my act together and had supplies on hand just in case he

was inspired to do some d.i.y. for me {his only favorite daughter}.

When we purchased our current home almost 11 months ago, it came with maple cabinets

and an island painted navy blue and granite, lots of granite. I knew the custom

cabinets were not reaching their full potential.  Before moving in we

had the cabinets painted Benjamin Moore's White Dove and I changed the hardware out

to a combination of handles and knobs in antique brass from Restoration Hardware.

The kitchen showed great improvement but the granite tile backsplash just 

didn't make sense for the classic white kitchen-look I was going for.

This weekend, my dad installed a subway tile backsplash, right over the 

existing tile........yep, you read that right, we tiled right over tile.....

Because the original tile was flush and quite straight, and removing the granite 

would have been laborious and have made a great mess....we chose to break

all sorts of d.i.y. rules, cause we are rebellious like that {well not my straight-laced papa, but

yours truly who took full responsibility as the mortgage payer}.

The photo above is proof of our great rebellion!

I chose to do a gray grout - I love the definition.  

What a difference $50 worth of subway tile from Home Depot can make!

***

Now, for the winners of the Flea Market Style magazines.....

Rachel Pallas &Shannon!

** Please email me at jillbeth{at}aol{dot}com with your addy

and I will get you your magazine! Congratulations!

Flea Market Style...

The Summer 2012 issue of Flea Market Style is hitting newsstands!

If I may say so myself, this is the best cover they have EVER had.

The home pictured on the cover belongs to Brent Heeb and Darwin Otto, the owners of one

of the most popular antiques malls in 

Portland {and one of my many 'happy places'}, Stars Antiques.  

Brent and Darwin have the most

well curated, comfortable and fabulously collected home I have

been blesssed to visit.  Their home is a testament to what can BE when

you collect for many years {and have a fabulous eye}.

When preparing for this issue, Ki called and asked if I knew any magazine-

worthy homes in Portland.  I had just moved back to Portland and called a few

well-connected friends {heyyyyyy Allie} and voile!  A few emails and

phone calls later, I found myself in southeast Portland taking some

scouting shots and trying to keep my cool as I was in total AWE of this home

and the collections it held.  I remember calling Ki from my car after

I left and telling her something along the lines...."the home is full 

of vintage goodness, probably the best styled home I have ever

visited with the MOST flea market finds".

The photo below is the scouting photo I took of the same

space pictured on the cover!  {What the cover missed is that

fabulous vintage rod iron chandelier!}

Overall, it was such a fun experience, having the home on 

the cover is the proverbial icing on the cupcake!

I was lucky to receive some extra copies of this issue of

Flea Market Style and would like

to share a couple with Forever*Cottage readers!

Just leave me a comment telling me what sort of homes you would

like to see more of in magazines.  I will

pick TWO winners to receive a free copy of Flea Market Style magazine!

*Entries closed on Friday night at midnight.

*Winner will be announced on Saturday!

Embracing imperfection....

When I saw The Nester was celebrating the imperfection in our homes today

with a linky party, I knew it was time to come clean....and be real.

Like so many of us, I often find myself aspiring to 'perfection'.....whatever THAT means.

Blogging can be dangerous because comparison and feelings of not measuring up  

can be prevalent.  There are a ton of blogs that show beautifully decorated rooms

day after day....It can be really easy to feel like your own home just doesn't

measure up.

We have lived in our current home almost 10 months!  Did I think

I would be further along with my l-o-n-g lists of projects?

YES!

My living room {pictured above} has been my biggest challenge.  I have

struggled to find inspiration for this space.  I had a slipcover made

for the sofa in a damask fabric that I had had for ages.....while I like

the bold pattern, it has been a challenge to decorate around.  

After the holidays, inspired to mix patterns and fabrics, I sought

the help of design blogger extraordinaire Holly Mathis.  

Holly and I collaborated on paint colors and fabric options.  For 

the first time, I felt inspired and knew exactly how I wanted this to look

and function.

So, this is where you look at the photo above and say......"really?"

'Cause that was back in January and this is how the room looks today......

undone.....empty packing boxes.....un-styled accessories.....linen fabric laid

out of the sofa that needs to be brought to the seamstress to make the bolster pillow......

the lantern in the corner that needs to be painted and hung....the floor lamp missing a shade.....

imperfection......

Life happens......dinner needs to be made, I work 'outside the home' 20 hours

a week, budgets are tight....and it's OK, the room will get done....in time.....

I'll show you the photos to prove it......just can't promise when that might happen.

Oh happy day!

Oh happy day!  Domino is returning!!!  I think Domino might be the magazine that I miss second-most (the first being Cottage Living).  Read all about their return HERE.  And speakingof magazines.....has anyone seen the new issue of Flea Market Style?  Yours truly scouted and submitted the fabulous home featured on the cover!  I can't wait to see the issue and share a free copy with one of YOU in an upcoming giveaway here at Forever*Cottage!

Bookshelf styling....

Adding just 20 hours of week of work {outside of the home} to my

normal routine has left me with little

time to work on projects in my home.

However, this weekend I worked on painting the backs of the book-

shelves in our great room and editing the styling on the shelves.

I was craving simplicity and feel like I am on my way.

The photo above was taken this evening.  I promise to

post photos taken in daylight later this week.

I was overanxious to share while watching the Grammy's this evening.

So how was your weekend?  I painted in between basketball games,

soccer training, middle school dance chauffeuring and even

an indulgent trip to the Tarte sale!  Bring on Monday!

My case for white slipcovers...

The above image is from my Pinterest files.....

Besides the white slipcovered sofa, I love that Kelly Wearstler Imperial Trellis

fabric in kelly green.....like love it ALOT!

But I digress....like many nights around here, last night was eventful {ha!}.

Last night I wrestled the slipcovers off my living room sofa

and gave them a good washing, complete with a bleach soak.

As I was completing this task, I thought I would share with you all

why I think white slipcovers make perfectly good sense

for families with children and dogs and husbands who actually

like to sit on the furniture:

* you can wash them, as much as they get dirty

*you can bleach them and keep them bright white

*they look fresh

* depending on the decor and styling of the room, white slipcovered 

furniture can be contemporary, shabby chic, country, traditional.....

*they smell fresh after a good washing {especially when I let the covers

dry outside in the summer}

* white slipcovered furniture allows fickle pillow people {not me, of course} to

change the pillows and feel the instant gratification of a new 'look'

Often, people who visit my home cannot believe I have a white slipcovered

sofa and chairs....but I wouldn't have it any other way!

And just in case you are wondering, my sofa is made by Lee - we have

had it for about 10 years and it looks as good today as the day

it was delivered.  Lee furniture is a bit more spendy than what your

would find at Pottery Barn, or the Ikea lines but I believe in spending

more for good upholstered furniture.  In the long run, it makes sense.

The slipcover on my sofa was custom made.  I used pre-washed white

denim for durability.  If I were to take a guess, I think this set of slipcovers 

have been washed at least 20 times - seriously!

Put a ring on it?

Blame it on my busy life, my aging brain....whatevah! 

I forgot to show you my metal napkin rings I purchased

at the Junk Salvation Show - my collection is growing!

I love using mis-matched vintage-patina silver/pewter napkin

rings for table settings.....and when not in use, they look lovely

in my Ikea jar.  You can usually find silver/silver-plate or

pewter rings at flea markets for very little - many shoppers

pass them by because they are mis-matched or alone.....but

over time you can create quite the beautiful collection!

It doesn't have to match to be beautiful!

At Junk Salvation, however, I happened to score four matching rings!  

Sometimes the flea gods shine down upon you!

Flea finds....

As promised, here are photos of my finds from the Funky Junk Sisters show.

I scored the two wooden scoops above from Roost.  I love the

raw wood patina and will most likely use them

in my kitchen flour and sugar canisters.

I also picked up the basket pictured above from Molly Mo's.  I think it was

originally intended to be used for magazines but I 

think it will find a home in one of my bathrooms - 

perfect for extra towels!

And just for fun - this attention starved doggy was bugging me the

entire time I was shooting these photos - almost as if

he wanted me to take his photo, so I indulged the pooch.  He is looking a bit 

scraggly but he did have a bath this weekend! I totally

know he just wanted to make the blog today!

TheFunky Junk Show.....{aka} gettin' my flea-on!

On Friday night, a couple girlfriends and I headed to the Funky Junk Sisters show

in Hillsboro, Oregon.  Besides just needing a night out with my girls, I was

also happy to get a flea-fix.  It seems like for-evah since I had been to

a flea market.

The show was a great opportunity to see some of my

favorite Portland vintage dealers - so, 'heeeeyyyyy' Cindy,

Lisa and Isabel!

See that great PIONEER HATCHERY sign?  It came home with

my friend Becky....good signs are hard to pass up!

Industrial stuff was everywhere.....still.

The booth above was adorable and had a great variety of items 

from which to shop - she is doing a lot of sales this spring/summer so check out 

Roost Reimagined's blog for more info!  This

seller was very friendly which is always a plus!

{which cannot be said for all of the vendors at this sale, boo!}

Cindy from the Queen of Tarte was there!  As always, her booth was

creative and edgy....this industry NEEDS sellers like Cindy!

Tarte's space always stands out in a crowd!

I took lots of pictures of stuff that 'floats my boat'.....

Old books and garden statues....yum!

Junky jewels .....

This space pictured below was FULL of vintage metal sign letters!

I remembered the seller from Farm Chicks last year {they will be back!}...

Great stuff!

I did not make many purchases.....I will be back tomorrow to show you 

my treasures......How's that for suspense?

happy friday......and a winner!

Congratulations Sharon from Elizabeth & Co., the winner of the Anthropologie spice jars!  Please email me at jillbeth@aol.com with your addy and I will get your spice jars in the mail!

I am heading to the Junk Salvation show tonight in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Anyone else getting their flea-fix on tonight?

Happy Friday!

This took my breath away......

I am addicted to Pintrest, but after awhile the images sort

of all start to resemble one another....

but today this image literally took my breath away.....

The photo has so many elements I love....

that lantern...

garden urns,

that French settee....

and don't even get me started on that gor-geous floor.

Now that is one entry that says, "welcome"....

I'll be back later with the winner of the Anthro jars - 

I promised my big girl that she could do the drawing 

and she's not home from school yet!