House Tour ~ Living Room

After sharing photos of the dining room the other day, I thought I might as well go ahead and make it through some of the other rooms in the house.  This space is where all the room flip-flopping began.  Originally the formal living space (meaning rarely did anyone step foot in here), this room is now the main gathering space in our home.  Although it's not grand in size, its soaring ceilings give it such a grand feeling to me.  I attribute it to all the wonderful light that comes pouring through the windows.  

This wasn't always the case for this room.  When we moved into this house eleven years ago, it was dark, dated and a little depressing.  The stained paneling had yellowed badly over time ~ and the dark fireplace was just plain creepy.  I vacillated back and forth for awhile ~ "to paint or not to paint?"  I'm sure the room was quite beautiful in its heyday ~ but time had taken its toll.  Against numerous people's opinions, I finally decided to proceed forward.  I did the unpardonable and whitewashed everything!  And ya know what?  I've never looked back ~ painting that dark and dingy room was like a breath of fresh air.

You might wonder why I opted to share this pic of the ceiling.  Well, if you've ever spent hours on end scraping popcorn off ceilings, I bet you have great appreciation for this nice, smooth one.  Scraping was an arduous task and undertaking but the benefits far outweigh the pains of taking it down.  And just for clarification, I think cottage cheese and popcorn are nice to eat ~ I just don't like them on my ceilings. :)  If you like, read more about the vintage bus roll sign that hangs above the mantle here. 

After all the priming and painting (thanks to the hubby who is a meticulous painter) and sanding and scraping ~ the room was finally given a new lease on life.  Oh, and I'm crazy about the old cafeteria cart turned TV stand ~ read more about its transformation here. 

I think this space went from drab to fab ~ from rarely being occupied to a prime piece of real estate  we gather in it most everyday. 

Besides a great place for TV watching, the room also provides an opportune place for chatting, reading or one of my faves (on golf watching days) snoozing.

I love that no matter where you decide to plop down, there's a comfy spot waiting for you.  Read more about the revamped floor lamp here.

Just a thought, if you've been toying with the idea of painting that wood paneling in your home for awhile ~ I would encourage you to go ahead and take the plunge ~ I'm so glad we did. :)

Prior to lightening and brightening this room ~ and before we rethought the purpose of the space, this room went virtually unused.  Once again, I think it's completely okay to flip-flop rooms in your house and just maybe some of that rethinking will give you space you never knew you had before. :)  I hope your day is filled with good things.  XO

A New Look for Tattered Style

Happy Friday!  You may have noticed Tattered Style has a new look ~  thanks to a wonderful graphic designer and friend of mine named Emma.  We've been collaborating on the new design for a few weeks now and I'm so thrilled with how it's all come to fruition.  I have to thank Emma for her patience with me and the many emails, phone calls and texts I inundated her with over the course of the weeks.

    

A little bit about Emma ~ she graduated from Oklahoma State with a degree in Graphic Design. And yes, while she's an unbelievably gifted graphic artist (and loves pretty things) she's also an amazing photographer and blogger ~ please make a visit over to Emmadime to see for yourself.  

Back to the bio ~ shortly after graduating college, Emma took a little break and moved to Paris for a year of inspiration and rejuvenation.  I can't think of a better getaway place ~ I love Paris!    

Here are a few pics from Emma's stay in Paris.  This is the home of a friend that Emma made a visit to one weekend.  These photos in particular are so beautiful to me and evoke the feel of tattered style.      

I love how this room is so undecorated ~ yet perfectly decorated.  Can you believe the size and character of that fireplace?  

 The dining table ~ I love the quirky seats.  

The dining table before breakfast ~ note the fresh, assortment of breads and tea.

 The dining table after breakfast ~ croissants devoured ~ sigh ~

Okay ~ enough daydreaming already!  After Emma's return home from Paris, she dove headfirst into the world of freelance graphic design and she's been busy ever since.

Not only does Emma freelance as a graphic designer, she is also one more amazing knitter.  You must check out Emmadime Knitted to see all of her knitted goodness!  

Wait ~ if you thought I was finished with all the many things Emma keeps herself busy with ~ not yet.  She also works for Rue Magazine ~ a wonderful online design magazine.  Please take a moment to peruse its pages if you haven't had the chance.  It's a feast of beautiful eye candy.  

For now, my time working with Emma has come and gone but I'm sure our paths will cross again someday.  Here is a sampling of some things Emma created for Tattered Style ~

 

I love my business cards.  They resemble the British bus roll I have hanging above my fireplace.  I'm also having the card printed up in the reverse design, with a black background and white lettering. The stamp is so much fun to use for stamping shipping tags (which I'll be using as business cards as well). 

Thank you Emma for all of your "heart' work and dedication on my project.  You are an amazingly gifted artist and I know your future will continue to be bright.  I'm happy to call you my friend ~ smile.

Sucker for Signage

It's no secret, I'm a sucker for vintage signs. When I run across a good lot, I go weak in the knees. Last week at Round Top, was no different. I fell head over heels for these vintage bus roll transit signs that are originally from the UK ~ a little deviation from your typical signage, but oh ~ so incredible!

I was so glad to meet DeWayne, the owner of Home Economics located in Grants Pass, Oregon, who carries the vintage signs. I also learned that he sells these wonderful old bus rolls on Etsy ~ find them here. DeWayne so generously shared a wealth of information about the history of the signs. I think you'll be intrigued by their story.

Before buses had digital readings of the stops they were making on their routes, the names of the stops/streets were printed on a roll of calico cloth. The bus driver would use a hand crank to roll through the various stops to display the destination.

These wonderful cloths are now used not only as art and wall hangings, but are also being used to make pillows and upholster furniture.

I can't get over this wingback chair! Find it here.

If you're not blown away yet, then check out the line of clothing DeWayne has developed using the material from the bus rolls.

I love this dress ~ find it here. What will he think of next?

Back to my story ~ Most of the bus rolls were black and white, but there was one grouping that had pops of yellow ~ so cool and colorful!

After much deliberation, (thanks Kelley, from The Hidden List, Sharon, from Bless Your Neighbor and Gretch for your patience), I made my decision.

I settled on this beauty. I've been looking for the perfect (or not so perfect) piece of "art" to go above the mantel in my living room for the past ten years ~ I think I finally landed it. :)

I think it's right at home above my fireplace mantel.

I think these vintage bus rolls have character out the wazoo and are so graphic. Someday I'll probably have mine matted and framed ~ but hey, who's complaining! Oh~ and by the way, I scored a vintage lawn chair from DeWayne at this booth. He was using it as a prop for a display and he didn't want to haul it back to Oregon ~ so he gave it to me for free! Thanks DeWayne! I'll share it's unveiling with you in the future. :)