Etcetera

This week flew by, which is good and bad. Good, because so much was accomplished...AND,  it means that in a few hours I will be headed to Florida for a week of doing nothing but sitting on the beach....reading....drawing.....doodling.....constantly scanning the water for sharks that are coming to eat my children...ironically, watching shark week {my favorite week of television...simply mesmerizing!}.....slathering on 100+ sunscreen {and I will still get burned}...and hopefully a few runs on the beach. I plan on leaving my computer behind, but promise to be back a week from  Monday with some fresh new Knack happenings, and probably lots and lots of pictures from the beach.

The bad from this week, is that it was my last week with miss Hattie! Our fabulous time together in the studio has come to an end, and she is headed back to school in a few weeks for her final year! Yay! I have so enjoyed this sweet helper who has been nothing short of amazing and simply a pleasure to work beside in every way! The bar has been set very high my friends! This has been one of the busiest Summers to date for Knack, and I am so thankful for every bit of it. I could not have done it all without you Hattie girl!

Lastly, I had a request for an update on the planter piece in front of the studio! I am happy to report that it is doing awesome, and I have had so many appreciative comments from my neighborhood friends about the happiness it adds to the street! You can compare the photos above to this post when I had just planted them...I can't even believe how much they have grown! I guess you could say they are thriving right? They get lots of love......and they give so much love right back. It's all so good.

Have the best weekend, and I will see you all soon!

xo,

Barb

Found Goodness

Can you even believe this pile of goodness? I couldn't either, and snatched it all up as fast as I could......and there may or may not have been a few pieces of furniture involved in the mix.

Time will tell. 

{wink!}

xo,

Barb

Quotage

pinterest

 .....yes it does my friends.....it does indeed.

xo,

Barb

FYI

....I found this photo, and I cannot for the life of me find the link that goes with the photo. If you all know where this originated....do tell so that I can give proper credit.....and also find the directions:) These little hexnuts are part of my every day life, and a bracelet out of them would be AWESOME! 

Love how this piece mixed with some sparkly bling just looks fantastic!

I will make {and wear} one of these.....maybe next week while I am sitting on the beach......

EDIT: the link for this bracelet is found here! yay!

xo,

Barb

Introductions

Hello Monday morning! I hope you all are wide eyed, bushy tailed, and ready to help me out with my little desk dilemma here. 

I found this fantastic desk a couple months ago, and while I am not usually drawn to such modern design, I was smitten with the lines of this piece. I love the space age feel mixed with utilitarian cool, and the leather pulls are just fantastic. My thoughts have been all along to keep the desk "as is", but as you can see it has several knicks and dings on the surface. I think a light sanding and some tung oil will do this baby a world of good, and the legs will need a touch up with black paint as well.....but that is cake.

Every time I think of painting it, I hit a wall and nothing creative comes out.....which says to me, this piece needs to be refreshed and left alone.......but what do you think? What would you do with such a gem?

I should mention as well that this piece will be staying with me, and I think will eventually land in my son's room...we are getting ready to start his room redo this week ......so keep that in mind as you give me your thoughts!

If you are wondering about the fabulous succulent gardens, and giant pot.....my super fantastic and talented friend lily wikoff is responsible for all of that goodness! If you have never checked her out before....you are missing out, and need to head over to her facebook, etsy shop, and blog.....NOW!

Thanks pals!

xo,

Barb

Etcetera

I shot these photos a few weeks ago when we were in Virginia. I just loved the looooooong country road, the endless weathered fences, and the green grass. So pretty, so simple, and so tranquil.

Have a great weekend!

xo,

Barb

Found Goodness

So thankful for my friend Christin, who told me about these beauties! I snatched some up, and can't wait to use them!

xo,

Barb

Quotage

found via pinterest

The past few weeks have been some of the hardest weeks of my business career. I have had a very full schedule, been stretched to the limits with business growth adjustments and house keeping matters,  buying new products and trying new things...sometimes failing, sometimes hitting a home run, and lots of really important decisions to be made. 

So, when I saw this poster, it was a very visual reminder of what I have been telling myself for the past two months......do the hard things, never give up, and never....ever think you have reached a point of knowing everything. 

Never stop learning. Chin up. Here's to ya.

xo,

Barb

FYI

 I think these little guys are fantastic, and would be great fun to purchase new from Ladies and Gentlemen, or create yourself! These unique pieces are exactly what I think of when one wants to add originality and spunk to their home. It's all in the details remember?

Just shootin' straight.

xo,

Barb

Introductions

I literally squeezed this little guy in last week! I was itching to paint something colorful after all of the grays and blues I have been painting lately. Don't get me wrong...I think blues and grays are totally legit, but after so many in a row I decided to be a little rebellious!  I have about four more commission jobs left for the summer, and then I will not be taking on any new commissions until after February. I will have my hands full working on something very special.

Anywhoo,  this lovely little piece, who I have named "Mildred" after my sweet Gi Gi... is colorful and fun with a beautiful mustard finish on the outside and a little blue action jackson on the inside! For the knobs I chose a ceramic print that I find super fun and playful......jury is still out on whether they will stay on her....but for now, they are my choice. 

Mildred is available for sale, and is located in the Knack booth at Antiques on Augusta. Some of you may have noticed that I have closed the etsy shop for now as I will be really busy and not able to keep it fresh. Hopefully at some point I will be able to list some new things, but for now if you can't live without Mildred in your home, just let me know and I'll ship her right out to you!

Have a great Monday!

xo,

Barb

Etcetera....and another Introduction :)

Just finished this group of mirrors that have been hanging around the studio! All of them were orphaned mirrors that had been taken off dressers and chests of drawers over a period of time....so it was nice to finish them all, and hang them as a group. It never ceases to amaze me what some paint, paper, and wax can do! That's why I do what I do, and love it so much! Transformation is so powerful on so many levels.

It has been another crazy busy week here at the studio, and thankfully much was accomplished and a few things were checked off the big "to do" list. I did also manage to squeeze in a small little piece for the etsy shop, and will have it up on Monday! All of the mirrors are available for sale as well in the booth at Antiques on Augusta!

I hope each one of you has had a great week, and that you have a fun weekend ahead!

xo,

Barb

Found goodness

 When I got to my studio yesterday morning ......waiting for me right inside the gate, were these beautiful little flowers in a tiny little handmade ceramic vase.....and a note that read "miss your face". This is the best kind of found goodness you can have my friends. It made my month.....

I feel so blessed to be surrounded with so much love and friendship....

xo,

Barb

Roomage

roy g biv

apartment therapy

abode love

design sponge

home town girl

because it's awesome

 a sense of design

the paris apartment

 My sweet, sweet mom asked me to help her start brainstorming some ideas for her sun porch that she is getting ready to transform. So, I started looking around for some goodness all the while thinking of her criteria: comfortable seating that can be used as an extra bed, great rug{s}, place for the grand kids to play/hang, and storage. You may find that my collection of photos is a little all over the place....but there is a method to my madness! I love parts of every photo, and I will explain below.

It was hard for me to pinpoint one porch that completely captured my mom and her style, so I just pulled together some inspirational photographs that had some really cool design ideas:

1. great rugs, and the layering of different sizes and colors is casual and fun.

2. again, love the rugs.....and even though the bed is a little small I love the way it looks with the stack of books beside it. Also, the artwork on the wall reminds me of how much my mom likes to display her kid's artwork, and I think the porch would definitely need some artwork from the grandkids!

3. love the window trim in this photo, and the beautiful gray blue shade. The colors of this whole photo are very soothing.

4. I think a blue ceiling is a must, and my mom will not like the couches here, but I would! hee hee!

5. Everyone knows that a painted chest of drawers is so multi functional and perfect for all of your storage needs! {wink!}

6. This bench is perfection, and a fun DIY that dad and I could make!

7. "I do not like all the white and tan, I do not like it sam I am" {in my best Dr Seuss voice} but I do love that this daybed could be an extra bed or a comfy reading spot with storage to boot.

8. I threw these guys in for fun because who wouldn't want to have a grouping of succulents to stare at every day while on your porch?!

Porches are great.

Hope you like these ideas mom!

xo,

Barb

FYI

I know that most of you all have already seen, and heard the exciting news about the Design Sponge book coming out in September.......but I just wanted to add my excitement and put in my two cents about how beautiful the cover design is! 

Design Sponge at Home (Official Book Trailer) from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.

I am so excited to have a few of my projects in this book, and was part of the editorial team during a lot of the decision making time for this book. Grace would send all of us editors sneak peeks at the designs and we would all give feedback. I have to say that this final book cover by Julia Rothman is something to be really proud of......and is really clean, simple, and beautiful! Then you add in this happy and beautifully well done video by Ryan Marshall....and there is just a whole lot of good going on! 

I know this has been a very hard and long couple of years for the Design Sponge team, and so I want to add my congratulations on a job well done and my happiness for the success and beauty of this labor of love!

P.S. the landing page for the D*s book where you can find all the information you need on pre ordering, book tour dates and more ...is right here!

xo,

Barb

Introductions

Today on this lovely Monday, I would like to introduce you all to Llewellyn. This lovely French style piece is one that my mom and dad purchased a few months back and wanted me to paint for them. I said "sure".......but then looked at it in the studio for weeks as I worked on the many other jobs that I have going on. The guilt finally got to me, and my sweet parents were so very patient with me! I am thrilled to have their piece done and safely delivered to their living room. 

My dad left all of the design decisions up to my mom and I...{smart man I tell ya!...must be where I get it from! hee hee!}.....so we chatted about color and hardware and all of the other good things that come with transforming furniture. Mom wanted the darker green....I kinda wanted a lighter more gray green.....but I am so glad mom stuck to her guns because when we actually got the piece in the room, the dark olive was exactly the color it needed to be.......perfection! Mom also wanted to keep the original hardware, so we compromised and I painted over it to help it look a bit more fresh, modern, and intentional.

So sorry that I do not have a shot of this piece before I started on it. I have been forgetting to take them lately as we are painting so many......in fact, I started another piece on Friday and halfway through realized I forgot to take a "pre knack " shot! I have got to stop doing that!

Hope you all have a productive and happy day today!

xo,

Barb