I Heart Antiques

I love antiques. They don't even have to be valuable antiques...I just love that an item I can hold in my own hands is a real, tangible piece of history. Take this bottle for instance:


It was manufactured in the late 1800's and it was an antique when my Grandma owned it. I don't know about you, but that just boggles my mind. Seriously! I can just picture a little Gibson Girl in a corset placing this very bottle in her medicine cabinet (any chance you're still reading? Or have I already bored you to death...).

(Uh hum...for those of you still reading) In my opinion, antiques are even better when they're family heirlooms. This china cabinet belonged to my great-grandmother. She saved up her money and bought it as a newlywed (in 1923). I feel honored to have it in my home (and as a bonus, I love the simple design).

I keep my mother's wedding china in the cabinet. Growing up, I always thought her pattern was so fancy and elegant. I was delighted when she passed it down to me, and I use it every Thanksgiving.




For more talk about heirlooms, head on over to the party today at "Emma Calls Me Mama".

Have a great weekend!

What's Your Fave ORB Spray Paint?

Read about another great option for ORB spray paint here.

I did a post a while back telling you about my favorite oil rubbed bronze spray paint (Rustoleum American Accents Metallic spray paint). Well, as many of you have already discovered, Rustoleum (in an act of shear madness) decided to discontinue this paint...what's up with that Rustoleum people?! I've actually half considered starting a petition...that's how much I liked that darn paint.



So, short of a political uprising, I've decided to ask you what your favorite oil rubbed bronze spray paint is so that we can all move on with our lives with a new paint...and hold hands, and drink a Coke. I'll post the results Monday (to give you all time to respond). I look forward to reading your comments!

I Love Me Some Ikea

I promise this will be my last post about Utah, but you know I can't possibly go to Ikea without sharing some of my favorite finds with you!

Like this great bench (love the pillows too):

These great (and inexpensive) enamel pitchers :

This fab white dining room furniture:

Don't you love the combination of the dark walls with the white vanities and mirror?:

Mmm, I'm loving this soothing bedroom:

I especially love the upholstered headboard:

Lovin' the curves on this little nightstand:

Have a great week!

P.S. I said "love" 6 times in this post. I think maybe I need a thesaurus :-).

Home Tour - Daybreak, Utah

There's a master planned community named Daybreak that was recently built on the western end of the Salt Lake valley. I love this development. Not only is the community well designed with a man made lake, lots of parks, and community centers, but the homes are beautiful. Rather than the typical suburban track home, the homes are designed to look like the charming cottages that you'd see in older, more established neighborhoods.

Take a look...

One of My Favorite Places on Earth

I'm on vacation this week in one of my favorite places on earth, Park City, Utah. You may have heard me mention (like 5 billion times) that I'm originally from Utah...and really, Dorothy knew what she was talking about when she said "There's no place like home."

So I hope you'll bear with me a little this week while I show you inside some local homes, and maybe throw in a little scenery. Like this from yesterday...

Forget about it....(that's pronounced in a New York accent..like "forgeddaboudit"in case you were wondering)

They had a Sunday street festival going on yesterday, and we know that I'm never one to miss a street festival...

Especially one with live music, good food, and...

Lots of shopping...

And don't adjust your monitors. That's not Enrique Iglesias...that's my son...I like to call him "Coolio" :-).
So, stay tuned for a glimpse inside some great local homes this week.

XO ~ AnNicole

Ordinary to Extraordinary

Yansy of Designing Life recently did a master bedroom makeover that was so fantastic I just had to show you all. Her pre-makeover bedroom was nice, but it was....a little ordinary.

With her super-chic sense of style, "ordinary" just wasn't going to cut it for Yansy. So she added new furniture and bedding, and painted the walls a modern blue with one chocolate brown accent wall.

Now for the brilliant part, since she couldn't shell out the cash for the sleek designer wallpaper she really wanted to add to the wall behind her bed, she created a "wallpaper" pattern on the accent wall herself! She simply used chalk to drew a simple tree pattern, and then used white paint to trace over the lines. I'm telling you...brilliant! See for yourself...

You can read more about her painting process here.

Have a great weekend!

Giveaway Winner! And Front Door Numbers

Hi there!...today's the day that I announce the big winner of the giveaway for a Tim Irving print. I had to select the winner randomly, because-honestly-you're all so deserving that I couldn't possibly narrow it down to one person.

So here's my highly scientific method: I texted my son (who's out of town at the moment) and asked him to choose a number between 1 and 173. Our exchange went something like this...

Me: Hey - Choose a number between 1 and 173
Munchkin: Why?
Me: I'll tell you later, just choose a number
Munchkin: 50
Me: Why 50?
Munchkin: IDK (which...as we all know, means "I don't know" in teenager
speak)
Me: Well...ok then...thanks

Sooo, the 50th person to leave a comment/the WINNER is ....drumroll... Tricia @ Boutelle FamilyZoo !!!!

Congrats Tricia! And thanks for all of your entries. I'm glad that you all loved Tim's work as much as I do.

The good news for the rest of you is that his prints are very reasonably priced. You can browse his Etsy shop here.

And speaking of numbers (nice segway eh?) I have to show you the numbers I finally added to my front door. I bought them at Vinyl Vineyard on Etsy and I really love them. Best part? If I get tired of them eventually (Me getting tired of my decor? I know, it's hard to imagine.) I can always just peel them off!

You can read more about how I painted my front door here.

P.S. If it's any comfort to the 172 of you who didn't win, I never win anything either :-). And don't worry-I will be doing more giveaways in the future.

Thrifty Decor Tips

I know I've said this a million times but I believe everyone deserves a beautiful home regardless of their financial situation. I know what it's like to not be able to spend money, but that doesn't mean I can't have beautiful surroundings that make me happy and feel like I'm HOME.

THRIFTY TIPS:

1. You don't have to furnish/decorate an entire room at one time. Add bargains as you find them and let your room evolve.
2. Shop at thrift stores, flea-tique stores, and estate sales. Always remember that you can transform anything with a little paint....and paint is cheap.
3. Other great places to find bargains are TJ Maxx/Homegoods/Marshalls, Ebay, and craigslist.
4. Never pay full price for anything. Use a coupon, shop sales and clearance items.
5. SHOP THE HOUSE! You'll be surprised at how items you already have can be reused in new ways.
6. Most importantly, have patience. The bargains are out there, but not necessarily at the exact moment you're looking for them. You'll save boatloads of money by waiting for that deal to come your way...and it will if you're patient.

Want to see these tips in action? Here's the lowdown...the 411...the...um, yellow pages encyclopedia centipedia on my living room....yo (oh yeah, I'm so hip it's ridiculous..ha!).

Sofa: $349 (Ashley Furniture)
Pillows: $8 Handmade with Ralph Lauren fabric bought on Ebay and reused existing inserts
Coffee Table: Hand me down
Plate on Coffee Table: $2.99 TJ Maxx
Candles: $8(?) Garden Ridge
Piano: Family heirloom
Plates Above Piano: Our everyday dishes from Pier One
Lamp: $8 thrift store find
Apothocary Jars: $8.99 and $12.99 TJ Maxx
TOTAL FOR THIS AREA: $398

Bureau: $40 at a flea-tique store (I still get excited when I think about that one)
Lamp: $15 Target (reused old shade)
Large Frame: I'm going to guess $15 (I've had it forever and I simply placed some fabric in it)
Silver Vase: $2.50 on clearance at Hobby Lobby
Books/White Box/Silver Jar: I'm going to say "free" because I've had them forever
Wingback Chair: Hand me down
Slipcover: $38 from QVC
Pillow: $4 Made with Ralph Lauren fabric found on Ebay
Curtains: Purchased 4 linen panels on clearance at Linens and Things for $12 each (pre-closing)
TOTAL FOR THIS AREA?: $162.50

I know this is a weird picture, but I wanted you to see the rug. I'm especially proud of this bargain. I bought it on final clearance at Pottery Barn for $100...it was regularly $400!

Also, included in this photo:
Loveseat: $299
Green pillow: $5 on clearance at Target
Tan pillow: Made with extra curtain panel (included in total above)
TOTAL FOR THIS AREA: $404

Armoire: $200 on craigslist (now I realize I probably could have found a better deal...I'm cheap like that)
Small chair: $19 at flea-tique store (I also think I paid too much for it...you can read about how I added the numbers here)
Framed Art: Frames $10 at Hobby Lobby; Postcards $4.50 from Alicia Bock; Watercolor paper as mat $2.00.
TOTAL FOR THIS AREA: $255.50

Grand Total for the entire living room? $1220

Happy decorating!

GIVEAWAY!!!

***This Giveaway is Closed***

I'm so excited that it's GIVEAWAY DAY! I think I may be even more excited that you. I stumbled upon the etsy shop of Tim Iriving (opart) and I instantly fell in love with his photographs and his blog...and the fact that he's an English artist living in Spain...I'm sorry, doesn't that just sound so incredibly romantic? Anyway, I contacted him and asked if he would be willing to give one of his wonderful prints away to one of my readers. He kindly agreed. In fact, the winner will be able to choose any print from his shop.

Here are a few samples of his work:

The Bold...

And The Beautiful....

So down to the nitty gritty - what do you need to do to enter? Post a comment below (and make sure I can reach you by email somehow if you're the winner).

Interested in extra credit? Publish a post on your blog linking back to either this post or ANY OF MY POSTS that interest you, and then come back and leave a comment telling me you did that. You'll then be entered again to win.

I'll choose the winner randomly and announce the winner on Wednesday of next week.

Good luck!