UNLIKELY INSPIRATION

A few months ago, I was watching an NBA game with the boys.

Okay, let's get real, I was most likely reading Southern Living while they were watching the game.

While my boys were discussing the team fouls and rebounds, 

I couldn't help but focus on the sports announcer's outfit.

I did a double take and then asked to my husband to pause the TV so I could snap a picture. 

Now I'm no sports fanatic, but I do have two boys who are obsessed 

with basketball, baseball and football.  

So I see my fair share of sporting events on TV. 

However, it seems as though I have been living under a rock.   

Apparently the sports announcer, Craig Sager, is quite famous for his outlandish outfits.

I was intrigued. 

I did a little digging and came up with a few more Craig Sager ensembles. 

Since fashion isn't necessarily my thing, my thoughts immediately turned to interior design.

I used a few of my favorite Craig Sager outfits as inspiration 

for a little fabric/wallcovering pattern mixing.

Humor me, if you will........

(Oh, and if you love any of the fabrics/wallcoverings, I have included links to the sources below).

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While searching for my favorite Craig Sager suits, 

I discovered he is currently battling acute myeloid leukemia.  

My prayers go out to him and his family. 

I sure hope his is back in action and sporting some fabulous fashion very soon.

FOUR YEARS LATER - THE MASTER BEDROOM

It has been almost four years since we moved into "The Money Pit".  

I thought it would be fun to take a look back over the next few weeks 

of how far this home of ours has come.

I have no rhyme or reason behind this, but thought I would start with the master bedroom.

Oh wait, I do have a reason....

My mom made some new window treatments for the master bedroom and

I'm dying to show them to you.

Here's a peek before I show you the ugly before pictures.

Before we bought the house, it looked something like this....

Once the renovation started, it looked like this for a short while....

Shortly after we moved in, it looked like this.....

Last year, I made a few small changes and it looked like this for a short while....

And these were the drapes, which were also used in the master bedroom at our old house.

I found a huge bolt of indoor/outdoor fabric on clearance at the Frontgate Outlet.

I never did measure the total yardage, but the tag said 50 yards.  It was $100!

I had no idea what I would use it for, but I just couldn't pass it up.

As soon as I got it home, it hit me, master bedroom drapes.

My talented mother came to the rescue and made them for me.  

The woman has mad sewing skills!

She delivered them when she came to visit this weekend.

We wasted no time getting them hung.

You know I love stripes, right? 

This is even better than stripes, it's stripes with a pattern.

Here's a closer look.

Initially, I wasn't sure how I would like them up against the Sherwin Williams Sea Salt wall color. 

As soon as they were hung and I took a step back to take it all in, I fell in love.

 I'm still working out a few kinks with the pleats.

Don't worry, I'll have these beauties trained in no time.  

Oh, and as luck would have it, I still have about 25 yards of this gorgeous fabric left.  

I'm pretty certain it will be making an appearance on the back porch.

 Believe it not, I went back to the Frontgate Outlet the next day

 and bought my mom 60 yards of a different fabric - for $100. 

I just can't pass up a deal like that.

Would you?

Sharing with:
A Stroll Thru Life

THE COLOR PURPLE

Apparently all pre-teen girls love the girl color purple, any and all shades of it.

My daughter, who, as of lately, has an opinion about EVERYTHING, 

has requested that we update her room. My first response was "Say what, we just updated your room!".

She then went on to explain that she basically just wants to add a little purple to the mix. 

I can live with that.  

Since I like to control manage things around here, I quickly took matters into my own hands, before she got a hold of some neon purple fuzzy thing with sequins (not that there's anything wrong with neon purple things with sequins). I picked up a couple yards of this fabric earlier in the week.

I'll have some large pillows made similar to these from etsy.

I wasn't sure that little dose of purple was going to satisfy her, so I also picked up a can of this....

I have a few thoughts on where this purple spray paint might be going, 

and I promise to keep you posted.

As a reminder, this is how the first makeover turned out.....

I did not want to repaint the walls or ceiling.

I am also pretty adamant about this chair staying put. 

Even though she is "SO OVER PINK!"

She might be my most difficult client to date. 

Wish me luck!

Have a glorious weekend. 

FABRIC LOVE

I love a good bargain on fabric and I often shop the remnant section at fabric stores.  

But every once in a while, I set my sights on a beautiful piece of fabric and it draws me in.

The new John Robshaw Poppy Collection has done just that. 

Here's a peek at it.

You can view the entire collection here.

John Robshaw's signature style is block printing.

I am so intrigued by the whole process. 

I'm adding this book, which provides a rare glimpse into his creative process, to my wish list. 

here

He also has a great line of bedding and even some beautiful scarves.  

Cliff Cotton Scarf

Something tells me I won't ever come across one of his remnants in the clearance bin.

Given the number of times I change my mind when it comes to fabric, 

I think I will stick to admiring the John Robshaw collection from a far.  

I will update you on the giant tree coming down tomorrow. 

Right now, our yard looks as though a tornado passed through.

THE FINISHING TOUCHES

Sorry I was MIA last week.  

A took a little jaunt down to the Florida Keys to celebrate my birthday.

The weather didn't want to cooperate, but nonetheless, 

I was able to catch up on my reading and napping.  

That's what vacations are for, right?

With the help of my parents and my in-laws, my kids were well taken care of while we were gone. 

My saint of a mom even stayed an extra day after we returned and did some sewing for me. 

I have been patiently waiting for my mom to help me put the finishing touches on our family room.

This is what we she created....

I had some leftover fabric from the drapes she made last year.

We used a coordinating stripe for the trim.

She also made a couple of these...

I bought this remnant a while back and planned to use it for a valance for our powder room.

Imagine that, a project I planned and never got around to doing. 

The yellow pillow came from Homegoods and the blue one came from Pottery Barn.

I had to hurry and snap a picture before my children threw all the pillows on the ground.

This is couch is plenty big for three pillows and three kids.  Not sure why they don't get that!

I suppose "finishing touches" is a little too final of a phrase for my liking.  

You and both know, no room, especially in my house, is ever really finished. 

But for now, I am going to sit back, kick my feet up and enjoy the space.

I have been fussing over this room for a while now. 

I think it's time to turn to turn my attention elsewhere.

Look out stairway and second floor landing, I'm coming for you!

Sharing with:
Savvy Southern Style

NEW PROJECT (FAMILY ROOM)

I'm back from a whirlwind trip to Atalanta to attend the Haven Conference 

with a ton of other fabulous bloggers.  I learned a ton, but more importantly, 

I finally got to meet some of my favorite blogging buddies.  

I plan to recap the trip later this week, as soon as I get my act together.  

Let's face it, that's never really going to happen, so how about I post about it later this week, regardless. Okay, good, glad we got that settled. 

In the meantime, I'll share a new project I'm working on.  This one is especially fun for two reasons.  First, the client's name is Andrea.  In case you didn't know, my name is Andrea too.  

So cool that I get to start my emails with Andrea and end them with Andrea.  

Tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that is cool.  

The second reason I'm stoked about this project is because my client is building her dream home,

 so we have a completely clean slate to start with.  

My client and her husband had already picked out a sectional for the family room. 

The sofa is neutral and we decided to keep the area rug neutral also.  

That way, we could have fun with fabrics.

The home has a fairly open floor plan so we wanted to make sure the colors we used 

could easily translate to other rooms on the first floor.

I thin this is going to be a beautiful room, grounded in neutrals, 

mixed with some masculine navy, fresh greens and airy golds. 

I can't wait to see this plan come to life. 

Just for fun, here's a look at the space now.....

There will be built in bookcases on either side of the fireplace 

and the TV will be mounted above the fireplace. 

Aren't those arched doorways gorgeous? 

I will keep you posted on the progress, of course.

Summer continues to be exhausting with sports, camps and activities, 

but it will slow down soon and then we can really enjoy it.  

Looking forward to the lazy days of summer. 

How about you, is your summer lazy or crazy?

FIELD TRIP FRIDAY

This week's Field Trip Friday is a combination of a few stores I visited in Nashville last week.  

The lovely Kathy, from My Interior Life, gave me some tips about a few great shopping spots. 

If you don't already follow Kathy's blog, you will want to.  

She has a great eye for design and she finds some of the most unique items. 

First stop, 8th Avenue Antique Mall...

I could kick myself for not buying this mirror.  

It was only $35 and I have been thinking about it ever since.

However, if I found the right mirror, I suppose I could create my own with a little black paint.

I spotted this little box for $9 as soon as I walked in 

and I meant to go back for it before I left and I forgot.  Darn it!

I contemplated buying this old typewriter table for $50.  

It could have made an interesting night stand or end table.  

So I'm back to my door search because some schmuck went and bought one of the two doors

I was hoping to buy back home in Cincinnati at the Wooden Nickel.  

I know, it's not like the doors I hadn't yet purchased had my name on them, but they belonged to me!

Oh well, the search continues.  

These doors were really cool, but they were not tall enough and they were $800.

My next stop was The Preservation Station.  

This place wasn't on my list of suggested stores, but I drove past it several times and I just had to go in.   

They had tons of old doors.  The really great ones were pretty pricey and darn heavy!

None of these worked with my dimensions, but I loved them all.

There were a few prospects in the back room, but the prices were not that great and I would had to explain to my husband that the kids weren't going to fit in the car  because I bought some old doors. 

He's a pretty laid back guy and normally goes along with most all of my ridiculous ideas, 

but I have a feeling he may have drawn the line here.  

They had some amazing old windows too.  These arched windows came from an old courthouse.

Vintage doorknobs galore!

They had tons of beautiful antique lighting.  This petite little thing caught my eye. 

As did this old school house pendant. That's the real deal people, no reproductions here.

My last stop was a great little fabric store, called Fabric Gallery and Decor, Inc.

Almost every fabric in stock was $10.95 or below.  

I left with 7 yards of this classic khaki and white houndstooth.  

It looks a little green in this picture, but it's khaki.  

I'll show you next week what I plan to do with it. 

I had two full days all by myself in Nashville while my husband worked.  

I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun I had exploring and shopping 

(oh and I may have gotten a bed sore from all the sleeping I did too).

I should tag along on his business trips more often. 

We have a pretty relaxing long weekend ahead and I can't wait to do a lot of NOTHING!

I hope you have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. 

Any big plans?