Nesting Monday...

Mondays is usually the day that Clara and I work around our own homes. We try to get some fun stuff around the house done in between cleaning , laundry and runs to the supermarket.
Most of the time is just a little re-arrangement or a seasonal display, nothing major...just a little "nesting fluffing" for us to enjoy the rest of the week!...

We wish constructors will not add those generic cabinet built ins...
They are usually in the upstairs hallways, by the stairs...
They are practical, we know, but if they were not there, we would have a lot more room to add a vintage, sturdy, very cool cabinet or hutch that would provide the same storage.
... But the point is that they do add them...at least in our area they do.

They are usually an awkward space to work with, but with a few simple things you can transform them from this:

...into this...

A few family photos, (avoid a huge collection of frames, if possible!)...
...an old frame with burlap background for texture...
...a shabby candle holder...
and a vintage pottery piece with potpourri...

Displaying a few of your favorite things will prevent those spaces from becoming a dumping destination like this one....

or even worse...YIKES!!!

Hope we inspired you to do a little fluffing of your own!
XOXO

Makeover Time...

You've got to love vintage furniture...

When an old dresser couldn't be salvaged and needed to be put to rest, we couldn't help ourselves and kept the drawers just in case we could think of something to do with them later on.
Well, that day finally came....

By decoupaging the inside of the drawer with vintage music sheets...

...and by adding glass drawer pulls as feet...

...we turned the old drawer into a deep "tray" perfect to be displayed in a big coffee table holding magazines, the remote controls or your favorite drink...

Note that this time we didn't paint the wood, we just bee waxed it to show its beautiful grain...

Like we said at the beginning of this post, you've got to love vintage furniture...and we love it to pieces!...even leftover pieces!!!

Thank you Jen for hosting the
Makeover Open House!

Now, we are on our way to visit all the other participants...
Share, Inspire and Be Inspired!
XOXO,
Clara & Marcela

This week we are loving...

...the end of June...
...the perfect weather and...

...the little signs that prove that Summer is finally here...

...Shells inside the house...

...and out....

No school, no homework, no schedules...(for the most part)
and many trips to the beach...

"What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer,
the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months,
and with as yet no sign to remind one
that its fresh young beauty will ever fade"
~Gertrude Jekyll~

One more done!!

We are determined to finish all the projects that have been quietly waiting for us in the garage before buying anything else in need of some TLC. We thought that this one was perfect to share on the 25th at Jen's Makeover Open House, but we couldn't wait to show you!! So, Ladies here it is: our first upholstery job...
We started with this vintage, yellowish, distressed (not exactly in a good way) occasional chair found somewhere...(was so long ago, we can't even remember!)

Good lines, dirty seat....

After applying the primer, 3 coats of white spray paint and removing the seat material, this is what we got:

Using the old material as a pattern, we cut burlap, and with a little bit of patience, the ugly chair started to show some chic-ness...

We added a cream trim and bronze upholstery brads...

And finished it with a little back pillow....

Wouldn't be just too adorable in a bedroom?

...or the entryway?...or in a reading nook?...or in the office?...or the bathroom?...
or the guestroom?...or the dressing room?...or the living room?...or...

What can we say...we don't know where this cute chair will end up, but we are happy that we worked on it...

One more project done...YEAH!!

Happy Father's Day!

Dad always said:
"I will not pick your Husbands, that is your decision, girls. I'm just going to say that you better pick well!"

As we look at these pictures we wonder if maybe, just maybe... we should had left Dad make the decision for us...

Happy Father's Day, E, D and Dad!!!

"It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't"
~Barbara Kingsolver~

You did it!...

You really did it!!
You grew from this cute little boy...

into this handsome young man....

You found your passion at a very early age and developed your talent
from this...

into this....

You made us proud every step of the way...

...And it all happened in a blink of an eye...

However, we know that the best is yet to come!
Now go and paint your way through life, because the world is all yours!
Congratulations, M!!

We love you,
Your family

About busy life...

Life has kept us away from the computer for a few days....
Soccer tournaments to attend and win....High School finals to study for....
a Graduation party to organize...Father's Day gifts to be purchased and since the weather has been much better, even an occasional drive to the beach to pick up our girls and a little gardening have been necessary.

Today we are back in the store and decided to share with you some pretties that just came in, with the hopes of getting you "nest" inspired...

...to help you dream of fun summer days ...

...spent out in the porch or the backyard...


...to think of refreshing lemonade with friends...


But most of all to remind ourselves that:

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time"
~John Lubbock~

If you love it...get it!

We bought this beautiful antique French bed about 8 months ago...
...original paint in dreamy color...

...rose carvings...

...2DIE4 legs....

Like any French beauty was admired by hundreds of customers, but this one... didn't sell.
We took it to the Flea Market with us... people loved it, but it didn't sell...

Two hours after it was removed from the store and taken to be cut and be transformed in a beautiful, French bench...this nice gal comes in and says:
"You had a French bed....." Oh no!...let us get to the phone fast..."Don't cut it!!!...after 8 months, a customer wants the bed!"

We are happy to say that the beautiful French bed, with rose carvings and 2DIE4 legs was rescued from the electric saw and has now a new home!
Gina is probably the luckiest customer we know, she was thinking about the bed for 8 months and she was about 30 minutes from loosing it!

Moral of the story:
If you love it, get it!...because...
That piece you love so much,
the one in your local antique store,
the one you keep visiting every week,
the one you promise yourself you are getting next time,
the one you leave behind while walking away saying: "If it's meant to be..."
...can be going to the electric saw pretty soon!!

Gina has promised to send us pictures once the bed is in the room and we'll share them with you as soon as we get them.

Vintage love...

We do browse catalogs and we do visit big-names decorating stores, but when it comes to furnishing our own homes, pieces found in antique stores or flea markets always win our hearts.
Why?

Because a vintage dresser can also live in the dining room...

...or the family room...and be much more than a dresser...

and because an old fence can complete a big wall.

Because salvaged architectural pieces can be wall art...

and everyday objects become objects d'art

Because when we buy vintage, we get to recycle
and think outside the box...

But the #1 reason of why we decorate with vintage and antique cottage pieces is because...

And we get to do it all in a super budget!

Go green, shop vintage!...Visit the Colorado Lady today for lots of vintage goodies inspiration!

This week we are loving....

Clara's Monogrammed Shams...
...made specially for her for Mother's Day.
White shams with Clara and D's black monogram and their wedding year.

It took her a few weeks to display them because she didn't have the right size pillow. But now that they are on her bed... aren't they just too cool?

We are also loving Marcela's antique feed sack pillows...after a long year, she decided to cut the large sack in half and make 2 different pillows.


Original red work and antique mother of pearl buttons...worth the wait, don't you think?

How about you? Any unfinished projects you need to tackle? Come on, get to it, when you are done wit it, you will also be saying..."This week I'm in love with..."

"You may delay, but time will not"
~Benjamin Franklin~