Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Window Dressings?

 If you have picked up on anything from viewing my blog, I'm sure it's no secret that I love color!  Lot's and lot's of bright bold beautiful color.  There are times when I like to go neutral but for the most part I prefer to live in color.  My neutral color of preference tends to be black.  I like black because you can bounce so many vibrant colors off of black and that's exactly what I'm going to show you.

What do you think?  Too much?  Well, not for me.  Those new drapes I put up several months ago look fantastic against the wall color, but were just a little too dark for this old summer gal.  So I decided to liven them up with a little color.

I used this beautiful fabric to make some pillows and a table runner several years ago and still had a few yards left.  If I had my druthers I would have long beautiful curtains made in this fabric.  However, I've got to be a little more thrifty these days so I decided to just dress up the drapes I have.  Since I never EVER close these drapes (it's a claustrophobia thing), I decided what would it hurt to improvise.  I simply made little mini panels to go across the top of each drapery panel.   I could do this easily since I use rings with clips and let each panel swag a little in the middle. I'm still thinking about adding some type of tassels or fringe on the edge, not sure though.

I realize this may not be ideal or even close to what some of you might consider doing, but I love it!  I even love mixing these patterns like I did.  I was really surprised how much I actually liked the mix.

It was "sew" simple and I can take them down easy enough this fall and winter when I'll be ready to move away from the tropical look.

I even made some new slipcovers for the brown pillows we keep on our club chairs.  You've seen me make slip covers for these pillows before in a blue fabric.

I only had enough fabric left to do the fronts of both pillows so I used a mini check fabric that I already had on the back.  It's a black and tan color similar to the drapes.  I like the mix!

Here's a glimpse of one of the older pillows I first made with this fabric.  I used a beautiful and fun fringe on the edge for these.  I got the bright solid pillows from work before I stopped.  These were big sellers and came in all sorts of fun bright colors.  They only cost $7.99 each too.  I chose coral and ...

...and lime green to bring out a brighter pop of color on the sofa and to coordinate with my lime green lamp shade.

The turquoise blue leopard pillows were my last splurge from work.  My final employee discount!  Oh, how I do miss that discount!  LOL!   

This runner was one that I had made for this table several years ago.  It's reversible and has the gold fabric on the back that I usually have on this table.  I finally am able to flip it now and use this side without it seeming so out of place to me.  Fun!

The sailboats are moving around now and the shells are coming back out taking center stage for the season.  I still haven't finished tweaking the small vignettes yet.  I will get to it soon enough because there's plenty of time for that now.

It's feeling much more exciting around here now to me.  I love how color just makes me come alive!  How about you?

I think I'll link this up with Marty over at A Stroll Thru Life
for; 

Just to show you how out of touch I've been, I just realized this morning that Marty had changed the name and theme of her Tuesday party.  LOL!  I'm very happy about that though because now I get to share my, let's call it, "window dressings", shall we?

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking it out.  Let me know if you likey!  If not, you can just smile anyway, okay?  LOL!

Have a great day Y'all!



8 comments:

  1. So pretty Mary! Love the new look. XO ~Liz

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  2. Hi Mary. I love the way you changed things up with the new fabric. It's very pretty and perfect for summer. Love that green backdrop outside the window too.

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  3. This room seems so inviting. I am ready to come over with a book and relax!

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  4. This room is so inviting and I love the colors. Your drapes are fabulous, what a great choice of fabrics. Thanks tons for joining Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty

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  5. What a pretty and fun way to change your curtains. Love your colors, and coastal accents.
    I'm happy to be your newest follower.
    Babs

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  6. I love the mix of patterns. It looks great. You did a super job on these, Mary!

    I have a question for you because Mr. Magpie and I hate the color the stager painted our upstairs sitting room and some of the other rooms... what color yellow is that? I need one that is darker, but not too dark. That looks like a wonderful shade. I want to try several before we decide on one, but would you mind sharing with me? I would really appreciate it.

    Thanks,

    Sheila

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  7. Very pretty, Mary!! I'm lovin your leopard pillow! Love the color!

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  8. You are so clever! What a smart way to brighten up without having to redo it all! Happy Spring! It is snowing yet again here in lovely old Minnesota. I can't tell you how much I am missing my Charleston right now!

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