Cushy Seats And Cushy Feet

Good Afternoon!

I went recently with the family to Cherry Hill, New Jersey to go shopping.  When I saw the Crate and Barrel sign I had to go in to get my fix.

These chairs were calling my name.  I also took note of their rugs..

I have a similar chair I bought at a consignment store but needs to be reupholstered.  This was a great visual for me : )

A chair for a cottage or a sunroom?

Now onto some great textures.

This pillow felt like you were putting your hand on smooth stones.

From a distance it looks like stone..

It's really a plush rug...and it truly is so cozy on the feet.

Another..

Love looking and sizing things up.  Have more rooms to remodel and decorate in the future..

Have a wonderful week all!

Get Organized Before Spring Cleaning : By Guest Blogger Tim Eyre

Get Organized Before Spring Cleaning 

For me, cleaning has always been therapeutic. There is something about having a mess and slowly seeing that mess disappear that is comforting. It’s like watching chaos evolve into order and randomness into meaning. I realize I’m probably in the minority in this particular case. Regardless, the point stands that I actually enjoy cleaning. I’ve come to learn a thing or two about sweeping, dusting, and organizing all the areas that junk tends to pile up in. If you’re getting ready to take on that ultimate cleaning task, Spring Cleaning, listen up. I have a few tips that you should pay attention to before you get moving on this undertaking.

Take It Slow
There is no rule that says you have to get the entire house organized in one day or even one weekend. Focus on small areas. Divide and conquer. Focus on a few rooms or problem areas and collect all the stuff you just don’t use that much anymore.

Enlist Help
Enlist the help of your family in cleaning up the house. Chances are they contributed to the mess by throwing shoes and socks into the corner of the living room, leaving school work or art projects half-completed in the kitchen, or leaving food in the fridge for about a month too long. You’ll find that the whole project will move much faster when you have some helping hands. It can also be borderline fun. You can sweeten the deal by offering to make everyone ice cream sundaes when the job is finished.

Whistle While You Work
It’s not only true in the movies. Listening to music while you work makes the task much more enjoyable. A spontaneous dance party might even break out while you’re in the midst of your cleaning. 

To Trash or Not to Trash
Once you’ve collected all the excess stuff (we won’t call it trash just yet) out of these areas, you need to figure out what to do with it. If you have electronics like computers, VCRs, televisions, or remote controls, you will need to take special steps to dispose of these.
Most cities have hazardous waste drop off days when people can drop off things like batteries for free. Check with your city and see when your hazardous waste drop off day is and until that day comes, keep your old batteries in an old shoebox.

If you have gently used toys that your children don’t use anymore, call a children’s hospital or women’s shelter and ask if they accept used toys. The same goes for children’s and women’s clothing. Take every opportunity to donate your old items. Old towels and sheets can go to animal shelters and cookware can go to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

You’ll find that simply cutting back on the amount of stuff you have will make the overall cleaning process much easier. Don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of work there appears to be. Once you divide it up and recruit some helping hands, you’ll find it goes faster than you thought possible.

In his role in the self storage industry, Tim Eyre helps customers care for their cherished belongings that must be put in storage. Tim goes to see his facilities including a Fontana self storage unit . He also recently met up with customers and staff at the Fontana self storage facility. In his spare time, Tim likes to get outside for a game of basketball or a round of golf.

Fontana self storage unit -> http://www.extraspace.com/Storage/Facilities/US/California/Fontana/900403/Facility.aspx

Fontana self storage facility -> http://www.extraspace.com/Storage/Facilities/US/California/Fontana/500070/Facility.aspx

 

Bedroom Color

 Hello!!  Long time.. I missed everyone : )

I am back from being in New Jersey for the past month.  For those of you who don't know my father fell ill and I went to help with his care.  I am proud to say he is walking now and is improving but the process is painful.  My brother came from Oklahoma to take over where I left off.  In the midst of the crazy schedule I did get some free moments to go out to a couple places with my mother and sister. 

 I will share some more about our findings in future posts ; )

Now that I am back I am inspired to do some more painting and I am taking my inspiration from..

(essie)

Here is what it looks like on my nails..

(I am definitely not a hand model.. lol)

 I have gotten so many compliments on this color that I thought it would look great as the wall color for my bedroom.  I looked for a match and I found this by Valspar.

I think it's almost exact.  Wouldn't that look good with pops of tangerine? Hmmm..

Shopping In Jersey : Part 1

Good Afternoon!!

I am still in New Jersey.  My father continues to make strides every day..so grateful!

In the midst of his care we have had some fun as well..

We built a firepit and with the nice mild temps it was great for me and the kids.

I have done some scouting out of some places and I must say they need to be on your list if you are ever in the South Jersey area.
While I was taking my mother out for a walk I spotted this place that was tucked away...The Emporium.

Fell in love with the rafters..simply gorgeous!

Are you ready for the eye candy?

These doors made my heart sing..the carvings are beautiful works of art.
I think the mirror speaks for itself.

This painting is huge..would make an amazing statement piece in a home.

WWII Navy Ship telescope.

Now this took the cake for me..my mouth was drooling.  It reached into my latin heritage.

I was really surprised about their prices and in a good way.

The Emporium 

424 High Street City of Burlington, New Jersey 08016

609-747-8333

Open every day 11am - 5pm

There will be other shop tours coming your way. 

Wood heat is some of the best!

Hi guys,

This is Corey checking in (Kelly's husband) and I am honored to write for Modern Earth Design today!

This is the time of year when many of us are enjoying the heat from our fireplaces and wood stoves. It's very important that you clean your chimney once a year to reduce the risk of a chimney fire. We recently did some chimney cleaning and I am going to show you how to do yours!

The tools needed are a chimney brush with extendable attachments (not the one on a rope - they aren't very practical ) which can be purchased at your local hardware store. Also you will need a ladder, flashlight, utility knife, interchangeable screw driver (in case you have a screw down arrestor or chimney cap ), Heat rated fireplace silicone, caulk gun, wire brush, and a "red devil" or "hyde' style knife to help pop the arrestor cap.

As you can see there is a lot of cresote buildup on the arrestor cap from one year of burning. This cresote is a chemical buildup that can be very flammable if left inside your chimney. First we remove the arrestor cap by breaking the seal of the black flammable caulk around the cap by "scoring"it with a utility knife and then gently wedging it free with the hyde knife. Once the cap is off you can quickly clean the excess cresote with the wire brush.

Next take the chimney brush and add attachments as needed according to the depth of your chimney. NOTE: be careful to tighten your attachments because when you're moving the brush up and down sometimes the threaded attachments can fall apart and you will get the brush stuck! Trust me - I warned you:-)

Once you've tightened the brush attachments insert the bristled end of the brush into the chimney opening and push it all the way to the bottom of your fireplace opening inside your home. One of the kid's or your spouse can really help by being a "spotter" to see where the brush begins to show through the fireplace opening. Continue a "sweeping" motion up and down through the chimney walls bottom-to-top repeatedly until there's no major cresote buildup evident inside. Shine your flashlight down the chimney to get a good look at your work.

This is what a clean chimney looks like inside & outside.

Next place the clean arrestor cap on and screw it down, or in our case re-seal it with the heat rated fireplace silicone. You will need to shop vav or sweep out the cresote buildup that fell down into your fireplace when you brushed it out.

Other than that you're ready for another year of burning!

About The Break...

 Good Afternoon!

Hoping everyone is having a great day!

I want to thank Julie from Rumbles and Roars (blog) and Jessica from The Aestate for giving me a much needed break.  I am so grateful that they stepped up to help me when I was in a hard place.  I love you guys and thank you.  That's what I love about blogging and the relationships that you build..it becomes like family.

I want to share with you all what happened ..

My dad was rushed into the hospital at the end of January for a severe infection.  They did surgery and things seemed to be turning around but they almost lost him.  That was when I called on these ladies and not only did they come through but they were a rock for me.

We drove from the Chicago area and arrived in New Jersey

(going through Pennsylvania)

My dad was stable. Thank God!

(hospital with my dad)

It has taken some time but he is finally home.  Not completely out of the woods yet but we can see the sunshine through the trees.  I am still here being as much a help as I can.

(my kids and my mother)  Can you believe she is 79?  I hope I can look like that when I am that age  : )

So, if you ever think of me say a prayer for my dad..would appreciate it.  Also, if you haven't started following The Aestate and Rumbles and Roars I highly suggest you put them in your blogroll.  Not only are their blogs awesome but they are truly good people.

P.S.  I will also be sharing here later some goodies I have found when I am out and about doing errands for my family here in Jersey.

Wishing you all much love and health!

What's Your Color?

Hi, everyone!

It's Jessica from The Aestate and I want to thank Kelly for inviting me to be here today!

I'm sure you've all heard that Pantone announced the fiery orange "Tangerine Tango" as their color of the year for 2012, which I think is completely apropos considering this is also the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac. I wanted to take a moment to enjoy all the other bright and cheery hues in the Pantone Spring 2012 Color Report. I'm loving Cockatoo, what's your favorite?

Refabbed Teaset Tray

I usually blog over at Rumbles and Roars, but it is a true pleasure to join y'all here at Modern Earth Design today.

Disclaimer: oh my stars, I am NOT a designer.

I just played one on TV.

(well, once upon a time on a "Trading Spaces" episode...)

So, today's little project goes something like this:

pick up a small tray at a thrift store for around $10. 

Now, y'all, did I need this? 

And does scratched wood and faux wood grain on paper turn me on? 

Not so much. 

Potential, folks, is the name of the game.   

Now, while I do not claim to be a designer

(ha!  I am a speech-language pathologist/business owner by day and mama/wife/zookeeper by night),

I am something of a DIY-er. 

So I knew immediately what I wanted to do with this piece:

refinish, recover, REFAB!

My plan was to recover that hideous-faded-yellow/black/white-faux-woodgrain cardboard background with some fabric. I really considered the napkin on the left (from World Market) for a while.  Sadly, the colors weren't quite right for my aqua/taupe/seagrass green (don't laugh! it's pretty!) dining room . 

Enter my $1 fabric remnant on the right. 

Not quite as flashy, but she is perfect in her own way.

And no worries on the napkin. 

She's totally going to be used with another napkin

to make a pillow one of these days.

But before I could get to that step, I had to use my ole trusty needle nose pliers to pry out the nails holding the back.

 Oh. My. Word.  Do y'all SEE how ugly this is?  Good heavenly days.

 So, I took a square of 220 grit sandpaper and went over the whole thing.  This was so easy - took me about ten minutes to get the whole thing sanded, and then I wiped it down with a damp cloth.  Which is maybe not completely the right way to go about it,

but you know, it did remove the dust. 

That and my trusty Dyson Animal which got the dust out of the grooves.

 I already had a small can of Minwax Mahogany Red (which is not actually as red as it sounds) in the garage,

so I pulled that out and started applying it with a small sponge brush after the frame was thoroughly dry.

Don't you love using stain?   It goes on so easily and covers well. 

You just need to remember to wipe it off after a few minutes so it doesn't stay too thick or sticky or goopy.

Goopy is a technical term, you know.

And then, all that's left is wrapping up the cardboard

backing with the fabric. 

And painting tape seemed like an acceptable way to go to make sure it was stuck on there. 

I could have gone with fabric glue or something more permanent,

but I figure I will probably change out the fabric at some point

when I decide that seagrass green is so yesterday.

That's not true yet, is it?

I ended up using these picture holder thingies (again, please pardon my use of technical terms) to keep the back on.  This isn't a tray that's going to get super heavy use, so I think the hold factor will be fine.  And the small felt circles should keep the tray raised enough so that the metal hangers won't scratch what the tray is sitting on.

And then flip it over,

and here's the finished project on the sideboard in my dining room.

Rocking my vintage teaset.

Now, I know what you're thinking:

"But Julie!  I don't have a Wooden Hideous Pictured Tray to refab!" 

Don't fret, my new friends!

Don't you see how easy it would be to repurpose a wooden picture frame by adding two handles on the sides and some fabric over the back?

Make me proud, people.  Make me proud.