I have a lot of things in my LR that I love. But I haven't quite mastered pulling them all together to make it flow. I've got an early 1900's Hooiser Cabinet that came from my great-grandmother's farm. I've got an old paint/wallpaper sign that my parents had at their flower shop and interior decorating store. My RED chaise chair. My native stone fireplace. Like I said, I've not perfected the "look" in my space yet. Hopefully one of these days.

I go to Apartment Therapy and Pinterest, mostly (and the assorted blogs that my pins there lead me to.) I also subscribe to House Beautiful because my child was selling magazines and because it makes me feel bad/good. Bad that my house is so shabby and uninspired compared to the homes photographed there, good that whatever other bad decisions I've made in life, I at least managed to avoid hiring a designer who would paint my dining room that horrible poison green. . .

VCT = vinyl composite tile. AKA "schoolhouse tile". That swirly stuff most of us remember from schools and hospitals. Cheap, surprisingly attractive if you avoid the pea-soup green they always used in the schools ;-) and wicked durable. Tina, one of the few MCM things I've ever liked was the tree-slab tables, but the bases usually spoil them for me. (I keep telling Housevixen that I'll gladly take custody of that "tree table" her DH adores and she dislikes. So what if it's literally on the opposite edge of the continent? LOL) I'm sure you MCM fans would plotz at the handed-down stuff I've put out by the side of the road at the first opportunity I had for replacement. :-) I'll be honest, I just like things a bit fussier, I'm more William Morris than Gustav Stickley. I've actually drifted away from American Arts & Crafts furniture and a LONG way away from most Mission... it's mostly just too spare and angular, a bit too much Asian influence for my tastes (especially the Prairie School and the Greenes), while I've fallen in love with things like barley twists and "carved to death". :-) I've got a couple of nice Mission pieces I would love to get rid of if I weren't going to get completely screwed on the money end, but 10 cents on the dollar is just painful. I can appreciate the craftsmanship on the nicer MCM pieces, like say Nakashima, and I can see why other people like it, it's just not me, that's all. Robinco (BTW, is it Robin Co or Rob In Co? I can't remember) thank you so much for the compliments! I don't think I deserve them at all but I'll slurp them up anyway. :-) I've really only "publicized" the two good rooms, the bathroom (and for what we got screwed into spending, it dang well better be good) and the living room which is pretty good but still has two chairs I hate, and cheesy pine trim and mantel that I dream of replacing with oak like in the bath. Folks are wearing me down on those floral drapes that everyone hates but me, too, tired of hearing people b*tch about them just about every time I post a picture of the room! The color of the library was a mondo mistake and I can't get past the heinous melamine bookcases... but, they hold up the books, and even if we could do Ikea (which would be tricky) it would be close to $1500 for the ones I actually like or $700 for the bare minimum. DH gives me the hairy eyeball if I even mention repainting. Let's not even talk about the upstairs or the siding, either! :-)

I'm usually over on the building a home forum and stopped by to see all the pretties. I'm so glad I did! I'm getting my very own "play room" at the new house and desperately need some inspiration. :o) I already packed up most of the current sewing room, so it looks a little bare in here. Please ignore the packing boxes stashed under the table and the chairs. Sorry! The shelves above the table are two brackets with a regular shelf on top. I put the little plastic pieces for curtain rods inside and inserted a wooden dowel. These have worked great for hanging the fabrics and trims for upcoming projects. The shelves on top make nice spaces for displaying goodies...which I have already packed. LOL Under the table there are usually clear rolling totes with 3 drawers each. I keep my things for handwork in them. They are great for taking in the other room so I can watch TV while stitching. :o) The cutting table folds and is tucked out of the way against the wall. On the opposite wall there is a bank of cabinets for keeping fabrics and trims. The framed fabric above the shelf was great for to-do lists and notes on projects.