FLOATING TOO FAR FROM SHORE!

OR 

LOST AT SEA!

Yesterday, I was so sure I had the greatest idea since sliced bread for an arrangement!  I went to bed pretty  happy!

Then this morning, in the daylight,  I realized it was a nightmare!
 
I have to admit it's a darn good thing I "work" for myself!  Having myself as a "client" allows me the freedom to experiment, play,  and try all sorts of fun things!  And MC....Well,  he just sits back and laughs!

I have decided that I don't have to be a 100% FLOATER!   Although I don't think  I am a Hugger either!

What I saw this morning, was a RAFT filled with furniture in the middle of our Great Room. ....
I thought, " What was I thinking?"

So I started from scratch and cleaned the slate!  I have spent the better part of the day trying all sorts of arrangements.  Some were really "out of the box"!   It has been quite a fun day!

I changed quite a lot of accessories!  Moved lamps and tables.  Found objects from other rooms and closets and cabinets.  I truly robbed my "warehouses" for objects.

MC had something to occupy him, away from the house, all day.   I thought I could tell everyone what he's up to, but I want to wait.  I want to be able to SHOW you, not just write it!   Sorry ......

I wanted to use three of my apothecary jars on the cocktail table.  But I didn't have anything to fill them with....the light shinning through the empty jars made them look cloudy and spotty.  They are not the best of glass, let alone crystal.  I found them at Home Goods for $12 each!  Dear , Dear MC suggested I fill them with some of our gold Christmas Tree balls!!

So here it is the day before EASTER and I am filling apothecary jars with Christmas Decor!!! Love, Love the insanity of it all!!!!

BUT IT'S OK......I JUST NOTICED THAT MY CHRISTMAS CACTUS HAS STARTED TO BLOOM!!!!

It's a POP of GOLD

I ended up with another popular arrangement used over and over.  In case the pictures don't show it, I am attempting to allow the cocktail table be the CENTER of the room.  I say "attempt" because I really have no clue what I am doing!!   I tried to create the "illusion" of  two  sitting areas, one on each side.  And......I have made a traffic pattern that works.   I can get from the front door to the Kitchen on a diagonal straight line!!!!

SOFA SIDE WITH FRENCHY CHAIR

OPPOSITE SIDE WITH SLIPPER CHAIRS

 AND 

MY COMFY CHAIR

Dining Room

Added Round Mirrored Table

THE

TRAFFIC PATTERN

The ottomans can be moved back and forth as needed!

TODAY'S

OVERALL  VIEW

If you don't hear from me tomorrow, you will know it passed the 

MORNING TEST

Patty

FLOATERS VS HUGGERS

  Nancy and Beth are co-authors of the Blog, Powell Brower Home

 http://www.powellbrower.com/

It's a great Blog that I have been following for  months.  A few days ago Nancy did a fun Post, Titled,

ARE YOU A FLOATER OR A HUGGER? 

I wasn't quite  sure what was coming when I clicked on, but when I did, I found it extremely eye opening and intriguing!

The difference, she explained was your furniture arrangement!  Of course, this is a Design Blog!

Huggers  place their furniture along the walls... "hugging" it
Floaters  place their furniture in the room...."floating"

She went on to explain that both have their place and can be done successfully.  There really isn't a preference.  Although, a lot of Designers love to FLOAT!  It creates conversation and presents a friendlier image.

I thought.  "I want to be a Floater!".  Not that I don't like to hug, but I want to be a Floater with my furniture!  I studied our Great Room.  It was half and half!!!  Not good.  I figured I had to do something- anything to be among the Floaters of the World!

The entire situation is a result of my being firm  (stubborn) in refusing to  place our sofa facing the fireplace ...leaving three feet behind it.... to create a direct traffic pattern into the Kitchen.
I have to add here that I think I am the only homeowner living in this model that arranges the furniture in this way!!!  EVERYONE has the sofa facing the fireplace with plenty of space to walk behind it!!!!

 I like the sofa on the window wall!  It looks "right" to me!  Every time I have tried facing it across from the fireplace the room is cut in half, seating on one side and a "walk thru" of three feet on the other.

So....  I force the traffic pattern to walk around and through furniture !  I know this is not ideal....

This is the arrangement.  The room is approximately 20' x 18'.  I have the sofa on the window wall, a long narrow table with my wonderful chair angled in front of it and MC's Stressless chair facing the fireplace and TV (the real focal point).  My slipper chairs are on one side of the fireplace and my Frenchy (it's a Louis, but I don't know which Louis it is!) chair is on the other.  In the middle of the entire room is the 4 foot square cocktail table MC made.

BEFORE

THE

HUGGER

As you can see, the sofa is "hugging" the window wall and the long table and my chair and ottoman are "hugging" the wall opposite the fireplace.  It looks fine.  I have liked it, UNTIL, I found out I was a HUGGER AND NOT A FLOATER!!!!  And...I have to admit....it is a challenge to navigate through.

I had to find a solution.  For two days, I have rearranged the furniture in my mind over and over.   Finally this morning, I was ready to give it a try!

I took the long table, which MC made 4 years ago to use as a sofa table, and placed it behind the sofa.  Duh!  This brought the sofa about 18 inches into the room.  It's still technically a hugger because it's a part of the sofa table set up, but it is much closer to the cocktail table.  Now the problem!  What to do with the space where the table was?  There the chair sat, all white and pretty with nothing to "anchor" it.  It did  allow for a wonderful space for walking.   Great traffic pattern.  I could get to the Kitchen and not fall over a chair.

BUT that void space had to be fixed.

I first  lowered  Erica's large art piece.  Then I rearranged the placement of one of the cowhides. But what really made it work was when I placed the three, tall, iron chandle sticks in the corner. 

Erica's Art is remarkable.  Upside down, left or  right...Whatever

Changed the lamp! 

It was on the Sofa Table

Have to use this Lamp!

It's the one "My Bill" said I had to have!!!  

I call it my

Mrs. Tut Lamp

That would be the King's Mom!

 

 AFTER

THE

FLOATER

I'm not even going to go into the fact the pink pillow POP is gone!  I just wasn't in "Love" with that particular POP.  I will add color, I PROMISE!!!

TOMORROW I WILL HAVE A VERY SPECIAL SURPRISE ABOUT MC!!!!  YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS IT!

It's tomorrow.....!
This did not pass the MORNING TEST!

I WAS FLOATING IN A RAFT TOO FAR FROM THE SHORE!!!!

I'm working...thinking and tweaking....
MC has contributed a very whimsy idea!

HOPEFULLY WILL HAVE BETTER RESULTS AS THE DAY CONTINUES......................
 

Patty

ANY CHANGES THIS WEEK??

A few.....

First, I found my POP of Pink pillow!
At Stein Mart
$7.99!!
How could I go wrong?

It's a perfect match to my scarf!

That "half moon" you see above the sofa is explained a little later!

I decided to give our cocktail table an artsy appearance!....Put a display of  books.  I like it for now. I know it will change, but right now I like the "look".  And it makes me   feel SMART!

For a long time I have wanted to "SEE" how the mirror, Famously known as The Spare Tire, would look over the sofa...Yes, above the sofa on the windows.....No I'm not blocking any of the "Vista View".  It's still there in all it's glory!
Again for now, I like it.  It's "New" and "Different"!
It's me!!




 




The fireplace mirrored surround is now clean!  Very classy!!!

I did and a little whimsy to the Epiphany Suite!

Now there's the Perfect spot for a little refreshment or a place to write a note....telling all your friends how great it is to stay at the Epiphany Suite!

And Later!

I have been working on my PINTERST page!   Check it out.  You will see the Link on the right side of the Home Page.   As I make changes in the BLH, I update the BLH Board !   DAILY, it seems I  have a change to show!!!!!  Hopefully I will have lots and lots there, right now it's a start!

WHY DO I LOVE MC?

BECAUSE

HE 

SURPRISES

ME

LOOK

WHAT 

CAME BY 

FED EX

10 MINUTES AGO

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had seen this book and thought I would love to have it.....

OH HOW I LOVE MC

YES, THERE IS A MONTANA!!!

We finally got a "hit" from Montana at 7:21 PM (EDT) on Sunday, March 17.  For some reason known only to the wizards of the Internet, it never showed up on the Flag Counter, but it did show up on the Stat Counter.

SO, WE FINALLY GOT OUR FIFTIETH STATE, MONTANA.

Century Link (75.175.246.147) [Label IP Address]    0 returning visits
Missoula, Montana, United States
		www.google.com/search
Mar 17	07:21:53 PM	pattysepihonies.blogspot.com/2013/03/have-to-make-reservations.html

MC'S GARAGE

OK....Let's get down to basics!

Last week our Granddaughter, Erica, referred to her Grandfather's Garage..AKA  MC's Garage!

It's all in the 

EYES OF THE BEHOLDER!!!

MC'S GARAGE

 
THE REAL WORLD

MC'S GARAGE

 IN MY EYES

Source AD, April 2013

Contributed by Pat McElhaney

MONTANA--DOES IT REALLY EXIST?

If you have been following this BLOG, you must have noticed the Visitor Map and Flag Counter in the right margin of the BLOG.  We started this several months ago and so far we have had visits from 75 countries and 49 States and the District of Columbia.  

What happened to the 50th State???

No one has ever visited this BLOG from MONTANA.  Does MONTANA really exist??  Is there really a state in the United States called, MONTANA?  

YES THERE IS, OR AT LEAST WAS, BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN THERE!  It was a beautiful mountainous state (hence the name, MONTANA).

There are 1,005,141 people living in MONTANA.  Surely at least one person of over one million would be curious or interested enough to visit Patty's Epiphanies at least once.  

The challenge is out to MONTANIANS, MONTANITES, MONTANESE, or whatever is the proper form of address for residents of MONTANA.  If there is still a MONTANA, and if anyone is still there with access to the Internet, PLEASE LOG ON TO PATTY'S EPIPHANIES AT:

http://pattysepihonies.blogspot.com/

If you are reading this and live somewhere else and know of anyone living in MONTANA, PLEASE contact them and have them visit us.  

We need ALL our 50 States represented in our Flag Counter.   

This Post written by  MC, who takes full responsibility for its contents.

WORKING WITH WHAT YOU HAVE....BUILDER CABINETRY

I am so happy to try my FIRST attempt at a  Link Up Party!

Emily A. Clark who writes a great Blog, 
http://www.emilyaclark.com/
is hosting a Link Up Party on the subject, "Working With What You Have"!!!

I have to smile at this title!  Our entire home is, and has been,  Working With What We Have!  My husband, lovingly know to all my followers, as MC, and myself have created insanity in our 35th home!  We are both in our 70's and have been married for almost 54 years!

Repainting all our  Master Bath, Guest Bath and the Kitchen cabinetry is the craziest  and most unbelievable project we have done, since we moved into our present home two years ago,   Family and friends just call it our normal Insanity!

Our builder offered many choices, but none, sadly,  were what I dreamed of.     We figure this will be our last home, so we are trying our best to have all the elements we have always wanted.

I knew that  refinishing the cabinets was too much for MC to do!  I never would ask him!   All the cabinetry in the home is Landen Maple.  A very light wood that is about the same shade as our flooring.  They just blended together.....boring!

Then,  this past Fall,  I heard about a product, Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint. It could be applied without any prepping or sanding!  MC checked into it and said maybe we could try!   A Start!

We bought a quart of "French Linen" paint and both,  the Light and the Dark,  Wax.

We started and practiced in our Master Bath.

BEFORE

THE PROCESS
We used French Linen Paint with the Dark Wax

 

MC'S COMMENT!
"NOT THAT BAD"

OUR "NEW" MASTER BATH CABINETRY!

It went so well that we bought a quart of "Graphite", a soft black color.   

The Guest Bath is a very small room.  It took less than a day to create this magic.  We used the Graphite paint with the Dark Wax

BEFORE

AFTER

 Our practicing was over.  Now was the time to really get down to business

THE KITCHEN

BEFORE

DURING
This time we used French Linen with the Light Wax

We can't believe the difference.
WE WERE AMAZED!


THE REVEAL

Thank you, Emily, for allowing me to share our Active Retirement Life!

Patty

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS

  "It's All in The Details", Erica said this last week.    "The Details" have been meaning more and more to me.

When the Dining Room Chairs were placed in the room,  I immediately removed the wing back chair.  Too busy, too many--------"Stars"....Kathysue, author of Good Life Of Design, http://goodlifeofdesign.blogspot.com/, wrote a Post about this last week.

 BUT ....Where to put it?

My "Epiphanies" come and go,  over and over.....some stay, some disappear and some RETURN.

RETURNED!
My little "private office" space.  But, this time I added small DETAILS

 Rather ironic because I don't need an office.  I don't have a JOB!

What Do I Do?

I write this blog and plan the Social Events for our neighborhood.  Oh,  I do move furniture and act out my "Epiphanies"!!   Throw in my daily exercises and "Preventive Cleaning"!
 That's it, that's my LIFE!

(....MC and I still enjoy breakfast here, and if we have guests for a casual meal, all we do is put back the other two straight chairs...easy! ......)
Otherwise we enjoy using our Dining Room for our meals!


Look close,  you will notice we tied back the white drapery panels,  as we did in the Dining Room, and painted the rods black.

Small ---- impact ....Details!

I have to DISPLAY my Alma mater!   I attended Business School in the Garden City Hotel!  AND...when I was 12,  I took  formal Ballroom Dancing lessons there!  Mrs. Child's Dancing School!
  Two years ago my brother,  Bobby,   sent these two wonderful photos of the "Hotel".  One,  as it stood before being razed,  and the other,  a beautiful "pencil/pen sketch.
  There is now a new modern structure.  Not the same!
The romance of the past no longer exists, except for the memories.

While we were at it, we came up with one other small Detail!  The pictures on the Back Splash were in gold frames.  MC painted them gold two years ago.  They were black at first.......Guess What?  They are BLACK,  Again!

OH I LOVE "THE DETAILS"

Tomorrow I am trying to do something different with one of my favorite Bloggers,  Emily  A. Clark

http://www.emilyaclark.com/.

I will let you know if it works.....fingers crossed!