Sunday, May 11, 2014

And the light came through!

One of the great pleasures of having an outdoor space is to be able to use when good weather comes around. Not at Maison MY, until now!

What a difference some light makes!

See it by yourself bellow:

Before:

After:

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

And the happiest season of the year is upon us: the peonies season!
With the rain we got over the couple of days, the peonies bloomed overnight. I made a few arrangements with them, and had on an extra one to offer to a fellow stressed mom across the street!

Now that the tree bloomed, I'm waiting for the bushes. Just keep them coming!

Monday, May 5, 2014

How to revive wilting hydrangeas

I count hydrangeas one of my favorite flowers, after peonies. With all the crazy weather we had in Baltimore, most of my hydrangeas bushes are frail and with very little change of flowering like previous years.
This past weekend we celebrated little M 3rd birthday, and being my first toddler party with parents and kids from his pre-school I decided to buy four bunches of blue and white hydrangeas from Whole Foods, but unfortunately, as in previous times, within a couple of hours all of them were wilting…

I have heard about the cure for wilting: hot water, but never came to try it, until today.
I started with the white ones, and these were the steps I used:
1: boil water enough to cover the stems a couple of inches
2: cut off at least one inch of the stem and put it immediately in the hot water
3: witness the miracle of revival!

Some of the stems were revived quicker than others. Some took as little as a couple of minutes while others took at least 4 hours. I should mention that I bought the flowers on Saturday morning, and only did this revival process this afternoon (Monday).

Some of the pics from my foyer and living room during the party:

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

I'm back...

Hello again… Sorry being MIA for almost two months, but I had my reasons: a baby girl was born just two days after my last post, a terrible flu that went on for almost four weeks, and oh the wonders of living with a newborn attached to your hip!
One of the outputs of a short lived springish weather was to paint an eye sore of a lamp I got for free a couple of years ago at a Fells Point thrift store that was closing down.

The before:

And the nicer after:

Resources: SW trim paint leftover.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Antique Japanese gold screen

Over the mantel of the dining room fireplace, I have a golden tone Japanese hand painted vintage screen. My father-in-law is Japanese, born in Brazil, and even though in my in-laws home very little of Japanese traditions, mementos or decor items are present, Mr. Y and I respect and try to incorporate our cultures into our homes.

If my kitchen were a big bigger, I would install a big screen like this one:

Picture source: unknown, google images.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Wishing for a blue and white spring

Missing the light and tiles of my birth homeland: Portugal.
In the meantime, a bathroom filled with blue and white tiles:

Source:

Traditional Bathroom by Anouska Hempel Design in Wiltshire, England, AD.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Mid-Week cravings: spring shoes

Being in colder surroundings means controllable bloating, but the shoes are what I call "mom-shoes": plain, comfortable shoes.
Wishing for Spring to come soon, and the opportunity to wear sandals and proper fashionista shoes!
Hey, the stroller helps with the 4 inch balancing act!

Photo source: my Dressing room board in Pinterest.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Before & After: the dining room semi reveal!

Finishing the roman shades for the dining room felt like a big weight was lifted from my shoulders!
Last weekend I had my baby shower, and I felt bad with those ….."nice" paper shades.
Well, goodbye paper shades, hello gorgeous roman shades!

The current state (not totally the after, as a lot is still left to do/buy):

Resources:

Fabric: Sharon Kessler, Pheasants Cotton fabric, for Concord Fabrics

Wallpaper used under the chair rail: Thibaut

Linking up at Thrifty Decor Chick

Monday, March 3, 2014

Before and After: Blue and white…. and some color blast

I have been, during the last couple of weeks, in hardcore nesting mode.
I can go in labor any minute, and every minute counts to finish my huge list of to-do's around the house!

When I came back from Brazil I found the house covered in a thin layer of dust due to the renovation work done in the family room and basement, until recently…
With the dust cleaning done, I went on a finishing decor tasks galore: dining room roman shades, nursery roman shade and chair pillows, entry hall and family furniture changes and new layout, new curtains for the master bedroom, and the list goes on…

The piece that has inspired my family room decor is a nice American Heritage chest of drawers that I bought two years ago from Craigslist. It needed a lot of TLC, and a new color.
Inspired by the fabric of the bench makeover, I took a sample of the fabric and had Benjamin Moore's folks to do a custom blue color.
And the rest is a blue and white color history….

The before:

The after sanding process:

And it's reveal as the junk/toys guardian in the family room:

Linking my before and after at the amazing Miss Mustard Seed FFF

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Before & After: Snowstorm output: a bench cover

I'm still happy that we have just returned to Baltimore from Sao Paulo. With the soaring temperatures behind, all the cold and snow is a very welcome blessing! Don't think I am crazy! Just imagine having to endure temperatures over 100F everyday, with very limited AC, 8 months pregnant… Not something I would wish to my worst enemy, if I had one!
Returning home with an almost 3 years old has it's disadvantages: everything is new to him, and a danger is at every corner of the house, plus he drags food all over, playing with the dog.
We did plenty of changes and renovations (again!) during this last year. Some furniture arrangements were made, and I just realized that my house is not prepared for a very energetic toddler, plus a baby.
Today was the perfect day to put in action some plans I had put in the back burner for a while: do a slipcover.
This past weekend I stopped by my favorite Goodwill to drop off some donations, and with a 20% off coupon in hand I got a few "necessary" items, such as $2.25 Threshold fretwork border window panel. Immediately I knew what I wanted to do with it: a cover for our bench being used as coffee table in our family room. The colors, tan and coral, were a perfect match for the new white walls.
In just a couple of hours, and with the help of the amazing Miss Mustard Seed video tutorials in how to make a slipcover, I just got a "protection" for sticky dirty hands and feet!

The curtain panel fabric: