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.

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.

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.

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

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