Last year, I attempted to take some pictures of our Christmas tree, but I was using Jim's camera (since mine had died a year earlier), and the close-ups of the ornaments didn't turn out well. I finally got my birthday camera, and it's supposed to take good close-ups. We'll see...
In the meantime, I ran across a couple of pictures that I took ramdomly last year, and since it's Christmas again, I thought I'd go ahead and post them, until I can get some better ones.
Keep in mind...
1. My living room is NOT pink! It's peach, but these pictures were taken at night, so there was no sunlight coming in. Seriously...it's not pink.
2. The tree usually sparkles, but that also didn't come out very well. I'll try to do better this year, with my new toy.
3. I'd sat on the couch before taking these, and obviously didn't do a very good job of fluffing pillows, etc. My main goal was to take close-ups of the ornaments, but while I had the camera out, I decided to snap a few of various corners in the living room, so...what the hell.
There is also a (dark) picture of a Santa that I always put in the powder room (on a small table), and one that I hang on a cabinet in the front hall. I also add other stuff to the cabinet, but I hadn't hung them yet when I took these pictures.
Moore, it's LOVELY! The photos I'm sure don't do it justice, but it looks just beautiful nonetheless. I love the painted panels too. Now I'm inspired to get our tree up this weekend.
I have no internet, am using Ted's downstairs computer. I have no idea what went wrong this time. *groan*
The colour consultant was here this morning and WOW I am so excited. She suggested a brown for the front hall, an olive colour for the LR and DR and Dijon for the den. I'm getting rid of the pink in the main bathroom, replacing it with a grey and the main bedroom's Buxton Blue with a grey-ish blue. I'll have the package on Saturday with the proper colour numbers and names. It's the best few bucks I've spent on advice in a long time.
I'll be back later as soon as I've figured out what the hell is going on with my computer's internet access. The cable company is of no help, as usual. Ugh.
KaeEll, I'm excited for you!! We need to do a lot of painting, and freshening around here too, so after the holidays are over (or next spring??), I need to address the issue.
I love the idea of a brown in your front hall. I'm not sure what shade it is, but for MANY years we had a brown in our dining room (below the chair rail) that was the color of chocolate mousse. I loved it! We changed it when the paper above the chair rail became to worn, and also too dated, and it killed me. Now, I have a crazy, over-the-top paper that has also probably seen better days now, but I'm not ready to take it down yet. It makes me giggle... LOL!!
I'm going to try to get better pictures of the tree this year. What's so pretty about it (in my opinion) are the ornaments, and you need to see them close up. Last year's pictures of those failed miserably, but then I'm not the photographer in the family!
Are the "painted panels" you're referring to the floral ones in the front hall? If so, that's actually a cabinet that's top to bottom shelves inside. It's filled with paperbacks! Thank you... I love that piece of furniture too.
PS -- I'm sorry about your ongoing computer issues! My computer is giving me fits too, and I think that Jim and I have narrowed down our search for a new one to an HP. In the meantime, we've discovered that our water heater is on its last legs, so a plumber is going to pay us a visit late this afternoon, to check out our space. Hopefully, we can get the new one installed tomorrow.
It's always something...
-- Edited by Moore ideas on Thursday 3rd of December 2009 02:12:57 PM
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
AHA - I fixed the damn computer all by myself by whacking the modem with my meat mallet, unplugging it, turning it back on and throwing in a few choice words. Stupid thing.
Moore, did you paint that cabinet yourself or buy it that way? I love the design. Re-decorating is very uplifting and FUN. Try it in a little way to get the feet wet. I guarantee you'll be peeling off wallpaper in no time. :)
I just received a message from Nick's old g/f, the one he travelled far away with in 2007. *sigh* Sometimes I wish things could stay the same instead of changing all the time. Life, huh?
So, what do you all think about the Tiger fiasco? Is this a lesson for all cheaters now that we have trophy-collectors amongst the co-cheaters, lol? Keeping text messages and voice mails to circulate when the time is right? OMG. Quell idiots, all of them. Too much fame, too much money, all so fast - it's never a good thing, non?
KaeEll, I bought the cabinet about six years ago, and I'm wracking my brain to remember the manufacturer (without trying to move the cabinet to see the back because it's heavy). It's a family-owned company, and their stuff is gorgeous. It's also very expensive, but this particular piece was in an upscale store that was going out of business, so I got it for a much-reduced price. YAY!! The entire piece is only about six inches deep, and the finish (up close) is gorgeous. And, no -- I didn't paint it!! I wish I could paint that well... LOL.
If I can figure out the name of the company, I'll post it.
As for Tiger, I'm very disappointed in him, but I also admire him for trying to keep the media out of his personal business. I honestly never expected him to be yet another idiot, and I sincerely hope that he and his wife can work out their problems. He has everything in the world that anyone could ever need, including two beautiful young children. He should be grateful for that, and learn to stay home!
-- Edited by Moore ideas on Thursday 3rd of December 2009 03:00:59 PM
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Habersham!! I went ahead and moved the thing, and it wasn't as heavy as I remembered. Thank heaven...
Anyway, I went to their website, and their line has changed significantly since I bought my piece. The last time I looked at their site (several years ago), they still had a lot of the painted "shabby chic" style furniture that my cabinet represents. What they currently have is still beautiful, but it's a little too much of a good thing, in my opinion.
I did see a unique 9-foot clock (I'll post a few links), and some other pieces that are nice, but it's all a lot more ornate now. (You'll have to cut-and-paste!)
There's also another site that has a bunch of tacky stuff, ironically called "A Touch of Class" (LOL), but a few of their "hand painted" pieces (again...LOL) aren't so bad. Especially for the price. There's a small chest (Lynette Floral Storage Chest, and several other similar pieces) that's rather cute, and a couple of other pieces, but most of them go a little too far with the frou-frou. The Jillian Rose Accent Table isn't bad.
In early 1969, Habersham founder Joyce Eddy was a single mother struggling to support two young sons in the small North Georgia town of Clarkesville. After working as a clothing factory accountant for a few years, a family friend gave her the opportunity to operate a small antique shop located above an old laundromat. Just as things began to look up for her family, Joyce experienced a series of setbacks. First, her antique shop caught fire and half of it was destroyed. Not one to give up easily, Joyce refurbished the shop only to have her own uninsured home catch fire and burn to the ground. Even though times were tough, Joyce's faith never faltered.
Looking for a way to make her antique business more profitable, Joyce soon began crafting small, decorative pocketbooks from vintage wooden cigar boxes. They were an instant hit with customers and Joyce decided to name her new venture Habersham Plantation after Georgia's Habersham County and the plantations for which the area was known.
Not much later, Joyce drove by a local textile company where she spotted a large pile of discarded wooden spools. Struck by an idea, she purchased them and set about crafting them into candleholders, towel racks and other practical folk art items. Like the cigar boxes, these delightful designs sold extremely well. With the help of her sons and other family members, Joyce soon expanded Habersham's offerings to include handcrafted furniture pieces reflecting the American Country design styles of the early 17th and 18th centuries.
Word of these unique furnishings spread quickly. To meet growing production demands without sacrificing her commitment to the handcrafted quality of original American Country furniture, she enlisted the help of individual woodworkers from her North Georgia region. Because the region had been a center for cabinetmaking since the early 1800s, the area's master craftsmen were quite familiar with the time-tested woodworking and joinery techniques Joyce demanded for her growing line. In fact, she even designed her factory to work just as the 18th century cabinetmakers did, with individual artisans hand-finishing, signing and dating each piece of furniture they crafted.
It wasn't long before Joyce began receiving national recognition. Her acclaimed designs appeared in leading magazines. Inquiries came in from across the country. And in 1984, President Reagan hosted Joyce when she was named Georgia's Small Business Person of the Year.
The Fine Art of Furniture Design Continues Now, as then, the Habersham name is synonymous with the fine art of furniture design. And over the years, the line has grown to include furniture, custom cabinetry and accent pieces in an array of rich, opulent finishes and delicate, hand-painted designs.
Yet despite its rapid growth, Habersham has never wavered from Joyce Eddy's core business philosophy that the creation of fine furniture is a true art form demanding that each piece be individually crafted, painted and finished by hand.
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
