Early American Writing Desk

We've added a new item to our farmhouse collection :)

It's a replica of an early american writing desk, with aged wood and turned legs....

two of my most favorite things! 

This piece is finished in Strawflower w/walnut glaze, and Driftwood on the top.

Full details of this desk as well as the rest of our farmhouse collection can be seen here.

DIY plank wall tutorial...cheap!

I've been wanting to plank my bedroom wall for years, and since we were installing the wood floors I talked my hubby into planking the wall as well...yay!! 

There's nothing like a good old white plank wall to bring in the farm house charm :)

This is what the wall looked like before...

Since this is a 20 ft. wall, I knew it would have been pricey to plank in real wood, so we opted for

 4' x 8' sheets of underlayment at $11.97 a piece...which means it only costed $50 :)

The nice guys at Home Depot cut wood for free, so I had them cut 6" strips along the 4' length

(although my hubby is a perfectionist and ended up re-cutting most of them)

Using a nail gun, we attached the 4' strips along the top, but since our ceiling wasn't flush we started about an inch lower, and then covered the upper area with a trim piece. Once we got to the end, we cut the strip to fit, and used the remaining piece to start the following row. That way, the planks are automatically staggered, and there's no waste :)

We separated each plank with a penny both vertically and horizontally to create an even gap.

Painting the planks are kind of a pain, but the most effective form I found was with a mini roller :)

If the paint sticks in between, make sure to use a toothpick to separate it while it's still wet! 

And that's it! Here's a before...

And after...lighter & brighter :)

(still needs baseboards!)

My cute son found this old bottle out digging one day, and I just wrapped it in thick jute, sealed with a dab of hot glue on the back. I love the pop of color and the texture from the jute against the white wall :)

Ahhh, crisp and clean...just the way I like it! :)

Underlayment: Home Depot
Plank color: Akamina- Kwal Howells
Wall color: Old Washer- Kwal Howells

Studio 5, Segment #2

We just wrapped up our second segment with Studio 5 last week...I have to say that our first go-around, we went a little overboard and had WAY to much stuff for display. Now that we've gotten our feet wet, this time went a little smoother and was much more low key and enjoyable.

Our focus was on how to pull together an organic summer garden party or wedding, using a lot of natural elements such as moss, rocks, burlap, tree stumps and branches, and dried gourds. We also added some tarts, with home grown berries and a veggie box. These items are inexpensive, and a great way to decorate for a rustic look :)

We repurposed these soda bottles by filling them with our favorite juice mixture, adding a cute printed sleeve, and soaking the top fabric in melted wax and forming over the tops of the bottles.  After tying it off with a thin jute, we dipped the bottle top in the hot wax one more time to seal it.
These can be washed and re-used over and over again!

A unique way to display veggies is to stand them up, and garnish with a some pretty green kale :)

This is a crummy phone shot, but here's Wendy and I...partners in crime! 

Next segment, we're getting whimsical! :)