The Red Queen Chair…Starts A Change…In Time For Spring!

Just a few weeks before Christmas, I was out and about doing a little gift shopping, and found a gift just for ME!



I was in one of my favorite antique shops that is in an old creamery in a small town in central Alberta, when I happened upon this baby.  I fell in love almost immediately.  When I first spotted this chair, there was a sign sitting on it that said “Queen”.   And thus this chair is called the Red Queen Chair.



At first I wasn’t really all that crazy about the red/pink upholstery…but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it…and soon, I was crazy about it!
 


I asked how much she was…and was totally blown away to hear that it was less than $100!  SOLD!



I could hardly wait to get home and put this lovely old chair into my living room!   Did I mention that this chair is BIG?  Ya…Big…and very comfy.  When you sit in it, you almost bounce…the original springs are still in great working order…and this chair is super cozy!



Well…I brought my wonderful Red Queen Chair home…and set her in the corner by the fireplace.  I like it there…but I am not crazy about the rest of the room.   It just NEEDS something!  Since it is almost spring, I figure now is as good a time as any to get a few spring changes made and clean it all really well!



Grammie and Grampie gave us these two occasional chairs for Christmas this year…and I think they are gorgeous, but just not right for the spot that I have them in…



The living room is just not “right”…something has got to change.  So…I sat and stared at it for a while…(that is how I get my best ideas—and it finally came to me)

I snagged the old window from behind the Red Queen Chair, and got to work.



I added three brackets as feet to the bottom of the window.  The reason I didn’t use four brackets will become clear soon…not to worry…there is a method to my madness!  :)



Once the feet were secured, I added an L bracket.  I attached the bracket to the wall and attached it to the top of the door with one screw.  (by adding only one screw to the top, I will be able to move it and adjust the angle I have it sitting at)



Ta-da!  We have a standing window!   Now…take a look…do you see the ‘feet’ we put on?   If I would have added the fourth one, I would forever be stubbing my toes on it as I walk past it!  That would NOT be a good thing.



So far… So good…right?



These guys think so!



By simply moving that window into the open, I defined the living room a little better, and added a room divider or sorts to the space.   It sounds funny to say this but by making the living room a little smaller, I actually created MORE space!



My little helper loves it in the living room when I am moving things around.  He likes to ride the chairs as I slide them from place to place…He helped me all evening!



This is just perfect!   I didn’t take down the plaque or the vines on this side…I figure it is a window working on both sides now, and the Lords Prayer is so pretty on there…It can stay!



I love this little resin plaque.  I actually bought several of them a few years back and gifted them to some special people in my life.



I shuffled things around and around and around…until I think I got it just right…at least for now.  I had to bring a bunch of plants in from the greenhouse this week, as it is planting season, and I am running out of space…so the tropicals have to move into the house for a few months…This is hard to deal with, as this house does not offer a lot of good lighting for plants.   They suffer just a little bit in here…but they bounce back right after I get them back out to the greenhouse…so I think I can stand to have them inside for a bit.



I brought the sea shell shaped chair back out to the living room…I had it in my bedroom for a few weeks…and I put one of the chairs from Grammie and Grampie in there instead.  



I placed the other occasional chair from Grammie and Grampie in the corner by the old stereo so that it is easy to access when we need extra seating for company.  I also re-arranged the plants a little bit.



I absolutely LOVE the way plants make a room feel.  They are my favorite thing, so I am a bit biased…but you must admit that they make a room feel just a bit more inviting.



A few accessories…and things are coming together.



I am not crazy about the two chairs together…but that’s life…I only have one of each of these…and they just happen to be my two favorite chairs …so I will live with it!  I have to go to storage and get the little table that I want to put between them tomorrow…so for now it will just sit empty. :) 

I adjusted the plants a little bit…and I think I like it.
  


My living room is tweeked!  I am happy with it for the most part…so it will stay this way.  I do have my eye on an antique sofa and love seat…lol…so you never know…you might be seeing my living room again soon! :) :)

Until Next Time…Happy Decorating!

*) *) *) To my favorite three…I love that you are still hanging on my every word…and to one of you in particular…Lying is the most personal act of cowardice there is.   You know who you are!

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

www.tootsietime.com
Today I am also linking this post to the parties at the following sites:
  Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olsen 
 From My Front Porch To Yours
 The Vintage Farmhouse
 The Brambleberry Cottage 
 Common Ground Rooted in Thyme 

Chicken Coop Curtains - Tootsie Style

After the move, I had to re-think pretty much everything in my house.  The windows are NO exception to this problem. 

Those of you who have been reading me for a while know that I could not sew if my life was on the line...so I have to be creative with my window treatments...or let them look like they came from a big box store.   I refuse to be typical...so I choose to be creative.

My youngest daughter has a fairly large window in her bedroom.  I did not want to get rid of her pretty sheer curtains that she had, so I had to modify my design to make them work with her new window dimensions.

Simply hanging the curtains without a valance worked at our other house, but definitely NOT in this house.



The curtains look “okay”…but they are just not quite what I wanted to see…so I got to scheming…and trying to come up with a new look for them.

One night I was browsing around the internet and I came across some adorable curtains made out of chicken wire.  I loved the look of them…but didn’t want to have the same thing…no copy cat here!   I kept on looking…but could not get those curtains out of my head…nor could I find them again to look at!  So…I have to thank my inspiration person from here…”thank you who ever you are for the inspiration!”

With the inspiration of that elusive post  still fresh in my mind, I decided to make my own Tootsie version of those curtains.

I pulled out my roll of chicken wire…and grabbed a couple of gauzy window panels and started to work.  I cut myself some of the chicken wire to fit the window and folded it in half to make it the right size for my plan.




I then started ripping strips of fabric and weaving them in and out of the chicken wire.




I wanted the valance that I was making to be “imperfect” and look a little frayed…so I added a little more detail with some purple pieces ripped and frayed to add a little “shabby” to the whole thing. 
After several hours of weaving and ripping and tying little pieces onto the chicken wire…My masterpiece was complete!




I hung the valance onto the existing curtains with a couple of curtain clips (it is really light weight) and ripped a couple more strips to use as ties on the sheers.

“Busy” absolutely LOVES them now!



I am far from finished in this room…but the window is off to a very good start.  The purple in the valance pulls the purple in her bed spread quilt out nicely!  I have ideas for that bed…and a few other little projects  that I would like to find time to work on in the near future.  In other words…you haven’t seen the last of this bedroom!

 Stay tuned…one of these day’s I will find time…and this room will get Tootsiefied completely.

So?   What do you think?   Do you like the Tootsie Coop look?  ha ha ha!

Until Next Time…Happy Decorating!

*)*)*)  Maybe things don't happen TO us. Maybe things happen FOR us, to make a choice, to decide how we live through the trials and tribulations in life.

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

I am linking in today with the following:
Fabulously Creative Friday
Frugalicious Friday
Inspiration Gallery
Be Inspired

Please! Don’t Ride That Bike On My Mantle!

I have already shared the updates to the fireplace on the main floor of my house.  I am very happy with how they turned out…but I have to say…there is another fireplace in my house…that was just screaming for some attention.  It lives in the basement of my house, in the family room, and… it is even more in need of help than the one on the main floor. 

Take a look:
 

 
EEEEEEK!!!!I wasn’t exaggerating was I?   Not one bit.  I bet Santa would be terrified to jump down this chimney!  This poor thing is just screaming for me to help it!   There is a lot on this baby that…well…lets be honest here…we are all friends right?   There is a LOT about this fireplace that just simply HURTS MY EYES!   UGLY is something I totally cannot live with..  I just can’t wait to camouflage some of that UGLY!
 
I decided that since most of the colors in my entire house are similar, the best thing would be for me to use the same paint that I did on the main floor fireplace…that way I could easily interchange some of the furnishings from the main floor to the family room if the whim should strike me!   So I got busy…
 

 
I put on my bestest outfit and started to paint…that cement seemed to soak up everything I put on it…and it took me a very long time to finish…but it was worth every minute!
 

 
I am so happy that the paint calmed the crazy that was happening before!
 
Now for the best part…I have been junkin’ and found an absolutely fantastic piece…I can hardly wait to put it up on the mantle!  It is going to be perfect in this room!
 


What???   Why do you laugh at me???   This is not funny…this is gorgeous!   I can’t believe you scoffed at me!   Trust me…would ya???

 
I found this bike just sitting on a pile of scrap metal waiting for me to love it!   The lady who gave it to me looked at me like I was smoking drugs when I asked for it…ha-ha!   I bet she is going to be impressed when she sees what I did with this beauty!


 
Ta-DA!
 

 
I don’t know about you…but I am loving it!
 
The rest of the room???  Funny you should ask…I am not sharing it just yet…’cuz…I have decided to make a few changes to the furniture in the space…nothing major…just a few little things.   I am almost finished…just  tweaking it a bit... 
 
…so you will just have to wait!
 
**  don't forget to keep reading...there are several more posts below of what I have been doing...including some great how-to's!  I have been busy sharing all that I have been up to!**

Until Next Time…Happy Decorating!

*)*)*)   Always remember this: You are known by the company you keep.

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

~~Use The Back Door Please!~~

So…I have been working on the renovations in my house … slow but sure…I have done a lot so far…There are little hints of Tootsie EVERYWHERE in here…EXCEPT…the porch at the back door. 
I have avoided this area…like it was the plague.  I did hang a few things on the wall in the stairwell a few months back…but lost the urge after that.   I just had NO inspiration when it came to this utilitarian area.

Didn’t I say it was UGLY???
When we renovated the kitchen, we moved the wall out into this area just a foot or so and now I need to put up bead board on that wall. There used to be a huge closet type thing there with shelves.   It was more important to have that space in the kitchen…so we took it out.
This area is just so ugly that I could hardly stand to do the bead board!  ha ha

When we renovated the kitchen, we moved the wall out into this area just a foot or so and now I need to put up bead board on that wall. This area is just so ugly that I could hardly stand to do it! ha ha    But, alas, I did..and it helped a lot.

Next up…the floor.  Ya..it’s bad…very very BAD.

These tiles remind me of the old school I went to when I was in grade school…it also makes me think of the old wing of the prison I worked at when I was in College.

There is no way I am removing the old tile…the warning on them that I read online said there could be asbestos and other bad things in them that could harm us if they were removed…we didn’t know that when we removed the ones off the stairs…oops.
  I had a LOT of help that night.   :)
So…I just opted for something simple.  Grey peel and stick tiles seemed simple enough.  I got busy and put them down.

Then I did the rest of the tiles with the peel and stick. 
Sadly…I did not take a photo of this part.   ugh…where I my brain?
I got all that work done, and painted the back door deep red.   And that is how it stayed for a long while…until just recently, I had run out of steam.
Christmas came and went…and I ended up with a slight case of pneumonia.  I was stuck in bed for almost a week…(and that nearly drove me nuts)  
What does a Tootsie do when she is stuck on bed rest???   SHE PLANS ALL SORTS OF THINGS FOR WHEN SHE IS HEALTHY!
Take a look at it now!

I had this old door with a broken window kicking around in the shed…and an ugly spot to fill beside the back door…so…what’s a girl to do???   SHE USES HER JUNK!
I added an iron table…and a few little accessories…then turned my attention to the bead board wall.  It was just too plain when left empty…and I don’t DO plain!

The wall just needed a little bit of the good stuff…ya…it needed some JUNK.

This little corner looks warm and inviting now.  There is a shoe tray on the floor below the window…and when I am finished with the other side of the porch, I will share that I hung a coat rack and some other goodies… but that is a whole other post…and I am not done with it yet.
What?!!!   I have pneumonia people!…be patient with me!

For right now, I am just tickled pink with the way this little two hour project turned out.  I still need to paint the whole room…but I wanted to make sure that I didn’t have extra holes to fill…lol   Putting things in place in advance is always my best plan…just in case of a misguided nail hole or something of the sort.

I hung a floating shelf thing and added an old insulator, an empty frame and a pretty wooden tray.

The old window sports some ivy and a doily or two.  The rusty door plate with key in it adds a little dimension and color.   No room is complete with out a little rust …right?

The only issue I have with the whole situation right now is the plug in.  It’s ugly…but I need it…I use it a lot, so it has to stay available…which means DEAL WITH IT TOOTSIE!

The other floating shelf sports a fake plant.  There is not enough light in here for one of my real babies…so I opt here and there for the faux variety.

I popped a big iron key in the middle of the missing window, and this part of the room is done!
I still need to paint the whole room…but I wanted to make sure that I didn’t have extra holes to fill…lol Putting things in place in advance is always my best plan…just in case of a misguided nail hole or something of the sort.   I also have a bit of work to do on the other half of it, so you will be seeing this space again…in it’s entirety when I finally am able to finish up and paint!
Until then, I leave you with one last shot…

**  don't forget to keep reading...there are several more posts below of what I have been doing...including some great how-to's!**

Until Next Time…Happy Decorating!

*)*)*)  to love someone is nothing, but to be loved by the one you love is everything .

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
www.tootsietime.com

today I am linking into We Call It Olde Link Up If you haven't been there...You really should pop in!