Wednesday, May 11, 2011

My Parlor


{Image via Tumblr)

Our house has a front room.
We have debated over what we should do with the room.
Mostly, it's been used as a playroom for books and toys
for our kids...most people in the neighborhood use their front
room as an office.  I'm not feeling that, yet.


Remember when people had parlors?
I need a place to drink coffee, read {be on the computer}, 
and have some calm....my life needs calm.

Here is the before:


And my parlor now....


To me, it has more of a "Zen" feel.
I wanted some Asian flair, 
but I also wanted to it to feel "beachy" like the Hamptons!

Here's some more of the details:


I found this fabric at Hancock Fabrics {I switched it up a bit and those
Hancock ladies are a tad nicer than JoAnn}.
I wanted the look of wallpaper, but less permanent and more
cost-effective {cheaper}.  Branmuffin mounted it to the wall with
some molding.  You like?  I love....


These frames, I found them in my house, and nearly everything
else there....shop your house, that's the latest thing I learned!

The prints are downloaded from an online site, I sent them
to Kinkos and for $.59 a piece, you can't go wrong on price.

 The shelf was painted white {of course} 
and it holds my kids books...it's not usually this neat!
I clean up for pictures.



 More online prints...the center one is a botanical and
the other two are a print I am obsessed with that comes in a 
fabric and a wallpaper.  Frames I found in our basement
and made them "new" again.


More prints....the top one has a touch of whimsy,
my life has kids in it, so I thought I would include that.



I still need a small lamp for the corner shelf and
blinds for the window.

{This room was done on the cheap.  We painted it the walls in Comfort Gray.
Otherwise nothing is "brand new"..we redid almost everything.  For example,
the lamp in the corner...we had, but spray painted chrome and
I bought a new lampshade at IKEA. 
  Just want you to know...get creative,
think outside the box, this doesn't have to cost a lot.}

I am gonna try and bring parlors back with this room.
Wanna come for coffee or tea?

Toodles...

11 comments:

Nancy said...

Looks great...amazing what you can do it just a few days. You are the bomb girlie...and yes, I would love to come over to the parlor but for wine.

Beth said...

Really pretty Suzanne! My favorite is the fabric print on the wall. It seems like Brandon is having just as much fun as you on all of these projects :)

Dawn said...

You are talented, Suzanne! A girl after my own heart. The Parlour looks awesome!

Carol@TheDesignPages said...

I'm on my way over! I love the new look. It is a perfect place for coffee or wine and a good blog or a good book. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I love the fabric print & the gray paint! Pretty space!

Alissa said...

What a lovely space...thanks for sharing the pics. My dad actually asked me today for some fabric stores in the metro. Only you (and slightly a few others) can appreciate that my dad and I are having this conversation. Anyway, I mentioned Hancock but told him to give you a call since you've been shopping around lately. You might be hearing from him soon!

Amanda said...

The room looks lovely, a nice hideaway from the pressures of life! The yellow and grey compliment each other perfectly, it's great that you achieved a fantastic room by shopping your house!

I shall tell hubby I must have a parlor, sounds very grand!

Jenn said...

Beautiful! I love the fabric wall art and your pillows! Great color choices! ;0

The Splendiferous Life said...

It looks very nice..perfect place to kick up your heels and read...I love your black chair..I am a new follower.

Unknown said...

What a fabulous makeover!!! Come to my house please! I'd love for you to link up!!

http://polkadotsonparade.blogspot.com/2011/05/welcome-to-party-im-so-excited-to-see.html

Ruth said...

Looks like a wonderful spot to sit and read. The fabric on the wall is wonderful.

I came over from 504 Main.

Ruth