Another DIY nursery project to share! This time, its a dresser/armoire for the baby’s clothing and other essentials.
I’d forgotten how teeny tiny newborn babies are until my daughter showed me a sweet little onesie from H & M-this dresser should be adequate for quite awhile! It was one that I had refurbished a few years ago for my own “nana-nursery” when our first grandson was born.
I’ve really not had much use for it, since I have a bookcase and a changing table with loads of storage. So I offered it up to her for the black and white nursery. Originally, the entire dresser was stained brown. For my room, I had repainted it with teal accents
and used a vintage map for the door inset. (and yes, the map is upside down-I never noticed it, even after I hung the door and placed the dresser in the nursery : O )
But, that old map print wasn’t going to work for the black and white woodland nursery! As it just so happened, I did have some pieces of Birch Tree Peel-and-Stick wallpaper from Roommates left over from our log cabin room in the Maine cottage. I didn’t have one long continuous length left, but it was simple to cut and piece it together since the design has pretty soft edges on the trees and branches.
Using that, I replaced the map with the birch trees, instantly transforming the dresser from nautical to natural!
Along with the map, the handles-which were teal blocks of wood-needed a change as well.
You know, the thing about Amazon is that if you can dream it-they sell it! A quick search of “twig handles” revealed these silver beauties that could be used as replacements.
One problem: there would only be one hole for the twigs where there were two for the wood block handles. Simple fix: I filled the holes with some wood plugs that I glued into place.
Then I sanded down the drawers, restained and then polyurethaned them, as well as the dresser top and the door frame surrounding the birch paper. Although the little wood plugs didn’t take the stain as well as the rest of the wood, the contrast was barely noticeable once the twig knobs were added.
The rest of the dresser was painted in Behr’s Tin White Chalk Paint for a bright contrast for the wood. So now we have a beautiful dresser that holds loads of tiny baby stuff while looking quite adorable and adding a touch of natural warmth to the otherwise simply black and white décor.
Another project done, more to go! And baby still hasn’t made his appearance, much to his mommy’s chagrin. Next up, the art of the nursery. xoxo Susan
When you’re searching for a simple technique that creates a worn, chippy finish on a piece of wood or furniture! Recently, Coach presented me with a reclaimed primitive pine bench that he thought would “look great with a whale on it!” It had most definitely seen better days…the top was scratched and gouged and the finish was non-existent, but it was solid and had no musty odors, which is always a plus. (Sorry, I hadn’t planned on writing about this project until I tried the brilliant block painting trial, so no before pics) Wanting to hurry along the transformation process, he sanded it down for me and painted the base black. Typically, his next line will be “OK, I’ll paint a whale on it”…which he knows will then trigger my response “Don’t touch it, I’ll do it.” OK, so I stained, then painted the bench, first with blue, then white chalk paint, then sanded it for a distressed look.
Usually, when I do that, the top coat will sand down and expose the under color- but this time it didn’t work very well and the bench was primarily white and black. So, I thought, hmmm, what can I use to create the multi-layer effect I want…wait for it…a block of wood?! Recently, I had been binge-watching old episodes of 
I was grabbing a block of wood and dipping it into paint and scraping it across the bench and voila! Chippy, distressed look in about 5 minutes time! (OK, well that noise is pretty annoying and grating, but the results are worth it, I promise!) The reason this technique works so well is that, unlike a paint brush, which smooths paint into the contours and ridges, the wood block scrapes over those and only leaves paint on the textured areas.
Now its time for the whale : ) Stay tuned… Susan
which was around the corner from where we sat. Chatting about our new space and how best to stock and decorate it, I had a moment of…I’m not sure of the word…wonderment perhaps? Thinking about all that had transpired in the past year that brought us to this place in this moment left me a bit overwhelmed. A year ago at this time, our new Maine cottage plan was slowly coming to fruition but still a dream away. At that time, we had no thoughts of setting up shop in Maine…after all, Coach had the Arundel Flea Market that he frequents quite often. Its a great outdoor flea market right near our cottage, BUT, its not so great when there’s a foot of snow and its 20 degrees outside! We had visited 
then to The Barn at Todd Farm in Rowley (remember that giant rusty bedspring marquee sign? I miss that thing!)
and then on to the Mills at Pulaski Street in Peabody.
Each venue has had its own unique charm, and along the way, Coach and I have realized how much we enjoy doing what we do…reuse, restore, refurbish and sell…and we just weren’t ready to throw in the vintage towel quite yet!
Anything we could stuff into our two SUVs-items that I had been working on for the past month-now fill the sunlight-splashed space.
This weekend we’ll be adding some finishing touches…painted furniture and vintage accessories and lights for the tree…did I mention we have a tree in our space!?!
I’ll be adding more pics as we keep adding to and editing our shop-presently its decorated for the LOVE holiday that is fast approaching.
If you have a chance to visit- they’re open every day except Wednesdays during the winter (and they’re having a huge store-wide sale!) we’re in the shop on the right in the second room-just look for the sparkling tree : ) For now, it will be enough to say that I am so grateful for everything that has transpired over the past year to bring us home to Maine. Have a Maine-ly wonderful weekend, everyone! xoxo Susan
and began implementing a design plan that I had been “Pinning” for months on end. The cottage was a blank slate, painted throughout in a pale gray color called “Reflection”…soft and serene and inspired by the colors of the natural beauty that surrounds us in Maine.
Over the past 6 months, I have done my best to transform that blank slate into a warm and welcoming landing spot for family and friends, using the stunning coastline as my color inspiration.
I recall that when we were in our initial discussions about how to decorate, Coach lamented that we would have to spend $50K to furnish a three bedroom home. But, I am here to tell you that it is simply not the case! Yes, we have purchased a few brand new things, ie: a super comfy sofa…
privacy window blinds, the mattresses and all of the bedding (because, yuck : ) and a couple of accent pieces. But the majority of the decorating has been accomplished using cast-offs, inherited treasures…and LOTS of flea market finds that I have reused, repaired and refurbished…for thousands less than if we had gone to a furniture store and purchased everything off of a show room floor! Although it is still a work in progress, we are closed up for the winter now…so its time to reflect back and see what has been accomplished and what is left to be done. I don’t really have a lot of dramatic “before” pics, although this was the living/dining/kitchen area during construction…not much to see here, folks!
So I will just show you a few of my favorite “afters”. This vintage cupboard was recently transported north, tethered and roped onto the roof of our SUV…it has been in our dining room at home for many years, rather hidden in the corner. Now it is taking center stage…and decorated for the seasons! The blue buffalo check wool blanket is from 
The fireplace wall faces the front door, and welcomes our guests into our home. The electric fireplace, purchased almost a decade ago at the 
The LOG CABIN room. Well, what can I say? When Coach and I first started the process of finding our vacation home, my dream was to discover a pretty little log cabin tucked remotely away in the woods on a lake or stream. After looking at said houses, we realized that 1. We really didn’t want to live isolated in the woods 2. We are not lake or stream people, but are drawn to the sounds and sights of waves crashing on the shore.
Which brings me to the LOG ROOM- I figured if I couldn’t have an entire log cabin…at least I could create the feel in one room! The log bed was a CL find, the side tables and log bench were flea market and thrift shop finds, as was the art work and accessories. The buffalo check (hmmm, there is a common thread here) drapery panels were markdowns from the 
Once you decide on your larger furniture pieces, start adding the accents, then dress it up as you go with accessories and artwork. For me, this is a fluid process…nothing stays in one place for too long…that little whale pillow has migrated from couch to chair to bench and back : ) and the fireplace has already graced two different spaces. I imagine I inherited that trait from my mom…coming home from school I would often find her re-painting a wall or a bookcase or single-handedly pushing a baby grand piano across the living room. What I have discovered on this journey is that no matter how you decorate your space, as long as it brings you…
then you are on the right track. Have a great Sunday everyone, and GO PATS! xoxo Susan
And the price, well, it was sooooo inexpensive! The perfect anchor for my log cabin bedroom. EXCEPT…now that our log cabin is no longer a log cabin but a charming, light -filled condo cottage, well…the idea of a dark, heavy cabin scheme just doesn’t fit the bill. BUT, I still have my log bed and am going to use it…only in a lighter, brighter color scheme. But the one thing about this “au natural” bed- is that is actually kind of yellow. So, my question to you, dear readers, is this: should I paint it, stain it or leave it alone? I attempted a bit of gray stain on one of the frame supports, but it looked so dark that I abandoned that and set up the bed as is.
The walls are 
Starts at 8 and goes until…if there’s a customer, Coach will stay! See you tomorrow, bring lots of $$$ : )
Way back when Coach and first made the decision to purchase our cottage, I started looking around our own home and our shop for inspiration…thinking that we could bring a lot of our present décor to Maine-save some $$$, decorate with the things we love. We tend towards the nautical, as you can see by the photos. But, what else did I see? WHALES. Pods of them scattered throughout the house.
On our porch, in the family room, in the bathroom, in the shop.
Some hand-crafted by me, some by local artisans, different styles, shapes and colors.
Whale, its a full-on WHALE invasion!
we recently purchased at the 
…and these little guys in our kitchen…
…and of course, we cannot forget about our patriotic whale coffee table on the porch!
OK, so maybe we whale-y have a problem…and this is only in a few rooms in our house! I recently read an article about the 30 worst decorating trends that hopefully will never return: Over-Done Coastal was listed as decorating no-no…too much of a good thing will drown out your style, apparently. So, how many whales can a little Maine cottage hold? Whale, we’ll have to wait and see : ) So, for now, I am scaling back on the whales and looking to simplify some of the spaces I have designed (all in my head and on 
BUT, what to do with all of the stuff we still have to sell?!? Well, some of it will be going to our new place in Maine (more on that later : ) but the rest of it came home bit by bit- thanks primarily to Coach- and literally filled our porch, shed, basement and living room. Until now. We are happy to announce that we have moved into our new digs at 
This rustic, turn-of-the century mill building has been converted into multiple co-ops and shops scattered throughout 4 floors of antique architecture-if you love exposed brick, huge windows, old planking and vintage charm- this is your place-well, this is OUR place- but we’d love for you to come visit : )
Luckily for us, we are on the first floor in the center! And, the shop will be open from 10-6 from Thursday through Monday weekly. We’re joining the Timely Treasures Co who specialize in home cleanouts and sales, 
So, if you happen to be on the north shore of Boston, come on by and take a peek at our new space. We’ve been working hard to make it pretty and you can’t miss the signs…have a hopefully not too wet Wednesday everyone!!! xoxo Susan
Finally, 
So, if skipping the mall is your thing and you’d like to find the perfect gift for under your Christmas tree (like a rustic, hand-painted sign, perhaps!?!?), take a ride and check out these lovely shops. And tell them that Sue from Country Design Home sent you!! Hope you have a shop-a-rific Saturday everyone!! Susan xoxo
Here’s hoping you find your one in a million treasure! And for all of you out there in peril’s way, please be safe…you are all in our thoughts and prayers. xoxo Susan
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