Home of The French Marketplace

La joie c'est le partage
{ the joy is in the sharing }

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Pottery Barn Inspired Hamper


I love this hamper from Pottery Barn


and I love this one too!

The price on the first one is a bit high and the second one is currently sold out.

Soooo...
I was out at Ross one day and I found this hamper you see below

not an exact match, but close enough.
I thought that maybe I could fix it up a bit and make a new liner for it...kind of like a cross between the two hampers.

I took out the original nylon liner and painted the wire basket black.
Then I used the liner as a pattern and made a new one with blue striped ticking fabric.

and now I have a brand new Pottery Barn {sort of} look alike!
For about $14 including all the fabric...not too bad!

Have a great weekend.
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

Friday, March 16, 2012

It's All in the Numbers

 I love old, vintage enamel numbers but let's face it, they're not exactly easy to come by on the cheap!
I did however, find these.
to me they're just perfect and I love how they look adorning my laundry baskets

storage baskets
and in the linen closet too!

You want to know where I found them?
They're not old, vintage, or thrifted.
Nope, I found them at the craft store in the scrapbooking section.
AC Moore
I have a feeling that I'm probably the last to know about these...I don't get out to the craft store very often but when I do, they always seem to have all kinds of new goodies that I never even knew about - haha!
but just in case you're like me
and didn't know about these
I thought I would let you in on the secret ;)


I think they're fabulous!!

Have a happy day!

xo and God Bless,
Kathleen

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Diary of a Sofa

I have always longed for this Ektorp sofa.
It's neat and it's tailored but also comfy and casual.  It invites you to come and sit awhile...
but best of all, it is slipcovered.  With a husband, 3 boys, a girl and two dogs...it has to be.

We love everything about this piece of furniture.
There is one thing that it's missing though.
It doesn't yet have a story to tell.
I have always enjoyed old things for the stories they have to tell.  The long lives they have lived and the way they have been loved.
Something occurred to me though as I sat in the quiet dark that first night we brought this brand new sofa home.  I missed the stories that our old sofa held.
The seemingly endless days that I spent lying on it, suffering from all day morning sickness.
Little ones with tummy aches, scratched knees and pinched fingers sitting upon it with ice packs or bowls of chicken noodle soup.
Quiet evenings spent long after the kids were tucked into bed, snuggled up with husband watching old re-runs of the Andy Griffith show.
Do you know, I even went into labor late at night with our second baby while sitting on that couch?
It was our first furniture purchase when we got married and moved into this house.  Without even realizing it, that sofa was keeping a diary of sorts.  It was building a history right there in our family room.

  It has worn many different slipcovers and has witnessed several different style changes in its day.
All of a sudden I realized how much I would have missed this old sofa if we had passed it along to someone else.  Thank goodness it only traveled as far as our basement where we will continue to enjoy it there.

For now though,
a new story has begun.
Do you ever find yourself attached to a piece of furniture?  Have you ever had a really hard time getting rid of something that you don't use anymore because of the sentimental value that it holds?

I'd love to hear your stories!! I have been working on de-cluttering and I find myself running into this sentimental roadblock over and over again.

Have a beautiful day!
xo and God Bless,
Kathleen