{Today is a little design detour--sorry if this disappoints!} 

There are a lot of awful things that we hear in the media related to the problems of the current school
systems throughout the country. But, I will say that our high school, Smoky Mountain High, is just
about as good as it gets. There are tons of reasons why this is-- fabulous teachers, the most
 wonderful talented students, and parents who care so much about all the kids, just to name a few. 
And we have the awards and the accolades to prove it.
 
Our little mountain valley has no malls and not a lot of kid-targeted businesses. 



Does this force our kids to spend their free time on the ball fields, in dance classes 
or in theatre performances? Perhaps.



 And lucky for us, this weekend, we get to take advantage of our high school students 
talents as they perform Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

 And not only are the performances and the costumes stellar, but the venue, is equally
 fantastic--the Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University.


{UNC's upcoming basketball star Jackson Simmons!}




You won't believe these are high school kids--they are sooo good. And the voices -- incredible!



I spent many years in theatre growing up. There really is nothing better, in my opinion. 
The diverse friendships that are created, the encouragement from the cast and crew,
 the feeling of accomplishment when that curtain is lowered and all of the hours and hours
 of rehearsals are appreciated through the sound of the applause.

If you will be in my neck of the woods this weekend, you really should come out and enjoy
the musical that Linda Haggard so masterfully directs. You will leave extremely entertained. 



Can you tell I am a proud mama?

Performances are Friday, May 13 at 7:30 pm, Saturday 3:00 and 7:30 and Sunday at 3:00
Shows sell out fast--if you want to reserve your ticket call 828-586-2177 ext 285.

All photos by the super talented photographer Nick Breedlove. Great job, Nick!  

{oh and fyi--the tallest, curliest knife...yea she's mine!}  

The new Serena and Lily catalog arrived yesterday. They have changed their logo to better
represent their ever expanding brand. Lucky us-- their offerings are only getting bigger and better.

I was struck by this image {pg 5} of a crisp navy and white bedroom.


{serena and lily}

See that denim wallhanging behind the bed? Interestingly enough, when I was searching for
 my clients dresser this past weekend, I came across quite a bit of denim and americana art.  



This impressively large {6 feet long and 4 feet tall} is framed in a {HEAVY} steel frame.
These are bigger than a twin mattress!! They are BIG!


 
If you get really close you can see the stitches that hold every 'state' together.
Probably not a weekend project ;)

 

Hello, North Carolina!

   

This equally large piece was constructed with the waistbands attached end to end.
 The entire edge was then finished with little rivets--like the ones on your jeans.



When we think denim, in decorating, we tend to think 'country' or 'cottage', but I love that the
scale and the steel frame on these pieces actually lends itself to be used beautifully in a 
contemporary space. These would be fantastic in a loft!     



I went to another store and discovered these pretty pieces. Although these are in 2 different
locations, I can only assume that these were made by the same artist.




If the 6ft piece is a little too large for your liking, then here is a smaller 4ft piece framed in a
simple white distressed frame. In contrast to the above examples, this is more of a traditional
 presentation due to the size and framing

 

You know how strong denim is, so it actually works quite well as the seat and back on this rocker.



And what a fun way to breathe new life into a simple white chair. These were done with star stencils
and painters tape. I'm not sure if she used regular spray paint or fabric spray paint. Cute, right?

So what do you think? Are you on board for the americana trend?

There are some things we need to discuss..

1. Sarah's Summer House was really good...my only complaint was that it should have been an hour
 long. I loved seeing all the structural decisions and Sarah getting in on the installation process. But,
 they could have easily spent an additional 30 minutes showing us all the behind the scenes of the
 decorating of the great room. Unfortunately, nobody asked me ;)  Did you watch? What did you think?

2. Mothers Day at our house was wonderful. The weather was perfect. Robert cooked us a wonderful
 breakfast including eggs benedict. The kids did their own shopping for moi which included some
super fabulous chocolate truffles. {I've trained them well :) } 

3. This weekend was also spent searching for an antique dresser for a clients guest bedroom. It has
 been a lengthy search due to the fact that it had to be an exact width and an exact height to fit between
 2 full beds and underneath the window...sigh...but a trip to the Antique Tobacco Barn this weekend
 introduced me to the perfect one!

 

I love everything about it and the oversized knobs are going to work great with the
oversized-custom made-poster beds!



It got a light sanding to open the grain and then a primer.  I then followed up with black semi-gloss paint.
 Only problem was--this antique was in pristine condition. no scratches, no dings, nothing. This wasn't
the look I was after so I had to create my own distressing. I beat it up with a wrench, some chain,
 a screwdriver and a palm sander.      



Because it was primed, when it was sanded the exposed areas were white. I wanted it to appear as
old wood underneath. I used one of my favorite furniture products--Briwax in Tudor Brown.


  
    
This colored wax fills in the white distressed areas turning them a great golden brown and
giving the whole piece the most fabulous rich satin patina.  

  
 {this is after 1 coat, it gets darker with each coat}

I sanded the knobs {on right} and then coated them in linseed oil. Then they got a good waxing.








He's all ready to leave for his new home. Those pics to come!

Go have a fantastic Monday!

{via workisnotajob}