Welcome back to the One Room Challenge.  This post is about accessorizing and pulling the room together.  Many of these accessories bring life and personality to a room.

I can’t wait to share the final reveal next week!  In the meantime, check out the inspiration behind the scenes.

Accessorizing with Plants

Plants add that organic feel to a room.  It’s like bringing the outdoors in.

I absolutely loved the look of this Bird of Paradise houseplant in an ad for Williams Sonoma.  I liked that it was different from the popular fig tree which seems to be everywhere and fit my desire to have something different.  I am in love with this room in general!  It’s so warm and inviting.

I found a nice size Bird of Paradise at my local nursery.  I placed the plant in a seagrass basket from Crate & Barrel to add some texture to the room and was thrilled with the look.

Accessorizing with Throw Pillows

Do you have a pillow obsession like I do?  Today, there are so many wonderful options for purchasing pillows, and one of my favorites is Etsy!  Yes, Etsy!

The pillow covers I have purchased from Etsy have been designer quality, gorgeous fabrics and excellent craftsmanship.

The beauty of purchasing pillow covers is that you can change your pillows easily!  You can mix and match or change them seasonally.

I’ll be sharing where I bought my pillows as well as a discount coupon next week.

Winter Throws

It’s bad enough my husband has to deal with my pillow fetish.  I decided to put my growing collection of throws in a large seagrass basket near our couch so he didn’t have to fight both pillows and throws.

This basket is from Crate & Barrel.  The fur throws are from Restoration Hardware and are so warm and soft!

Artwork

Art is unique to each individual and almost every piece in my house has some personal meaning behind it.  Either I collected it along my travels or it was passed down from a loved one.

I love taking something old and breathing new life into it such as this oil painting.

By adding a light linen mat, it made the picture brighter and also made the piece more substantial in size.

There are sentimental accessories that I am carrying over into our new room.  I could never part with them!

I love to frame personal possessions that have great sentimental value such as my father-in-law’s flag.

On the tray below the flag, I have a photo framed of three hands from three generations – my grandmother, my mom and me – taken two weeks before my grandmother passed away at the age of 100.

I also have an etching of my grandfather’s name from Ellis Island that my dear friend Peg made for me many years ago when we visited New York City together.

These items bring me great joy to see them on a daily basis.

Family Photos

My sofa table has always been home to a collection of family photos.  I decided I wanted to go with a cleaner look instead of a variety of different frames.  I fell in love with these acrylic magnetic frames from Crate and Barrel.

Accessories

As with my art and pictures, the majority of my accessories have special meaning.

I’ve always loved this pair of horns that were my uncle’s.  He had them on his coffee table for as long as I can remember.  They are right on trend today with their lucite bases and were the perfect way to update my mantel.

My father brought these two beer steins back from Germany when he served in the US Army.   I love the detail of the tanks on top.

This is just a sampling of how I pulled our room together with accessories.  Stay tuned for next week.  It is the final reveal week for this 2018 One Room Challenge.  I will share before and after pics of my dramatic makeover.

Be sure to visit the other participants in the One Room Challenge.  I cannot wait to pour myself a cup of coffee and settle into my newly remodeled great room, perusing every single participants before and after photos!  How about you?

Head on over to the About Page of the One Room Challenge to meet Linda, the creator and owner of this inspirational design event.

Thank you to Better Homes & Gardens for helping to promote this wonderful event.

Welcome to Week Four of the One Room Challenge.  Thanks for stopping by to read about my fabric selections.

One Room Challenge – Fabric Selections

As I mentioned in Week One, we decided to reupholster all of our furniture (everything except the leather couch!).  Our existing furniture is very comfortable and fits in our home.  It just needed updating.  Good bye 90’s colors!

Seeking Professional Help When Needed

Picking fabrics is one of the most time-consuming things to do when it comes to redecorating.  With all that I had going on, I didn’t have the time to spend looking for fabric.  So for the first time in my life, I sought out a professional decorator (a friend of a friend) to bring me fabric samples to choose from.

Creating a Vision Board for Fabric Samples

With the help of the internet, I came up with some sample colors, patterns and textures to help guide her.  I wanted different textures including velvet.  I like tone on tone patterns.  And, I was set on the color combination of navy, caramel and cream.

Final Fabric Selections

It took several rounds of looking through fabric samples before I found ones that I liked.  They are shown below on top of our Oriental rug.

Fabric Choices on Chairs

Following are my fabric selections for each piece of furniture that is being re-upholstered.  It will give you a sneak peek into what this dramatic makeover will look like.

I chose a rich navy velvet by Kravet Couture for my plaid slipper chairs.  Also, I decided to eliminate the skirt and expose the legs for a more modern feel.

For my red oversized chair, I selected a very subtle blue and cream check fabric by Duralee.   It’s a large chair and this simple pattern and colors won’t make the chair look so big.

I went bold on our bar stools, choosing a wild navy and cream pattern from Pindler.

In the back of our great room we have two chairs and an ottoman where we like to have our morning coffee and read the paper.  As with all of our furniture, comfort is a must.  I like our fabrics to be soft and inviting and this Bailey & Griffin fabric fit the bill.  I chose a Kravet solid caramel velvet fabric for the ottoman.

In the other corner of our great room, we have four chairs around a round dining table.

For these chairs, I chose a Kravet blue and cream stripe with a hint of caramel to tie in the other colors.

Our great room and kitchen have an open floor plan so whatever happens in one room needs to flow into the next.  This is where I chose to go a bit bolder with my kitchen chairs.  I chose a blue and tan leaf pattern from Stout.

One Room Challenge – Accessories

Next week I will be sharing how I am pulling the room together with accessories.  I always say accessories are what makes a house a home.  It gives the room personality.

Be sure to stop by and visit the other participants in the One Room Challenge.

If you are new to the blog and would like to see the previous posts, click on the links below:

One Room Challenge, Week 1

One Room Challenge, Week 2

One Room Challenge, Week 3

The leaves on one of my houseplants started to look quite dull.  I researched what I could do to spruce them up and was shocked at the simple trick it took to take the leaves from dull to shiny.

Jazz Up Your Houseplants with This Simple Trick

The shocking ingredient to shining up these dull leaves is mayonnaise.  Yes, you read that right.  Mayonnaise, right out of your fridge!  Just rub a little on a paper towel and wipe on each leaf, putting your hand behind the leaf for support as you wipe.  It’s that simple.

So grab a paper towel, some mayo and go to town cleaning your leaves.  (I also wore some disposal kitchen gloves).

I read that this is what many florists and nurseries do to keep their plants looking their best.  It certainly made a difference on my houseplant in my foyer.

Pruning Houseplants

You will also notice in the “after” picture that I pruned my houseplant as it was growing a bit wild.  Don’t throw away those stems when pruning!  Stick them in a vase with water for a pretty burst of color on your counter.  Below is a photo of my pruned stems in a vase on our bar.

Do you have a favorite way to spruce up your houseplants?

You may also be interested in these posts:

Houseplants | A Great Tip to Help Them Thrive

Simple and Casual Centerpieces

Thanks for stopping by.