Checkmate

I thought I would show something other than Yipes! Stripes!! Hopefully I have not burned you out on my obsession love of black and white stripes, however, if I have, you will be glad to know I am now going to talk about checks!!

I think some of the reasons I love checks are  that they feel fresh and crisp. I love their uniformity and the way they make a room feel as if it has order but are still fun. I have a collection of checked images that I would love to show you……..

I not only get some of my favorite pattern but it is also in one of my favorite combination of colors.  Beautiful blue and white, always a classic.

Southern Accent Magazine

Love the oversized scale of this check. It is often referred to as Buffalo check. What an amazing collection of brown transfer ware.

A smaller check is used on these chairs and a wonderful brass nail head trim is added. I really like the contrast of the gold and black.

More blue and white. This time in a buffalo check. Love the chandelier in this room. If this were my room I would paint the walls crisp white and the inside of the shelves in a crisp apple green. I love the fresh look of blue and green together.

Black and neutrals always make a good choice. Fun table for all of you bloggers that love the burlap, rope look. It looks like a giant spool of thread!! How fun is that?!

A simple , neutral check gives these wicker chairs a fresh and casual look. This looks as if it is a home by the ocean. Notice the hanging lantern and the reflection of the ships wheel in the mirror. Check out the chandelier. It has an anchor in the center which is very clever!!

Love this room with it’s mixture of stripe and checks. I also like the mix of formal and casual. Understated elegance, just my style preference.

Love these two checked settee's!! What is a rather formal lined piece has become more approachable with the informality of the black and white checks. The room becomes much less serious.

We not only have checks but checkerboard patterns in this room. This is obviously a very Country styled room, but very cute.

Checks and toile always make a nice combination.

As you can see, checks can be used in so many types of rooms. It can be used in a more formal setting . Checks can be placed on antique pieces to freshen their look and make them more approachable. So how do you feel about checks? Could you see yourself using them in a room? What size and color would your checks be?

I will leave you with a few pictures of the checks/checkerboard patterns I have used in my home.

My guest bath.

Here is the very tradtional linen fabric that is on my sofa. You know how I love a little whimsy so I added a cord welting in a watermelon/pink check.  Once I made that choice the rather traditional flavor of the fabric became more ME!

(The color in this pict. is a little off, it is actually a watermelon pink like you see in the picture of the sofa.)

This is the same fabric that is on the sofa cord welting . I used this on a reading chair in the corner of my family room. I love a contrasting welt so I chose a Springy green to go with the chair. My sofa is Hickory White and my chair is a Highland House with a Century cord welting. Since I did different fabrics from different manufacture's it was considered a COM( customers own material) . You can add different fabrics to your furniture pieces if they are a custom order. Just realize it does take longer to get the fabrics approved and shipped to the manufacture of the furniture piece. These pieces took 4months which is pretty normal for a nicely made custom piece. I hope you have enjoyed playing checkmate with me today!

“Enjoy the Process” Of: Adding checks to your room.

Kathysue

Signature Wrap

I heard Colin Cowie talk about how he has a signature gift wrap and that everyone should have their own signature wrap. His is a shiny dark chocolate brown. It looks like a bowlful of melted chocolate, just yummy. He even takes it so far as to leave personal stationery and cards at his favorite florist and confections store in case he needs a gift delivered. Now this man is beyond organized. I saw the Oprah special where they showed his apartment. Oh! My!! If I was not already married I would ask him to marry me. You should see his closets and even his refrigerator. He is always planning and thinking ahead. He is uber organized. Now back to the signature wrap. The other day while perusing blog land I went to Chinoiserie Chic blog which is one of my favorites. She does an amazing job with color in her home and it is all based around her love for color and Chinoiserie. She did a post on this wonderful wrapping paper sold  at Caspari.

If you have the time definitely take a look at their website they have some amazing gift wrap and who knows maybe you will find your own signature wrap.

I loved the idea of a signature wrap so I thought about it for about one second and I knew exactly what mine should be. I think you all know what the answer is going to be!! My signature wrap is??????

You guessed it! Black and white striped paper. Now, I just knew I could find this paper. Well after a lot of looking and I do mean a lot. I finally found a web-site called Nashville wraps that sold the perfect paper for me. They sell it in bolts to stores so you can buy a lot of paper if you think you will need it. I got a bolt of 24”x 85ft for $18.75. That is an amazing price and so handy in its box that has a cutter on it. I can use my paper for just about any occasion by changing the ornamentation on the gift. Here is a gift I wrapped as a Birthday gift for someone very close to me that loves turquoise……

I made a band out of tissue paper and then made tissue flower and cut striped leaves. I think it turned out pretty cute . It could be altered by changing the color of the tissue paper. Very simple to do and a fun package to give someone.

I love to wrap gifts. I think the wrapping is part of the gift. I think the most unusual gift I ever wrapped was when I covered an entire box with moss . I used rafia to tie it together and embellished it with twigs and shells. It really turned out cool. I wish I had a picture to show you but I did that about 10 yrs ago.

Do you love to wrap your gifts in a special way? What is the most spectacular gift wrap you ever have done?

For those of you who love beautifully wrapped gifts for presentation you must go and look at The Gift Wrapped Life blog. Sande is the author and the talented lady behind wonderful gift wrapping and gift ideas. She talks about life, design and gifts. She is so articulate and makes all things in her surroundings lovely. She is truly an elegant lady.

Tell me what you think you would like your signature wrap to look like. What color and what design would be on it?

Happy Wrapping!

“Enjoy the Process” Of: Beautiful Presentation!

Kathysue

Lampshade Love!!

I thought I would share a quick little makeover on a lampshade that I did for my porch. I purchased this lamp shade at Tarjay on clearance for only $13.88. It is a reverse print so during the day it looks white and at night it looks so elegant and kind of mysterious and glowing. Love it!! I also bought the black chain trim on clearance for $1.49 a yd. I used approximately 2 yards. With a little fabric glue and about 15 minutes- Voila!  I now have my own custom lamp shade. Averill at Odi et Amo recently did a great post on some quick make over's that she did. It goes to show you with a little ingenuity you can make quick easy changes. Be sure and visit her blog to see some of her transformations,here.

See the reverse print, isn’t it fun!! I am really pleased with the way it turned out.

This has been requested by one of my wonderful and loyal reader's, Julienne. Here is a night time picture so you can see how it looks with the glowing reverse print. This one is for you Julienne...........

“Enjoy the Process” Of: Making an ordinary lampshade look a little more special!

Kathysue

BTW: The porch is done!! I am waiting for the rain to stop so I can take pictures to share with you. I love, love it!!