Hello there!  Have you always wanted to learn how to make your own floral centerpiece arrangements?  Now, you might think it is too difficult, but I promise you can make your own arrangement!  I have made a step-by-step video tutorial.  There are several tips that will show you exactly how to make a beautiful flower arrangement.  I am going to go over a few of those tips, and then I would love for you to watch my video.  And, if you enjoy it, will you share it for me?

Three Important Tips for Floral Centerpiece Arrangements

Tip 1#

I usually purchase my flowers a day before the event.  Many times the flowers are not all the way open.  So, once you get them home, clip all of the ends of the flowers.  This allows the stems to be fresh, and soak up more water.  Let them sit over night, and the next day you will find many of the flowers have opened up beautifully.

Tip 2#

Your vase choice is important.  Many times floral centerpiece arrangements are in a tall vase, and the flowers are too tall.  This makes it difficult for guests to see each other over the arrangement.  Choose a lower sitting vase.

Tip 3#

You want to choose three sizes of flowers; large, medium, and small.  The small flowers are “fillers”.  Those can be baby’s breath, greenery, or any other small flowers.  In the arrangement in the video, I used roses, alstroemeria, and greenery.

Those are my “get started” tips.  I hope you enjoy the video!

How to Make a Floral Arrangement Video

Flower and Color Pairing for Interior Design

If you’re having trouble choosing flowers for your centerpiece, take a look at this flower and color pairing guide that FTD put together for inspiration. It tells you what flowers help elevate some of the most popular household colors, so you won’t just impress your guests with your floral arrangement skills. You’ll also impress them with your aptness for interior design!

Partyin’ Over at:

Ready to learn how to accessorize a coffee table?  Accessorizing is one of my favorite things to do!  But, sometimes it is easy to draw a blank on coming up with some good ideas.  I think a coffee table is pretty easy to decorate if you use one of my easy decorating rules.  I like to “Decorate in 3’s”.  So, what in the world is that?  Well, I find using three different items in accessorizing is just the right amount.   Limiting the decor items on a coffee table to three items balances things out, and keeps you from over-cluttering.

Isn’t this a cool room?  It belongs to an acquaintance of mine.  Her rustic decor is comfortable and engaging.  She has three items on her table.  Perfect.  I like her use of scale in her decor items.  I really like this look.

This is a coffee table I decorated for a client.  I found this cool trunk from Sam’s Club.  It actually slides open from the middle, and is perfect to house movies, books, and other articles.  Here, I purchased a large tray with a mirrored back.   I placed some greenery on a pair of books, and a mercury glass jar containing a candle.   This coffee table is neat and pretty.

This room was on the Downtown Nashville Home Tour.  Be sure to check out my post if you like modern and industrial interior design.  The large glass bowl on one side, mimics the glass refection on the other side of the coffee table.  This design is clean, modern, and neat.

If you like a Modern Country design, this room may fill your bill.  The coffee table is an old cart from a factory.  It is a large coffee table, so the accessories needed to be large.  The antique crock pot filled with flowers is just the right size.

Birds-eye view of a pretty glass coffee table.

Here is another example of “Decorating in 3’s”.  So, are you with me on this rule?  Have I convinced you?  Seriously, if you have four things on a table, it is not a big deal.  I just find choosing 3 items works out well.  On this round coffee table the items are different sizes, and it makes the design scale work.

Accessorizing an Outdoor Coffee Table

What a pretty wood tray filled with garden decor.  Leaving a candle outside for too long would cause it to melt.  However, a candle-lit deck or porch,  is one of the best things about summer evenings.

This galvanized water trough is a really cool idea for an outdoor coffee table.  Talk about weather proof!  I love it!

My Favorite Places to Find Coffee Table Decor

One of my top favorite places to look for items is T.J. Maxx or T.J.Maxx Homegoods.  I hyper-ventilate when I walk into this store!  I NEVER know what I am going to find.  I don’t always know how I am going to decorate a client’s coffee table.  But, once I enter a store, my creative juices begin flowing.

One important thing when decorating a coffee table, besides “decorating in 3’s”, is finding different sized items.   It is called using “scale“.  What in the world is that?  Well, scale just means visual size.  Keeping scale in mind when decorating creates interest and drama.

You want Tall, Grande, and Venti.  Oh, wait.  That’s Starbucks coffee.  My bad.  You want small, medium, and large decor items.  And, did you notice the “3” theme again?  It works!

Good luck decorating your coffee table.  I’m sure you will do a fantastic job.

Let’s be honest.  Accessorizing your bathroom has not been at the top of the list.  In fact, you probably have several extra shampoo bottles lying around, mix-matched towels, a floor rug that looks like a pup chewed on it and more products circling your sink than QVC sells in a day.  Well, been there done that.  With my 4 essential tips, you can create a beautifully accessorized bathroom.  AND, you can do it on a budget!

4 Essential Tips for Accessorizing

a Beautiful Bathroom

Okay, we may not be able to have such a grand tub or marble countertops like this, but we can create a stunningly decorated bathroom using inexpensive items.

~The Most Important Tip~

Okay,  I think I just heard you sigh.  But, you need to get rid of the extra clutter.  Throw out the extra shampoo, lotion and old Bath & Body soap.  You can do it!  Toss out the old stuff.  Clean out under the sink.  Clean out your drawers.  I know this isn’t accessorizing, but it is a necessary step to keeping a clean bathroom.

Uncluttering your bathroom is crucial in creating a space that makes you feel happy just to enter!  Because of that, I would plan out a half-a-day to do only this job.  Grab a trash bag,  put some music on, and get to de-cluttering.  Be ruthless!  If you haven’t used a product in 3 months, toss it out! Remember: “Life is too short to live in a mess.”  And, when you are finished, reward yourself!  I always opt for chocolate.

This may sound like a silly basic, but pretty, clean and neat towels are so inviting.  Ever walk into a spa and see all of the white towels folded perfectly?  It is just inviting and clean.  Years ago, I decided on purchasing only white towels.  Mostly, because I could bleach them, and having all the same color folded neatly on my shelf was beautiful.

Pretty Ways to Display Towels

For a guest room bathroom, place pretty towels in a ceramic planter.

Roll up towels in a wired basket next to the tub.  This is both functional and decorative!Here, I placed a small wood stool I found at Homegoods up next to the tub. A plain white handtowel with a clean bar of soup is an easy way to accessorize!

This is the FUN part to me!  Below are some great ways to create small vignettes on your countertops, and simple ways to accessorize without adding clutter.

Here is an example of decor intended for special guests. Real flowers are displayed in a vase next to a beautiful monogrammed towel, along with a glass tray draping pearls over the side. The remaining item, a glass jar containing cotton balls, fulfills its role of functionality while upholding the overall charm in the space.

  I am a believer of “decorating in 3’s”.  There is something satisfying about these three bathroom accessories.  The tall glass urn homing fun fillers, silk roses resting in the square glass and ceramic jar disguising Q-tips, all work together for a non-cluttered look.

This is a pretty fancy way to hold your soap.  A jar full of white soap just shouts “Hey this bathroom is fresh and clean!”

Here is what I placed on a bathtub ledge.  I found the silver tray at a local flea market.  I rolled four small wash clothes together, filled a small glass jar with bath salts and placed one silk hydrangea in a small vase.  Simple but elegant.

Accessorize with soap!  It is cheap and easy.  This little silver dish and seashell soap is adorable.

This is one of my favorite bathroom displays.  Three glass jars filled with bathing essentials.  This is another cheap and easy bathroom decorating ideas.

This is in my bathroom.  I found the glass jars and the little glass tray from Target.  Don’t you just LOVE that store?  This display is functional and pretty!

90’s Throwback

Throwback to the 90’s when doilies were popular.  Gracious, I thought this looked awesome.  I also thought my huge hair was pretty.

Find a small narrow basket and place a photo, bath salts and soap inside.

White vases filled with live greenery and flowers are always a great option.A simple pot of lavender sits on the right side of the sink, adding the perfect amount of color.  Instead of a plain builder’s grade mirror, I purchased this mirror from Lowe’s.  Made a world of difference!

I really like this idea.  Use a small tray and fill with small crushed rocks or seashells.  Place three glass votives and candles in the tray.  I actually found all these supplies from Target. Imagine that.

What a simple, clean, uncluttered bathroom!  And that is the key to a beautiful bathroom.  Take a Saturday afternoon and dedicate it to de-cluttering your bathroom.  Be brave.  Be determined.  Life is too short to live in a mess.

I am so excited to show you some of my chalk paint furniture!  Have you ever painted with chalk paint?  Wondering what chalk paint is exactly?

Chalk paint requires no sanding or priming!  Two of the things I hate to do the most!  Below are some fun before and after photos I hope you enjoy!

Chalk Paint Furniture Using Rust-Oleum

Have you ever used Rust-Oleum chalk paint before?  This was my first time, and I have to say I was very happy with the results!  I love playing with paint!.  If you will notice the drawers on the piece below are darker and aged. I have an easy technique using acrylic paint.  Here is my video on “How to Chalk Paint and Distress Furniture”. 

Painting with Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint

Annie Sloan’s paint was the first time that I had ever heard of this kind of paint.  She sells tons of different chalk paint colors on-line.

Chalk paint gives furniture a unique vintage look.  You can add a dark paste wax that will really give your furniture a distressed and antique look.

Kitchen Island Makeover

I gently asked my client if they have ever given consideration to painting their island.  Why?  This kitchen is luxurious and high-end, but the island just blended right into the wood floor.  It is a huge island with detailed woodwork, so I was careful suggesting painting it.  Sometimes, it really bothers clients to paint over beautiful wood.  I totally understand why!

The art of distressing furniture

I used a sanding block to sand off the chalk paint in different areas.  I could have used a sander, and it would have been easier on my hands, shoulders and neck, but it is easy to sand too much of the paint off.  When you distress a piece of furniture, you want to take off paint where is would naturally rub off during time.  Distress all the edges and outer corners that would get bumped and scratched with normal wear and tear.

I used Annie Sloan soft dark wax.  It is amazing!  I began applying it in circular motions.  The black paint came alive!  And the places where I sanded down to the wood, became darker and more pronounced.

This project turned out great, and my client was super happy!  The bar stools came from Overstock.com.  I loved them!  The burlap seats and upholstered tack edges completed the entire look!

Garage Sale Find

This is a table I purchased at a garage sale for $20.  It is a solid and heavy piece, but the stained finish was not my style.

With chalk paint, I did not have to sand or prime this stained piece.  I just started painting.  I love it.

NOTE:  Chalk paint requires a top coat of sealer.  Either a polyurethane sealer, or a wax sealer.  You can purchase clear wax, or a tinted wax.

To add some detail and character to your painted furniture, don’t paint the top of a table.  Stain it in a dark color.  If possible, paint your knobs or drawer pulls a different color.

This is one of my favorite chalk paint ideas.  I love the color green! I even used chalk paint to paint the drawer pulls.  Although I painted the design onto the doors free-hand, you can also purchase a stencil and make a really unique hand-painted look on your furniture.

 This piece turned out really cool!  I used black chalk paint and also sanded some of the paint off so that the stain would show through.  The top of this piece is actually fabric!  I used Mod Podge to attach the fabric to the top of this table.  For a tutorial on how to create this look, visit my Furniture Makeovers post.

Tip:

If you want your chalk paint furniture to have a distressed look, sand off the edges where it would naturally get worn.  By that, I mean the corners and edges.  By doing this your furniture doesn’t look like you just painted it!  It looks distressed and time-worn.

How to Make Chalk Paint

If you would like to try making your own chalk paint, below is the easy recipe.

You can save a lot of money by painting your own furniture.  Buying an inexpensive piece and giving it your own personal touch makes it that much more special!