Installing Hardwood Floors: Part 1

January 28, 2011 by 9 Comments

Come along for the journey. Here's the room this morning. This was my son's baseball-themed bedroom and I removed all the furniture recently to create a home office since he's all grown up and has flown the nest. Bye-bye old carpet... Wish blogs had sound and smell-a-vision. Imagine the sound of saws, air compressors and the smell of fresh wood. Sounds and smells like … [Read more...]

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Wallpaper H-E Double Hockey Sticks

January 28, 2011 by 43 Comments

When you die, if you've been bad...instead of going to heaven, I believe they send you to a room covered in wallpaper where the walls were never primed or sized. Then, you spend an eternity removing wallpaper, one micro-shred at the time...because an eternity is exactly how long it's going to take. :( When the first product I bought didn't work AT. ALL., I returned to the big warehouse store and armed … [Read more...]

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Pottery Barn Bedford Home Office Renovation

January 24, 2011 by 82 Comments

Welcome to the 105th Metamorphosis Monday! I hope your weekend has been fun and relaxing! I've made a bit of headway in the "bedroom to home office" project I've been working on. Last Met Monday, I left you with my son's old bedroom looking like this (see photo below.) I had worked about 6-7 hours straight taking apart his whole bedroom...you can see the "Before" in THIS post. Stop by that "Before" post … [Read more...]

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Abercorn Place: Southern Living Idea House in Senoia Georgia

January 4, 2011 by 30 Comments

While we continue enjoying Jennifer's wonderful kitchen renovation and all the fabulous "Before and Afters" linked for yesterday's Met Monday, lets take a little tour of some more of the rooms in Abercorn Place, this year's Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia. I've been sharing the rooms in this 4 story home over the last few weeks and today we're touring three rooms: the Living Room, the … [Read more...]

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The Holiday

December 17, 2010 by 113 Comments

It's Friday! How about another fun movie house tour? This weekend I'm taking you on a tour of my second favorite Christmas movie house, Rosehill Cottage from the movie, The Holiday. The home in Home Alone will always be my first "movie house" love. ;) The Holiday, hit the theaters in 2006. Did you see it? I am a total sucker for romantic comedies but it was the cottage in the movie that completely stole my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas Holiday Home, Christmas Home Tours, Christmas Movies, Movie House Tours, Movie Houses, Storybook Cottages, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , , , , , , ,



Christmastime at the Georgia Governor’s Mansion

December 13, 2010 by 47 Comments

Welcome to the 99th Metamorphosis Monday! Hi Everyone! It's been snowing off and on all day here in Georgia. Nothing serious, though...just a few flurries. It's really pretty to watch...from inside! I don't have a "metamorphosis" to share today in my own home, so I'm taking you into the heart of Buckhead for a little tour of some of the rooms in the Georgia Governor's Mansion all decked out for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, Christmas Decor, Christmas Holiday Home, Christmas Home Tours, Historic Homes, Home Tours, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , ,



Christmas Home Tour: Tour A Beautiful Folk Victorian

December 11, 2010 by 51 Comments

Last weekend a group of friends and I attended a local tour of historic homes all decked out for the Christmas season. I shared some pics from that tour recently and today I'm taking you back inside to show you all the delightful details I wasn't able to capture before! Thank you to Tracey and Scott for letting me take you on a tour of their beautiful home decorated for Christmas. A little … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas Decor, Christmas Holiday Home, Christmas Home Tours, Historic Homes, Home Tours, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , ,



Christmas Historic Home Tour…More Photos

December 7, 2010 by 20 Comments

Wow! I've been having the best time visiting all the gorgeous homes decked out for the holidays! While we continue visiting the 483 Deck the Halls links for yesterday's Metamorphosis Monday, I thought I'd share a few more of the pics I took on a recent Christmas Historic Home Tour I attended. Love this bed/swing on the front porch of this home... I loved the lanterns on the front … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas Decor, Christmas Holiday Home, Christmas Home Tours, Historic Homes, Home Tours, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , ,



Decorating Mailboxes, Fences and Porches for Christmas

December 5, 2010 by 46 Comments

I'm sharing a few pics from the tour I went on today. I wasn't able to take pics in most of the homes, but a couple of homes did allow some photography. Please excuse angles and some less-than-focused pics. I had to take pics quickly as people were moving constantly all around the rooms and into and out of my shots. I have too many pics to show in one post...but here's a few...just for fun. :) I WANT … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas Holiday Home, Christmas Home Tours, Historic Homes, Home Tours, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , , , ,



Southern Living Idea House, Kitchen and Dining Room Tour

November 30, 2010 by 46 Comments

Sooo many great Before and Afters linked for yesterday's Met Monday. After you finish reading this post, you'll want to scroll on down to check out all the links! :) Thanks to everyone who linked up yesterday. You are what make MM such a fun party each week! Southern Living Idea House in Senoia Georgia: A few weeks ago, I toured the Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia. I took quite a few … [Read more...]

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Natural Greenery Christmas Mantel in Southern Living Idea House

November 16, 2010 by 56 Comments

Recently a friend and I toured the Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia. Senoia is a very small town about an hours drive from Atlanta. We were allowed to take pics inside since the home had already been published. :) I took a bunch of pics but I wasn't able to get full views of many rooms because there were always a gazillion people around. I have too many pics to share them all in one post … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas Decor, Christmas Holiday Home, Gardening & Birding, Home Tours, In the Garden, Nature, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , , , ,



Update to Autumn Basket

September 29, 2010 by 19 Comments

My Fall Basket: Well, I took everyone's combined advice and I: 1. Decided to keep the fall basket on the door since most of you liked it. I made it taller and skinner so I think it looks much better...less wide and overwhelming on the door. And 2. I cut the whiter flowers off the bunch of sunflowers they were attached to. I dispersed them throughout the arrangement. For some reason, they looked … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, Home Tours, My Nest, Porches, Porches & Decks, Seasonal Decor Tagged With: , ,



An Autumn Basket for the Front Door

September 26, 2010 by 127 Comments

Welcome to the 89th Metamorphosis Monday! I need your help today...I can't see the forest for the trees, so tell me what you think. I have a pretty fall wreath I sometimes place on my door...but this year I thought I'd try a basket instead. Here's how my front door has looked all summer. Nice, but time to put this look away and welcome in the fall season... I found this large basket … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, Home Tours, My Nest, Porches, Porches & Decks, Seasonal Decor, Thanksgiving Decor, Thanksgiving Holiday Home Tagged With: , , ,



The Endearing Art of Silhouette

August 25, 2010 by 39 Comments

Today, I thought I'd share a special moment in time, 21 years ago. One morning I read in the newspaper (remember those?) that a renown silhouettist by the name of K. Housel Bogue, was coming to Macy's to cut silhouette portraits. She would only be here for a couple of days and appointments were booking fast.I had previously had a silhouette of my son done by another artist and was disappointed when the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Entry/Foyer, Home Tours, My Nest Tagged With: ,



Touring Historic Avondale Estates

August 15, 2010 by 45 Comments

How has your weekend been going? Do anything fun today...or was it just too hot to be outside? You may remember, last Metamorphosis Monday I shared a bit about a restaurant named Six Feet Under and my near dangerous encounter with a drink called Tombstone Tea. :) Then I took you by my favorite stalker house located in Grant Park. Next, we headed back to my friend's home for a tour of his recently … [Read more...]

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The Winchester Mystery House

July 31, 2010 by 64 Comments

Around nine years ago, I visited California for the very first time. We headed up to San Francisco and as you can see, it was a very cloudy day. Despite the weather, I still had to get a shot of the "Painted Ladies."   Don't worry...this isn't a "vacation" post. :) We did it all during the 2-3 days we were there. We walked across "the" bridge, visited Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli … [Read more...]

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Take the Tour: a Greek Revival Home Built in 1840

July 24, 2010 by 34 Comments

A few months ago I had the privilege of touring a number of beautiful historic homes in Rome, Georgia. The tour was part of the spring ramble with The Georgia Trust. One of the homes we toured was this Greek Revival style home. It sits on 8 acres and was used as a hospital during the War Between the States. I bet this house has some great ghost stories attached to it. The next three photos are pics I … [Read more...]

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Sherman Slept Here

July 19, 2010 by 50 Comments

Welcome to the 79th Metamorphosis Monday! I had soooo much fun reading all of your thoughts about the home I was able to tour on the spring ramble with The Georgia Trust in Rome, Georgia. As I mentioned in the post yesterday, I really don't know the exact time frame during which the home was decorated...I would have guessed during the late 80's-early 90's. Some of you picked the same time frame and some … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Historic Homes, Home Tours



A Challenge: Can You Tell Me What Year This Home Was Decorated?

July 17, 2010 by 93 Comments

Have you had a chance to check out all the tablescapes posted for Tablescape Thursday? If so, I'm jealous! I haven't had a chance to visit around very much, yet. Working full-time is such a bummer. It puts a real crimp in my blog reading, if you know what I mean. ;-) Some of you already know I work investigating abuse, neglect and exploitation of those who are elderly or disabled. It is demanding and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Historic Homes, Home Tours



Extreme Homes-Church Becomes a Beautiful Home

July 11, 2010 by 60 Comments

Welcome to the 78th Metamorphosis Monday! Metamorphosis Monday: Recently, I received an email showing an interesting metamorphosis and the following wording/pics: "A couple purchased an old church in Kyloe, Northumberland. They invested a lot of money on the interior but the exterior remained almost completely intact. They did more of a restoration rather than a renovation, which would have cost … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, Historic Homes



Celebrating Independence Day Touring Main Street America

July 3, 2010 by 39 Comments

Welcome! So glad you are here! I've had a wonderful day and evening...I've been celebrating a dear friend's birthday...out on the porch. This was one of those milestone birthdays and we had so much fun grilling out and feasting! Happy Independence Day: In celebration of Independence Day, I've pulled together a few pics from some of the historic home tour posts I've published in the past. Except, this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Historic Homes, Home Tours



Between the Rivers, An Historic Home Tour in Rome, Georgia

May 29, 2010 by 52 Comments

Between the Rivers: A couple of weeks ago I shared both interior and exterior pics of a plantation home called, Colonial Heights. Colonial Heights was included in the spring ramble held by The Georgia Trust. Also, that day, the tour included many homes in an historic area of Rome, Georgia called, Between the Rivers. Between the Rivers is a downtown residential area, and it lies between the Etowah, … [Read more...]

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The Georgia Trust Historic Home Tour, Rome Georgia

May 19, 2010 by 25 Comments

Hi Everyone! Hope you've had a fantastic day! I've been enjoying your talent and creativity as I've visit many of the fabulous "Before and Afters" you linked for Metamorphosis Monday. Quite a few new links were added even today...check them out and you will come away inspired to tackle your own home projects. I have a great tour to share with you today.  Last month, I had the opportunity to tour a … [Read more...]

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Historic Home Tour in Roswell, Georgia

May 1, 2010 by 35 Comments

Historic Home Tour in Roswell, Georgia: We haven't gone on an historic home tour in a while. Come check out these homes in Roswell, Georgia. You'll notice, it was still wintertime when I took these pics. This house (Mimosa Hall) has always intrigued me...it's very hidden and these shots taken in the winter are as much as you ever get to see from the road... I zoomed in for a little closer … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Historic Homes, Home Tours



Renovating on a Miniature Scale

March 1, 2010 by 98 Comments

Welcome to the 59th Metamorphosis Monday! Metamorphosis Monday: I know you're going to be shocked, but I've been thinking about moving. Yes, you read that right.  Your eyes have not deceived you. You see, I found this old house and you know how I love old homes. It's a great house, just a bit smaller than my current home. Problem is, it's a real fixer-upper. we're talking fodder for Met Monday posts … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, Christmas Crafts, Christmas Holiday Home, Home Tours, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , , , ,



Let’s Pretend It’s Summertime Again And We’ll Go For A Walk Around Town

February 7, 2010 by 74 Comments

Late last summer, a friend and I went for a nice walk in some of the historic towns here in Georgia, one of my fav things to do on a sunny day. You may recognize a couple of these homes from the candlelight Christmas tour I took you on a few weeks ago...now you'll get to see those by daylight, along with lots of new homes I've never shared before. Hope you enjoy this little "walkabout!" (Click on any pic to … [Read more...]

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Beautiful Christmas Table Settings

December 31, 2009 by 71 Comments

Welcome to the 71st Tablescape Thursday! It's time for Tablescape Thursday and this is our very last TT for the year 2009. Are you looking forward to 2010? I believe 2010 is going to be an awesome year...I just feel it down to my bones. :-) This past Met Monday, I took you on a Christmas Home Tour through Tricia's lovely, historic, Victorian cottage. During the tour, I teased you with a glimpse of her … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas Holiday Home, Christmas Table Settings, Christmas Tablescapes, Historic Homes, Home Tours, Tablescape Thursday, Tablescapes Holiday Tablescapes, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , , , ,



A Christmas Tour of Homes

December 28, 2009 by 62 Comments

Welcome to the 50th Metamorphosis Monday! For this Metamorphosis Monday, I thought I'd take you inside one of the homes I had the privilege of touring this year on the Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour. This charming Victorian cottage-style home with a wrap-around front porch, was built in 1901 and the owner, Tricia, generously allowed me to take a few pics to share with you all. Come see how … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas Holiday Home, Christmas Home Tours, Historic Homes, Home Tours, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , ,



Christmas Dinner at the Georgia Governor’s Mansion

December 23, 2009 by 65 Comments

Welcome to the 70th Tablescape Thursday! Can you believe Christmas is almost here? What do we call today, this day before Christmas eve? Is this Christmas eve, eve? (If you are reading this on Thursday, it is officially, Christmas Eve.) As I write this, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my family for the holiday. I've been grocery shopping and cooking...and thinking about you, the readers of BNOTP. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas Decor, Christmas Holiday Home, Christmas Home Tours, Historic Homes, Home Tours, Tablescape Thursday, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , ,



Historic Homes Decorated for Christmas

December 22, 2009 by 37 Comments

Did you get a chance to visit the wonderful "Before and Afters" posted yesterday for Met Monday? If not, scroll down and check them out once you are done reading today's post. You will come away inspired by all the creative projects and home improvements that are taking place in Blogland! My friend, Bonnie, had the opportunity to go on a wonderful historic home tour recently in Campbell, California. She … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christmas Decor, Christmas Holiday Home, Christmas Home Tours, Christmas Table Settings, Christmas Tablescapes, Historic Homes, Home Tours, Tablescapes Holiday Tablescapes, The Holiday Home Tagged With: , , , , , , ,



Decorating Staircase Walls with Vintage Photos and Mirrors

November 11, 2009 by 83 Comments

I did a little post showing my problem stairway wall. Now that I have a better camera that takes in more "area," I thought I would take a few more pics to give you a little better idea of how it looks...just in case you have this same awkward stairway wall in your home and need a few ideas. When you walk in my front door, this is more or less the view...   As you come on into the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Entry/Foyer, Home Tours, My Nest Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,



Six Feet Under, Awesome Porches and Bats in the Belfry

October 31, 2009 by 60 Comments

Earlier this year, actually around mid-summer, a friend and I had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta, Six Feet Under. They have the BEST fish tacos and their potato chips are beyond yummy.  I think they make them in-house. You may wonder how this restaurant got it's name. Six Feet Under is located directly across the street from this. Yup, it's a cemetery...but not just … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Halloween Decor, Halloween Holiday Home, Historic Homes, Home Tours Tagged With: , ,



Dreaming of a Home Library

September 6, 2009 by 116 Comments

Welcome to the 34th Metamorphosis Monday! There's a room in my home I've not taken you into, yet. I'm a little embarrassed to share, despite this room being just a few feet inside my front door and fully visible each time you enter or exit my home, it has remained for the 19 years I've live here.  It has always been in various stages of disarray, often acting as a storage room. If you read the post I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Tours, Library (Someday), My Nest Tagged With: , , , , ,



Biltmore Estate

August 15, 2009 by 63 Comments

A while back, I had an opportunity to tour Biltmore in Asheville, NC. I'd been there many years before and really enjoyed the tour, but I remembered having been a little disappointed that so little of the upstairs was open for viewing. Well, all that's changed now and it's an awesome experience! They continue to restore more rooms each year, so more and more are opened up for tours. The tour took us 1 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gardening & Birding, Historic Homes, In the Garden, Nature, Travel, United States Tagged With: , ,



The Historic Beaufort House

August 1, 2009 by 75 Comments

A few weeks ago I traveled to Asheville, NC with friends to tour Biltmore. I'll be sharing some pics taken in the gardens around Biltmore in a future post. For this Pink Saturday, I wanted to share The Beaufort House...the lovely, historic, bed and breakfast where we stayed while on our trip. If you find yourself traveling to Asheville, I highly recommend The Beaufort House. Most of the pics you'll … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Historic Homes, Home Tours



Festival of Flowers: Historic Home and Garden Tour

July 8, 2009 by 75 Comments

This post is picture intensive, but light on wording...so enjoy! I've been traveling a good bit this summer, so I'm sharing some pics from one of those trips. This post has something in it for everyone...gardening, a tablescape and even an historic home tour! How many of you gardeners out there have heard of Park Seed? Yep, I see all those heads nodding! If you garden, you know Park Seed. Did you know … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gardening & Birding, Historic Homes, Home Tours, In the Garden, Nature Tagged With: , , ,



Welcome to My Town

June 24, 2009 by 109 Comments

A few weekends ago, a friend and I drove the short distance to the town square. We walked all around looking at some of the historic homes up close...you know, the ones we tend to whiz by in our car each day. I wasn't able to get to a street that had some of my favs, but here are a few that caught my eye this day. This one was still all decked out from Memorial Day...perfect since July 4th is just around … [Read more...]

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Frozen in Time…

May 16, 2009 by 59 Comments

Many, years ago, when my son was around 8 years old, I painted a very amateurish mural on one whole wall in his room. The mural is around 13 feet wide by 8 feet tall. He always loved baseball and played it Spring and Fall from 2nd grade all the way through high school.   Over the years, I never got around to painting over the mural, and my son never seemed to mind. So, though he is all grown … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bedroom (Son's), Home Tours, My Nest Tagged With: , ,



Old Bound Newspapers Become End Table

May 11, 2009 by 84 Comments

Welcome to the 17th Metamorphosis Monday! Many, many years ago, The Macon Telegraph and News decided to dispose of all the old copies of their past publications/newspapers. Apparently, news organizations used to keep copies of their old papers by binding them into large "books." Each bound volume, shown below, had about three months worth of newspapers. I had six of these large books stored for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, DIY, DIY Decorating, Home Tours, Living Room/Bonus (Upstairs), My Nest Tagged With: ,



A Kitchen Renovation

April 13, 2009 by 90 Comments

Welcome to the the 13th Metamorphosis Monday! Time for another Metamorphosis Monday! I can't wait to see all the Before and Afters posted for this Met Monday...you'll find all the links at the end of this post. Hold on tight...we're going for another ride this week in my time machine. Did you take your Dramamine...you know this thing goes pretty fast. I'm setting the dial for 1991...destination: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, Home Tours, Kitchen & Breakfast Area, My Nest Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,



Front Porch Addition

March 2, 2009 by 126 Comments

Welcome to the 7th Metamorphosis Monday! For many years I carried around a page I'd torn from an old issue of Southern Homes Magazine. The page showed a picture of a front porch I really, really liked. Periodically, I pulled it out, gazed lovingly upon it, then carefully tucked it back into my "someday" notebook. "Someday" finally arrived in October 2007 and construction began on the front porch. My front … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, Home Tours, My Nest, Porches, Porches & Decks Tagged With: , , , ,



Dreaming of the Outdoors

January 21, 2009 by 62 Comments

Ok, I know it's cold and you don't really want to venture outdoors a whole lot right now. After all, it's still January...or is it?  In Blogland it can be summer anytime we want. Just think of Blogland as a magical time machine. Ok, get your garden clogs or tennis shoes on...whatever you like to wear when you're out puttering around in the yard. Let's go see what's blooming in my garden on this Outdoor … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Garden, Gardening & Birding, Home Tours, In the Garden, My Nest, Nature Tagged With: ,



Adding Picture Molding to the Dining Room

January 2, 2009 by 106 Comments

A couple of months ago, I decided I was tired of my dining room being painted all red, above and below the chair rail. The room isn't overly large, so all that red made the room feel even smaller. This photo below is the only pic I have of how it looked when it was painted all red. I had just decorated the room for a birthday party I was having for a good friend.   Once I made the decision to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Before & After, Dining Room, DIY Repairs and Fixes, Home Tours, My Nest Tagged With: , , , , , ,



Christmas in Miniature, A Sweet Dollhouse

December 8, 2008 by 93 Comments

While out antiquing in December two years ago, I came across a wonderful old doll house. The exterior was already decorated for Christmas with garland strung across the banister rails and wreaths on several of the windows. It stole my heart but it was priced at $250, so reluctantly, I walked away. All during Christmas I kept thinking about the house. I knew absolutely nothing about dollhouses, having … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bedroom (Guest Room), Christmas Crafts, Christmas Decor, Christmas Holiday Home, Home Tours, My Nest Tagged With: , , , , ,



Tour a Beautiful Historic Victorian Home in Newnan, Georgia

October 25, 2008 by 47 Comments

I'm a member of The Georgia Trust and twice a year (Spring and Fall) they host a "Ramble." A ramble is just that...rambling around through the town where the tour is being held and rambling in and out of some amazing historic homes. The ramble, which took place a couple of weeks ago, was in the town of Newnan, Georgia. Fortunately, Newnan was largely untouched by the American Civil War due to its status … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Historic Homes, Home Tours Tagged With: , ,