Home improvement, take 10

I realize I have been slacking on the blog lately. Seeing how I have nothing but time on my hands right now, there is no excuse I can offer to explain the hiatus. You can just call me lazy! I am sure no one has lost sleep over my lack of communication though! For what it's worth, I am working on a few posts right now so there are more to come.

During the months of June and July, several of our rooms were updated! Most people know my mother-in-law is a phenomenal seamstress. Window treatments, bed skirts, throw pillows, smocking, children's clothes, etc. You name it, she can make it. And with such detail you should pay a fortune for it! I have said over and over I am going to get her to teach me a thing or two. We'll see if that ever happens. Anyway, she gets all the credit for most of the decorating in my house and all of the fabric hanging on the walls. In a matter of 2 weeks, she spit out this project for my dining room and sitting room (with no where to sit...):

Honestly, could it look much better than this? I think not. She finds the fabric for me, tells me how much I need, I get it then she provides me with the end result! Am I spoiled or what? She thought it would be a good idea to introduce a new color to the blues, greens and browns we already had downstairs. So we, I mean, she found the stripped fabric with a streak of "brick," as we call it. Then, she found solid "brick" fabric for the dining room. The only part I can claim is the trim in the dining room, which is hard to see in these pictures. Anyway, it has blue, green, brown, AND brick in it, tying everything together perfectly! I couldn't be more thrilled with the end result. The rooms look more finished, despite the lack of chairs in the sitting room! I have no doubt she is on the lookout for those! While I am at, she made this for the breakfast room earlier this year:

So cute.

The latest project involved replacing a rather dinky and ugly light fixture with an old-but-new one! Once again, my mother-in-law found it for herself at an antique store. She thinks its original home was in a church. When her friend and interior decorator extraordinaire saw it, she thought it was completely wrong for her space. However, she thought it would look GREAT in MY stairwell! I know, I am so lucky! We had the light reworked, rewired and added glass. Take a look at the completed project:

The original was approximately 8 inches tall and weighed about 2 lbs. The old-but-new one is about 3 1/2 feet tall and weighs about 25lbs. I have yet to throw out the old one so let me know if you are interested! :) It's free to the first taker!