Fall into Vintage

When I stumbled upon this beautiful

vintage settee at my local Goodwill store

my heart started to flutter...

My first thought was that I would

have it reulphostered in a dark gray linen

to accent our family room.

 That was until my other partner in crime

over at Simply Klassic Home

challenged me to use color.

Honestly it was quite a challange for me

Kate is a neutral girl!

The Dior home is filled nothing but neutrals so

I really had my work cut out.

As the days went by I was busy getting prices

for the redo and yet my mind was spinning

about how would I make this beauty work

in our home before she puts on her new dress!

This was probably the worst case

of performance anxiety I have ever experienced!

{three days and I still had nothing}

Then it hit me

I wanted it to look beautiful and yet

still resemble my sense of style...

In our garage there was an old wood

picnic table top that Mr. Dior and I

had found in the dumpster

a few months prior so that was my start.

I wanted to give that rustic vintage feel

and the warmth of fall...

I added a treasured vintage suitcase

from one of my dearest friends Jo Lee...

A few vintage clocks and my very first bible

that had been handed down.

 I added driftwood {no surprise there}

to fill my old cowboy boots along

with a few linen pillows to finish...

Whew!!! I will post how she turns

out after the holidays.  I love how perfect she is

 for fall as I start to put away some of our

 summer whites and bring out more of the darker grays.

I think I will add some old wood crates and fresh

flowers for Thanksgiving..

I will be linking up this week with my lovelies

Jann's Share your cup Thursday

Debra's Vintage Inspiration

Jennifer Rizzo's Fabulously Creative

Courtney's Feathered Nest Friday

Much love to all of you

XOXO

" Modern Style " Gallery Wall

One of the greatest joys I have

shared with others in my field is

the honor of working with

 the best of the best in this industry...

{Frank Salas " Master of Photography "}

When starting to plan the gallery walls

for our home I knew that I wanted to capture 

a mix of who we are as a family.

Modern, bold, edgy and yet a bit vintage.

I called Frank to schedule our {modern style}

family photo shoot.

Aesthetically I wanted each wall to work

within the photos while remaining

true to my " Look for Less " philosophy.

I checked various places to purchase modern style

framing supplies that went with my neutral palette.

Michaels had the best prices for what I needed.

Each matting was a clearance item

and all of the distressed wood frames were

forty percent off that week!

Team Dior in order of appearance:

My oldest " The Chef "

He survived being my first born

and I am truly amazed and proud of

the man he is...

My middle child

" Personal trainer, nutritionalist, and body builder "

Christopher is very determined with such a strong

 passion for his clients helping them achieve their goals.

And my most beautiful surprise in life...

My Gracie girl

" Strong willed, heart of gold & diva in training "

When Mr. Dior and I were ready to hang the photos

I had a plan that I was happy to say worked

 out perfect. Since most of my

readers know Kate has NO patience.

I started with centering my oldest son's photo first.

After that was hung I chose to balance the wall

by using the sizes of each photo to build up

and fill in the wall  as we went along.

The wall space I was covering was 70 inches wide

by 54 inches in height so I wanted to create

a closeness that was pleasing to the eye

without feeling crowded.

Cost of framing the photos for this

modern style gallery wall was just

around 97.00 dollars.

Using the discounted distressed wood frames

 and clearance mats for this project.

Yes these are my loves...

They have taught me the most valuable lessons

about being a mother...

I will be featuring in a few weeks

the vintage gallery wall

project that Mr. Dior and I have been working on.

I was so delighted to finish this gallery wall

under 100.00 dollars.

Working towards having lots of style

without breaking your pocket book.

Linking up with my favorite gal

Jann's Share your cup Thursday

Beyond the Picket Fence Under 100 Linky Party

Much love to all you

XOXO

Bountiful Blessings

This week my heart was so very blessed

with precious gifts of love from others...

"the gift of friendship"

At times I think we do not realize

how much friendships we share touch our lives...

{this week my heart spilled over}

First to arrive was this

gorgeous pillow made by Carolyn

of Sweet Tea and Linen

{Carolyn's Etsy shop is swoon worthy

and quite frankly divine}

It was given to me by the fabulously talented

Kristin of Simply Klassic Home

and the creator of Reclaimed Bliss...

Have you seen her "Junkin Pumpkin"

{made of canning jar lids}

Then one of the most unexpected gifts of all

was given to me by sweet Melinda of Alabaster Rose Lifestyle

She is a wonderful mother, wife, blogger, photographer

and has the most loving spirit.

I have never owned such a beautiful cabinet and it is my first

primitive piece to add to the Dior home.

I have always wanted a lovely cabinet to store our

linens and now I have this one to treasure.

I saw paint peeking out from underneath the ivory

and I asked Mr. Dior to do some of his magic

and when he was finished it revealed

  a gorgeous muted salmon color...

This vintage cabinet is overflowing with aged worn beauty...

I will be scouring the flea market for

more vintage linens to add to my collection...

I started adding grays around the Dior home

to get us in the mood for fall

when I spotted this beautiful old wood

table near the trash can of a home

in the neighborhood...

After a good cleaning I sealed her

with a coat of poly urethane

and decided she would make a lovely

rustic table for fall...

For a touch of whimsy I grabbed an old oil drip pan

from the garage and sprayed it with chalk paint to

have some table top fun...

I was excited and humbled to be asked

to participate in

the Romantic Homes new website

Blogging the Romantic Life part 1

Their new website is

absolutely beautiful and full of inspiration!

I will be linking up with my favorite gals

this week!

Jann's Share your cup Thursday

Debra's Vintage Inspiration

Much love to all of you

XOXO

Of a Vintage Nature

Fall is on the horizon and I love this time

of year since I use elements of nature

along with the vintage pieces in our home.

Using nature has such beautiful hues...

I think by far dried branches are my favorite

element to add inside of urns and on tables.

Our home is filled with driftwood

spilling across tables and placed in vintage baskets...

Coral is another one of

my favorite " staples " in my home decor...

I use various types of coral

for different effects...

Using nature always adds texture

to my displays...

Sometimes I will even add a touch of quirky as

seen above with my vintage anatomy prints...

Simple elegance in a bird's nest

placed in a vintage platter...

Natural grass is a great rustic

filler for my vintage pieces...

This week I will be linking up to

my usual favorite gals...

Kathleen's White Wednesday

Jann at Share your cup Thursday

Debra's Vintage Inspiration

{Debra is also hosting a two year anniversary giveaway}

In case you missed the announcement

I will be having fun

with these two lovelies every month

adding my curbside rescues and DIY projects

at Reclaimed Bliss

Have a beautiful and blessed week!

XOXO

The Secret's Out

One thing I know for sure

girls get to talkin and one thing

leads to another...

I am blessed and honored to

have been asked to

be a contributor alongside these

amazing and talented women

of Reclaimed Bliss...

Along with my blog Salvage Dior

I will be adding features

and DIY projects you won't want to miss!

Three creative gals and one dynamic blog!

See all of you lovelies there!

XOXO