And the winner of the RamSign is...

Yes it's Stephanie from S. Woodson Vintage. Stephanie likes the Engelhardt designs! Well lucky for her, that's exactly what she will get!! Here are the Engelhardt designs from RamSign...


Beautiful! I happen to know that Stephanie has an Esty site where she brings the styles of yesteryear into the present day. Check it out and see what she does!

Thanks Stephanie for entering the contest!! Enjoy your sign!!

Gorgeous Porcelain Sign Giveaway by RamSign!

Have you seen these gorgeous porcelain enameled signs for your home or business? They are made by RamSign ~ Classic Enameled Signs. They contacted me recently. Maybe they heard about my new home!

They are a company located in Denmark. I'm thinking about one of their signs for my front door.

They are beautifully crafted! Do you know what they did?? They offered to do a giveaway on my blog! How lovely! And you get to reap the benefit of their generosity.

They will giveaway one sign ~ any sign ~ of your choice to the winner! How do you enter? Its simple really. Just go to their website and come back and tell me your favorite sign style (Metropolitan, Highlander, etc...). Couldn't be easier! Here's the link one more time RamSign! I'll draw a comment out of the hat on Monday, February 6th and post the winner immediately! Happy sign hunting!

Since one of the signs is a gorgeous blue, I'm sharing this giveaway with Smiling Sally's Blue Monday! Check out the link below to see more.

And The Winner Is....

Last week I posted about Project Hope ~ a campaign to raise funds for Japan. I did a give-away of this lovely bottle. Pardon my tardiness in announcing the winner. The winner is RY!! I have a bit of a dilemma though ~ RY was an anonymous commenter so I have no way of contacting her or him. Hopefully he/she will read this post and email me so I may send the bottle (which I have not received yet from The Artful Home). As soon as I receive it, I'll send it to it's new happy home. My email is paula@paulagracedesigns.com.

Enjoy your day!

Fun Friday ~

If you read my blog on Monday, you'd know about my lovely new sponsor and about the giveaway. Today for Fun Friday, the winners are announced. Drum roll please........

And the winners are

Sherry from the wonderful blog No Minimalist Here. Sherry's comment ~ "I would love the Garden Flower hair Clips for my granddaughter. She loves hair clips and bows and would adore these!" was the first one pulled out of the hat (not very scientific but what the hay!).

Bob from the fabulous blog Bob Narod, Photographer. Bob's comment ~ "Bob" tweeted. Love the blue sky earrings. :)" Now since Bob tweeted, he was entered twice so the law of probability was with Bob. Here's the thing, Bob is actually MY photographer. He has taken all the photos in my portfolio. He's a wonderful photographer and a blast to work with. When his comment came out of my hat, I thought, 'Should I toss his name out of the drawing because we are colleagues?" Hmmm..... then I thought, 'NO' he entered just like all the rest. Now I am pretty sure the earrings are for his lovely wife but if he's wearing them at our next photo shoot, I'll let you know :)

There you have it ~ the winners of the beautiful items from my new sponsor Paula Designs and Snuggy Bunny Too. Check her shops out ~ you'll be glad you did.



Enjoy your weekend!

Monday's Method and New Sponsor & Giveaway

Welcome to Monday's Method.

Suzanne M left me a comment on my orange and purple post last week. She has a hardware dilemma. Let's see if I can help...

My wedding colors (in 1985!) were lilac and apricot. :~)

With that said, I have a question about another color combination. Though this pertains to hardware - doorknobs to be specific! We are remodeling our kitchen and doing stainless steel appliances and sink with satin nickel pulls on the cabinets. We are putting in new french door to the deck and have chosen satin nickel for that hardware too. Since we are going to repaint the entire first floor of our small house, we are going to replace the 20+ yr-old knobs with levers while the painters have taken the old ones off. I wondered if it would be okay to use brass everywhere but the kitchen- I do have a number of gold (or wood w/gold accent) framed pieces, gold mirrors, and some nice brass candlesticks. Is this a crazy idea?? Thanks for any advice!

Hi Suzanne ~

Yes, you may use brass in the remainder of your home. Long ago, the thought of everything matching was the status quo. Today, mixing it up is a good thing. A very important design principle to me is harmony. In harmony, there is unity for cohesion and diversity for interest. I see the different finishes as the latter. If you are concerned that there may be disparity, use the same levers for the French doors in satin nickel that you are using in brass for the other rooms. The style will be the unity; the finish, the diversity.

I have had people ask me about purchasing furniture suites versus selecting different pieces and blending them together. I, of course as would almost any designer, say the differing pieces will bring so much more interest to the room. Consider it a puzzle that initially may seem disorganized and difficult to pull together but in the end, it can be truly magnificent and a work of art.

I hope this helps!

Another reader left me a comment with a specific thing to look at. She even left me a link. For some reason, I cannot find the comment. I don't recall which post it was left on. Sorry! If you read this, please comment again with the link and I will attend to it.

Today, I would also like to highlight a new sponsor who has two Etsy sites. The first one is Paula's Designs (no, it is not me :). Here are a few of her lovelies...

Gorgeous jewelry, functional and lovely key chains and bags, exquisite painted glass ~ yum!

Her other site is devoted to little girls. This brings a smile to my face as my little girl loves this site! It is called Snuggy Bunny Too ~ here are a few from that adorable site...



Beautiful binky clips, bows and headbands, hair clips.... a little girl's dream!

So what do you think? Would you like something for yourself? How about for a little girl in your world?? All you need to do is visit one or both of Paula's Esty sites and leave me a comment letting me know what you would like to win. It is that easy. If you tweet about it or do a shout out on your blog, come back and let me know ~ I'll enter you into the drawing twice! Two winners will be selected randomly for this week's Fun Friday.

I also want to let you know that I have added on my right sidebar ~ Guest Posts. If you would like to be a guest writer on my blog, drop me an email and we'll chat.

I'm linking with these lovely ladies ~ all fabulous parties worth a long leisurely visit.

Monday ~
Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Little Red House Mosaic Monday
Cottage Instincts Make it for Monday
Pumpkin Seed Productions ~ Plant a Pumpkin Seed

Tuesday ~
A Soft Place to Land DIY Tuesday

Thursday ~
The Shabby Chic Cottage Transformation Thursday

See you tomorrow for Timeless Tuesday!

Stefanie's (aka Brooklyn Limestone) E~Design

Do you remember this image??! This was the winning decor in my Halloween Contest. The winner received an E~Design. This fabulous photo was submitted by Stefanie, the creative author of the Brooklyn Limestone blog.

Today, I'm showing you the E~Design (or Virtual Design as I call them) I came up with for her master bedroom based on Stefanie's pictures, questionnaire, and emails. What is an E~Design you ask? It is genuine interior design services from a far. The client does some of the work ~ measuring, photos, and a lengthy questionnaire. Phone calls and emails later and viola, an E~Design is born!

Here are the pictures and floor plan Stefanie sent to me.....
I don't think I could ask for better bones to work with! Stefanie pretty much gave me full range. See the solder's kissing art just above? Those needed to stay! Wonderful. Her wall color was already lovely so no need to change that. The walls are Silver Marlin by Benjamin Moore. I recreated the bedroom portion in AutoCAD to do the space and furniture plan. Here is the summary I sent to Stefanie (I'll include the pieces I selected as I go. Stefanie received all the pictures on a CD, fabric and paint samples, and spreadsheet with all the information on each piece).....

"The master bedroom begins with these premises ~ keep the kissing soldier pictures, black in every room, late Victorian with additional styles mixed in. The paint color, Benjamin Moore Silver Marlin remains (good choice!). Extra storage would be helpful. There is an extended family of pets to consider at all times.

The inspiration palette comes directly from the paint color and the kissing soldier art. Within the art, I picked up on shades of neutrals (browns, blacks, ivory).

I love the graphic fabric choice on the bed however I would reserve the pattern for a smaller piece in the room and on the rug. To ground the bed and the room as a whole, I would start by placing an 8’ x 11’ rug in a sculpted ivory tone on tone as seen in the illustration. I chose the Sculpture series in Surya’s line (SCU-7511) as it has a large scale graphic similar to the fabric I selected for the chaise (see scanned picture on disk ~ sorry about the picture quality ~ it is a brand new rug. You can see the motif on the brown rug but I would use the ivory one in your room).

I love the headboard ~ definitely keep it! For the bed, I would like to calm it with a neutral bedspread and shams made with Robert Allen: Contentment – Taupe. The fabric is 100% cotton, crush and stain resistant, and has a 50,000 double rub abrasion ~ very durable fabric pet friendly fabric. For contrast, I would add a 10” x 27” bolster in Robert Allen: Boqueron – Jade.



For added interest and luxuriousness, I would add an ivory faux fur throw from Wildcat Territory: Aura.

In the harmony principle of design, there is diversity and unity ~ both create harmony. I like that the nightstands are different; that adds interest. I would unify them by painting them both in Benjamin Moore: Cream Froth (OC-97). I would keep the black lamps.


(Silver Marlin and Cream Froth)

To complete the focal point, I would add art over the bed. You have two choices ~ Highlands II (a photo) or AT (a painting) (see on disk)both from Art & Frame Source. Both have similar hues to the kissing soldiers and are calming.


Since you like to have black represented in each room of your home, I have done so in the master bedroom with the art / frames.

In the bay window, I would place the Petite Chaise from TCS Designs. It is the perfect size for the area. The fabric choice brings the graphic print back into the room. The chaise fabric would be Robert Allen: Jeu De Balle – Capri. I would also have a pillow on the chaise. The center of the pillow in Robert Allen: Gemveto – Jade; the border in the same fabric as the bedspread (Contentment – Taupe) ~ see illustration for pillow.



The accent table for the chaise (for a nice cup of tea) would be either the French Moderne Side Table-Antique Brass & Mirror (table for chaise 2 – on disk) or the Petite 2 Tiered Table-Antique Brass (table for chaise) both from Global Views.



To complete the seating area, add a Holtkoetter Satin Nickel Pharmacy Style Floor Lamp to read your shelter magazines with ease.

For extra storage, I would add a dresser to the right side of the fireplace. I have several choices for you all from Stanley Furniture. Two of the dressers come is different finishes as seen in the pictures. The Classics British Colonial Drawer Chest (dressers 1 & 2) I have shown you in weathered ebony and ivory finishes. Either would work well. Dressers 3 & 4, Shelter Island Chest, come in similar finishes. The Hudson Street comes in a espresso finish and is more streamlined than the others. My favorite is the British Colonial. I love the legs. However, the Shelter one is similar to your fireplace architecture.


On the left side of the fireplace, I would install a mirror. The mirror including the molding should be the same size as the dresser for symmetry. Purchase molding that you like and have a mirror cut to size and beveled. Paint the molding the same color as the nightstands or if you choose a dark dresser, you may also paint the molding similar to the dresser. Simply install the mirror on the wall and place the molding around it. Corners should be cut at 45 degree angles for a finished look.

This corner of your room will be complete with a piece of art - Calmed (art behind corner chair on the disk) and the same slipper chair you have now reupholstered in Robert Allen: Hilbert Estate – Orchid. I would finish the chair with a lumbar pillow (7” x 20”) in Robert Allen: Artisan Glass – Surf.

The kissing soldier art, I would move to the first wall in the room, just inside the door. I would position it vertically and at the same distance from the hall as the art on the other wall flanking the hall (see drawing).

The chandelier is fantastic; I wouldn’t change that ~ ever! The window treatments should marry well with this design. I would move the silhouettes you now have over the bed to just over the dresser top arranged as you have it now.

Additional accessories should be selected and placed after the major pieces to the room are complete.

All pillows, bolsters, bedspread and shams should be self-welted.

The overall appearance of the room will be calm yet not sleepy. There is a lot of texture and pattern yet the colors are simple ~ neutrals and variations of the silver blue of your walls."

There you have it ~ Stefanie's Master Bedroom E~Design. I had so much fun doing it!

What do you think? Love it, hate it, somewhere in between??!! I'd love to hear you thoughts!

This may be a true metamorphosis so of course I am linking with Between Naps on the Porch. The paint is a tint of blue~green so I'll be at Smiling Sally's too!

Join in the fun!