What Would Meg Do?/You Do?

Happy Monday friends!  I'm so excited to introduce a new segment on my blog that I hope all of you will love too!  One thing that I believe is very important to interior decorating - and well, everything in life really - is that we do not have all the ideas and that we can only make what we are working on better if we seek the help and input of others.  So I would like to announce a new segment I would like to do on this blog.  I got the idea from a girl I follow on Facebook and just like her, I'm going to throw my name into the title, "What Would Megan Do?"  Here's how it works,  if you would, send me pictures of a problem room in your home and then I will post them here on the blog and give you my ideas on how to make it better and then anyone else who has ideas can also chime in by making a comment in the comment section.  Sound fun?  I can't wait!!  The email address you should use is, the8cowhouse@gmail.com.  Hey, it's free decorating advice, so what do you have to lose?

To kick this off, I thought I'd start with a space in my own home that I am having a decorating dilemma with and see if any of my amazing readers have ideas.

In my front room I have a wall that is quite large.  Part of the wall has an 8 ft ceiling above it and another part angles up and is vaulted.  As you will see from the pictures, I have our piano in the 8ft ceiling part and next to it I have a piece which holds all the piano music.  Next to that is a ladder with blankets and then my fun metal Christmas tree that I intend to leave out through at least the spring before hiding it away until Christmas again.  The only thing that must stay on this wall is the piano because I have no other place to put it.  I hesitate to put another piece of furniture in the vaulted end because I think it will look like too much furniture on one wall.  I also need to create a bit more seating and lighting in this room so if I could add some along this wall that would look like it made sense, I would.  How high should I take something in the vaulted area?  I just don't know.  Take a look and tell me what you think.

Here are some of my ideas:

*On the vaulted section, add sconces - ideally before they button up the master bathroom wall which is on the other side!

*Add a piece like the one below to allow for picture and dish displays and add some seating underneath.

*Do something crazy, and make these doors and put them on a rail.  (Of course it would be sans the wedding couple and flowers, but the arch would definitely be included)  It would be doors to nowhere, but still an interesting piece.

But really, I have nothing friends so please, Please, PLEASE help me!!  I know you are all full of good ideas and can help me out.  Once you've given me ideas for my space, start sending me your pictures of your spaces so I can help you!!  It really is a win-win for everyone!

Here is my email again: the8cowhouse@gmail.com

Happy Monday!!

Because Let's Be Honest, We All Need A Few More Succulents In Our Lives!

For the last year or so I have been loving the new trendy thing of succulent gardens.  These little arid loving plants are just the cutest things!  They come in a variety of fun shapes, sizes, and colors and when you put them together they can make the cutest little garden, which if you happen to have my track record with plants, are luckily relatively hard to kill.

One of my friends recently had a birthday and I was on the hunt for the perfect gift.  I went and scoured a local antique mall but just couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.  Towards the end of my hunt, this little white terrarium looking piece caught my eye.  I grabbed it and knew I could do something with it.  My original plan was to just put a plant in it that she could easily change in and out but when I went to Lowe's to look for one none of them were looking just right.  That's when I spotted the cute little flowering cactus and I knew my first succulent garden would be born.  I hunted around for a total of 5 succulent plants trying to get different colors, shapes, heights, and textures.  I grabbed a bag of soil and another back of rocks and checked out so excited to go home and see it all come together!!

I will admit, had I not already told my friend that I was bringing her something I may just have kept my mouth shut and kept this beauty for myself.  It was one of those projects that I just kept looking at again and again after I was done because I made my heart happy.  It was SO easy to make and I plan on making one for myself sometime soon.  I may just have to make them for all my friends birthdays this year!!  How can you not be happy looking at something like this?  To me Succulent = Happiness.  The two really are interchangeable in my opinion!

Happy Weekend Friends!  Go read THIS if you need some inspiration and belief in yourself to create things that are amazing!!