A few housekeeping things happened last weekend at Carlton Landing, like hanging some new drapes in the living room and continuing my slow-zhush (yes, this is a term I just made up) of the master bedroom. I’ve had an ever-increasing pile of things on my dining room table to take to CL now for weeks and maybe – just maybe! –  one day we will actually go to the lake without looking like a gypsy caravan full of stuff. Maybe.

When we first moved in, I installed some plain navy linen drapes from Pottery Barn that were wayyyyy too long. But in the heat of the moment when I was (surprise!) pregnant with two chihuahuas and a 6 year old in tow out in the middle of nowhere, I made an Executive Decision to leave the drapes. We had NOTHING on any of the 26(!) windows at that point and needed privacy desperately.  But, again, they weren’t super fancy nor were they lined. And over time, they’ve faded significantly in the sun. Crypton sent me some fabric and I had my new favorite drapes lady whip these up for me with blackout lining and the most perfect double pleat. The other ones were regular ol’ pole pockets and it bugged me that they always looked junky at the top. #OCD

In the summer, it heats up a lot with all the sunlight we get; consequently it’s hard to keep it cool in the late afternoon,  so I’m hoping these will also help us keep the air conditioning bill down. They  just perfectly kiss the ground. SO much better, plus all the benefits of Crypton fabric (totally stain resistant). Meaning, if and when the dog decides to pee on them (just being honest – it’s only a matter of time. GAG), it’ll be no big deal to clean up.  I’m considering adding some trim to either side to jazz it up a bit but just haven’t seen the right one yet. Plus I kinda want to wait til I decide on the design direction for the living room as I work on red0ing some of it. <— #foreshadowing

The other project was finding the right artwork to hang over the bed in the master bedroom that I painted back over New Year’s. My eventual goal is to get a new headboard (really love these) but I wanted some artwork that felt grown up, but just a little bit quirky. I landed on this collection from Permanent Press Editions (although I had such a hard time picking – there are too many good ones!). That particular series reminded me of my childhood suitcase (purple hardshell with a big orange felt smiley face, natch).

Highland Hardware graciously offered to send us some of their fab acrylic frame kits complete with brass standoffs. They come as a set of two acrylic sheets with predrilled holes, and all the necessary hanging hardware. Insert your artwork between the two pieces of acrylic, et voila. The acrylic comes covered with an adhesive so they don’t scratch up in process (unfortunately a downside to acrylic in general – it scratches very easily) and they’re super simple to install. (I think these would also be great for hanging an Hermes scarf)

I love how the sheen of the acrylic plays off the matte finish of the paint. It’s just the perfect amount of polish while still maintaining a casual feel.

Now to nail down a good headboard, and move the rug from downstairs into the bedroom. One step at a time.