a favorite new upcycled sideboard

 

I love a good DIY total transformation project, so today I’m finally sharing this favorite one I completed back in December. Thank goodness for loads and loads of white chalk paint, because this sideboard was covered in red paint from top to bottom.

 

Every surface including every inch of the drawers, the back of the piece, and even the bottom of this piece was sprayed with the brightest and thickest layers of red paint.

 

First, I removed the glass doors, because what I was really after for this piece was open shelving to house some of my props and favorite styling pieces.

 

Found on Craigslist, this sideboard was the exact size I needed for the room, and I could see through all the red paint to visualize what I truly wanted.

 

I also removed the handles, that were totally the wrong style and replaced them with chunky wooden knobs. A little wood filler patched up the holes in the drawers, and I drilled new ones for the new hardware.

Lastly, of course, I painted it with a soft white "Chalked" Paint. It took me several days to get at least five coats of paint on this piece, but I'm thrilled with the results. 

 

Now this piece is right at home with the rest of my furnishings and the roomy drawers and shelves hold so much! The top is also a great place to display some of my favorite collectables and acquisitions.

 

It’s also been pretty enough to be a “homey” background for some of my photo stylings. This is one of my latest shots of the new Seaside Collection from Pacific & Rose.

 

This sarong and all the other lovely home goods will be available on the website and at Seaside Gallery this weekend.

 

This Wave Pillow is one of my favorite new products and you saw it here first! It will be available at Seaside Gallery this weekend as well. This new Seaside Collection just arrived from India and is soooo perfect for summer.

 

Please check back on Monday, and I’ll have the whole collection featured for you to see. In addition to the Anchors and Waves, there’s also a fun Crab print and an elegant Palm print!

Doesn't this pillow look so pretty with the new and improved painted sideboard?

Here’s how this look came together. Everything is so budget friendly in this room. I have a few inherited pieces that I love, and I did splurge just before Christmas on a new white sofa, but even that was found at a consignment store!

 

Wishing you a lovely weekend, and I’ll look forward to seeing you again on Monday for all the latest on the gorgeous new Seaside Collection!

 

 

ciao! fabiana

 

 

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a coastal inspired magazine photo shoot

with  Cottages  and  Bungalows      

Backyard seating area near the shed.

Happy friday, y’all!

I wanted to make sure I checked back in with you guys to share some behind-the-scenes pics from Monday’s photo shoot with Cottages and Bungalows.

Beverage station which also doubles as my garden work station.

The theme of the day was Coastal Style, as this is earmarked for next year’s Cottages & Bungalows Coastal issue, which is technically the August/September issue, but comes out in June!

In fact the 2019 issue is due out next week, but our photos are for next summer’s issue.  

  

Close-up of the beverage station.

Vintage glasses, napkins, lemons, limes, pineapple, juices and even a pot of basil are on hand to get the party started. 

The coastal-inspired tablescape in the breakfast room.

Here’s the blue and white table I set using some of my favorite plates and linens. Those fun vintage placemats are probably my favorites that I’ve collected over the years!

And, I added a little pop of green to the table at the last minute for a little something different. 

Jickie and Brett checking out the shot.

It takes a lot of patience to get the shot just right!

The outdoor table under the olive tree and next to the fire pit. 

We set up a little charcuterie board here at the outdoor table and also added beverages to the fun South Seas Cart. Lemons always add that desired shot of color!

Sammie doing a little modeling on the front porch.

The afternoon heatwave on Monday inspired us to set up a little table on the front porch that included cool watermelon and a pitcher of iced tea.

We gave Dugan a try first, but he didn't look too happy

After Dugan turned out to be a mediocre model, we gave Sammie a chance and she did great!

The "Ciao" hat from Lisa!

My friend Lisa had this “Ciao” hat custom made for me a few years ago, and I just love it! It's so perfect for a hot day! 

Jickie loved my matilija poppies that tower over our heads! 

Both Jickie and Kelly were enthralled by these huge matilija poppies. You can see them growing behind the black gate, and we thought they'd look cute with the watermelon on the table.

The cute way Kelly styled the poppies when she got home.

The garden gate brightened up with my favorite blue hydrangeas.

The last shot of the day was the gate, decorated by more of my favorite blue hydrangeas that were sitting in this fun hanging basket I found at World Market. These kinds of baskets just look so adorable on a front door or gate!

So it'll be a whole year until we get to see the official photos in print, and I hope you enjoyed this little preview! If you have any questions on the tableware, linens or other accessories, just leave me a comment. 

Happy weekend!😃

ciao! fabiana

For shopping info on this cute front door basket, 

click here. 

Door Basket from World Market

For shopping info on this fun pennant,

click here. 

C'est la Vie Pennant from McGee & Co. 

a magazine photo shoot and more...

It’s Friday, and I’m so happy to be back here on the blog. Blogzilla hasn’t quite emerged this time around, as I await a magazine photo shoot of some of my outdoor entertaining areas next week.

I’ve been in my calm “hunting and gathering” mode for the last couple of weeks. Hunting around my favorite shops and thrift stores for just the right coastal-inspired pieces that I may need to incorporate for this photo shoot and gathering some of my favorite things from around the house, that have been stashed away for safe keeping.

My front porch will probably be one of the main areas that’ll be featured. It’s the favorite napping spot of our old grey kitty Amos, and with a little tweaking, I think the porch will look just as I imagine it in my head. 😉

These blue and white ikat pillows with the hot pink trim are a brand new addition to the porch and created by the amazing Brenda Kristine, who knew exactly the look I wanted!

In my gathering phase, I also put together a collection of mismatched little blue and white flower pots that I had stowed away in my shed and planted them with my favorite dainty flower of the summer, Santa Barbara Daisies! 

My larger blue and white pots are planted with hot pink geraniums, which I’m also obsessed with this summer.

By the way, this little faux wicker outdoor table is a new acquisition that I just absolutely love! A fun and inexpensive find from World Market. Check it out on my front porch in the first photo, above.

    

Do you follow Studio McGee on Instagram? I love their fun coastal style and best of all, their little shop is just down the street from me, so I did pick up a couple of cute things this week… you’ll have to wait and see!

And the most fun local news of all… this Newport Beach Peninsula Point home that was on the Newport Harbor Home Tour a couple of weeks ago was just photographed yesterday for Cottages & Bungalows! Editor-in-chief Jickie Torres shared these pics on her Instagram stories yesterday. Take a peek….  

Molly Wood is offering her monthly table top class today. Look at how cute this green and white look is…

(There is a materials fee for this class.)

And also on Instagram this week are more photos of this black farmhouse from the home tour. 

Follow homeowner and designer Colette for more inspiration!

I'll share more on this amazing home soon!

ciao! fabiana

💕

While I’m here today, I wanted to share some of my "Tablescaping Essentials" with you. I have a whole page on the Amazon website with my favorite picks for setting a beautiful table.

Quite often time is of the essence, and I have last minute projects or events to work on, so I turn to Amazon for one or two day delivery. You’d be surprised at how many amazing items they have to offer! And I'm constantly updating this page with my new favorites. 

You can check it out here, at “Tablescaping Essentials”.

For more Newport Harbor Home Tour inspiration,
check out this brand new book:

christmas and new years inspiration

Happy Friday before Christmas!

I’m sure this weekend will be busy for us all, with last minute shopping, wrapping and party-prepping!

I just received a couple of extra tester shots from our photo shoot last week with Cottages and Bungalows Magazine.

The first photo is a little pre-setup that ultimately got tweaked a little bit for the final photo, but this is the basic vibe of the family room mantle.

  

From photographer, Bret’s camera, you can see the setup of the front door vignette. I made the “Buon Natale” banner a couple of years ago, but it’s the first time I’m using it over the front doors.

I like how all the gold and black colors work together. The wreathes are a collection of silver, gold and copper Christmas ornaments that stand out nicely against the dark doors. 

Here I am in the dining room… oh, how I dislike taking photos! I’m much more comfortable behind the camera.

The dining room tablescape came together using my husband's grandmother's antique "Indian Tree" china. You'll get an up-close peek at it soon, but I love the pinky-red details on it. 

Serena and Lily napkins and raffia placemats were used to update the more formal look of the china. This photo is a little dark, but I wanted to share this look with you. 

BTW, the chairs and pillow in the background are also Serena and Lily.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have gotten a peek at my New Year’s Eve feature in the January issue of Romantic Homes Magazine.

I've updated my favorite clock plate theme exclusively for Romantic Homes, and here's a little peek at some of the outtakes.

Lots of glittery details were used for this partyscape!

And of course, if you know me, we had to incorporate a lot of vintage details too!

You can read my whole article and see all the best photos in this issue of Romantic Homes, so be sure to pick up a copy soon!

photo by Rita Lavoe

I’m so looking forward to Christmas! I spent ALL DAY baking my favorite Christmas cookies yesterday, and I think I made at least ten dozen! 🍪Just little gifts for friends and neighbors!

Today I’m starting on the Christmas pudding, which is really a cake that steamed and filled with all sorts of amazing fruits, nuts and chocolate!

I'd be so happy if you left me a comment to let me know what you’re up to this weekend. I’d love to know! 😍

ciao! fabiana

...and for lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram!

a Christmas photo shoot

The little surprise that I’ve been hinting at over the last couple of weeks was a Christmas photo shoot with Cottages & Bungalows Magazine. It was sort of a bit covert, but I can finally let the cat out of the bag now.

They were here all day yesterday photographing some of the most festively decorated parts of the house.

You may have seen how I styled the mantel with some of my blue and white ginger jars. We usually have a family portrait above this mantel, but I wanted to create a different look for Cottages & Bungalows.

Here’s Bret, the photographer, working his magic and capturing just the right angle that features the Christmas tree and the living room mantel. And of course, we even had some milk and cookies for Santa in this shot!

Over the last 3-4 weeks, I’ve been mentally running myself ragged over styling the whole downstairs of my home for this magazine photoshoot. In fact the day before yesterday, I realized I was turning into a bit of a “blogzilla” after I experienced a couple of mini-meltdowns! AH!!

All I can say, is my husband’s relieved that it’s over, and the whole family is happy that the house looks the most festive it’s ever looked. We can now ease into Christmas gracefully… 😏

Kris, one of the editors took a silly picture of me in the dining room while we were prepping it for the next shot.

Here’s a little peek at the kitchen table. I wanted to create a sort of foresty, winter look for this table with lots of pine trees, snow and elegant brass details.

You may recognize the Joyeux Noel plates from my feature in Romantic Homes. They’ve become my all-time favorite Christmas pattern because they’re so versatile and fun. 

This pattern pairs nicely with so many different looks.

Here’s a preview of the family room mantle with our treasured portrait of great-grandmother Nelle. Copper accents and glittery details were used to play up the elegant nature of this portrait. I found the beaded garland and Michael’s, and we added extra greenery to soften the look.

As the sun was setting, we headed to the front porch for some dusky, glowy shots. The last picture of the night was in the backyard, featuring the shed, all decked out in candlelight. 

This is a quick capture of the shed from my phone, and I CAN'T wait to see the actual image taken by the amazing Bret!

We’ll have to wait about eleven months until the December 2019 issue of Cottages and Bunglows comes out, but hopefully we’ll see some proofs way before that!

I’ll share a few more of my behind-the-scenes looks

 in the next day or two. 

Check back soon!

xo xo

 fabiana