this is my mudroom, not very muddy. again, i found the idea in a magazine, just like my kitchen and asked my architect to incorporate it in this area of the house. we keep some of our shoes in the bottom cabinets and the chalkboard holds upcoming birthdates and other important dates to remember. the stairway you see, leads to the media room….. which has no media, it is just an empty room … but i have dreams. but the main reason for this post is to show you the cart insert that I made from some vintage barkcloth drapes i bought years ago when i had my space in an antique mall in Agoura, California! once i learned of these draperies from what i believe were popular in the 40’s & 50’s (correct me if i am wrong) … i couldn’t stop searching for them on eBay~! i did a lot of eBay shopping back in those days. a lot. but i always made a profit on what i bought and then sold.
(below: see the drapes hanging on the hanger on the right side of the doorway!)
that was my little space “Cheryl’s Cottage” (est..2003-2005)

and here was my other space

i stayed busy….painting, and sanding, and sewing, and buying and selling, and thinking, and pondering ….. and then i decided i wanted to leave California and move to Texas and build a house. that’s how i roll………. always looking for what i want to do next ……
crazy – but i have been that way forever – wanting to learn and do something different
so, back to the project
how this came to be is that i was at Canton Flea Market and needed a cart, so i bought one to carry my findings! well, it was UNATTRACTIVE to say the least (below, plastic checked), and a girl like me needed something CUTE!
i didn’t want to pay for something cute so i thought about those adorable barkcloth drapes that i now had sitting in my pile of fabrics in the linen closet.
now, i am no super sewer or anything, but i can sew straight lines and can try to figure things out, thanks to my mother’s genes and home economics in the 7th grade!
so i measured the sides of this plastic insert and cut my fabric pieces, put the “right sides” of the fabric together and sewed my straight lines.
the problem with me though, is that when i want to do something, i want to do it right now ….hence the wrong color thread that i was forced to use to sew on the fringe! i am a very impatient woman that way~ plus my sewing machine was old and it wasn’t sewing the stitches properly, so it took me frustrating hours to get this finished
since, i have bought a new machine
if you don’t know what barkcloth is, it is a thick linen-like textured fabric. check it out on eBay to see all the different colors and patterns
speaking of my new machine, i might as well give you a glimpse of my sewing, gift-wrapping, shabby-chic storage room
the green/white cabinet holds all my stationary and gift wrapping in the drawers and cabinets
and the upper glass cabinets is where all my left-over vintage items from my antiquing days are kept
my girlfriend Susan made the bulletin board, which i took off her hands!
close-up of the bulletin fabric - below
more of the mudroom …..

i love my chalkboard – from Ventura flea market – i think the creator of this was Doug for any of you who still go to Ventura
close-up of the chalkboard detail below….

and this next special piece …. my brother Andy made this for me from a building that they tore down in Newbury Park, California - i don’t really think he knows what this piece means to me – i don’t really think he knows how much i truly love him
i am famous for throwing things away. it is part of my OCD and type-A personality (there are other underlying reasons, but that is for another day). but there are some things that i will never let go of. the heart above, obviously and this little horseshoe below. this horseshoe has been above a door of every home that hubby and i have owned. that is 4 (four) homes to be exact. and along with the horseshoe, there is always a quarter in the corner of the cabinet in the kitchen too!
today is monday. my day off, back to work tomorrow for another long, grueling week, no doubt
…..but for right now, I am ………..

i didn’t mean for this to be such a long post that jumped around …. but you got a bit more glimpse into my world, which i hope you enjoyed ~ and i thank you for taking the time to stop by and always, for your sweet comments!
Have a beautiful week my friends ~ Cheryl