LINTELS + LALLIES BLOG

I've been busy--it's been difficult to make time for blogging!  However, my visit to Magnolia Market I feel, is *blog-worthy*.  😆 So I'm making time to write  at 10:00pm .  Right off, let me answer the top two questions everyone's been asking.  Then, I'll expand into the nitty gritty of my visit. 1. Did I meet Chip & JoAnna Gaines?  No.  I tried to check their appearance schedule and even went as far as to try to schedule a meeting with their public relations team member...but they were busy the week I was there. 2. Is it worth traveling to see?  My answer is to, wait.  Is it worth it?  Yes, but there's still work to be done, and if you're traveling as far as I did...you might want to go when it's more complete.  It was still great, but I think there's reasons to wait. If you are planning a trip in the near future regardless of my "wait" comment--I recommend you go in October 6-8th when they are having ...

Whew, so what’s with that heavy subject title, eh?!   J   Well, for those of you who know me, know I’m a ridiculous dreamer.   I believe anything can happen.   I’m one of those annoying *positive* people.   I’ve always felt something *big/great* would happen to me one day.   I grew up watching “Star Search” and dreaming of what it would be like to be one of those people.   I used to watch movies & would quickly memorize lines and became fascinated by the *world of television*.   So, having my own show on HGTV…um, are ya kiddin’ me?!…*design + TV*….SIGN ME UP!   At first I just toyed with the idea…then you all encouraged me and I realized, I’ve got nothing to lose, let’s do it!   So, I checked everything out…there was a very long (I’m guessing around 15 pages) questionnaire to fill out, portfolio pics, headshot pics, and then there was the actual audition video submission.   As some of   you may know, we kinda lik...

I've never really considered myself 'crafy'.  Creative and artistic, sure, but crafty...not so much.  I don't really have the patience to sit and scrapbook, cut & glue things with precision...just not my thing.  However, I do always have scrapbook paper on hand.  It seems I always find a different purpose for it.  I've used them for place mats at parties, as gift card holders, and now the most recent repurpose I learned....is using decorative papers for a finishing touch on gift wrapping! Below are images of two gifts I just wrapped.  Want to learn how to make the paper roses? (Gosh, that sounds crafty doesn't it!) Just scroll down.  They are easy, anyone can do it! Rose Instructions: First, draw a spiral.  Doesn't have to be perfect...just give yourself a rough guide...(draw on the back of the decorative paper) Next, use your drawing as a guide & cut following the lines.  You can even cut jagge...

While searching for a new stylish alarm clock, I found some amazing and bizarre designs.  Check them out and let me know what you think! This one, forces you to get up and physically plug in the three wires to turn it off....I can see it now "(YAWN)...Oh no, is it blue with the red, or yellow with the blue, blue to blue..!" Not a fan of noise first thing in the morning?  Well, if you think you can sleep with a bracelet on, this alarm might be for you as it wakes you up with a vibration! For all you bacon lovers...here is your dream...waking up to cooked bacon!  This is called the "Wake'n Bacon alarm clock".  You put frozen bacon in at night & 10 mins before your wake up time, it starts to cook it!   Have  you been meaning to save up for something...but just haven't made "time" (pun intended) for it?...well this clock forces you to feed it coin to shut it off...no snooze-ya must put money in the bank, every day! ...

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people complain about their color selections, yet they continue to make the same mistakes. Below you'll find 10 tricks to give you the confidence you need to select colors you will love. 1. ALWAYS look at the color samples in the room you intend to paint. Even if you think the lighting is the same somewhere else, you will be surprised to learn that color is made by different amounts of light. This is why it looks different when you bring random samples home from the store. Also, color is effected by surrounding colors. So if you are IN THE ROOM to be painted, you wont have any surprises . 2. Stop viewing colors on tables! Horizontal surfaces give you 100% light saturation. Unless you are painting a table, you should hold colors vertically. 3. Decide how you want to "feel" in the room. If you want a calm relaxing feeling, look at cooler colors. (blue greens grays). If you want to feel energized try warmer c...

Hi, all! I'm Mari, a writer for Arcadian Lighting, a terrific online place to find beautiful lighting fixtures of all sorts. I'm so excited to be here visiting Lintels and Lallies today, with a guest post about one of my decorating obsessions—colorful velvet. For me, there is nothing more inspiring than velvet—unless perhaps it's velvet on a chair (my first love is chairs) like the irresistible ones in the dining room below. It seems to me velvets are showing up more and more in today's interiors no matter their style. This sumptuous fabric looks as gorgeous in contemporary spaces as it does in ornate classic rooms. Here are some of my favorites. Please enjoy! Here, velvet floor cushions in a deep golden hue are a beautiful contrast to the long silvery tufted sofa. Lush velvets are a lovely choice for this elegant living space. Magenta velvet covers a comfortable chaise in this eclectic bedroom. Quirky light fixtures always catch my eye and I've fallen f...

I subscribed to HGTV’s new magazine, and they featured a section called something along the lines of, “Clutter Confessions”.   We all have them…areas of your home that need a little bit of time, but just aren’t important enough to make it on the ‘to-do list’ - mostly because they aren’t seen by daily visitors. For me, well...let’s just say there are MANY dirty little secrets, but for a starter I decided to shamefully share with you under my kitchen sink & my laundry room. … Here is the before of my kitchen sink: I took everything out and realized that the majority of the items I don't use, or were duplicates.   So, anything that I didn’t use on a regular basis (such as insect killer, mouse traps & bug spray) I put either in the garage or on a shelf in the basement.   If there were any cleaners that were duplicates and I could pour them into one, I combined them (but don't worry folks, only those of the same brand).   If they were too full, I ...

Below are some images from the Baby Shower this past weekend.  Congratulations Eric & Laura, we all can't wait to meet your little boy!

I just love creating nurseries!  Growing up my parents must have recognized a talent in me, as they always let me create my own room, and change it as I grew.  I went from liking mauve ornate (Boy, that dates me doesn't it?) to blue county, to black and white modern, to green serene.  With that in mind, I always try to design a space that babies and children can grow with.  But most importantly, I think all children's rooms should have a feel of inspiration and whimsy!  Check out these fun palettes by Sherwin Williams & fantastic furniture pieces from Posh Tots! Love a color you see?  I'm more than happy to bring my color swatches to you so you can see how they look in your creative space! CONTACT phone:   219.877.8246 e-mail:    barbara@lintelsandlallies.com Sent from my iPad

Well, hello there!  Welcome to my 'Lintels & Lallies' blog! I suppose the title to this blog should be 'The Journey to the Dream', because I don't think anyone should ever really aim to live THE dream, because then what is there left to achieve?! :) So what's the dream?  Why, I'm so glad you asked! (giggle) Before I get started here, let me just say that I'm likely the world’s biggest dreamer.  I honestly think it is possible to win the lottery on the same day the prize patrol knocks on my door, followed by being 'discovered'!  Some dreams we have control of, and some we do not.  Today I'm talking more about the dreams I CAN control.  I have many, but right now I'm talking about my dream of owning my own business. I believe this 'bug' is in my blood.  It started three generations ago. Here is the point where the monitor should fog over and you'd hear vintage music..... My great-grandparents opened a stained-glass ...