So here I am voting again, a committee of one. This time it’s for the most creative, HELPFUL, wonderful blog of 2008. Did you notice I put helpful in caps?

I found Angela at Cottage Magpie through blogging almost two years ago. I fell in love with her blog! It was one of those blogs that you check everyday, just waiting for a new post! It was at the time when we were just moving into our new house and I was buying furniture right and left trying to make my house a home. Of course those were the days of the good economy. Remember those?

I was determined not to have all white furniture and so I purchased some darker pieces (online believe it or not) to fill in. Well, when the dark dresser arrived I thought Ross (my DH) would have me committed! It was so dark it was almost black. We tried it in every room I could think of, including the dining room!

Out of desperation and to save my marriage, it finally ended up in the “pink” room and I told him not to worry I could work around it. The dresser weighs a TON and by this time he was so sick of moving it I was afraid it would end up on the front porch! So it found a home in the middle of a wall, and I tried to work around it…

So, now I’m getting to the Angela part…almost…

I brought in darker pictures and added them to the wall, I tired vintage china, bird houses, anything I could think of but I just couldn’t get an arrangement to balance with the dresser. And then I thought of Angela! If you send her a photo of a room you just can’t pull together, this talented, creative, lady will help for FREE! And so my relationship with Angela began…I emailed her with a photo asking for her help.

First she told me to gather anything I could think of both dark and light and arrange them as best I could. She needed to know the types of pieces she had to work with. So off I went to grab a hammer and a nail.

After trying and trying this was the best I could do, not bad but I still wasn’t happy. It looked out of balance. So Angela took over in Photoshop…

She played around with the picture and moved things here and there…Keep in mind this is all done in Photoshop, but it was like she was in the room with me!

She gave me several suggestions, like maybe add a mirror on the wall above the chair…

and finally…

… here is the end result, with one exception. We added crystal knobs to the dresser to “lighten” it up! The room is in perfect balance and I just love it. It’s our guest room so if you come to visit, this is where you’ll stay!

And the two little hearts you see in the first picture? Well those are now hanging from their new crystal knobs on the dresser. I’m too lazy to go down and take a new picture so you’ll have to “make do”.

And now you see why I love Cottage Magpie so much! She can help you too! Just check out her blog and you’ll see some rooms she has helped people with. Thank you Angela!

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all the best of everything in 2009. I can’t thank you enough for reading my blog. You are all so appreciated! I’m taking the weekend to work on my unfinished projects that need to get done, but I’ll be back on January 5th. Hope you have a fun sewing weekend too!

Hugs,

Anne