The Happy Door

I am having so much fun in my she shed!

I have to admit that I think it may need to be insulated because I was getting pretty hot in there this summer. I would crank my AC, but on hot days it had a hard time keeping the space cool. So, I am definitely looking forward to Fall and cooler temps so I can work in there for longer stretches of time. And we have some ideas for insulating it, but just need my husband to carve out the time. I am still enjoying it and love the chance to create inside and to add special touches and decorate!

Since Fall is my favorite I was excited to add some autumn touches in here! I know it’s August, but I couldn’t wait. I still have lots of ideas for the outside, and a few more for inside, too! I thought I’d share a few things I recently added. I hope you enjoy this Fall tour!

What got me started decorating was creating this wreath. Since I start creating for my Etsy shop in August for Fall it gets me excited for the season even sooner. I wrapped some pumpkins in a thrifted sweater and added some cute mushrooms for a cozy feel.

Once inside I added things I had. As you can see I have a pumpkin addiction! I added them in white, pinks and coral. The pink velvet pumpkins were from Hobby Lobby last year. The pumpkin pie pennant is from Michael’s.

I had a cloche from Target and added a pumpkin inside. I found a cute white pumpkin pillow at Popshelf and added it on my sofa. It feels so cozy!

Lastly, I took out my painted pumpkin from a few years ago and added it on top of a mushroom towel from Target.

I love the soft colors for Fall and am so excited to warm up some apple cider and turn on my fireplace in here once the temps cool down! Stay tuned as I add more and decorate the outside, too!

Thanks for coming on this Fall tour!

I have a collection of vintage suitcases. I have a few of them in my she shed, The Petit Chateau. My mom gave me one of her suitcases that she used on her honeymoon! Her and my dad just had their 51st wedding anniversary, so I was so happy she still had it. I remember it well, when I was little I kept my Barbie dolls in it. When I opened it up it was cute to see my name written inside.

I knew I wouldn’t use it much and didn’t want it to just collect dust. So, I decided I would paint it and put it in The Petit Chateau! I opted to use the paint I used on my front door, Romance by HGTV Sherwin Williams.

I cleaned up the suitcase and started painting. It took about three coats.

I was planning on painting the silver borders gold, but just didn’t like the look. So, in the end I just painted everything pink! Even the handle!

I had bought a stencil at Walmart and some ric rack trim. Honestly, the stencil was a bit messy and I was a bit disappointed with the lines, but didn’t feel like painting over it!

I took the trim and hot glued it around the edges. I then put a border on either side of the stencil, too.

Lastly, I added some ribbon, a pink yarn tassel and a little tag I had lying around. I think it came out so cute! It fits in perfectly! I can store some craft supplies in it, too!

Pretty cute for 51 years old! What do you think? Would you try updating an old suitcase?

I have a love affair with pretty books. I love adding them in my home and in The Petit Chateau (my she shed). When you add a few to your coffee table you add something interesting to look at or to browse and be inspired.

One thing I have learned with books is that you can find great ones at your local thrift store for .99-$3.00! I also love shopping on EBay and Thrift Books. I love Thrift Books because you can search genres and then save some books to your Favorites. I thought I’d share a few coffee table books that I have and love!

One of my favorite books is Decorate With Flowers by Holly Becker and Leslie Shewring. Flowers make me happy and this book is full of inspiration! They add mood boards and have brilliant and easy ideas to add special touches to your home.

One of the sweetest books I have is The World According to Mister Rogers. I keep going back to read it. It shares quotes from him and short stories that are heart warming. It is the ultimate “feel good” book.

The next book, Very Charleston by Diane Hollingsworth Gessler, was a gift from my mom. I love visiting Charleston and this book is as charming as the city! It is full of things to do and see in illustrations.

Another book I own (which was also a gift from my mom!) is Celebrate by Lauren Conrad. It is full of party ideas, recipes and inspiration!

I love both of the books below. Young House Love by Sherry and Jon Petersik has lots of fun DIY’s. I’ve followed their blog for years and love their book. The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith is also full of great ideas to make your home your own. She also has a great way of writing and sharing her story.

These last two books aren’t necessarily my favorite but they have things about them that make them fun. I used to love Sarah Richardson’s show on HVTV years ago and her book has some fun home decor ideas. Plus the spine is bright and colorful so it’s fun to display! A Room of her Own by Chris Cason Madden is dedicated to spaces for women. I enjoyed her tours of different spaces and loved her perspective….that women can have a place to get away and come back to their busy lives refreshed!

Here are a few books on display in my she shed, The Petit Chateau. Sometimes I like to just sit and leaf through a book and relax!

I hope I’ve shared a few books that maybe you will like to read or own! Or, find a genre that inspires you and add a few to your coffee table!

Happy reading!

What an exciting project this has been. When I told my husband I wanted a she shed and he said he was willing to build it I couldn’t believe it! I had seen some I liked but I have to say he far exceeded any plan I had!

If you have followed my blog you will know a bit about the process. I have my first post about the start of the project here. The second part of the build is here . Lastly, the She Shed Tour of the interior is on this linked post. So, now that we have finished up the steps, trim and did some landscaping I can show to completed exterior!

I shared paint colors in previous posts but will list them here, too. The siding color is Nuance by Valspar and the door color is Romance by HGTV Sherwin Williams.

I did some landscaping. Since it is March not too many plants are available right now. So, I worked with what I could find. I put some begonia’s in my flower boxes but will add some pink flowers soon. I planted some vining mandevilla in the ground and also some peony bulbs.

I found a cute mat at Target and knew I needed to add to it my she shed!

Later on I will probably plant some hydrangeas and maybe some other bulbs to plant in the ground. That is the fun part…I can add things over the years to make it more beautiful!

I can’t believe the project is complete! So, I guess dreams do really come true! Thanks for following along with us. Do you have any questions? Feel free to ask below or leave a comment.

I have been having a blast decorating my She Shed. If you want to see where I left off check out my last post here! I had a spot where I wanted to add some sort of door decor, especially since my Etsy shop name is The Happy Door . Plus, I am always inspired by beautiful doors and entryways.

So, I browsed for art and found a couple of things I liked, but nothing I loved. I thought I’d try to paint a watercolor of a pink door on canvas, so I headed to Hobby Lobby to grab some supplies. As I was browsing I spotted a dollhouse door and had a new idea!

So, once I found the door I thought I needed a base to attach it to!

I wanted to add a mini wreath to the door but the sizes at the store were still too large. I’ll show you how I made my own with supplies I had.

First up was painting. I painted the door and trim to match my She Shed. The pink is Romance by HGTV Sherwin Williams. It’s such a pretty soft pink.

Next up I had to make a wreath. I grabbed some floral wire and twine. First I wrapped the floral wire in a circle shape and then wrapped some twine around the wire.

I couldn’t just leave it plain. I added a mini felt flower and some greenery and attached it with my glue gun.

Lastly I glued the wreath on the door and then glued the door to the base with hot glue. I’d love to find a cute door knob so I will look for that.

They had other styles of dollhouse doors, too. I’m thinking a little collection of different colors on different bases would be fun. Stay tuned and see if I add more.

So for $22.00 I made something customized for me and had fun while doing it. I think this would also be a cute housewarming gift for a new home owner. What do you think? Comment and let me know!

I am so excited to share a tour of the inside of my She Shed! We are still working on a few things on the outside, so I will hold off until we are finished to share those details.

If you’ve been following along on this journey you know that my husband built me this amazing shed for a craft studio. It has been four long months of working on the weekends but it is almost done! The electrical was run and I was excited to have power. Once the roof was shingled and all the doors and windows were installed it started getting really exciting!

We opted to not insulate the shed yet. I like the beams and the rustic feel. Plus, we live in North Carolina where the weather is mild. I have an electric fireplace for heat in the winter and will put a AC unit in the window for the summer. I may change my mind down the road, but for now I am trying it this way.

I was anxious to decorate, but first up was painting!

Painting was definitely more time consuming than I anticipated. The shed is 10×14 and the roof is high, so I had to stretch up on a big ladder to paint. I did have a Wagner spray gun which definitely helped! In the end I used one gallon of primer and three gallons of paint and primer to paint the interior. I’ll share what I used in case you ever need to paint a large area.

Then I bought a floor paint and had them tint it white. I rolled it on and let it cure for two days. Then the fun began! I started moving in furniture!

Other than crafting I love decorating and thrifting! So, I found this electric fireplace on Facebook Marketplace months ago. It works and really kicks out some heat! I painted it white and stored some cute books inside. I added some photos and a lamp. Then I put this pink chair beside it. Can you believe my neighbor had put this out on the side of the road for free?!? I’m so happy I snatched it up! I added a few pillows in pink to cozy it up. I had found that beautiful gold mirror at Goodwill for $4.99! Decorating on a budget is possible and can still be beautiful.

Moving in my desk and couch required some muscle, so my husband and a friend helped with that. Once I got it all in I started to decorate!

So, let’s take a peek at a few things I’ve done. On either side of my desk I hung two shelves. I found them at Habitat for Humanity for $4.00 each! I sprayed them gold and accessorized them with things I love. I had to add my VW Bus collection!

I had a couple of suitcases and a decorative box that I stacked. It’s a perfect way to add a bit more storage!

I brought my storage cabinet from my craft room in for my felt storage. I added my gum ball machine for felt balls and hung my Happy Door sign above my desk.

Since the shed is large I am so happy I could fit a couch! This was the first couch we bought when we got married (almost 20 years ago!) . It is in decent shape and it fit! It’s perfect to lounge on or even take a nap. Plus if friends hang out we have plenty of seating.

Above the sofa I had a frame I loved. I found a gold metal grid at Michael’s and hung it behind the frame to add some things that are special to me. I may add more on either side but I am still trying to decide.

A few other things I did were easy and affordable touches. I had a laundry basket that I wanted to use as a table. I broke off the handles and flipped it upside down! I grabbed some pillows at Ross and Hobby Lobby in different shades of pink. And I found a Happy Place sign in the Target Dollar spot and hung it above the door! I added a few family photos and a small lamp on the fireplace.

I am still pinching myself that I have this space! I am so happy to have a place to create and be inspired. Next we will finish up the outside and I’ll add some landscaping. I can’t wait to show you how cute it is! I hope you have enjoyed this tour and I can’t wait to share updates.

I haven’t updated you on the She Shed in awhile! I post lots of updates on my Instagram stories, but thought I should document them here, too.

On my last update we were just at the point of adding the walls! Lots has happened since then and we are entering the home stretch, hopefully!

Once all the walls were up my husband told me it was a good time to paint all the siding. I wanted to match it closely to our house color. We live in a neighborhood with an HOA so we had to have all the plans approved ahead of time. We had also told them the shed would match the house. So, I grabbed some swatches and tried to decide!

My amazing mom helped me paint! In the end it took us 5 gallons of paint! I will still need one more to finish a couple of small spots of siding my husband has to add.

After the walls were all painted it was time for the roof. My husband warned me it would be a longer process and a bit more complicated than the walls were. So, to start the roof he has to put a tall beam across the top. Fortunately, a friend came in to help him!

Then it was time to put in all the beams. Lots of measuring, cutting and bracing is involved. It was definitely time consuming! One afternoon he had the help of some friends which was nice!

He did an amazing job! He also had to add the dormer for the transom window which was an extra step, but I think it will make it so charming!

Next up was laying the wood on the roof. Fortunately he had a friend from work help him with that part.

As the process moves along I have so many ideas swirling in my head. One is what color will I paint the door? So, I got creative one afternoon….

So, the She Shed is really coming together! I have some projects already planned for the inside! I bought a chandelier that I am excited about. I also bought an electric fireplace on Facebook Marketplace that I will paint and makeover. Then I found the cutest mirror at Goodwill for above the fireplace!

Thanks for following along! I love sharing this process!

We planned a family vacation to San Francisco the last week of December and really enjoyed our time visiting the city. I thought I would share some of the highlights and pretty things we saw.

I edited my photos adding hues of pink! I felt like the city had so much pastel architecture that the hints of pink are how I remember it. I used an app, Light Pink, to edit them.

Our first stop was to see the iconic Painted Ladies. It was a cloudy day so we didn’t get the views of the city but the houses were still beautiful. If you watched Full House growing up you will remember these houses from the introduction of the show.

The Golden Gate Bridge is what most people think of when they think of San Francisco. It doesn’t disappoint. The color and the views are pretty amazing.

I also loved all the fun colored homes. Unfortunately the week we were there we had lots of rain. But I did hop out of the car a few times to grab some photos of some of the fun homes.

We also took a day trip to the Muir Forest. It was a quick 40 minute ride from the city and amazing to see the large Redwoods! I highly recommend going here. It is breathtaking!

Right in the city is the Golden Gate Park. It has lots of things to see. Since we had a limited window without rain in sight we just went to the Japanese Tea Garden. It was fun to see and you can stop in the tea house for some tea, too.

Our next fun spot was The 16th Avenue Tiled steps. You can climb these stairs to the top for an awesome view of the city. Plus the stairs are lined with amazing plants and succulents!

Of course we had to go to Alcatraz! The kids loved it and so did we. You take the ferry to the island and can go on a self guided tour. It was so interesting and also had some beautiful views!

On my list was to take a trip to Napa Valley. We drove about one hour and twenty minutes to Castello Di Amorosa. It is a beautiful castle. We had reservations due to Covid restrictions. The wine was delicious and the kids enjoyed some sparkling grape juice!

We also roamed the grounds at the Palace of Fine Arts. You almost feel like you’re in Europe!

We made sure to also check out Lombard St., China Town, Umbrella Alley and Fisherman’s Wharf. We ate some great food and saw the Trolleys!

We had a wonderful trip and made some great memories!