May27

Macedonia

Posted on May 27, 2012 by the rescued home

Γειά σου (Yassou) or hello! It has rained nearly everyday since we have been in Eastern Europe. It is so refreshing! A cold front swept across all of Europe the day we got in which has kept the temperatures down. According to locals it is usually pretty hot here during this time of year. I have seen so many amazingly decorated cafes that I want to show all of you. I’m going to take a day to be a total tourist and go around the city snapping pictures of my favorite places.

On Monday Joel and I took a four-hour bus ride north into Skopje, Macedonia to meet up with a few of the people we are traveling with. The ride was beautiful! Macedonia is an undiscovered treasure. It is covered in green mountains with foothills full of vineyards, rivers and wild poppies growing everywhere.

The population in Macedonia is around 2 million and 50% of the population lives in Skopje. Skopje is the birthplace of Mother Theresa. The people of Skopje were so friendly and welcoming. The area where we stayed was the new part of town where the government is putting up monuments and building extravagant buildings to build up the tourist industry. It was quite a site to see.

Dividing the city is a river and on the other side is considered old town where it is heavily populated by Albanians and Roma Gypsys. Our friends staying there have made friends with many of the gypsy children who hang out in the city.

They were so precious!

Old town is filled with small winding streets lined with shops and cafes.

Then on Thursday we woke up at 4:30am, 9:30 pm on Wednesday, Texas time, to catch our bus back. Since we have returned I really feel settled in and at home in Thessaloniki. Last night we found a mexican food restaurant called El Burrito where they surprisingly had amazing mexican food. It was so comforting to eat tortilla chips! Hope everyone back home is doing well. I miss all of you and love ya!

With love,
Lauren

May22

Greetings From Greece

Posted on May 22, 2012 by the rescued home

Greetings From Greece

Greetings from Thessaloniki, Greece!!!! Ahh we have finally settled in enough for me to be able to sit down and write. I’m sitting at a Starbucks that overlooks the Aegean Sea, how blessed the people of Thessaloniki are to have the opportunity to live here. I can’t believe I’m in a city where parts of the original church were birthed. There are land marks where the apostle Paul preached!

We traveled for over 30 hours and have spent the past few days getting adjusted to our new life in Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki a city of 1.5 million people, is very different from San Marcos, Texas. The city buzzes 24/7. We woke this morning to the sound of a parade outside of our apartment in downtown Thessaloniki. We are adjusting quickly and learning the city and have already made new friends. I am so excited to see what God has in store for us over the next month.

On the way over we had a 13 hour layover in Zurich, Switzerland where we were able to get out of the airport and explore the city. Zurich was the quietest, most peaceful city I’ve ever been in. It is very orderly and clean. I didn’t see one piece of trash on the ground! The people are reserved and well put together. Here are a few pictures I snapped.

There were cobblestone streets everywhere.

And of course I will always find antique shops no matter where I am in the world!

Greece is very different from Switzerland. It is loud and colorful and messy. It isn’t illegal to double park and there is graffiti art all over the city. It isn’t unusual to see two men standing in the street arguing and throwing their arms in the air. The people in Greece are very fashionable and spend a lot of time in small street side cafes with friends drinking coffee and smoking. They have been so friendly and have welcomed us to their city. I haven’t had my camera with me that much but here are a few pictures.

This is Kamara, the old city gate. The new city is built up all around old ruins.

Stay tuned for more!
With love,
Lauren

May9

My Favorite Spot

Posted on May 9, 2012 by the rescued home

My Favorite Spot

There are only five days until we leave for Eastern Europe! I should be packing and getting our house ready for the house sitters but instead I’ve been decorating! Are you surprised? My favorite spot in our house to decorate and photograph is the buffet in our dining room. I actually never really use it as a serving buffet because it always has my latest creation on it.
Up until this afternoon it looked like a potting table.

Here is what it looks like now.

I added whites and creams to give it a summery feel.

When I decorate I love to pull items from all over my house. The small tea-pot I bought in Northern Africa last summer and usually sits on a shelf in my kitchen. The books are from the office.
I also love things with imperfections like the chip on the pitcher or the scratched up clock face.

We have a neighborhood flock of Guinea Fowl. If you don’t know what a Guinea Fowl is, this is a Guinea Fowl.

They are hilarious to watch. They remind me of old, busy-body ladies walking to church. What I love about them are their white polka-dotted feathers they leave lying around our neighborhood. Often, when I’m out on a walk I come home with a handful of feathers and as a result they get integrated into my home decor!

Here I tied a few books together with an old strip of leather and stuck two Guinea Fowl feathers in the knot.

Now my life isn’t all play and no work but the great thing about my job is I can take a break from work and play around my house. I’m discovering that I get bored easily so it is very healthy for me to take decorating breaks:) I recently finished a coffee table for a customer. Here is what it originally looked like.

You can see my kitchen is my work shop!

The customer wanted the table to have a more spanish hacienda style so this is what I did.

I covered the top in a camel colored faux leather, added large nail heads and stained the base in a dark walnut.

I absolutely love how it turned out!

Ok off to bed so I can start my packing tomorrow!

With love,
Lauren

May2

What We’ve Been Up To

Posted on May 2, 2012 by the rescued home

What We’ve Been Up To

We have had a great past few days. We spent dinner Friday night at one of our good friends’ house, out on their amazing deck. This Spring has been so awesome here in Texas, the wildflowers are amazing and the nights have stayed cool which has allowed for many outdoor dinners. A huge contrast to last year’s Spring that was dry, hot and brown. Saturday we headed to Fredericksburg with my parents to enjoy the Hill Country Wine & Music Festival at the Wildseed Farm.

The wine makers seemed to have found a solution for the drought problem in Texas!

Our family is definitely not wine connoisseurs but it was fun to act like one even if it was just for a day! The thing I enjoyed the most was all the wildflowers. The Wildseed Farm has rows and rows of flowers in bloom. They reminded me of something you would see in Holland. I snapped a few pictures to share with all of you.

Then on Monday we had the last dinner of the semester with the student group that meets in our house. We decided to take dinner outside. It was a magical night.

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

With love,
Lauren

Apr26

One Year Anniversary

Posted on April 26, 2012 by the rescued home

One Year Anniversary

April 17th marked the one year anniversary of The Rescued Home blog. I have so enjoyed sharing my passion for home remodeling and decorating with all of you. The first time I was ever exposed to a blog was Christmas 2010. My sister-in-law, Misty showed me a tutorial by Emily from Jones Design Company. My world was rocked as I scrolled through all her pretty pictures and tutorials. I was so inspired to start creating! Then a few months later I stumbled onto Marion Parson’s blog, Miss Mustard Seed and I was wrecked! She was the first woman I had ever seen making a living doing the things I pursued as a hobby. For the first time in my life I thought just maybe there was a small chance I could make a living doing what I really loved. These new possibilities were met with great resistance as I wrestled with disappointment from previous failed dreams. I longed to be free to be me. I felt like a butterfly that had stayed in its cocoon one season too long. I believed the lie that everyone around me had learned to fly and my chance had passed. As I brought my frustrations to Jesus and let Him show me who he created me to be, I came alive! I felt so beautiful. My whole perspective changed and I looked at days to come with great hope. In April 2011, I wrote my first blog post and really loved sharing mine and Joel’s home remodeling experience with our friends and family. Then in May, before we left for Northern Africa, we decided I would leave teaching and take a huge step of faith, to pursue my dream as an interior decorator. I launched Rescued Home Interiors and I feel like I have been soaring ever since. This past year has been marked with amazing memories and is the best yet! I am so excited to see the good things in store for me. If I could describe exactly how I feel right now I would say I’m completely at rest and am so confident that I am loved beyond what my heart and mind can comprehend. We leave for Eastern Europe in less than three weeks and I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning. So I will spend the next few weeks wrapping up projects and packing.
Life is good!

Some of you may be reading this and be in the same place I was. You may feel stuck. You may feel your situation is hopeless. You may be thinking you will never see your dreams come to pass. I encourage you to press on, don’t give up. Take your dreams to God, he is faithful.

With love,
Lauren

Apr20

Spring Topiary Tutorial

Posted on April 20, 2012 by the rescued home

Spring Topiary Tutorial

Reblogged from the rescued home:

I often find myself saying “I can do that” when I see something I like. I saw this cute little topiary while shopping at Wimberley Market Day and decided I wanted to make it!

You will need:

A garland with small leaves

A wire hanger

A pot (you can use any kind)

Florist foam

Pliers

Florist wire (optional)

Scissors (I forgot to put them in the picture)

Tea-dying Tutorial

Posted on April 16, 2012 by the rescued home

Tea-dying Tutorial

We had a good weekend here at The Rescued Home. I was able to work in our new flowerbeds a little more. I told Joel I feel like I have discovered a whole new part of our house that I can ”decorate.” I have been rearranging the plants how I rearrange the interior. I will plant a plant, look at it for a few days then dig it up and replant it somewhere else and I will keep moving it until I find the perfect spot for it. Ahh I love it, it is therapy for me! I love getting my hands dirty. I love mud under my nails.

Today I’m going to share a tutorial with you. Tea-dying is something that I do with almost all the white fabric I have in my house.
I recently tea- dyed the curtains in my guest room and love how they turned out.

I don’t like stark white or grey-whites in my house. I like the whites in my house to have a little grunge to them. I like warm whites or candlelight whites or whites with a brown undertone rather than grey. To accomplish an aged white look I tea-dye my fabric. It is super easy and free if you have tea bags in your pantry!

You will need:
fabric
3-5 tea bags
a kettle or small pot
a large pot

1. Heat water in a kettle or small pot.

2. Put the tea bags in your large pot.

3. Pour boiling water over tea bags in large pot. CAUTION: Do not burn yourself with hot water!

4. Let the tea steep for 20 minutes.
5. Pour in a kettle full of cold water.
6. Immerse your fabric in the tea.

7. Once your fabric is in the tea push the fabric all the way under the liquid, moving it around to make sure all of it is wet.

8. Let sit. The darker you want it the longer you should let it sit. I usually let mine sit for about an hour.
Every 15 minutes I will check the color and move it around to make sure all of the fabric is staying wet.

9. Once it is the color you want, lightly rinse it and hang to dry. If it is not as dark as you like, let it dry completely then repeat the dying process to darken.

If you want to iron the fabric make sure it is not set on steam or it will leave water spots.

Here is the finished product. I especially love this look on these ruffle pillows. It looks like an antique baby dress.

With love,
Lauren

Apr12

A Touch Of Copper

Posted on April 12, 2012 by the rescued home

A Touch Of Copper

I broke down and did it! And even worse I drug Joel into it… Yep, I went to Wimberley Market Days last Saturday with my left-over birthday money and husband in hand. I found a few goodies, I wasn’t really looking for anything so I showed restraint. One thing we have been keeping our eyes open for is a reasonably priced queen size iron headboard for our bedroom. It is easy to find a full size antique iron headboard but queen is pretty impossible. I found this one at Restoration Hardware that I really like

but am not going to pay Restoration Hardware prices.

There is a booth at Market Days I go into every time that has super inexpensive wrought iron items. Well, this time we found a queen size iron footboard for $28!!! It’s a little short so were going to add some length to the legs but for $28 it was definitely worth it.

I want to share with you a project I worked on for a customer. The customer’s house has a fabulous Spanish, Hacienda style with warm colors, worn leather furniture and wonderful artwork. They had two bed side tables in the master bedroom that looked like this.

They love the pieces but the french, folk art look did not go with their bedroom.

In the master bedroom the walls are painted dark brown with a bright green accent wall. Above their bed is an amazing painting of an agave plant with shades of green and turquoise. Next to the bed is a large copper mirror.

I painted the body of the pieces a kelly green shade and faux painted the fronts to look like aged copper.
I love the way they turned out and they look AMAZING in the space.

I will post pictures of them in the space once I get a chance.

Hope you all have a great ending to your week. Take care!

With love,
Lauren

Apr7

A Little More Home Improving

Posted on April 7, 2012 by the rescued home

A Little More Home Improving

Hi friends! I hope y’all had a great week. Mine went by really fast. Today is Wimberley Market Days and I’m sitting here trying to decide if I should go. It is one of my most favorite places but I don’t really need anything and I know if I go I will buy something wonderful and amazing and it would probably look fabulous in my house. OH I don’t know self-control….or no self-control??? I guess we will just have to see.

Ok, onto more home improving. The weather last weekend was so awesome so we wanted to do a bit of yard work. We planted a few trees in the backyard 3 years ago when we moved in and haven’t put our green thumb to work since. About a month ago our decision to landscape was set in motion after a quick search in the plant clearance section at Lowes. We found shrubs that were on sale for $1.75! We bought all 7 and figured we could find a place for them. Our goal was to create 2 flower beds in the front yard and spend the least amount of money as possible. This is how we saved money.

Instead of buying a truck load of dirt to create the beds we transferred a pile of dirt from the backyard.
We dug up a few plants that were already in the yard and used them in the beds.
USED PLANTS! Instead of buying all new plants, I dug up some from my neighbors and parents yards and bought a couple at an estate sale.

Sharing and transferring plants is the way my grandparents and parents gardened. Growing up this is how my mom taught me to garden. I planted a part of a plant, we call it a Maybelle plant, that came from my parent’s yard, that came from my aunt’s yard, that came from my grandparent’s yard, that came from my great-grandmother’s yard, that came from Maybelle’s yard, a family friend who my great-grandmother and grandmother lived with during the Great Depression. I love having a story behind the things in and around my home!

Here is what the house looked like when we moved in.

Here is what it looks like today!

I bought two mature ferns at an estate sale for $3.50 each. Next time you’re at a garage sale or estate sale look for plants. Even if they look bad you can prune them and with a little bit of fertilizer and water you can give them life again.

These plants are transfer plants I had in pots.

I also did a little improving in our guest room.

Here is what it originally looked like.

Here it is after we put up the wall to enclose the extension on the guest bathroom.

Here it is today.

I also made window coverings. You can see the blue tape that is still on the outside of the windows, oops:)
You can read my post about the inspiration I had for window coverings here.

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money so I used what I had. This is how I saved money

I tea-dyed white curtains I already had from Ikea.
I cut up an old table-cloth my neighbor gave me and made the two 1/2 curtains and bought 2 tension rods.
I saved over $30 by making the curtain rod. I bought the rod and finials unfinished at Lowes and the brackets unfinished at Hobby Lobby. Then painted all of it in the trim color, Summer White by Sherwin Williams.

I took this piece down and put it over our couch.

And moved this piece from the living room into the guest room.

With love,
Lauren

Apr3

Home Improving

Posted on April 3, 2012 by the rescued home

Home Improving

Hi everyone! Wow its been a while since I last wrote, I miss it. Everyday for the past week I intended to sit down and share something with you but my to-do list seemed to roll over day after day and writing was put on hold. I am super excited to share with you what we have done around here. This post today is a post about patience. Patience doesn’t come naturally to me! But I see when I am patient good things come my way.

Decorating our Rescued Home on a thrift store budget has produced deep wells of patience in me! We remodeled our dark, dingy living room almost 2 years ago and it is just now really coming together. A lot of the room is anchored around a hunter green leather couch we bought from Craigslist for $75. It is exactly the style we wanted but not the color we would have chosen. I haven’t liked the green against our yellow walls, the space had a lemon, lime feel to it! Since a new couch is not an option I have had to make it work. I taught myself how to do upholstery and make pillows so I upholstered a few thrift store/Craigslist chairs and made some pillows for our couch with fabric I bought on clearance. I like it but there was something about the light colors in the fabric that didn’t work with the couch. We also have an 11 foot wall behind our couch and we have had the hardest time trying to figure out what to put up there. Originally, I wanted large artwork, like antique oil paintings, but had to resolve to the reality that we couldn’t afford large antique oil paintings so we bought an amazing metal art piece from the Pottery Barn outlet. I love it but the couch still felt disjointed. Then a few weeks I ago it clicked, after 2 years of living in the space, rearranging furniture, hanging artwork, taking down artwork and patiently wrestling with what was needed to make the space feel connected and cozy I realized I needed darker pillows and large artwork on my walls. I was fighting the color of the couch instead of finding colors that worked with it. Then the pieces started falling into place. I bought new fabric for the pillows, bought a piece from Goodwill that I
re-framed (with a frame I already had) and re-matted, framed (with a frame I bought for a $1 at an estate sale) and matted a piece I have had for 10 years, moved some pieces from other parts of the house and tada it finally feels like the space I dreamed of.

Ok that was a long-winded explanation. Sorry! Here it is, our improved living room.

This is what the space looked like right after we moved in.