| family dream home

My Fabric Hunting Adventure

So, I ventured downtown towards the south side of Chicago to visit this fabric warehouse (Textile Discount Outlet) I had heard about online. I am always looking for woven trims and fun details to add to the next "The Cottage Mama" clothing line, so I had been wanting to check this place out. I wasn't quite sure what to expect based on the reviews on read online, but I can say it was definitely an adventure.

There were three floors with tons and tons of fabric everywhere. It seemed like each floor went on for miles. The building was so old that I wasn't quite sure if I was going to fall through the floor or if someone else was going to fall through from the floor above. But I figured, it was worth the risk......for the love of fabric, right?

There was barely any organization to it all, so it was definitely like searching for a needle in a haystack. This was the place to come for someone searching for costume or home decor fabrics.......it was like a gold-mind for that kind of thing. Not to mention that the prices were amazing!

There were ribbons, ribbons, ribbons galore. I think I saw some on every single floor. Every color, style or width you could have been looking for......it might have been under a pile of dust in the very dark and scary basement, but you could find it.....it was there....and lots of it!!

In the very creepy, super-dusty basement there were more zippers then I have ever seen in my life. Metal ones, plastic ones and more in every single length imaginable.

My favorite room of all was the trimmings room. If you have ever wanted to find home decor trimmings at super-affordable prices, this was the place. I couldn't believe all the different tassels they had available........some for just $1.00. There were spools and spools of ric-rac and lace......not as much woven trim as I had been looking for, but still fun to browse!

There were lots and lots of costume fabrics as well as plenty of different varieties of silks, chiffons, sequin fabric, leather and more.

So what did I buy, you are wondering? Well, that's a very good question..........

I bought NOTHING!!

Can you believe it? Me, the fabric-a-holic, bought nothing! I can't believe it myself, but I felt so overwhelmed with all the choices and variety that I just couldn't do anything.

Do you ever get that way? When there are too many choices it just overwhelms me. So maybe when I'm really searching for something, I will end up going down there and buying some things. But honestly, they didn't have much for "The Cottage Mama" shop which was what I was sort of looking for, but I will be back for my next home decor project for sure!

Cottage Mama's Note: If you live in Chicago and want to check out the "Textile Discount Outlet", here is their address:

Textile Discount Outlet

2121 W. 21st Street

Chicago, IL 60608

{ Bedroom }

otherwise known as the

"thank God it's not the dining room again" post

Our bedroom is very close to being finished,

so I thought I post a little sneak peak...

the walls already had a chair rail when we moved in. It's not my fav in a bedroom, but,for lack of energy and just plain sheer laziness, I kept it.

The top is a pale gray, which looks like a creamy tan if you look at it in any other room.

{I don't know what's with the industrial strength bathroom door knob, we'll come to that bridge when we cross it }

and just so ya' know..

I don't love those yellow circle disc hangers.

Not once, not twice, but on 3 different occasions my plates have come crashing down from the wall.

The first time it was really humid out, so , I chalked it up to the humidity causing the disc to peel away from the plate.

I don't know what's the story with the other 2 times, but not a fan. But, laziness again, you can see I'm still using them.

{these are the only 3 plates that survived the great mantel smash up of 2010}

Anywho...

chippy window mirror

wall art

and, the whole sha-bang waiting to be pulled together.

Okay, that's all for now.

I haven't even made the bed yet.

more later...

on the coast

hi everyone, some of you who are used to my 4 to 5 posts a week may be wondering where i’ve been. i’ve had a lot going on in my personal life as well as professionally. it’s just been hard to find time to write some blog posts. i’ll hopefully be back to a steady pace of writing and reading other blogs really soon though. i’ve missed it so much!

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i recently had a reader write to me requesting that i post some ideas for coastal design. i’ve found myself wishing i was at the beach a lot lately…especially since winter has finally hit atlanta. i actually saw sleet, ~~yes i did say SLEET~~, while i was leaving the atlanta airport on friday, and i couldn’t believe it! so, i figured now would be a great time to post pictures of coastal homes. it’s also a great time to dream about being stranded in one of these beautiful homes.