First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the love on our last post! We’re in the process of organizing each and every bit of information that everyone submitted, and it’s absolutely awesome to know that so many folks are up for a DIY design adventure with us! We’ll keep you posted on any exciting developments, and again, thank you for being a part of this journey with us!
Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post!
If you read our e-zine the other day, you probably saw the pretty photos Mary Engelbreit shared with us last Summer.
Today, we thought we’d show off a few more of the pics she sent us, and some that appeared in her magazine (Home Companion), back in 2008.
But before we show you the additional photos of her current home, we thought we’d share a couple of photos of one of her previous homes.
Here’s a photo of the living room in the house Mary called home in 1994. Mary said, “It was much bigger and more formal than our current home. At one point, a friend of my sons was living there for a week and we didn’t even know it!”
Here’s another corner in that same house…
By 1998, they found themselves wanting to scale back and move into a something more manageable. They bought a smaller house on a cul-de-sac, so their daughter could play and ride her bike safely.
Then in 2008, Mary’s family moved into this home, which we featured in our e-zine…
Mary told me all the plantings have grown up now, and the front beds look much more lush.
We already showed you this precious pic of Mary’s master bedroom…
(Mary’s cat, “Skinny”)
…but here’s a shot of the other side of the room…
(source: Home Companion – Aug/Sept 2008)
I love the way the antique dresser pops against the crisp white board and batten wainscoting! And the antique brass tones of some of Mary’s collectibles really play nicely with the warm yellow and orange tones she decorated with…
Here’s a shot of her living and dining room…
(source: Home Companion- Â Aug/Sept 2008)
It would be literally impossible for me to not smile in there!
Here’s shot of her fireplace…
(source: Home Companion 2008)
I love that paper parasol on the hearth. What a great idea to conceal a little bit of the firebox!
Here’s a peek into Mary’s kitchen…
(source: Home Companion 2008)
Among lots of other things, I am absolutely cuckoo for cocoa puffs over those metal picnic baskets on the right side of that picture!
And speaking of vintage things- check out this pillow Mary made for their den…
Mary said, “It was a muff, believe it or not. I found it in an antique store. I just unfolded it and turned it into a pillow. It’s one of my favorite things because I have a soft spot for anything with a picture of a house on it.”
Here’s another pillow she made from a vintage dresser scarf…
Which brings me the question I’ve been meaning to ask you…
What tickles your fancy when it comes to vintage or flea market finds?
I’ve been on a vintage map & globe kick lately, and I’d love to hear about the types of treasures that make your heart sing!
See more of Mary’s work at MaryEngelbreit.com!
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I’m a sucker for vintage linens and buttons!!! You know there’s a story behind each precious piece of fabric with tatting, lace, trim, etc. I’m always thinking……..now, what can I make out of this? BTW: love Mary’s pillow. Thanks for sharing her photos. ; )
The master’s bedroom is so inspirational. I hope I could redesign my bedroom just like Mary’s. AND I also hope my husband could help me redesign it just like this one.
I love how the colors mixed and matched – from the walls, beddings, to pillow cases, and the lamp shade…
Is that an artificial flower on top of the table?
Currently, I passionately hunt for vintage doorknobs and buttons. So much fun and such a thrill when you find a treasure!
Thanks for all of your wonderful ideas and inspiration!
I love Mary E. I have saved every issue of her magazine and every season look back through past issues for inspiration. I was devastated when they stopped publishing them…I love vintage game boards, flow blue dishes, really all dishes, old clocks, vintage valentines, and love love love my santa mug collection (although my daughter says i’ve gone a little overboard there!) etc.
I’ve never been a big lover of yellow paint, but the way Mary pulled it off, I’m now thinking golden yellows for our house…that of course, you and Kevin are going to help us with!!!! LOL I do miss Mary’s magazine so much!!! I was a long time subscriber! Thanks for the lovely post.
PS
Great source for pillows: I can’t afford a lot of things @ Anthropologie, but their kitchen towels are precious for pillows. They have buttons, embroidery, ric rac, pompoms, etc. I’m making my kitchen curtains out of 4 white ones with bakery motifs and clothes hanging on a clothes line!!!!
Love this post! You guys do a WONDERFUL job! I look forward to reading it everyday 🙂
Mary’s house is so pretty. I love the use of color!
It’s hard to pinpoint what I love but basically anything vintage. I have a lot of maps and globes and I love dishes and pretty much anything vintage industrial. I just bought the cutest bingo cage with the original wooden balls w/numbers, to switch out on the bookcase. I’ve been meaning to post it on my weekly thrifty find/hunt but haven’t gotten to it – soon!
I love old books, dishes, and my fav is photos of my husband with his dad from years ago. My absolute favorite is a picture I have of my father in law and my husband walking along a lake shore, both with shirts off, pants rolled up, and fishing poles in hand.
I love Mary’s pretty yellow house. Her pillows made from vintage fabrics are awesome. I love to make trays and photo frames out of old papers, but my favorite to collect is vintage tablecloths. Layla, I noticed in your post about your fascination with old maps. Yes they are so much fun! I recently re-did my dining table with a collage of old map scrapbooking paper. I love how it turned out. You can see it here http://cottagebeachhouse.blogspot.com/2011/04/cottage-beach-house-table-intervention.html
I have adored Mary for so many years I can’t (or won’t, lol) tell you! I have studied her style and her art in great detail. I have many of her fabrics and details in my home. I love the 50’s nostalgia look of everything she makes. The fifties would have loved to have her! I also love her story of the journey she went on to become an artist. When someone asks me my favorite artist, I answer without hesitation, “Mary Engelbreit!”
Oh my goodness, I was just at a pickers paradise here in B.C. Canada and was blown away at all the things that I saw, you can check out my post about it (http://www.oceansoul.ca/2011/05/pickers-paradise/) but I will be posting later today about the awesome vintage finds I got at garage sales this weekend! Some of the stuff was even from Funky Junk Interiors Garage Sale!!! What a hoot!
Hi Mary,
I know I speak for all of your fans when I say how much I truly miss seeing Home Companion in my mailbox. It was a truly inspiring magazine and an absolute joy to cozy up and read through from cover to cover. I also enjoy all of your books and your website as well.
Have a great summer and for as long as you remain inspired. . . keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Cyndee Jones
Tulsa, OK
P.S. A die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan!!
I can NOT resist carnival glass! Love the comment about a friend living there and not realizing it for a week!
I love that you featured Mary E. I use to get her magazine all the time and miss it very much.
I still have the magazine that features her current home. I use to get inspiration from her and
now I enjoy getting it from the both of you. Keep up the good work.
I love Mary:) I have all of the old magazines and never tire of thumbing through them! Thank you for sharing her beautiful photos! She is one of a kind.
I love Mary Englebright! I so wish she still pulished her magazine because there was something for everyone in that mag!
How cool that you got to have lunch with her and to show such lovely photos in your e-zine.
I love to collect paintings of waves, and paintings of trees!
Oh my goodness. Those photos are so “happy.” I have a huge crush on orange & yellow (and turquoise) right now. Seriously makes me want to bring color into my own home considering I shot way down the other end of that spectrum. 🙂 Mary is an amazing designer as are you. Vintage things I’m big on this year? Vintage/antique knit trims & fabric (always), metal wire baskets (of which I have none yet) & mirrors/cool frames. But heck, I’d buy someone’s old false teeth if I loved them enough…so my husband says! xoxo
I am so with you. Those picnic baskets are just awesome.
By the way, I just want everyone to know that all these fabulous photos are by Barbara Martin. She is the best!
Mary
i heart m.e. and have been collecting for years. i’m so glad to see a post sharing some of her newer looks. and yes, how could you not be happy in the bright orange room. it screams happiness.
here are some links to my simple home with bursts of m.e. inspiration
http://victoryrd.blogspot.com/2010/09/before-after.html
http://victoryrd.blogspot.com/2008/09/eat-drink-and-be.html
OH! How can you not love Mary Engelbreit! In today’s world, we all need to be surrounded by more Happiness and Whimsy! 🙂 As far as collections go, I’m always amazed at the things you collect, as they’re they SAME things I look for! I recently SUPER scored a vintage globe! I’m a teachers’ associate at my son’s school, and our school is in the middle of a remodel. My room has become the drop off for items people are getting rid of, and one of those was a great old globe. I let it sit for a couple weeks, to see if anyone else wanted it…. (teachers get first pick of course), but when no one took it, I walked out of that school feeling awfully giddy! 🙂 Happy day! 🙂
I miss Mary’s magazine! Thanks for spotlighting her today. I know why you like her. I love all vintage things (just check out my blog for the free things my mother-in-law left me). I collect the old fiestaware and georgian love birds depression glass.
Vintage teacups and saucers tickle my fancy. Mary Engelbreit is my favorite artist. I subscribed to her Home Companion and I miss it so much. I loved the paper dolls in it every month. My grand-daughter, Scarlett, has been a fan since birth. She is 8 now. She says Mary is her favorite artist, too. She did a reading fair project on Mary’s book Queen of Christmas. She won first place in her division at her school and second place in the district. We love Mary!
It sounds silly, but I have a collection of spice jars/tins and most of them came from my family’s old homestead or the homes of beloved family members, belonging to my great aunts, some from great grandmothers, etc. So far they are just huddled in a heap in a corner of my kitchen counter and I’ve been trying to come up with a pretty way to display them. Any ideas??? 🙂 Other than that, antique hunting is incredibly sparse in Alaska and I’m envious of the pictures of flea markets I see on the internet.
Also miss Home Companion! My absolute favorite thing was the annual artist’s studio tours. I’ve kept all those issues and when life gives me lemons, I take a bubble bath, grab one of those old magazines, and dream of a really great art workshop for myself.
“Martha” has nothing on Mary! Mary is the queen of everything! What a gorgeous home! I am so inspired to do something, I have no idea what, but I really need to channel my inner Mary, my house is in shambles and I would give up the family dog to have some of that Mary look in my home…ok..maybe not the family dog!!
Can you help me?
Does anyone know the name or the source
Of the beautiful white paint that Mary Engelbreit uses on the
woodwork in her home? I just love the comfy, clean sweetness
of it.
Judy
Hi Judy!
I’m not sure what color that is, but I bet if you reach out to Mary (maybe on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter) she would be happy to tell you! 🙂