We want your opinions!

Earlier this year, we plunged in to an online store.  Well actually, it was more like dipped our toe in to test the waters.

We had heard from customers that they wanted us to offer some items online so we started Shop Lucketts.

We really weren't sure what to expect --- the number of people that needed to be involved, the time commitment, and shipping logistics.   And then there were some things we realistically just couldn't carry.  A few months later after navigating photo shoots, building websites, designing packaging, taxes, shipping, packing & warehousing, we would really like your opinion!  How can we make things better?  What do you like?  What don't you like?

We have a few more buying trips this year and they're a perfect opportunity for us to find more goodies, so we want to hear from you.  We've created a short survey where you can lay it all out for us --- and guess what?  We're offering one $100 merchandise credit for the online store {winner is chosen by random number generator from all the surveys received}.  What a better way to spend 5 minutes of your time?

We will collect feedback for the next few weeks, or until we receive a large enough sample size. Please leave your feedback on the survey {click here}, and not as comments to this post to be entered in the giveaway.  {One survey per person, please}.  Thank you in advance for your opinions!

Store to Abode Fridays # 19 - eco-friendly decorating with twine

We're baaaaack with another Store to Abode Friday.

Today we're using materials you probably have around the house and inspiring you to make a few Eco-friendly projects.

Here is my inspiration piece from Shop Lucketts --- our new twine and scissor set.  After seeing this piece, I stared to wonder, what other crafty things could you do with the twine, aside from wrapping some newspaper...

Five great ideas after the jump...

Pin It Wednesday #17 Pendant Lights

This week we are featuring pendant lighting.  In our travels this past couple of weeks we have seen some really good ones and can't help ourselves when we go home and start pinning!

Update on the Whyte Estate

I'm sure everyone will agree it's been one long, HOT July and now August!  But we've been pushing through the heat and the progress continues slowly at the Whyte Estate.

Henry, with his relentless "can do attitude" has been plugging away at scraping, glazing and painting the exterior windows. Always with a smile on his face (seriously, I don't know how that man does it!). When I do complain about the heat and say let's take the day off, his response is "Heck no, let's get her done!". Thank god that man is on our team!

Where did they end up?

A few more pictures and stories about items you bought at The Old Lucketts Store.

We love to see what you did with our finds when you get them home.  And by the looks of this newest group of pictures, you all aren't short on inspiration and great taste!

Happy Birthday Heather!

If you have a friend or a business --- and you're lucky enough --- you may know a person like Heather.  You know, the type of person who you can always count on, the person who is up for anything, always has a kind word or words of encouragement, and the type of person who seems to know more about your inventory than you do.

In a nutshell, that's Heather.  And it's her birthday!

In honor of Heather's birthday, I wanted to recall a few of the "little things" she does around here...

A few tips for dressing windows

I was trying to think of something we haven't covered much in the blog, and also something that we get a lot of questions about --- dressing windows.

Here are a few of our favorite tips to help make the most of your windows.

Please feel free to leave us a comment with any of your favorite tips too - we love to hear from you and get your perspectives!

A few more Design House pictures

The Design House event is in full swing this weekend - August 3-5th, 10am to 5pm each day.  It's located at 42350 Lucketts Road in Leesburg, VA.

I wanted to thank Karen for posting some beautiful pics of the house on her DIY blog {here}.  Karen is mega-talented and aside from her graphics blog, The Graphics Fairy, her DIY blog has some wonderful projects written by Karen and a team of some of the best DIY bloggers around.  Her blog is a real treat and you should check it out if you haven't already.

I wanted to show a few more pics of the house...

Finally the Design House is ready.....almost!

It all started last January when Amy and I sat down to hand pick and custom design a special container specifically for the Design House.  We banter back in forth for hours in that language that we can only understand, place a gigantic order and bite our nails for months in anticipation of it's arrival.

Bringing the outdoors in

We love decorating with garden elements, classical images, and colors from nature.  Garden decor is one of the easiest ways to make your space feel connected to the outdoors when you can't physically be outside.

What are some great ways to bring the outdoors in to your space?

Check out some tips for bringing the outdoors in below, and see two items from our online store that can give you that look....oh and we put them on sale at over 25% off this week!  Woohoo!!!

August Design House - Inspiration File

Mark it down!  It's been three months in the making....our next Design House event is August 3, 4, & 5, and we can't wait! 

Hopefully, you've checked out our first stop motion video.  {It's linked here if you haven't seen it yet.}

We have loaded in the furniture and we're adding in the next layer of accessories.  While we do that, I wanted to briefly share some inspiration photos that inspired some of our furniture choices.

Stop motion video debut

We've had the idea of using stop motion videos to highlight our decorating process for quite some time now.

Finally, our first video is here and we think it's super-cute!

Check out the video for our August Design House, where we've filled the house with new looks and a container full of new furniture.