Design Decisions that Last

You know, those decisions that you are going to have to live with for a while, sometimes longer than you want.  It seems like the right idea when you are in need of an item, later you realize it was not the best idea.  Or maybe you are very young and you have no idea what your personal design style is yet…that was me when I picked out this couch and chair for our very first home. 

I knew I wanted a reddish color couch that was solid.  We were also looking for a BIG comfy couch.  When Will and I first got married we had hand me down furniture and had been given a master bedroom set as a wedding gift from his parents but we had no living room furniture.  Well, I take that back, we did have Will’s college apartment couch that he shared with two other roommate's that looked like it was from the 70’s.  Not happening!  So we needed living room furniture quick.  We went to a very GOOD furniture store and picked out this couch and chair and they are both solid pieces.  The furniture store was about to close up for the day, the custom fabric order took 4 weeks to come in and so once we found the style we wanted we had to pick the fabric quick and get it ordered.  The color for the couch was perfect at the time, it was just what I wanted.  The green on the chair was a quick decision, it was August, must have had watermelon on the brain. 

Fast forward to now, I know my decorating style better and I would have gone with something way more neutral!  I am having to work around it in other areas of our home.  The house we are in now is open to the kitchen and dining room so I have to be careful how I chose colors for those areas.  I am trying to buy things that are more my style and I love whites, blues, browns with small pops of color.  I love a coastal or cottage look.  My favorite store for inspiration is Pottery Barn.   Couches are expensive so….I have to work with it for now.

The kitchen is right beside the living room. 

Our kitchen has very dark cabinetry so I am trying to keep things on the counter top minimum and add clear or white accents.  I did purchase the rug from World Market when we moved in, it has the same colors of the couch and chair and also purple which matches my dishes and Kitchen Aid mixer, which stays out.

I am having a little more trouble decorating the dining area.

The small chair I had recovered a few years back and it was in our living room before, I thought bringing it over to this area helped tie the colors together.  I had a lot of trouble choosing the color for the china cabinet because I wanted the blue but it really doesn’t go with the living room furniture.  It’s a work in progress but it’s ok for now.  I’m considering bringing in my round table with these dining chairs and adding some artwork. 

As for the couch and chair, we hope to one day use it in a bonus room because it is very comfy and great for lounging. 

Maybe one day it will look like this….

Source: www.bhg.com, Better Homes & Gardens

What design decisions do you regret?  Do you have issues with choosing color over neutral?

 

April

 

Updated Barstools

I heart barstools!  I grew up with a bar counter in our kitchen and love the idea of having an area to sit and chat while cooking is going on or for when I am eating alone.  Our last house had an abnormally high bar and no barstools were high enough to work so it’s nice have this option in our new kitchen. 

My Aunt recently gave me her old stools and they sat in our kitchen for about a month or more before I was inspired to fix them up.  Last week Amy over at Eat.Sleep.Decorate inspired me to get moving in this POST.  I went back and forth in my mind debating over using a pop of color or going neutral.  Will liked them black because they blended with the cabinets but the seats needed recovering and I also felt that they needed to pop a little.  So I opted to go for a more industrial look and painted them stainless steel.

Here is a look at the before.

Now they stand out but are still neutral enough to blend in with my living room furniture.

I used Krylon Stainless Steel spray paint for the color.  I first sanded the chairs lightly and they simply sprayed 3 light coats of color. 

The top portion is wood and I wanted to make it look more like wood and stand out.  I used CeCe Caldwell Chalk Paint in Virginia Chestnut with a clear wax.

The fabric came from Hobby Lobby and I bought just enough.  Those circles fooled me with their size.

I may eventually change the fabric to a solid, but for now I like the whimsy.  I am pretty pleased with how they turned out.  I have been using them every morning for breakfast and sometimes I work from the bar just to sit in the kitchen.

Here is a close up of those beautiful poppies I bought at the farmer’s market this weekend!

Also…all the pets wanted the be in these pictures.  Little Diva’s.

 

April

Stress of Life

This week I am going to tell you a little bit about my personal life.  I really prefer not to write about it on the blog but it absolutely affects the blog and projects that are completed so here goes….
This has been a hard week!  I have had many ups and downs from being stressed and upset to happy. 
As you long time readers know, me and my husband own a piece of land that we have developed into a neighborhood and we are actively trying to sell lots to builders.  You can read more Here and Here if you are unfamiliar.  We purchased the land 5 years ago and began this journey.  Little did we know when we purchased the economy would take a downturn so we’ve been patiently waiting and trying to sell lots.  It was a huge risk that becomes more and more obvious to me as the days, weeks, and months pass.  We have had ups and downs all along the way mainly being financial stress for me.  I am NOT the risk taker, Will is. 
In the last year we have sold a total of 4 lots and currently there are 4 occupied homes in the neighborhood.  We are currently living in one.  Over the Winter we’ve had water lines installed to open up additional lots.  This is necessary to record lots and recorded lots are necessary to sell lots.  This week everything was finalized and recorded on the next phase of the neighborhood but it was no easy task.  I won’t go into all the details but it was a roller coaster ride of paperwork and funds to make it happen.  My husband did all the work and I worried all week!
Will did an awesome job running around getting paper work signed and making things happen.  The reason we needed everything to be complete in such a short time is because we have a few interested builders and we needed the lots recorded by the county and available for purchase. 
Purchasing this land and going through the motions of payments monthly and other expenses associated with the ownership has truly changed my life.  Having just turned 32, I certainly thought my life would look differently at this age.  As this weeks stress mounted I had a rush of emotions and felt like the process would never end, that we will never be able to move on with our lives.  In reality I know this is false.  
I am the type of person that will have one negative emotion and it brings up everything else that feels wrong in my life at the same time and feel miserable for a few days.  
This week felt like a breaking point….I had a wake up call.  I realized that I needed to eliminate stress from my life and stop being so hard on myself.  I also realized I need to have more fun and stop being so worried about the next project and get it done when I can. 
My Mema’s (grandma) brother, Freeman,  died this week and his funeral was Wednesday.  It was the best service.  He was a man of few words but his life was celebrated in the best way and the reflection of a life well lived really got to me.  It really made me think about changing things and making things better and easier on myself. 
As you all know, we have moved 4 times since June of last year and that has been tough.  The moving has been in an effort to build and sell in the neighborhood.  
I have struggled with two things during this phase of life more than ever. 
I have gained 15-20  pounds that won’t  budge. I know I don’t exercise and eat like I should.  I’ve always been an emotional eater and that is definitely the case. 
We have also struggled to find a church home since we’ve been married.  I am a member of my hometown church and have just not been able to find one that compares, but I crave a church home and I need the messages and teachings  in my life. 
I know if I can get these two things under control my life will be better and  I will be happier. 
So today I made two positive changes…We went to a new church this morning and I ran for 20 minutes this afternoon.  Already my heart feels more filled and my legs are killing me!
As for moving ahead I am making small positive changes to better myself and manage my stress level.  How it affects the blog…I will still be here and I will do what I can when I can.  I have a mountain of projects including those for the new house. 

But and a big BUT, I don’t want the projects to run my life.  I am still a wife, cook, animal mom, and have a 40+ hour per week job.  I am also determined to find more time for a healthier lifestyle and more importantly GOD! 
So there you have it…my week, my life, all out on the table. 
I clean to make myself feel better…some people would say that is the real sickness.  I now have an organized potting bench and paint station in my garage thanks to this weeks events. 

Before

After

My week did end very happy!  It’s going to be alright! Good things are to come with the land sales and I am optimistic about the future.  Everyone has moments in life and this was one of mine, I hope my small changes make a big impact!

April

Nightstand Makeover

I worked on a smaller furniture piece recently that turned out lovely.  This piece was in great shape and just needed a little paint.  Such a sweet look. 

I painted this piece with Maison Blanche, color  Sugar Cane and the drawer accent is painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in color Paloma.  I accented with silver Rub–n-Buff on the pull and edging on the top.

Here’s a look at the before and after side by side.

I’m really loving the colors on this piece.  I think it would be a really cute in a little girls room or a soft, feminine bedroom.  This one is for sale, hoping it finds a home soon. 

What projects have you guys been up to lately?

 

April

Happy Easter

Hoping you all have a wonderful Easter Day! 

 

April

Vanity

Loving all the furniture projects I’ve been working on lately.  I should probably be working on finishing up some rooms in the house first but I’ve had furniture in storage that’s been waiting for paint for 6 months and it’s been keeping me busy. 
With this vanity I found a great color combination that I will definitely use again.  This one is painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in colors French Linen and Aubusson Blue. 

A friend was looking for a vanity and she liked the style of this one.  She knew she wanted something neutral but with a pop of color, after looking at some of my other furniture projects she picked the two colors and I decided how to paint the piece.  She was however, 100% sure she did not want yellow!

Before

I didn’t have a matching chair for this piece but picked one up recently from a local thrift store that did the trick.

Before

This piece went through a few changes as I went along, here is a little more on the Journey.

After #1

After painting I originally left the pulls gold and the inside (at mirror) grey.  I made a few changes at my friend’s request to paint the inside blue and change the pulls to silver.  Abbie really wanted to be in these pictures to say hi…


Here you can see the original pulls in gold, I really liked the gold on this piece, typically not a huge gold fan but I thought they fit the piece.  My friend preferred silver so I changed them with Rub n Buff (which I love to use!!).  Rub N Buff makes it so easy to change the look of knobs and pulls and its also really great for accents on frames as well.

Knob Before & After

What do you like best, Silver or Gold? I loved the gold, but the silver looks great too! Rub N Buff lets a little gold peek out which creates nice texture and shadows giving a more expensive look than spray paint.

My little confession is that I originally loved the gold so much I planned to replace the knobs completely but the size of these are smaller than normal sizes and I was unable to find any that worked.  I do really love the style of these on the piece so they should stay with it and the silver is perfect. 

Also isn’t that chair way better now?!? Whew, that brown paint was gross!  I had planned to leave the seat fabric as is only to let my friend pick out her own fabric, and she still can,  but I found these napkins and World Market and thought the colors were great so in 5 minutes I I had a new seat.  Yes, cloth napkins!  Cheap way to recover a seat!
I love the color combo on this one, overall it looks feminine as a vanity should but neutral enough for any space. 
Looking forward to seeing it in its permanent home.

April

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Guest Bath

I thought it was about time to show you guys a room that is finished  here in the new house.  I don’t know why but I can’t seem to focus on one room long enough to get things complete so I started with the smallest room in the house, the Guest Bath. 

It was feeling a little dreary with my old navy shower curtain.

I was inspired by my black and white daffodil pictures to add yellow to this room.

I spent very little money and time on brightening this room up.  I just added the shower curtain and new hand towels along with the little rug.

I was able to use this very old ashtray as a decorative soap dish.

And my splurge was this new soap holder from Target.

I will admit the yellow was shocking at first but now I’ve gotten used to it and I love the cheerfulness.

I also realize I should have steamed the curtain before these photos…but who has the time!

Oh and the new rug is so cushy and cat approved!

Shower Curtain:Marshalls, Cynthia Rowley, $14.99

Soap holder, Target $12.99

Rug: Marshalls $12.99

Hand Towels: Marshalls, on clearance $4.50

Daffodil Prints are actually X-Rayed flowers (way cool) Artist is Jane Cox read more HERE, these were a gift from my Mom.