Our Christmas Style

December 29, 2011 at 11:03 am (Seasonal Decor) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

Yes, it’s a little late, but I thought that I would share our Christmas decor with you.  Inspiration is good anytime, right? 

So, here are a few of our first tree together! (we did eventually find the perfect green skirt! ) We went with a bit of a “camo” theme with colors this year.  That was my nod to Jeremy.  We used golds and greens and bronzes on the tree.  My photos don’t seem to do it justice, but it was really pretty. 

See the antler ornaments? Shimmery pinecones helped add sparkle too!

Our rustic bronze star was really pretty too. 

Camo snowmen…

My “dance in the snow” pillow…

In the dining room we displayed my grandparents’ jewelry tree.  Grandpa made this out of Grandma’s old jewelry. 

Here is a close up of the sparkle, as this may be the last year for this tree.  I might be using the jewelry for another very special project.  Might, as in I have not made up my mind to tear down this beauty. Hmmm…

The two of us spent our night alone together quietly, so here’s a peak of our simple blue table.

It was basic but cute, and also easy.

And, although there was no snow on Christmas in Iowa, I took these a bit before hand of the first snow at our new house.  Come to think of it, I don’t think I have shared a view of the outside of our home, so here is the front…

The side…

And a view towards our barns…

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

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Dining Chair Love

December 27, 2011 at 10:47 am (Inspiration) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

Browsing some gorgeous photos today I came across two dining room photos that I just loved.  The first is so bright and fun with its mismatched chairs. I wish I was bold enough to pull this off!

The next is something I’d absolutely love to try someday, with a bench being used on one side of the dining table.  This bench is no regular bench, rather, a gorgeous antique bench!

I absolutely adore that bench! Enjoy!

Oh, and I want to share a peak at my Christmas holiday decor with you, but I’m running a bit behind.  Still to come! Hope you all had a great holiday!

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Living Room Brainstorming

December 22, 2011 at 10:07 am (Inspiration) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

I’ve said it before, we hate our living room couch.  We have a small living room, but would like it to work better for us. So, what do we do when a friend is wanting to get rid of an almost new L shaped sectional in cream? Snatch it up!

It looks huge and things are in disarray right now, but it is so comfy, and much more what we were wanting for a more functional room.  A sectional seems more modern than our house, but this one combines my love for tufting too! So, now I have been on the hunt for living room inspiration before making any decisions about ours.  Enjoy my eclectic collection of musings…

I love the horse photo in this one. And, it’s a sectional.

This one is an L shaped couch and a smaller room like ours.

I love the gray of this couch. They are using a coffee table and the ottoman is separate for more seating.  We are considering doing away with our coffee table and using a large tray on the ottoman.  Hm?

Not a sectional, but I love a Chesterfield. Always inspiring. lol

I loved the patterned pillows in this living room.  I am also digging the idea of the wall mounted lamps.  We lack floor space and this might do the trick!

Another gray sectional, and I loved the mix of fun pillows!

Bright colors and a rustic coffee table.

Not exactly our style room, but I love the big coffee table and even the tweed on the couch!

Another room with no sectional, but how pretty!? I love everything about this one.

The next few rustic rooms are for Jeremy 😉

I love the mix in this room.  The more subtle antlers, and especially the tufted chair!!

This one has the Chesterfield for me and the antler chandelier for Jeremy!

Any more ideas? Let us know! And soon I will show you progress on our room!

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Rustic Chair, Blanket, Antler Love

December 9, 2011 at 4:10 pm (Inspiration) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

It has been super busy around here, but I wanted to drop in and leave you with a cozy winter photo.  Not only do I love the old shabby chair, but also the thick knit blanket and the antlers…

Photo by Jeroen van der Spek. 

Hope to have more projects for you soon! 🙂

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Rustic Blue Chair Love

November 30, 2011 at 7:43 pm (Projects) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

I finally got the chance to finish a little antique chair project over the holiday weekend.  This little guy was found at a late garage sale.  Shabby pink paint hid the cute chunky style of this cutie.  Enter my rustic blue paint…

Before…

And after…

Well, what do you think? I think this one turned out super adorable! For sale now in the shop! 🙂

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House Tour Continued: The Rest of the Downstairs

November 23, 2011 at 11:45 am (Home Changes and Additions) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

Finally here to finish the (inside) house tour! Coming from the living room tour, next you would walk into the “office” room.  This room was already red, and I owned a lot of red furniture.  It is wild in there.  But, soon to look a bit different.  This room is so handy.  We have room to do computer work, crafts, store paperwork, and lounge.  There is also a closet and plenty of floor space for kids and toys.  Since it is connected openly to the living room it would be easy to keep an eye on little ones playing. 

This is the one room that we have a box left to unpack. You know, that one pesky little box that has nowhere to go?

And next, the dining room!  You can see there is that shelf in the way still…

The table and chairs we bought from the seller.

The window is a view into the sun porch we saw before.  The stained glass door on the other side is the same as the sun porch door, but leads to a storage closet, which has proven to be super handy!

This is the door we use most frequently, but it is actually a side door.  The little screened in porch is out that door and there is a big circle driveway there. 

Directly the oposite direction of this picture is the kitchen…

Isn’t the arched doorway adorable? There will eventually be a small table under the window.

Yes, the curtains are currently mismatched. Soon to be fixed, when I can make up my mind!

I also love the rustic cabinets! The little silverware drwaers are like cigar boxes!

The ceilings are low, but its cozy.  Out the door by the window is a stairway to the basement and a storage woom we lovingly call the “dog room.” Unfinished and super ugly, but this area is a life saver!

Now to backtrack into the dining room.  The door next to the dining room entry is to a 1/2 bath and a laundry room.  Oh, how a mainfloor bathroom is wonderful!

Not fancy, but perfect to us!

Well, what do you think? That is pretty much the whole house, flaws and all! I can’t wait to start making chnages and show you all!

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House Tour Continued: The Living Room

November 23, 2011 at 9:23 am (Home Changes and Additions) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

I have finally gotten around to taking more pictures of the house! Again, these are semi-befores, as I have put things away and somewhat decorated, but we have not done any remodeling or painting yet.  We can start in the living room. 

Here is the view from the steps that lead upstairs (where we toured before)…

Yes, the room is peach.  No, it is NOT staying this way.  Also, if I may vent, I hate the couch situation.  That is the old floral couch from my “green lounge room” in the old house.  We covered it with a slipcover (horrible idea!) and the ottoman is the red one one from the office covered in a sheet.  This was our way of making a temporary L shaped couch.  Yeah, I hope it doesn’t last long!

Also, I love the curatins, but I think they are getting traded with another room, more on that later!  And sorry to those of you who do not like animals in decor, but this room has a lot of it.  Fiance and I like it 🙂

The walls will soon be a grey.  Also, the empty wall above the teal table has some art…just not hung yet!

Don’t mind the shelf that is in the process of being moved in the last photo! Next is a shot of the entertainment center.  The last owners built this awesome rustic thing and left it.  We had debated doing away with it, as it is very big, but it has grown on us! I think it may pop in a neat way once the walls are painted, so we will keep her for a while!

A shot of some antique keys hanging inside the entertainment center…

The makers of this cabinet hung a spoon handle on the outside as a coat hook. Such a cute idea!

There used to be a stove where the stone wall is.

Here is the view out our red front door…

fSo, what do you think?  Its getting there.  I can’t wait to paint! Stay tuned for the tour of the rest of the downstairs! 🙂

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Inspiring Chair Love

November 18, 2011 at 9:55 am (Inspiration) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

I have not posted a “Chair Love” post in a while, so, I thought I would show a few that have caught my eye lately.  All are different and unique, and inspiring!

 

I love the updated print on the old chair.  It goes well with the natural wood.  I also love the sheepskin!

 

So bright and fun! And in this case the orange painted wood looks wonderful!

 

Right now I am craving anything tufted! Especially when the tufting is on soft, aged leather! MMM

 

It’s snowing here today, but this chair has me thinking about sun porches and nice weather!

 

I have also been craving fresh antique couches like this one, as we hate our couch. lol.  Check out the link, because the have a bunch of awesome refinished chairs!

And, last but not least, a chair just for Jeremy…

 

Hope you are inspired! 🙂

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Sun Porch Make Over

November 10, 2011 at 1:52 pm (Home Changes and Additions) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

One of the rooms on the lower level of the new house that I have not yet given you a tour of is the “sun porch.”  This room is on the back side of the dining room.  We saw potential, but it was initially a bland, useless room.  Before:

 

 

 

Unfortunately, these photos are only “semi-before” shots.  We do have some things in there.  But, you can see the room is blah and in rough shape.  What you can’t see is that the walls are blotchy paint, everything is dingy and dirty, and the carpet piece is missing a chunk.

Here are a few perkier after shots:

 

The carpet is the same… for now.  I plan to do some stenciling on it!

 

The ceiling still needs to be painted.  I am waiting to find the perfect light blue…

 

 

Here is the view back out the antique stained glass window into the dining room…

 

And my helpers…

 

Better, no? 🙂

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Farm House Tour- The Upstairs

November 8, 2011 at 1:39 pm (Home Changes and Additions) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

I have been wanting to show a mini tour of the new farm house, and finally got started! These are “semi-before” photos, as we already have our things moved in, but these our not our paint colors and mostly not our curtains.  There will be many more changes to come, and I wanted a way to show the progress and changes.  So, lets start with the upstairs!

Here is the view at the top of the stairs.

There are some frames in the hallway and the book shelf I redid…

At the end of the stairwell is an old antique wash cabinet from my granparents…

The view back towards the stairwell…

Next is the room on the left of the stairwell, next to the old wash cabinet.  We call this the “kid room,” which used to be a little girl’s room…

The other side of the room…

And on the wall by the door there is a chalk drawing of Dora! lol

The door in the last photo goes to what we call the “baby room,” which will one day be a nursery…

The other side of the room has chalk spiderwebs, which were for a little boy…

Here is the view back towards the “kid room”…

Next is my walk through closet that leads the master bedroom. This is across the stairwell from these rooms…

I still can’t wait to have the time to paint the closet the dark navy I have picked out!

The jewelry area…

Next you walk through the closet door and into our sunken bedroom…

The walls are currently yellow, which is fine, but we plan to paint them a nice gray at some point.  The little white shabby dresser was found in the back of the house and makes a perfect TV stand for us…

The wooden shelf above the chair is a barn board we found…

Recognize the blue chair from the old office? It was too big.  The next photo is of the antique dresser from my grandparents that matches out bed…

Our bed…

The shelf by my side of the bed we made out of another barn board that we call the “cow board,” because its front is smooth and wavy due to cows rubbing on it…

Our stained glass window and exposed rustic beams…

Next is the main bathroom.  This shot is a view in the doorway from the closet…

The blue and flooring aren’t really our first picks, but they will make due until we can paint and spruce…

Well, thats the upstairs.  What do you think so far?  A lot to do, but so far we love it! 🙂

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