Monday, November 20, 2017

Master Bedroom Reveal

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving week!
We have been so busy with projects around the house lately, and there are so many ideas swirling around in my head that I am hoping I will get to show you a lot of fun things happening around here in the next few weeks. It's that busy time of year coming up, but I am going to try and give you plenty of Christmas decor inspiration and hopefully a few reveals coming up. We recently finished our master bedroom (minus one project) and I thought I would take you through today and give you some Before and Afters.

Here it is BEFORE:



As you can see the room color was terrible. This is right before we painted it a couple years ago. I think it was New Year's weekend two years ago. So our youngest was maybe 3 months old and still sleeping in our room. Sniff sniff.
Just painting it made such a huge difference. It's amazing what a little paint can do.





We had all different furniture in here from all different places and times in our life, that it was really time to get a more unified look.



There's my adorable project helper.



Here it is AFTER:



The master bedroom is on the smaller side as master bedrooms go, (although in our last rental house it was smaller, so this was definitely an upgrade) so we didn't have a whole lot of space to work with. I didn't want to have so much furniture in here that it just felt crowded. So my husband and I got these matching 3 drawer dressers this year from Pottery Barn and were able to pair down and get all of our clothing either in here or our closet which connects to the master bathroom.

I'm not one to want all matching furniture, but I did want it to be symmetrical in here and cohesive.





These darn dressers took MONTHS to get to us and one got completely lost during shipping. Later we came to find out it was because they were shipping from Texas, right during all of the hurricane Harvey stuff this year.



The crown that I wore on our wedding day. It has broken a few times from kids and kitties playing with it, but I managed to put it back together with some jewelry wire. I love it so much. I took down a lot of the art and pictures in our room as I really wanted a fresh start, but I am sure that eventually all the walls will be loaded up with pictures again.



I am still looking for some blue accent pillows to go on the bed. I just haven't been able to find any that I really like.



I have never thought of myself as a blue person, but it is finding its way into our home more and more lately. I love how it looks with a pop of copper.





Then there's this chair....the furniture love of my life. My husband gave it to me as an anniversary present earlier this year and I LOVE it! I don't think he realized until then that furniture is the way to my heart. I remember seeing a chair like this in a department store years ago and vowing then and there that one day I would have one. These "Balloon Chairs" are designed after French 16th century chairs that were actually used by servants. SERVANTS! Can you believe that? They are so magnificent and they were used by servants! We call it my "Queen Chair". The day I got it, I risked my life dragging it upstairs by myself, because I was too excited to wait for my husband to come home and help me. Needless to say I survived, it survived and we all lived happily ever after.



If you haven't guessed, this is the side of the room where we still have one project to do. We are going to ditch the child killer of a TV and switch to a mounted flat screen and the rest I will let be a surprise. So you'll have to come back and see!



This sign is one of my favorites as well. My father and I danced to "Wildflowers" by Tom Petty at my wedding, so it holds a special place in my heart. This sign was made by Between You and Me. You can find their amazing shop on Etsy.com





I didn't have a pillow for this chair but felt like it kind of needed one, so I actually just grabbed this one that had been in our side yard. It needed a little wash, but I figured I won't be using it outside for awhile now.



I have something planned for that corner of the room as well, but you will just have to stay tuned to find out.





I decided to keep my husband's dresser pretty clean and simple, partly because he's a guy and doesn't want all the decor and partly because I knew that inevitably it would fill up with his own "stuff". He always has little things like change, receipts etc., that he's emptying out of his pockets so I try and give him little bowls or plates to drop his "stuff" around the house so that there's not as many piles of clutter.





I always like to show the the Before and After's again at the same angle (or as close to the same as I can) so that you can really see the change. Here they are.

BEFORE:



AFTER:



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That's it for our master bedroom reveal! Hope you enjoyed seeing the transformation as much as I did! I've put all sources below so you can find pretty much anything used in the room and if I forgot anything you can go ahead and leave a comment below and I will get back to you. Have a great rest of your day!

Sources:
Paint Color: Gentle Rain by BEHR
Dressers: Pottery Barn
Lamps and shades: Target
Faux greenery: IKEA
Birchwood vase: Molkbaks
Gray and white catchall bowl: Target
Headboard: Joss and Main
Bedding: Pottery Barn
White Faux Fur Pillows: I made
Art above bed: Bought at an auction
White teapot: HomeGoods
Faux Flowers: Micheals
Curtains: I can't remember. It might have been Wayfair. They were cheap!
Curtain Rods: Joann Fabrics
Chair: The Mine
Knit blanket with fur: HomeGoods
White Pillow: Target
Gold Tray: World Market
Books: Vintage
Blue Napkin: Pier1
Copper Teapot: HomeGoods
Narwhal and Jackalope Teacups: Anthropolgie

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Thanksgiving Table

Hi Friends! Hope your week is going well.
I meant to have this post out earlier in the week, but life got kind of crazy for us. Thanksgiving is next week, can you believe it? Yikes! Where did November go?
We are not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but I wanted to show you guys how I usually decorate our table for Thanksgiving. I like to use a bunch of pumpkins and gourds (and this year pomegranates) and then tuck some seeded eucalyptus in here and there. It is such an easy way to decorate and the best part is the items used are all things you can get at your local grocery store.



I like to add in an antler or two for a bit of extra interest. You could also try feathers or dried decorative corn.



I used both real and fake pumpkins and gourds in here. My pumpkins from Halloween were getting a little too smushy for it. I wanted to have this cranberry and sage color theme throughout the house this Thanksgiving, but it really just ended up being in the dining room. I really love the color palette.



With the centerpiece as the main focal point, I kept the rest pretty simple and used my white round plates, IKEA woven chargers and classic farmhouse style napkins. I got the napkin rings from my husband for our anniversary and they are so pretty. They are actually bronze casted ferns. Each one was made from an original fern. Kinda cool.



You might have noticed we have a new chandelier in here! Isn't she a beauty? I love it so much. If we ever move, it's coming with us. We kept the old light that was in here, just so that we can bring this one with us when we go. I will NOT part with it. EVER. It is so gorgeous by itself, but I usually hang these gray cardboard leaves on the light in here.





And here is the new sideboard that we got that you may have seen already in my Instastories. I have been working on painting it and it has proven to be a pain in the....you know what. I have used chalk paint many times before on furniture that I have painted, but I thought I would try out milk paint this time around because I had heard that is is way better. I don't know if it was the color I chose or the milk paint or the piece of furniture itself, but it was not working. Then I went back to chalk paint because I figured I could just stick to what I know. Well, then the oils of the sideboard started bleeding through the chalk paint....AHHH! Even with 2 coats on and it turned the piece brownish. UGH! So now I am back to square one and have to go back and sand it and start all over again. I know some of you are probably thinking, "Well you should have sanded it in the first place!". But listen. I have never had an issue before by not sanding first. I don't have the time (or patience) for sanding!



Once I get it finished though, I think it will look really good in here. The room already has so many dark colors from the paint color and the dark table and bench that it really needed something lighter to add some contrast. This room is so close to being "finished" in my mind, so I am hoping that in a few weeks I can show you some before and after pictures of it. It has come a long way from the folding tables we had in here. ;)







Hope this gave you some inspiration for your Thanksgiving table! If you want to see more you can go check out my table from a previous year, which is the same idea, but different colors. Click HERE to see. I really like the way my napkins were that year too. If I were hosting this year, I would totally do that again. Then if you need inspiration for a kids table, click HERE.
How are you decorating your Thanksgiving Table this year? I would love to hear your ideas! Leave me a comment below. Enjoy the rest of your day friends!

Friday, November 10, 2017

Thanksgiving Home Tour / Part 2

Happy Friday and Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to all of the brave veterans past and present that have risked their lives and sacrificed for the safety of our country and home. Your service and bravery are so little spoke of, but so appreciated in the times we live in.

Welcome back to Part 2 of our Thanksgiving Home Tour!~
Today I am going to take you through our living room where we recently made a big change! Can you spot what it is?









Any guesses? We painted that cabinet to the left of the fireplace white!
I follow this amazing blogger named Brooke (no, not me) at Nesting With Grace and she recently offered to people who signed up to get emails from her to receive free advice on one design question. I follow her anyway because she is amazing, so when she offered this I was super excited to see what she would say. I have been struggling with what to do with this old nook in our living room for awhile now, so I asked her what she would suggest. She gave me a couple of great ideas. One which was awesome, but just not in our budget right now, was to build it up into one tall cabinet and paint it white to match the fireplace. It would close off the space and get rid of that awkward emptiness. I definitely loved the idea of more storage. Another idea was to paint it white, again to match the fireplace and the other shelves in the room and put a tall mirror on the top of the cabinet and switch out the mirror on the fireplace with some art. This would bring out the depth of the space a bit and make it not so dark. I couldn't bear to part with the mirror that is on top of our mantle; I am so in love with it. But I went ahead and painted the cabinet white and then I am going to look for some tall vintage window or architectural piece to put in there. Just painting it white made such a huge difference and the cabinet no longer sticks out from the rest of the room. If you don't follow Brooke already, I recommend it. She has such a unique style and I am always getting inspiration from her. She also lives in a TINY home with 3 children and she somehow makes it feel roomy and welcoming.



Don't mind the kittens playing in the background. They are always curious to know what I am up to.
And they are so cute, I really don't mind them being in the shot.





I switched out the hardware on the cabinet as well and it looks so much nicer and updated. I don't know if you can tell, but the two top pulls are just taped on for the pictures. My husband was out of town and I definitely don't trust myself with the power tools, (what is the name for that thing? A screw gun?) so rather than mess up the drawer with a bunch of holes, I decided to just wait for him to get home to do it.



For our mantle I just lined up a few of my white pumpkins and then added in some fresh eucalyptus. My house is smelling amazing right now because it is all over the place. Then I just placed some decorative corn (easily found at the grocery store) in the farmhouse pitcher for a bit of Fall color.



I made the banner a few years ago and it is really easy to do if you want to make one. Just cut out flag shaped pieces of burlap, then paint the letters on using a stencil or free hand, then either sew or use fabric glue to attach to the ribbon. I have a few clear command hooks that I keep on the top of the mantle (for stockings at Christmas mostly) that hold the banner up. And any pieces that don't line up I just use scotch tape. Good old scotch tape. That is, if I can find any. My daughters are always using up our tape for their various projects and I am always like, "What happened to all the tape?"





I love the texture and look of cotton stem. It is so pretty and so versatile! It can pretty much work throughout the seasons. And it't neutral, so you know I love it.









I also changed up the shelves around our TV. I was feeling a little bored with them and wanted to give them a cleaner look. I figured it would be good to give them a fresh start before Christmas comes with all its "things".



That painting on the right is one of my very favorite antique store finds. It doesn't really fit in the shelf, so I kind of squeezed it in there.





Here are some before and after photos of the cabinet so you can really see the difference it made.
BEFORE:



AFTER:



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I am so happy with the cabinet and so grateful to Brooke for the idea. It's amazing how little changes here and there can really have such an impact. I sometimes get frustrated with how our house isn't "finished" and I think about all the things we still have to do to make it "complete". But really, decorating your home is a gradual thing and it's always evolving. It takes time. Not everyone has the money or time to make it all perfect all at once. Things change, tastes change, ideas change and I guess I've realized that making a home is in the process. There is always going to be something new to do, some new project to complete. But the journey of creating your home is so rewarding.

Anyway, done with that little tangent. Hope you enjoyed our Thanksgiving Home Tour and that it inspired you on your journey of creating your home. I hope you come back again soon. As always, I am happy to answer any questions you might have. Just leave me a comment below and I will get back to you. Have a wonderful weekend!