Monday, January 30, 2017

A New Addition To Our Foyer ...

Happy Monday!

Today I'm sharing a new addition to our foyer!  But, first, I thought I'd step back in time a bit to see where we started 2 1/2 years ago.

Here we are (photo courtesy of Hour Homes) ... right before we moved in ... a nice, blank slate.  While I loved the soaring ceiling and expansive wall space, I didn't want your eye to get lost traveling up those empty, expansive walls.  So, my goal was to draw your eye down and to the back wall ...


However, first, we widened the wall to our sitting room and added columns.  Then, I got busy placing pieces from our last home so it looked like this:


I loved having this secretary back there, but, after awhile, I decided it was just a bit too narrow for the space ... so, eventually, it found its way into our sitting room.

In its place, I slid over the wider accent chest from a neighboring wall.  I liked it, but it still wasn't the focal wall I envisioned.


That's when I knew it needed something fun ... and adding stripes might do just that (I hoped)!  It was quite the project for someone who can't draw, much less measure or paint, a straight line ... but we love them!  The stripes really helped to accomplish my goal of your eye going to the back wall instead of getting *lost* on our two story walls.


Buuuuut, after time, something bothered me a bit ... there were three tables (one is around the corner to the left) in our foyer ... it needed something different!  THAT's when I knew a church bench was just what this space wanted!  So, after months of looking on Craigslist, the perfect one finally appeared last weekend and off my hubby went on an almost four hour drive (round trip) to get it for me ... love him!

Here it is!


I love it and couldn't wait to smother it with pillows!



After staring at it for a bit, I knew that it needed a couple of simple shelves above to balance it a bit.  A quick trip to IKEA and Lowe's took care of that:


I filled the shelves with things that I already had on hand ...




I can't wait to add seasonal goodies and colors throughout the year to our new (hopefully, welcoming) spot!

Just a little last step back in time to the before, before, before, before ...


And our AFTER!



Our homes are always evolving, aren't they?  Hmmmm, what's next?

Thanks for visiting,

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Friday, January 20, 2017

A Bit of a Winter Look ...

Happy Friday, friends!

Welp, it's been a month since I last blogged ... eek!  Every year, I promise myself I'm going to do better ... and, every year, I don't!  LOL

Anyway, before I start to transition our home to welcome Spring, I wanted to share a few snaps from our Winter decor.

In our great room, the mantel it ready to welcome snow! I gave our vintage wooden sled a little makeover by treating it to a nice coat of white paint so that it would "tie in" better! (The things we do in the name of decorating, right?)  Hopefully, we'll be treated to lots of snowflakes soon!


I don't know about you, but I LOVE pillows ... lots and LOTS of pillows, especially in the Winter when we're trying to make our homes nice and cozy!  Who cares if there isn't any room to sit down, right?!  ;)


In this house, we have no problem just tossing them off of the furniture to make room for lots of lounging!  Speaking of that, this is a favorite place of mine in this room ... by the fire, with a cup o' something warm and curled up with a good decorating book!


In our sunroom, I went for a true Winter white look!  I know that many folks aren't into this color palette (or lack thereof) since it can be considered a bit stark, but since this room gets so much sunlight, the more white, the better!  Our paper stars from IKEA are still in the window ... wish I could just keep them up all year!


In our neighboring kitchen, I kept these *Wintery,* glittery branches out for a bit and paired them with a simple apothecary jar, filled with wine corks from bottles I never enjoyed!  (Admittedly, I'm more of a beer gal, but I just don't think that beer bottle tops would look "quite" as pretty!)


Over in our foyer, faux shed antlers came on over to hang out with more *Wintery* branches.  They'll soon be replaced with welcoming pineapples.  With snow not in the forecast, I'm ready for Spring!


And, lastly, in our dining room, I've kept it a bit neutral ... added more slipcovered chairs from IKEA, along with their wicker chairs, which I placed below our shelves.  Not exactly a Winter look, buuuut ....


I hope your homes are Winter cozy, depending where your live.  Although, I'm jealous of those of you who live in warmer climates right about now!

Thanks for stopping by!



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