Christmas Tour 2014

With just under two weeks to go until Christmas day, I wanted to take a minute to share our home in its season's best. I abandoned the traditional red and gold of past Christmases and I am in love with the results. 

In the foyer it is simple and classic: greenery, white lights & cream satin bows. This year's major DIY project was stripping the foyer wallpaper, painting the walls BM Classic Grey along with updating the staircase treads, risers & spindles. It is now the perfect backdrop for our Holiday decor. 

Most nights you will find me in the Living Room soaking in all its goodness. The tree is done in preppy green/blue/grey plaid with pink bulbs & dried hydrangeas. I wish I was a better photographer so I could capture the feel of the room adequately.

The Dining Room flows off the Living Room and is dressed with greenery, white lights, and lime green/blue satin ribbon. 

In Hubby's office two red berry wreathes dress up the bookcase bar. 

This little vignette over my kitchen sink brings me so much joy. A few paperwhite bulbs and a $10 Trader Joe's boxwood wreath was all it took. 

A collection of apocathary jars house all the making for a festive mug of cocoa, while our collection of gingerbread houses add a touch of whimsy.

In the family room robin's egg blue and celadon ribbon accent our family tree and fireplace garland. The nontraditional color scheme is fun and sets off the red accents in our ornaments beautifully.

Throughout the house I have our past Christmas cards and Santa photos on display. I often find the littles roaming the house with a photo or two in hand. 

Finally, each of our sugarplums have been spending the nights falling asleep to the twinkle of lights from their own Christmas trees. 

I'll be back again soon with an outdoor tour. I'm just waiting for some snow to fall...after all nothing is better than a white Christmas!

Putting the Labor in Day

Well summer is officially over around here and I'm back to work on the last items of our 2013 Home Goals: the Dining Room,  Kid's Bath and Roof.

Today I'm tackling painting the bath vanity (ugh I have very little patience for painting), having a seamstress come to quote slipcovers for a pair of Drexel club chairs in need of some TLC, and meeting with the carpenter to discuss the dining room wainscoting. Plus, the new roof is tentatively scheduled for next week.

I don't know about you all, but I say bring on the Fall!!! Enjoy the long weekend everyone.

Dining Room Stalled {Motivate Me}

I have just lost all interest and motivation in finishing this project. Maybe it is the nice weather calling my attention to things like gardening, curb appeal & pond repair. Whatever the reason, the dining room's update is slow going.

For a refresher, this is what I started with and up until now I've made a fair amount of progress.

The rug was initially purchased for the living room. Then moved to our master and finally brought back down to the dining room. I love how it ties all the first floor colors together and surprisingly works well with the wallpaper. Plus, it has a lot of movement in it so stains are easily hidden (we do dine in here after all.)




The buffet table is my favorite piece so far. I initially thought of having Hubby build a long table, but instead purchased two adjustable height folding tables from Target. For a small investment of $70.00, I like having the flexibility of using the tables down the road for other purposes along with easy maneuverability to set up a buffet elsewhere in the house or yard.



The skirt is all pinned and ready to go, I just need to sew it…ugh not a task I'm looking forward to. And the accessories have been camped out on top there for months.

The new drapes and chair covers are not feeling much love from me. I think the drapes aren't full enough and the blue ribbon accent isn't the right choice.  The chair covers I've had since we got married and I think I'm just over them. I would die for a set of Chippendale bamboo chairs..swoon. I keep stalking Craigslist as I'm not willing to shell out $1,000 per chair.

I don't want to be a downer though. I do love the relocated and re-staged china cabinet. It now sits on the opposite wall that is much better suited for the piece's size.

And I'm also loving the way light pink accents the colors in the room. I am hoping use pink accents with blue & white pottery in the living room (down the road of course) and maybe there is a way I can tie some touches of pink & navy into the dining room. For now though I just enjoy catching a glimpse of these peonies I plucked from my front yard…heavenly.

So anyone have some words of wisdom for me? Can you kick my tail into gear? Maybe you've hit a wall on a project around your house too and we can commiserate together. Whatever your thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

And sending lots of hugs & prayers to Bestie B who is in labor & delivery as I type….can't wait to meet the little bundle once he arrives.

Craigslist Score {Drapes for the Dining Room}

Last week I mentioned a Craiglist find that I couldn't wait to share with you all. I few weeks back I was scoping out Craigslist to see what the market was for used drapery panels thinking I would list some I had laying around. I came across a listing for 98" x 48" raw silk custom drapery panels. The best part was the price: $25 a piece!!! The lovely lady was switching up her living room decor and no longer needed them.

I was hemming and hawing over the curtains and a month passed. The listing was expired, but I still had the seller's contact info so I dropped her a line. The panels were still available so I scooted over to her place last week and happily procured drapes for the dining room makeover.

And the only thing better than getting custom drapes for pennies on the dollar is when you can hang them on a rod that was free! When we moved into the house this curtain rod was in one of the bedrooms. For some reason I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it so I stashed it away in the basement until yesterday.

I am loving the look & how my recycled drapery rod blends seamlessly with the trim. There is a lot more going on in this room (not pictured) so I didn't want a distracting curtain rod. I am contemplating trimming the leading edges of the panels in ribbon/ fabric to help frame the windows. What is there now is just a placeholder cheapo ribbon I had leftover from Bear's birthday party.

So that is my most recent deal! How about you, any great garage sale/ craigslist/ flea market finds?
Peanut has his Preschool End of the Year Performance today and then it is officially summer for the little guy! Happy Friday everyone!!