Breakfast Nook

Our everyday eating spot. 
We've enjoyed this table with the bench, especially my little son who likes to sit by dad at dinner. No rug allowed but crumbs are.

Heather of Love and Life at Leadora, inspired me to write a little fancy on the chalkboard. 

This hangs to the left of the chalkboard near the cabinets. If you look closely, you can see the utensil picture is hiding a phone outlet. I really wanted to hang a vintage phone here. (Sure is hard not to use all of your ideas in a house. But there will be more ideas in the next place.) I bought those 2 cameos years ago at an antique store, before silhouettes were in vogue. I hung them on the doors of our his and hers closets. Still love them.

Filling a tray with decor makes it easy to remove on and off the table when dining. 

You may remember the damask fabric I bought sometime back. The plan was to make curtains but when I put them up, it was just too busy for me. I found the striped curtains at a yard sale, still in the package!

I used no sew iron on tape and put the two together with black grosgrain ribbon trim. 

One more photo of the chandy. I just love that little jewel.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter. We enjoyed our spring break at the beach even though it turned cold. It warmed back up just in time for Easter. Nothing but sunshine here. How about your part of the world? 
Posting to
Mod Vintage Life
A Stroll Thru Life 
Between Naps On The Porch 
Coastal Charm
Savvy Southern Style

Keeping Room

The room that keeps-

comfy leather furniture for Doc and I to have heart to hearts and

a cozy space for curling up next to the fireplace. 

Was hoping for fresh forsythia on the mantel but my blooms are already gone! Can't wait until the hydrangeas bloom!

A sweet friend gave me this big fluffy down pillow and it's perfect to rest the head or arm on this much occupied love seat.

We do a lot of bird watching from those windows which overlook the backyard. I think we've seen one of each bird pictured in these vintage prints.

I prefer windows to not be blocked but it beats lugging this credenza up the stairs. It'll rest here until the house sells. Thanks for all your well wishes on that!

We will miss this little keeper.

My boys are on spring break so we are headed to the beach. See ya in a few days!
Posting to-
Savvy Southern Style
Mod Vintage Life

Adding Color Without Breaking a Sweat

Yes. I went all out.
To Lowe's that is. 
After the last post I debated to show you my planters but many of you asked so here they are.
Ready made. Now I just have to keep them alive. (Next project is to add wreath to door.)

I added these little flowers around the bird bath. Skimpy but we are trying to sell the house so I'm keeping it simple. Hoping they take off to add a wee bit of color. My lilies will soon be the blooming star in the front flowerbeds. Fresh pops of yellow are on the horizon.

This is my back porch which I've shown before. Added a little color back here too. 

We had to cut back the crepe myrtle. The other tree needs cutting back too but I couldn't bear to have two naked trees. I sure hope the crepe comes back fast!

The people who were looking at our house are dragging their feet so we now have a sign in the yard and are advertising this week. We'll have an open house this weekend. Keeping fingers crossed!

The Foyer

The foyer is just about complete. It may be a space I never finish before moving.  I have ideas about tweaking it but for now it's done. 

The mirror was the first purchase. I saw Kim's and fell in love with it. She was kind enough to send me the link- Home Decorators. This was my splurge.
  
Next came the dresser.

 And no, I did not paint it. I was shopping for a dresser that could be painted and stumbled on this at an antique market for a very good price. (Probably less than a "re-do" piece.)  The booth owner was there bringing in new items and just wanted to get rid of it. Lucky me.

I like the drawers left in their original stained condition.
That is why I left the rustic wood frames on the horse art prints.

The rug with the navy trellis pattern was another good deal at The Christmas Tree Shop. $40.

The rest was pulled from around the house, including these chairs from the living room and the pillows from the bedroom.

Details-

Here is the foyer when we first moved in the house.
(I wasn't blogging then so excuse the poor quality of photo.)

And now...

I have to keep a runner at the bottom of the stairs because my boys rip up and down them about 50 times a day. One good scratch taught me that. Just life.
Posting to-
 Savvy Southern Style
Mod Vintage Life
Coastal Charm

We are all fighting the flu at my house. Well, everyone but the Doc. He always gets the flu shot. I never do but might should rethink that since this is the 2nd bout I've had this winter! I'm going to crawl back in bed and will visit with everyone when I feel better.

Don't forget the Shabby Apple giveaway!
Have a great week.

Light=Love

Via

No flowers for me yesterday. 

This is what I requested.

A new light for the foyer. It wasn't what I originally had in mind but the bargain bin at Home Depot convinced me otherwise.

I thought the style flowed well with the dining room light. You know, the other light I wanted to get rid of.

Notice anything different? Those metal leaves which were making the globes look like tulips have been removed. Amazing how fast those things snapped off.  I left enough leaves on other parts to tie in with the foyer light. 

Here's the foyer before.

Just felt a little dated to me.

We're getting closer to putting the for sale sign out on the lawn! 

And to the Doc's credit, he did buy me a huge heart box of chocolates. He even got up early this morning to go fill my car up with gas so I wouldn't have to. Yes, I'm spoiled and I love it.

Dining Room in Blue

A coat of blue for the dining room walls. The color is Sherwin Williams Dark Night.

 
We started from the floors up. They were sanded down and re-stained. A sisal rug from Overstock.com was added for texture. (I will talk about the window treatments another day.)

Since we are temporarily living here, china and most breakables are still packed away.  Melamine plates from Target are a quick and inexpensive fix for the hutch, also a great alternative to china for little hands.

For grown up dinners, these salad plates from Marshall's are layered with everyday white dishes for a splash of blue.

Also from Marshalls, is this lamp with a blue animal print shade.

I bought the finial from Tuesday Morning's years ago. Look how closely the inside of the lamp shade matches the wall color.

The splashes of red were added to tie in with adjoining rooms.

If we stay in this house, I'd like to add white plates or more framed prints to this wall. 

Textured runner.

Looking through blue colored glasses.

Quite a change from the before-

I'd also like to replace the light fixture.  Even thought about trying to break off those pesky metal leaves but I better leave well enough alone for now.

Posting to:
Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
Open House at No Minimalist Here
Wild Wednesdays at Chatty Chicks
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage