house tour

Our Living Room

Our living room is a mixture of old and new - something I love to do! We purchased our sectional from jcpenney.com. Crazy, right?!? I loved it for a few reasons. One, it is all slip-covered - so if Henry or Lucy (or Briton) spill something, no big deal! Two, it looks like something from Pottery Barn! And three, it was way less expensive! The tall, glass-doored cabinet is from Ikea. I changed the knobs with some cute one purchased from Hobby Lobby, and voila! The suitcases that serve as an end table are one of my favorite pieces in the room! Those were found at the Lake Gage garage sale! I love the character they add to the room! And of course, H and L needed their own chairs to lounge in!

Our Dining Room

I find it crazy that so many new houses do not have a separate "dining room" - partly because ours is used so often! The table is an old table from my in-laws. We had it repainted to match the chairs we got from Crate and Barrel Outlet. The parson's chairs were two chairs that my husband's grandma was going to get rid of. I absolutely love the shutters in here. They were found at an antique market! The chalkboard on the buffet was an old mirror I found at Salvation Army. I used spray chalkboard paint and love the way it turned out! The shelves were once in my husband's childhood bedroom. My dad made a window seat to go in between them and I made the cushion to go on top (with some help from a friend!) I search for yellow McCoy vases from garages, thrift stores, and antique shows! I've developed a little collection! H and L even have a place in here to sit too! I also collect "P's"! I made a line of them as a border in our dining room.

Henry's Room

When Lucy was born last May, Henry had to graduate to a "big boy bed"! I hated to spend a lot of money on a bed, so I posted on Facebook that I was in search of a twin size bed for our little guy! Sure enough, someone was in search of a new home for their twin size bed! I painted the bed white. The bedding was purchased at the Pottery Barn Outlet. The quilt is the "Patchwork Stripes Quilt". I purchased one Euro sham, but then decided the bed needed two. I found the additional sham on eBay! Yay! The duvet and blue sham are from Ikea, but were also purchased on eBay. I made the "ABC" pictures about Henry's bed. Click here to see the tutorial. Throughout our house, you will see many different metal pieces. We found those at a sale that had old metal pieces from the old hospital in our town. Henry's room has two great ones - a nightstand and cabinet that we use for toys.

Lucy's Room

This room was formerly my husband's office.....he got kicked out when Henry was born. With Henry, we did not know what we were having, so I wanted the room to be neutral. Luckily, the walls were already khaki! The crib and changing table/dresser were again purchased from jcpenney.com. I don't usually buy stuff from there, but have found some great things. The curtains are from Pottery Barn and really help to make the room. Of course, they were a little too expensive from Pottery Barn directly. I found them much cheaper on eBay. The chair and ottoman both glide and were purchased at Babies R Us. Those 20% off coupons really came in helpful! The bedding is from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child. It was a little pricy, but I fell in love with  it! The adorable kitchen set is from Costco.com (of all places!) The kids got it as a gift from my in-laws. I loved the PB Kids one, of course. But over $700 for a kid's kitchen just wasn't in our budget. I found this white retro one and loved it too! The tall chandelier lamp was from Briton's grandma. She was going to sell it in a garage sale, but I swooped it up for the nursery! The toy chests were purchased from Target.com. The armoire was an old cherry computer cabinet. We had it painted white and then glazed. It turned out AWESOME! The rug was a steal from Ikea - $99!

Upstairs Wall Above Stairs

I searched high and low at every store I could think of for inexpensive black picture frames. I found quite a few as you can see!! The top row are pictures of our family members when they were younger. The bottom row is more up to date photos. These hang on the wall above our stairway.

Our Bedroom

Our bedroom is simple, but I love it. The headboard was purchased from Pottery Barn almost ten years ago - the Thomas headboard. The sheer curtains were some cheapies from Ikea - $6 each set! The nightstands were some more pieces purchased from the hospital sale. Our bedding is a hodge podge! The Matisse was purchased from the Pottery Barn Outlet. The euro shams were purchased on clearance at Linens N Things before they went out of business. The standard shams are gathered shams from Pottery Barn. The small monogram pillow and bed skirt are from Pottery Barn. The duvet is a simple white one I purchased on eBay. The down comforter was purchased from TJ Maxx. Love the lamps too! Those were a gift at my bridal shower - nearly ten years ago!

Our Bathroom

When we first moved into our over 100 year old house, the bathroom was the only room we did not paint. I loved the green and white stripes. They were adorable. However, after nine years, it was time for a change. This summer, I painted (which I vowed never to do again) the entire bathroom a beautiful gray! I LOVE IT! Click here to see the transformation. The vanity was, of course, oak. I painted it white (which I had wanted to do for years!!!), replaced the knobs (that was a chore), and love how it turned out. We also got new flooring - much needed! Like I said earlier, our house is over 100 years old - lots of character but lots of quirks too! Because of the age, our house has some "slopes". Our white ceramic tile had began to crack. We found a great Duraceramic tile that is flexible and will not crack. I am so pleased with the results. I also spray painted the light fixture about the mirror to take it from a chrome and gold mixture to a great color! I then replaced the outdated globes and could not believe the difference. The mirrored artwork on the walls, were purchased by my mother-in-law (with great taste) for her house. They did not go where she had envisioned them and she was going to put them in her garage sale. Needless to say, they look perfect in here! The cool metal piece next to our sink and the towel rack above the toilet were also purchased at the hospital sale. My dad made the white cabinet with baskets to my specifications! He is so talented.

Kitchen

Oh the kitchen! How do you take a small space and make it cute and functional? That was the question to answer when we moved in! This kitchen had yellow and white painted stripes topped with a floral border when we moved in. It was cute, but not me. I had always wanted a red kitchen (maybe partially because I fell in love with the red Kitchen Aid mixer!) Anyway, we painted the walls red (tricky) and loved the results. The black and white checked floors were already here when we moved in and worked great! The cute chalkboard belonged to my husband when he was a child. Originally is said "Candace's Cafe" and everyone who came to our house signed the board. However, after nine year and a three year old that loved to color, it was time for a change. I now change it every month! It's a fun art project for the crafty person inside me! The felt magnetic letters I made.