Today, let's take a peek inside our family room, all decked out for the holidays. I already shared our new European Fir Christmas Tree in an earlier post. I love how much cheer this large tree adds to this space.
December 5, 2019
December 4, 2019
Our Christmas Living Room 2019
December 3, 2019
Our Christmas Kitchen 2019
Hello friends. Today, I am excited to share one of my favorite rooms to decorate for the holidays - our Christmas kitchen!
The old vintage sled is flying over the island once again. It's becoming a tradition for us at this point and I think we'd probably miss it if we didn't have it up there. I decided to go with a Gingerbread/Baking theme this year. I enjoy baking throughout the holiday season and it brings back memories of baking with my mom and grandmother. Like so many of you, we still use the same recipes each year that I did back then and I love passing that tradition down to my kids.
November 26, 2019
The End of a Chapter
I once heard it said that one of the wonderful things about having pets as a part of your family is that they help you to divide your life into chapters. I think that is so true.
Keeper joined our family at Christmas 9 years ago. We still had 3 young boys and her arrival was so exciting for us all. A highlight of our kids' younger years for sure!
November 18, 2019
A New Festive Fir for our Family Room
*I partnered with Balsam Hill for this post but, as always, all opinions are my own.
Today marks the official start of the most wonderful time of the year here on my blog! I am excited to begin sharing the Christmas decor that I have been hard at work on for this year. And today we are beginning with a wonderful new addition to our Christmas decor this year - our very first Christmas tree from Balsam Hill. Be sure to read through to the end of the post to enter Balsam's Hill Twelve Days of Giveaways and also to find a coupon code just for my readers!
November 14, 2019
Flea Market Decor Magazine and Christmas Planning
Hello friends! I've been fully immersed in decorating my home for Christmas for a couple of weeks now and I can't wait to begin sharing it! A highlight for me this past week was when Flea Market Decor magazine came out in print. It's available on newsstands and digitally now! Our Christmas home from last year is one of the homes featured inside.
November 5, 2019
Fall Decor in Our Master Bedroom and Bathroom
Do you decorate your bedroom with the seasons? I never used to but lately I have really been enjoying it. You don't have to add too much. Especially in a bedroom or bathroom, I think just a few changes with seasonal color can go a long way.
October 22, 2019
Fall in the Adirondacks 2019
I'm not really sure what it is I love most about fall. The colors? Definitely a big part of it. The smells? Nothing smells quite like the leaves on the ground during this season. But I think what intrigues me most about this season is the bittersweet change in the weather. The signal for a cozier time of year which is music to this homebody's ears.
These pictures were taken across the span of about 3 weeks from late September into mid-October. We follow the color as it changes first in the higher elevations and finally ends down by the lake. It was sad to leave this weekend because the next time we head up up there, the trees will be bare. I can't remember a prettier fall than we saw this year.
October 16, 2019
Getting Cozy & A Bit of Halloween
We're heading into the cozy season of the year, ready or not. Every year, I seem to fight the fact that the days are getting shorter and colder and then before I know it, I'm embracing the cozy feel. And just in time, because we are expecting a lot of heavy rain later today and tonight here in NJ.
October 14, 2019
Fall at the Cabin
Hello friends! I'm on a roll with updating this blog. Today, I thought I'd share a few pictures of our home away from home, or family's shared cabin in the Adirondacks.
October 9, 2019
Fall Living Room Decor
I knew I wanted to keep our fall decor both colorful and cheerful in our living room this year. This room is flooded with light from the large window at the front of our house, as well as the windows in our kitchen. I started with this pop of rust with a sign from Dandelion Wishes Home on Etsy. I love the saying!October 8, 2019
Season of Change
I have always wanted to spend a chunk of time in the Adirondacks just as the leaves are changing. To really appreciate and photograph the beauty of this season and devote some uninterrupted time to writing. Most years during foliage season, we plan a weekend trip around the busy school schedules that coincide with the arrival of fall and cross our fingers, hoping for some pretty fall color - but, often times, not getting the timing quite right. It seems Mother Nature has her own timetable and we can only predict so much.
October 2, 2019
Fall Kitchen
September 19, 2019
Our Fall Family Room
I love decorating for fall and this year our fall home is one of several homes featured in the Autumn issue of Country Sampler Farmhouse Style magazine. I have to admit it is a bit difficult to see my home styled and photographed by someone else, it just doesn't have the same "feel" to it, but it's exciting nonetheless.
September 16, 2019
Going Up the Country
Do you have a road trip playlist? The one we created on Spotify and listen to most often is titled, Going Up the Country. We are, in fact, usually headed upstate when we hit the road, also lovingly referred to as up the country. That's also the title of the first song on my playlist, followed by Rocky Mountain High by John Denver. I just have to listen to both of those songs on the 3.5 hour trip to the Adirondacks. It's required listening! :)
July 19, 2019
Our Summer So Far
Hello! Oh my gosh, I have neglected this blog and I feel terrible about it. I don't even have a good excuse, other than, you know - LIFE. And Instagram, which I love, but will never completely replace blogging for me. This little blog is what started my home decor journey and I am not going to let it go. So, let's catch up a bit, shall we? Let's start where all things begin - in the home.
June 8, 2019
Adding Layers of Color to our Home
Hello friends! How has your late Spring been going? Mine has been busy! My youngest was playing 2 sports (lacrosse and track) while finishing up his middle school years and my middle son is finishing his senior year of high school. Lots of fun milestones and activities around here and I have to admit that I am looking forward to those quieter Summer days by the pool in the not-so-distant future. But first, I need to get through a senior prom, 2 graduations and a magazine photo shoot - all within the next week and a half. As for our house, I've been completing lots of little projects to add lots of color to our space!
May 29, 2019
Library Card Catalog TV Stand
Hello friends! I recently gave our family room a bit of a makeover and I'm excited to share it with you today. If you are following along on Instagram (where I post much more frequently - you can find me here), you already saw a picture or two but I will share more of the room in this post. I mentioned in an blog post earlier this year that I was looking for a vintage piece of furniture for our family room television. I'd grown tired of the look of the big white wall unit that housed our tv. I've been scouring Craigslist for an old card catalog or apothecary cabinet with no luck. I will keep looking, but in the meantime, I found something that I thought could work on Amazon. You can find it (affiliate link) here.
March 29, 2019
Spring in Our Family & Mud Rooms
March 26, 2019
A Quick Powder Room Update
We've been in our current home close to 12 years now and some of the projects we completed when we first moved here are already feeling a little dated. We have a small powder room just off of our (also small) mudroom that we decided to give a little bit of an update. This ends up being the bathroom that we use often along with our guests, so even though it's small, it is a well used space.
March 16, 2019
A Bit of Spring
March 7, 2019
Master Bathroom Refresh
It has been six years since I first shared our Master Bathroom project that launched this entire blogging journey for me. Six years!! I still love our bathroom and consider it a great investment into both our home and also as a private space away from the craziness that inhabits the rest of our house, full of teenagers and dogs.
Quite suddenly, I decided that I needed a little more color in here. The walls are painted Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams and, other than a few accessories, that was it for the color in here. Six years ago, I wanted a mostly white, serene and spa-like feel, which I loved and enjoyed - and staunchly defended to many critics. But now I am in a season of life that just seems to NEED more color. Perhaps a mid-life home decor crisis? I mean, I am in my mid-40s - seems to have arrived right on time. Yikes, is my blue green vanity actually the equivalant of a middle aged guy's red corvette?? Side note, have you read Brene Brown's essay on midlife? Powerful and thought provoking, just like all of her other work.
Back to the bathroom, I hemmed and hawed for months about what color to paint the vanity. My first thought was grey, but that felt too neutral. Too safe. I started thinking about the colors of sea glass and how calming they are. I already had the Sea Salt paint on the walls, so what could I add to that? Many paint swatches later, I ended up choosing "Opal Silk" by Behr and with every stroke of the paint brush, I told myself I could always go back to white or grey. The vanity needed a fresh coat of paint anyway, right? That's how afraid I was to add color in here.
Here's the thing with adding color - once you start, the whole room's personality seems to come to life. I made a few changes to the accessories in the built-ins. Then, I found the rug at HomeGoods after I had painted the vanity and wasn't quite sure if the new vanity color went well enough with the paint color on the walls. It felt serendipitous how the addition of the rug brought all the colors together.
So, six years later, besides adding color, what else would I change about this bathroom? Not much. I think a lot of the design choices in here will stand the test of time. I love the marble countertop (I lamented so greatly over that choice and it has held up remarkably well), the faucet choices and especially the built-ins. I am so glad we put the extra effort into that added charm.
And what would I change? The tub is acrylic and was a budget friendly option, but if I had to do it over again, I would have opted for cast iron. I am a devoted bath-taker and the acrylic definitely has a cheaper, less sturdy feel and doesn't hold heat as well as cast iron. I would prefer a higher end shower at this point, but all in all, I still feel satisfied with how far we spread our $7,000 investment in here.
Whenever I catch a peak of the vanity from our bedroom, it makes me smile. I feel like it has breathed new life into one of my very favorite spots in my home.
Sources (including some affiliate links):
Paint - Opal Silk by Behr
Vanity - Kitchen Collections via Amazon
Mirrors - Amazon
Rug - HomeGoods
Coral Print Towels - World Market
Sconces - Hampton Bay
Floor Tile - Lowes
Shower Base and Glass Doors - Amazon
Tiered Wire Basket - HomeGoods, similar
Chandelier - Overstock
Shower Base and Glass Doors - Amazon
Tiered Wire Basket - HomeGoods, similar
Chandelier - Overstock
January 29, 2019
Winter Decor
Hello! I am emerging back into the world after a bout of the flu that passed through 3 out of 5 of us in the last couple of weeks. The shift in perspective always amazes me when illness strikes. It causes me to take pause and be thankful for my family's health in a new way, if only for a short time. I never want to take it for granted and, as horrible as it is being sick, I am grateful for the reminder.
I have been adding some cozy layers to our home for winter. I spent countless hours on the sectional in our family room. As soon as I was well enough, I took all the slipcovers off and gave them a good washing. I remain a huge fan of slipcovered furniture for that very reason.
I spent a lot of time with Netflix while I was sick. Have you seen "The Staircase"? I think it's been out for a while, but I watched the whole thing over the course of a couple of days and I am still left wondering if he did it. If you've seen it, what do you think? I also read a couple of books. I loved One Day in December and I am currently finishing Kitchen Yarns. There's nothing quite like a warm fire and a good book in January.
Do you have any home projects planned for the new year?
We are considering a new project for a long wall in our family room. I spend way too much time perusing home tours on Zillow of charming New England homes. One of the elements that many of those homes have is bookshelves, lots and lots of bookshelves. I always think that homes filled with shelves of books house the most interesting people, don't you?
I tried a new arrangement for the furniture in our family room after the holidays and I dare say it is my favorite yet. The corner fireplace can be tricky, but I angled the sectional towards the fireplace with our Pottery Barn console behind, and it added instant coziness for the winter.
One more change I am considering is retiring the big wall unit that currently houses our tv. For now, it's separated from the bookshelf pieces, but I am on the hunt for a new piece to put the television on. I'm hoping to find some sort of interesting piece - maybe a card catalog or apothecary cabinet? - so I am not rushing into it.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)