Home & Garden

Changes to Our Living Room

Hi Friends!  We've been having a cold, white winter here in Michigan. I joked with a friend recently, who was hibernating like me, that we would just have to skype until Spring, because neither one of us wanted to venture out in this weather! Ha!

The last time I posted pictures of our living room, it was filled with blue and white toile and blue and white porcelain. But recently I decided to change it up and use a lot more neutrals. The nice thing is I didn't spend any money making these changes. They're all things I already had.

Oops! Except the two tables in each corner - they're new since I've posted! (new-used)
I put the jute rug that's been in the family room in here. I like the casual feeling it gives with everything else so romantic and feminine. I also like the neutral color.
I've had this coffee table for a couple of years. I found it at an indoor flea market and chalk painted it to match the end table that's in here.
The little cabinet on the left I found at my favorite used furniture store in Grand Rapids. It had kind of a funny paint job and so I gave it an update with chalk paint. I've moved it around a couple of times but if ends up staying here, I may paint it again. 
I've had a desk in this corner of the room for several years but I've liked this change.

I found this table on Craig's list. It's a reproduction but I love all the beautiful carving and curves. I left the finish and didn't paint it but it sure would be pretty painted to show off all the detail. 

This chaise was in our bedroom for a couple of years but I recently moved it here. I've really enjoyed having it in this room and often sit here in the mornings to read my Bible and drink my coffee. 
Or to enjoy a book in the afternoon. 
I got the art above the fireplace from Joss & Main a couple of years ago but could never find a frame for it. I found this one recently at Hobby Lobby. I've really been in love with these traditional gold frames lately and have been grabbing them when I find them. 

The love seat, chairs and chaise in this room I recovered with drop cloths. They were all bought at different times and had different mismatched fabrics. I unified them with paint and washable drop cloths.






I'm really enjoying the peaceful feel of this room after the busier feeling it had with all the blue and white.

And that's what's so nice about changing a few things. It feels like a whole new room.
I'm getting ready to repaint our family room. It's been a soft blue for several years and I'm going to start painting it "Antique White" by Sherwin Williams today. I'll try to post some of my progress on Instagram.

Have a warm Wednesday!

love and blessings~


"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8

love seat, chairs and chaise all bought second hand and recovered with drop cloth
coffee table and end table bought second hand and chalk painted
rug - HomeGoods 
fireplace screen - Amazon
pillows - home made
vase on coffee table - Joss & Main
candlestick on coffee table - Tuesday Morning
wooden bowl - HomeGoods
grandfather clock - second hand
art on fireplace - Joss & Main with HobbyLobby frame
gold candlesticks in corner - HomeGoods
mirror- Joss & Main
vase by mirror - HobbyLobby
candleabra - HomeGoods
cement angel - garden store many years ago
basket with wood - HomeGoods
Standard
Home & Garden

Changes to Our Living Room

Hi Friends!  We've been having a cold, white winter here in Michigan. I joked with a friend recently, who was hibernating like me, that we would just have to skype until Spring, because neither one of us wanted to venture out in this weather! Ha!

The last time I posted pictures of our living room, it was filled with blue and white toile and blue and white porcelain. But recently I decided to change it up and use a lot more neutrals. The nice thing is I didn't spend any money making these changes. They're all things I already had.

Oops! Except the two tables in each corner - they're new since I've posted! (new-used)
I put the jute rug that's been in the family room in here. I like the casual feeling it gives with everything else so romantic and feminine. I also like the neutral color.
I've had this coffee table for a couple of years. I found it at an indoor flea market and chalk painted it to match the end table that's in here.
The little cabinet on the left I found at my favorite used furniture store in Grand Rapids. It had kind of a funny paint job and so I gave it an update with chalk paint. I've moved it around a couple of times but if ends up staying here, I may paint it again. 
I've had a desk in this corner of the room for several years but I've liked this change.

I found this table on Craig's list. It's a reproduction but I love all the beautiful carving and curves. I left the finish and didn't paint it but it sure would be pretty painted to show off all the detail. 

This chaise was in our bedroom for a couple of years but I recently moved it here. I've really enjoyed having it in this room and often sit here in the mornings to read my Bible and drink my coffee. 
Or to enjoy a book in the afternoon. 
I got the art above the fireplace from Joss & Main a couple of years ago but could never find a frame for it. I found this one recently at Hobby Lobby. I've really been in love with these traditional gold frames lately and have been grabbing them when I find them. 

The love seat, chairs and chaise in this room I recovered with drop cloths. They were all bought at different times and had different mismatched fabrics. I unified them with paint and washable drop cloths.






I'm really enjoying the peaceful feel of this room after the busier feeling it had with all the blue and white.

And that's what's so nice about changing a few things. It feels like a whole new room.
I'm getting ready to repaint our family room. It's been a soft blue for several years and I'm going to start painting it "Antique White" by Sherwin Williams today. I'll try to post some of my progress on Instagram.

Have a warm Wednesday!

love and blessings~


"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8

love seat, chairs and chaise all bought second hand and recovered with drop cloth
coffee table and end table bought second hand and chalk painted
rug - HomeGoods 
fireplace screen - Amazon
pillows - home made
vase on coffee table - Joss & Main
candlestick on coffee table - Tuesday Morning
wooden bowl - HomeGoods
grandfather clock - second hand
art on fireplace - Joss & Main with HobbyLobby frame
gold candlesticks in corner - HomeGoods
mirror- Joss & Main
vase by mirror - HobbyLobby
candleabra - HomeGoods
cement angel - garden store many years ago
basket with wood - HomeGoods
Standard
Home & Garden

Christmas in the Living Room

Our living room and dining room are really all one room. I kept things simple in here this year since you can see both trees from this room.





I got a new rug this summer at HomeGoods. I originally got it for the family room but didn't like it in there.
When I moved it in here, I loved it! The rug that was in here is in the master bedroom now and I'll show it to you soon.
It's hard to show you a good picture as the rug is very muted. It has a silvery background and medium blue print. I like that it's so subtle and it's very soft. It's thin so I got a rug pad for underneath and now it's plushy. :)

I also got another fireplace screen. I moved the one that was in here to the family room and put the new one in here.
All of our evergreen is faux. My husband has severe allergies and real evergreen in the house makes him feel bad.

My little desk in the corner is the perfect spot to address Christmas cards.



I stashed all my Christmas wrapping paper in this corner to get it out of the way and then I liked it here!



I'll be back soon with our entry way! Have a wonderful week!

love and blessings~

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid."  Luke 2

I'm joining these linky parties:
betweennapsontheporch
thededicatedhouse
myuncommonsliceofsuburbia
stonegableblog
dwellings
Standard
Home & Garden

Christmas in the Living Room

Our living room and dining room are really all one room. I kept things simple in here this year since you can see both trees from this room.





I got a new rug this summer at HomeGoods. I originally got it for the family room but didn't like it in there.
When I moved it in here, I loved it! The rug that was in here is in the master bedroom now and I'll show it to you soon.
It's hard to show you a good picture as the rug is very muted. It has a silvery background and medium blue print. I like that it's so subtle and it's very soft. It's thin so I got a rug pad for underneath and now it's plushy. :)

I also got another fireplace screen. I moved the one that was in here to the family room and put the new one in here.
All of our evergreen is faux. My husband has severe allergies and real evergreen in the house makes him feel bad.

My little desk in the corner is the perfect spot to address Christmas cards.



I stashed all my Christmas wrapping paper in this corner to get it out of the way and then I liked it here!



I'll be back soon with our entry way! Have a wonderful week!

love and blessings~

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid."  Luke 2

I'm joining these linky parties:
betweennapsontheporch
thededicatedhouse
myuncommonsliceofsuburbia
stonegableblog
dwellings
Standard
Home & Garden

Christmas in the Living Room

Our living room and dining room are really all one room. I kept things simple in here this year since you can see both trees from this room.





I got a new rug this summer at HomeGoods. I originally got it for the family room but didn't like it in there.
When I moved it in here, I loved it! The rug that was in here is in the master bedroom now and I'll show it to you soon.
It's hard to show you a good picture as the rug is very muted. It has a silvery background and medium blue print. I like that it's so subtle and it's very soft. It's thin so I got a rug pad for underneath and now it's plushy. :)

I also got another fireplace screen. I moved the one that was in here to the family room and put the new one in here.
All of our evergreen is faux. My husband has severe allergies and real evergreen in the house makes him feel bad.

My little desk in the corner is the perfect spot to address Christmas cards.



I stashed all my Christmas wrapping paper in this corner to get it out of the way and then I liked it here!



I'll be back soon with our entry way! Have a wonderful week!

love and blessings~

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid."  Luke 2

I'm joining these linky parties:
betweennapsontheporch
thededicatedhouse
myuncommonsliceofsuburbia
stonegableblog
dwellings
Standard
Home & Garden, Tips & How To

Ticking and Toile and a Photo Shoot with Romantic Homes!

Hi Friends!

Sorry to be gone for SO long! There's honestly been so much going on and I just haven't taken the time to blog it. I will try to catch up!

Staci Dumoski, the editor of Romantic Homes magazine, contacted me a couple of months ago and asked if I would be interested in them sending a photographer to our house for a photo shoot. When I quit screaming, I sent back a very dignified, "Yes! Of course!" Ha!

Now I don't know about you but when you think pictures of your home might be in a magazine, you begin to look around with a very critical eye. Staci told me they planned on photographing our entry, living room, dining room, family room, guest room, master bedroom and possibly the kitchen. (I don't think I've ever had all those rooms looking perfect at the same before!)

About that same time, I spotted a fabric that I loved and that always starts the redecorating process.

So we started by finishing the beams in our living room. (See how we built them here.) We had made the one closest to the dining room and I was hoping for another one by the fireplace. My husband has been so sweet! We now have two beams!
Staci requested that the ottoman be back in the living room and the two chairs be in front of the fireplace. That left a bare wall so we moved our grandfather clock into the room and I love it there! It has been in the entry but now it's found a new home. Thanks, Staci!

I made several pillows with the new blue toile and recovered the back of the blue chair (again!) You can see how I do that here.


I love this fabric! The pattern is stitched on ~ not printed. I got both the fabric and the tassel fringe at warehousefabrics.

I also made a couple of pillows out of a blue and white ticking that I got at warehousefabrics.

This little ottoman that's been in the entry got recovered with the new toile fabric too.




For those of you who have been following along, I got all my doors and frames painted. They flow well with the beams and faux rustic wood.  I love the way our new beam looks as you enter the room.
I finally figured out what to do with my little blue and white stand. I got all three of these pieces; the stand, the bowl and the topiary frame, at HomeGoods. This is my new favorite thing! Wait. Maybe my beams are my new favorite thing...or the toile...
Our photo shoot is Tuesday. I'll take lots of pictures of the photographer taking lots of pictures and post them.  I'll also be posting them on instagram.

My son arrives from Boston the evening of the photo shoot and is staying with us for a week. During that week, we'll be celebrating two of our grandchildren's birthdays! Rhynn will be four and Lucas will be one! There's a BIG party in the works! :)

Then before our son leaves, the contractors will be arriving to start the demo on our master bathroom!

So my brain is in a bit of a whirl and I'm a little tired. I'll be cleaning madly tomorrow and running around picking up fresh flowers and a few other little things for the photo shoot.

I'll be back soon to show you the new slipcovers and seat covers I made out of the same ticking and toile in the dining room and the other changes I made for Romantic Homes.

Thanks to the thoughtful ladies that sent me emails and messages checking on me during my absence. You made me feel so loved! I am so blessed.

Love and blessings~

"Behold, I will set your stones in turquoise, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. I will make your summits of rubies and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones."


Standard
Home & Garden, Tips & How To

Ticking and Toile and a Photo Shoot with Romantic Homes!

Hi Friends!

Sorry to be gone for SO long! There's honestly been so much going on and I just haven't taken the time to blog it. I will try to catch up!

Staci Dumoski, the editor of Romantic Homes magazine, contacted me a couple of months ago and asked if I would be interested in them sending a photographer to our house for a photo shoot. When I quit screaming, I sent back a very dignified, "Yes! Of course!" Ha!

Now I don't know about you but when you think pictures of your home might be in a magazine, you begin to look around with a very critical eye. Staci told me they planned on photographing our entry, living room, dining room, family room, guest room, master bedroom and possibly the kitchen. (I don't think I've ever had all those rooms looking perfect at the same before!)

About that same time, I spotted a fabric that I loved and that always starts the redecorating process.

So we started by finishing the beams in our living room. (See how we built them here.) We had made the one closest to the dining room and I was hoping for another one by the fireplace. My husband has been so sweet! We now have two beams!
Staci requested that the ottoman be back in the living room and the two chairs be in front of the fireplace. That left a bare wall so we moved our grandfather clock into the room and I love it there! It has been in the entry but now it's found a new home. Thanks, Staci!

I made several pillows with the new blue toile and recovered the back of the blue chair (again!) You can see how I do that here.


I love this fabric! The pattern is stitched on ~ not printed. I got both the fabric and the tassel fringe at warehousefabrics.

I also made a couple of pillows out of a blue and white ticking that I got at warehousefabrics.

This little ottoman that's been in the entry got recovered with the new toile fabric too.




For those of you who have been following along, I got all my doors and frames painted. They flow well with the beams and faux rustic wood.  I love the way our new beam looks as you enter the room.
I finally figured out what to do with my little blue and white stand. I got all three of these pieces; the stand, the bowl and the topiary frame, at HomeGoods. This is my new favorite thing! Wait. Maybe my beams are my new favorite thing...or the toile...
Our photo shoot is Tuesday. I'll take lots of pictures of the photographer taking lots of pictures and post them.  I'll also be posting them on instagram.

My son arrives from Boston the evening of the photo shoot and is staying with us for a week. During that week, we'll be celebrating two of our grandchildren's birthdays! Rhynn will be four and Lucas will be one! There's a BIG party in the works! :)

Then before our son leaves, the contractors will be arriving to start the demo on our master bathroom!

So my brain is in a bit of a whirl and I'm a little tired. I'll be cleaning madly tomorrow and running around picking up fresh flowers and a few other little things for the photo shoot.

I'll be back soon to show you the new slipcovers and seat covers I made out of the same ticking and toile in the dining room and the other changes I made for Romantic Homes.

Thanks to the thoughtful ladies that sent me emails and messages checking on me during my absence. You made me feel so loved! I am so blessed.

Love and blessings~

"Behold, I will set your stones in turquoise, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. I will make your summits of rubies and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones."


Standard
Home & Garden, Tips & How To

How To Make Faux Beams

I love rustic beams. I have been bugging suggesting to my husband that we put beams in our living room and family room for years. When I finally painted the existing beam in our living room, that was covered in drywall, to look like wood, he agreed that we could add some more details.

I wanted our beams to do this...

I didn't know what to call it so I showed a picture to my husband.

He never said a word. He just disappeared into the garage and I thought he was cleaning up from what we had just finished. When I went out to check on him, I found him making these!


He mitered the sides so that they fit together perfectly and so that they looked like solid beams.
He reinforced them.
And put the lid on them!
He then delivered them to me to be painted. I wanted to paint them so that they would match the faux wood treatment I'd already done in here.


We had already gotten boards that matched the width of the beam on the ceiling. He attached them to the wall...
using big bolts that we pre-painted black.
We did the same thing on the opposite wall - added a board down the wall and attached our faux beam. The black bolts tie in with the black gate hinges on the shutters.
Now I'm bugging  suggesting to him that we need another one on the other side of the room!
We've also recently added some wood trim to hallways and I hope to add some to the wall with the mirror. And I've almost gotten all of our doors painted and will show them to you soon!

You can see more pictures of this room on yesterday's post.

love and blessings~
"Behold, I will set your stones in turquoise, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. I will make your summits of rubies and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones."
Isaiah 54:11,12


I''m joining these linky parties:
Standard
Home & Garden, Tips & How To

How To Make Faux Beams

I love rustic beams. I have been bugging suggesting to my husband that we put beams in our living room and family room for years. When I finally painted the existing beam in our living room, that was covered in drywall, to look like wood, he agreed that we could add some more details.

I wanted our beams to do this...

I didn't know what to call it so I showed a picture to my husband.

He never said a word. He just disappeared into the garage and I thought he was cleaning up from what we had just finished. When I went out to check on him, I found him making these!


He mitered the sides so that they fit together perfectly and so that they looked like solid beams.
He reinforced them.
And put the lid on them!
He then delivered them to me to be painted. I wanted to paint them so that they would match the faux wood treatment I'd already done in here.


We had already gotten boards that matched the width of the beam on the ceiling. He attached them to the wall...
using big bolts that we pre-painted black.
We did the same thing on the opposite wall - added a board down the wall and attached our faux beam. The black bolts tie in with the black gate hinges on the shutters.
Now I'm bugging  suggesting to him that we need another one on the other side of the room!
We've also recently added some wood trim to hallways and I hope to add some to the wall with the mirror. And I've almost gotten all of our doors painted and will show them to you soon!

You can see more pictures of this room on yesterday's post.

love and blessings~
"Behold, I will set your stones in turquoise, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. I will make your summits of rubies and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones."
Isaiah 54:11,12


I''m joining these linky parties:
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Home & Garden, Tips & How To

Florals, Beams and a New Coffee Table in the Living Room

Happy Monday!

I like Mondays! Everyone else in my family leaves for school and work and I like to help our house recover from the weekend. It always feels good to me to get things back in order.

We had a nice weekend and got to get out in our yard and get some projects started, even though we had some rain.

And there's nothing like warm weather to make you want to lighten things up inside! Our living room has gone through several changes over the last couple of years and with Spring making a slow arrival here in Michigan, I thought it was the perfect time to add some florals and color to this room.

Some other things have changed in this room, as well. I found this coffee table on Craig's List. I haven't painted it yet, and probably will soon, but I love that it has the cane lower shelf which matches our new dining room chairs.

We finally moved our piano out of this room enabling me to put our Bergere chairs up against the wall, which really opened up this space.
I took the toile off the back of this chair (see how I did it here) and replaced it with some embroidered lattice fabric that I bought last year. I made a matching pillow for the love seat and added a small floral pillow.

But my favorite change is our new beams! I will show you how my husband made these in a later post.
They add the rustic feel that I love and balance out all the feminine florals I've put in here.
This is the view as you walk in from our entry way.
The wall you see to your left is our stairway to the upstairs.

My little azalea topiary needs a good shaping but everywhere I started to trim had a new bud ready to bloom, so I'll wait until it's done.
I put two of my favorite framed canvases over the fireplace. You may remember I had the smaller one over the stove and someone kindly warned me that cooking would damage it. I've replaced it with a large floral plate.

Some beautiful pink roses I picked up at the grocery story echo the paintings. I found the antique wooden 'shovel' at a nearby antique shop. It used to hang on the family room wall but I've replaced it for Spring. I found the French candle stick at Tuesday Morning in Grand Rapids. The mirror to the right used to hang in our entry.
I love the new beams and I'm already suggesting to my husband that we need one on the other side of the room. (He doesn't think so.) :)


I'll be back soon to show you how my amazing husband created these beams and to show you some Spring changes in the family room.

Have a wonderful day!

love and blessings~
"Behold, I will set your stones in turquoise, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. I will make your summits of rubies and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones."
Standard
Home & Garden, Tips & How To

Florals, Beams and a New Coffee Table in the Living Room

Happy Monday!

I like Mondays! Everyone else in my family leaves for school and work and I like to help our house recover from the weekend. It always feels good to me to get things back in order.

We had a nice weekend and got to get out in our yard and get some projects started, even though we had some rain.

And there's nothing like warm weather to make you want to lighten things up inside! Our living room has gone through several changes over the last couple of years and with Spring making a slow arrival here in Michigan, I thought it was the perfect time to add some florals and color to this room.

Some other things have changed in this room, as well. I found this coffee table on Craig's List. I haven't painted it yet, and probably will soon, but I love that it has the cane lower shelf which matches our new dining room chairs.

We finally moved our piano out of this room enabling me to put our Bergere chairs up against the wall, which really opened up this space.
I took the toile off the back of this chair (see how I did it here) and replaced it with some embroidered lattice fabric that I bought last year. I made a matching pillow for the love seat and added a small floral pillow.

But my favorite change is our new beams! I will show you how my husband made these in a later post.
They add the rustic feel that I love and balance out all the feminine florals I've put in here.
This is the view as you walk in from our entry way.
The wall you see to your left is our stairway to the upstairs.

My little azalea topiary needs a good shaping but everywhere I started to trim had a new bud ready to bloom, so I'll wait until it's done.
I put two of my favorite framed canvases over the fireplace. You may remember I had the smaller one over the stove and someone kindly warned me that cooking would damage it. I've replaced it with a large floral plate.

Some beautiful pink roses I picked up at the grocery story echo the paintings. I found the antique wooden 'shovel' at a nearby antique shop. It used to hang on the family room wall but I've replaced it for Spring. I found the French candle stick at Tuesday Morning in Grand Rapids. The mirror to the right used to hang in our entry.
I love the new beams and I'm already suggesting to my husband that we need one on the other side of the room. (He doesn't think so.) :)


I'll be back soon to show you how my amazing husband created these beams and to show you some Spring changes in the family room.

Have a wonderful day!

love and blessings~
"Behold, I will set your stones in turquoise, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. I will make your summits of rubies and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones."
Standard
Home & Garden, Tips & How To

A Garden Gate

Happy Good Friday!

It's not looking much like Spring here today. We got several inches of snow the last two days and then it added a layer of freezing rain. I kept looking out the window yesterday because you could hear a constant cracking and breaking as small branches fell from the trees and every once in a while there was a 'whamp' and a 'thump' as a big branch hit the ground.

This morning it looks more like Christmas than Easter!

This wall 'gate' used to sit on our plant shelf in the family room.  I bought it on clearance at HobbyLobby a couple of years ago and it's been several place in our house over the years.
It used to be black but recently I painted it with chalk paint to match this little chest and put it above it to balance the desk at the other end of the room.  You can see how I painted this chest here.

This has always been kind of an odd little spot in our house.  It's a hallway that leads from the entry to the living room. It's also right at the bottom of the stairs. It's too small a spot for a very big piece of furniture and so once I put this little chest here, I've never changed it.
But every once in a while, I change what's above it.
I love this French sign. I got it at HomeGoods a couple of years ago and it's been hanging in the hallway to the kitchen. We've recently made some changes in that hallway and I thought it would be fun to move this sign to a more obvious spot. It had a kind of apple green color on the wood trim around the sign and I painted it a dull tan/brown before I moved it.

Some silk delphinium give another pop of color.
I've had this lattice fabric for a couple of years now. I bought it originally to make slipcovers for our dining room chairs. I got it out this week and I'm thinking I'll either go ahead and make the chair slips or use it in the living room. I love anything 'lattice' and this fabric is so fresh and pretty!

And lattice and summer flowers go perfectly together!

Have a wonderful Easter as we celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus! May we celebrate His life every single day of the year! Jesus is the Lord of lord and the King of kings and I am forever grateful for His sacrifice of love!

love and blessings~


"Behold, I will set your stones in turquoise, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. I will make your summits of rubies and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones."
Isaiah 54:11,12
Standard
Home & Garden, Tips & How To

A Garden Gate

Happy Good Friday!

It's not looking much like Spring here today. We got several inches of snow the last two days and then it added a layer of freezing rain. I kept looking out the window yesterday because you could hear a constant cracking and breaking as small branches fell from the trees and every once in a while there was a 'whamp' and a 'thump' as a big branch hit the ground.

This morning it looks more like Christmas than Easter!

This wall 'gate' used to sit on our plant shelf in the family room.  I bought it on clearance at HobbyLobby a couple of years ago and it's been several place in our house over the years.
It used to be black but recently I painted it with chalk paint to match this little chest and put it above it to balance the desk at the other end of the room.  You can see how I painted this chest here.

This has always been kind of an odd little spot in our house.  It's a hallway that leads from the entry to the living room. It's also right at the bottom of the stairs. It's too small a spot for a very big piece of furniture and so once I put this little chest here, I've never changed it.
But every once in a while, I change what's above it.
I love this French sign. I got it at HomeGoods a couple of years ago and it's been hanging in the hallway to the kitchen. We've recently made some changes in that hallway and I thought it would be fun to move this sign to a more obvious spot. It had a kind of apple green color on the wood trim around the sign and I painted it a dull tan/brown before I moved it.

Some silk delphinium give another pop of color.
I've had this lattice fabric for a couple of years now. I bought it originally to make slipcovers for our dining room chairs. I got it out this week and I'm thinking I'll either go ahead and make the chair slips or use it in the living room. I love anything 'lattice' and this fabric is so fresh and pretty!

And lattice and summer flowers go perfectly together!

Have a wonderful Easter as we celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus! May we celebrate His life every single day of the year! Jesus is the Lord of lord and the King of kings and I am forever grateful for His sacrifice of love!

love and blessings~


"Behold, I will set your stones in turquoise, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. I will make your summits of rubies and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones."
Isaiah 54:11,12
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Home & Garden, Tips & How To

Fireplace Screen for the Livingroom

I've been looking for a fireplace screen for our living room for a long, long time.  I got one several years ago.  I ordered it online and when it arrived, I hated it immediately! ha! But it was too heavy to pay shipping and send it back.  

I spotted this one at HomeGoods in Grand Rapids around Christmas. It cost more than I wanted to spend - especially because of my previous fail.
When I went back a month later it was cheaper and when I went back last week, it was a bargain!
It's just what I wanted to soften this fireplace a little.  I like that it's a single panel.  We don't use this fireplace much. It's a gas log and really puts out the heat but we tend to sit in the family room more than in here. I turn it on when we have guests over for dinner- just for the ambiance.

HomeGoods had two of these screens and after I got home, I wondered if I should have gotten the second one for the family room.  I think I'll look for it the next trip to Grand Rapids. Maybe it'll be even cheaper!

love and blessings~
"Behold, I will set your stones in turquoise, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires. I will make your summits of rubies and your gates of crystal, and your entire wall of precious stones."
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