Dining room Cabinet

    We picked up our new TV console at the local Rooms-to-go yesterday. This allowed us to move the cabinet we were using into the dining room like we've been planning for years. Check out my past blog post about this piece of furniture HERE.

( I love how slim this cabinet is - one of the reasons we picked it years ago. 

It fits well in our small space.)

(lots of spaces between the chairs and cabinet)

(The evenings are nice.)

Blue or white TV console?

     We have been going back and forth on which color TV console to pick from Rooms-to-go. We love the bluish green one, obviously lol. Our house is filled with this inspiring color. Surprisingly, for this reason we are leaning towards the white. We considered that adding a blue TV console would be to much of a good thing in our space. The white would also brighten things up.

( blue/green console and warm pine console) 

(white rustic console)

DIY Mantle

     My next project, only because I assume it will be easy, inexpensive and I can do it on my own, is to change the tile on our fireplace. The only thing I'm stuck on is what to replace the white tiles with. Obviously, I want something warmer but other than that I'm very indecisive.

 (2012 before we moved in)

 

As you can see the tile doesn't go well with our moody space

I think the white sticks out like sore thumb



IDEAS:

I love the idea of adding a thin decorative trim to whatever tile we choose, as seen in this picture. 

New lamps & accent pillows

See previous master bedroom blog posts CLICK HERE!

Hubby and I spotted this beautiful lamp on sale at Kirklands and it was love at first sight! If you don't know, Kirklands has a spin to win app --- >> you can play once a day! Hubby and I always spin before we check-out. You can get huge discounts, up to 50% off, I think. Anyway, it's a must download! Kirklands always has a variety of lamps in stock. These are shimmery and creamy. Love them!

 Hubby had this bedroom set before we got married. It's very big and masculine. I don't hate it, but one day I may replace the headboard, that's at the bottom of our list, no where in the near future. I purchased the "Dream" sign a few years ago at Garden Ridge (now AtHome stores). You can see the new lamp on the right side.

 I love flowers, and I love blues/greens. I found this bed spread a few years ago. It's got a corduroy type of feel, so it's durable with a house full of dogs who like to jump up and claw everything. Our accent wall is painted in Zen by Behr from Home Depot. I also purchased the sparkly "Mr. & Mrs." pillow from T.J.Max or Ross (I can't remember). The shiny cream pillow is from Target.

Here you can see the two lamps on our night stands. They are sheer when the sun shines through them. I planted 8 roses bushes behind bedroom windows a few years ago. It's so nice to see the bright red fresh blooms peeking in (unfortunately they aren't blooming right now). 

 

 Another angle . We have a third huge window to the right of this picture where you can see our fountain. 

(the fountain front and center outside our third window. I have a past blog about restoring this old fountain into what it is today)

You can see the main paint color in our bedroom here, also a peek at our vaulted ceilings. We painted the other three walls in our bed room, Avenue Tan by Behr a few months ago. Finally changed it from Burnt Almond, which was much to dark! All we need now is crown molding which we will install ourselves eventually. :-)

 Making memories with each project.

Dining Room Chairs

Check out our dining room BEFORE pictures <<<---- Click there!

      The day has finally come, we have chairs in our dining room! It's been two years! We found our table on sale about a year ago and couldn't find any chairs we liked. Finally, we found something slim for our small dining room. The colors look great in our space!

 

 (Here you can see the fabric details. I love the variety of blues, golds and creams.)

  

As we were shopping for chairs, we knew we weren't looking for something overly matchy-matchy. The woods didn't have to be identical, they simply had to go well together. I like how the spindle legs mimic the table legs.

( the height work well also)

    

      We have three more things on our to-do list. 1.) Buy a rug.  2.) Buy a new light fixture. 3.) Install white arch molding (see the tan/yellow paint along the room transition/arch?) 4.) Move our current TV stand to under the map and use as a buffet table (we are waiting until we get a new TV stand.) So, that's it for the dining room for now.

Dining room paint color: Hazel by Sherwin-Williams

Master Bathroom Cabinets

       We finished up a bathroom projects a few weeks ago. Valentine's weekend I painted the Master bathroom cabinets white and we added new knobs. The previous owner had painted the cabinets and hinges quickly with primer. Seeing the wood peek through here and there has always bothered us, but we never got around to painting them.
       I'm so thankful we had the burst of motivation to do it, even if it was Valentine's days. I must say, a good coat of paint does wonders! And who knew hinges could be such a hassle! We made at least 3 trips to Home Depot buying and returning hinges. :-)

 

       Eventually we will replace the original counters and put in a nice white quartz counter. One thing I've learned about real-estate is you have to put a little money into your house every year if you want to sell it for top price. We were able to get a great deal on our house because it didn't have any upgrades, but now we have to invest and do those DIY projects. It makes for great memories, though. 

Future cabinet projects include painting guest bathroom cabinets and kitchen cabinets. 

Previous cabinet projects - Laundry room cabinets 

Goebel Weihnacht Engel

       This beautiful Christmas candle holder was a gift from my grandmother a few years ago. She's German - with a marvelous accent I might add :-). I love the German history behind the candle holder and the uniqueness of it.

 

Goebel Weihnacht Engel

Winston Christmas 2014

My handsome boy, Winston.  Another, pic of our tree skirt this year, sparkly presents and tree decorations.

Wreaths

What  do you think about indoor wreaths? I love them! I recently added two to my home decor.

 I found this wreath on etsy. I tied a bow and hung it in my breakfast room :-)

 Again, etsy! I'm addicted to etsy! I always look there first before shopping at larger stores. I love supporting small businesses and artisans. I asked the artist to add a burlap flower to the monogram for me :-) I hung this wreath inside my front door so I could enjoy it! :-)

Christmas 2014

 

This year we were blessed with my mother-in-laws old tree. Our tiny tree was moved into the dinning room. I love how the lights sparkle off the wood floors. Hubby made sure to shine all the wood before we decorated.  :-) 

 

After we fluffed the massive tree, I wrapped burlap ribbon/garland around it. You can purchase burlap garland at almost any craft store. I purchased mine at Walmart

 (two huge rolls were less than $4). 

 Every year we edit and update our Christmas decor. This year one of our updates was this beautiful 54" burlap and lace tree skirt from Etsy.

 

 

 Our sparkly presents from Kirklands. We've had these for 3 yrs now.

  

 We love blue, creams and browns

 Another update this year is our burlap flower picks for the tree. I found them at Garden Ridge (now At HOME stores).

 You can see our flowers in the tree. 

 

 Another update this year is our burlap stockings from Etsy as well. I actually found them last year but waited to purchase them this year. It was so hard waiting!! 

Our original tree from when we first got married. It's now beautifully placed in the dinning room. We wrapped this tree in burlap garland as well and a burlap lace skirt from Etsy. As for the ornaments we used all our "memory" ornaments and special pieces we've collected over the years. 

 I hung a burlap "let it snow" banner over our dinning room map.

 Here's a closer look at our tiny tree skirt.

 

 Our mantle

 

I purchased these tiny trees several years ago when they were on sale (less than $20 for the pair) during an off season at Garden Ridge. I love them! This year we didn't decorate them, we simply add a burlap flower pick.

I finally got my nutcracker this year :-). Less than $20 at Walmart. Kirklands had some nice ones but they were over $50 which seemed over priced since it's not an authentic German nutcracker.

 A two piece nativity scene that sits front and center on our mantle. We got from Kirklands three years ago.

 We tried to get our Basset Hound to pose for a picture but instead he starts singing. Such a show off! :-)

         Every year I'm reminded how blessed I am to be married to a man that loves the Holidays. I grew up with my mom and dad decorating and being very festive. So it's important for me to carry on those fun and happy traditions. My hubby feels the same way. What I'd love for more people to know is that decorating doesn't have to be expensive. Hubby and I decorated our tree with Walmart ornaments. We tried glass ornaments earlier in our marriage and it was a bust with the dogs. Literally their tails would bust the ornaments. Since then we've used more durable ornaments. Also, each year we collect more and more decorations. I remember using dollar store things our first year, but if you add one or two nicer items each year they begin to carry memories. :-)

         I've been trying to get our living room tree to look more and more professional, so each year I edit it and read articles from other decor sites. I think our tree has come a LONG way from it's beginnings. I already have ideas to improve it for next year. :-)

Fall decor has come to an end

         I'm very thankful hubby and I didn't splurge on Thanksgiving dinnerware; we couldn't resist decorating for Christmas this week. We thought we'd be able to wait, but after hearing the disappointment in some of my family member's voices when they heard the Christmas tree wouldn't be up for Thanksgiving we had a change of heart. We were already wrestling with the idea. I guess when we eventually splurge on nice Thanksgiving dinnerware it will be Holiday neutral. As for this year we will be using some of my mom's plates. When it comes to my vision for a dramatic Thanksgiving tablescape, well,  it's transformed into a simple Christmas scape. :-)

2014 Thanksgiving Tablescape

    My 2014 thanksgiving tablescape inspiration:

This is what I've purchased so far:

The wine glasses, table runner and flatware holder are from Macy's. They had an amazing Columbus day sale. After that, I found some sparkly pumpkins at Kirklands and a silver fall leaf dishes at Garden Ridge (now called, At Home).

I'm shopping around for a couple short candle pedestal holders and other odds and ends. This is my first attempt at creating a tablescape for an event. It's harder than it seems and is an art of  it's own. I look forward to sharing as the pieces come together.