Houston, We've Got Paint On The Walls!

 

Tim started the huge task of cutting in on Saturday morning. The hallway alone has four doors! Thankful for his willing spirit and drive to do things to the best of his ability. 

In the above photo you can see the yellow paint we already had on the walls and the color of the primer from after drywall work. You can also see that color we chose is still in the yellow family (we love the warmth of yellows), and yet it is a deeper tone.

Picking paint is hard, but I did go with Charismatic by Behr. Tim and I love it. Rachel says she can't tell the difference, which is what I knew people would say because it is still a yellow!

These are two photos from Saturday evening after the first coat of paint was on. 

As usual it looks different depending on the light and the light source.

These photos are from this morning.

This photo shows how the light source and directness of the light can affect the color.

The above photo has direct sunlight from a window, an added reflection of light bouncing off the wood floor, and then the color in shadow. The paint is in a satin finish.

We are loving it. We'll let it cure a few more hours, then we'll get the light switch covers and such back on the walls. Then to think through layout of furniture and placement of artwork. The fun stuff!

I am so thankful for a skilled husband, and that we finally had a weekend this could get done!

Next project - paint the garage!

Home Keeping: A Small Change Can Make A Big Difference

 

For three or four years I have had these gold velvet curtains in my living room. I love them, but I've been wanting to bring more red into my living room as I felt every thing had gotten pretty neutral. 

I've been looking off and on for red velvet curtains that wouldn't break the bank, and last week someone linked their curtains and I followed the link to Amazon and velvet curtains. Amazon has been having sales, early Prime day prices and the curtains were an excellent price for two panels! I needed four panels, so I hesitated but then hit the purchase button. They came a few days later.

They look beautiful with my lamps and bring a gorgeous red into the room! 

One reason I was able to buy them is that I have money from the weddings that I have done. It's not part of our budgeted funds. I paid $71.14 for two packages. Each package has two panels. I will link them {here}, but the price has gone up a bit, though there is a coupon you can use.

Now you may be wondering what I did with my beloved gold velvet curtains. I've had dark burgundy curtains in my room for many years and used them in my smaller bedroom that Tim and I live in right now.

I switched them out for the gold velvet!

This window only needs two panels so the other two are going to go across the closet opening. I'll keep the burgundy curtains because you never know where an opportunity to use them will pop up!

So what do you think of my small change? It has made a big impact and the living room feels warm and cozy, ready for the cold weather that is coming. As for me, I'm loving it.

In Praise Of Small Houses - The Living Room

 

My cottage is humble, but I love it dearly. It has sheltered our family, and many guests over the years. Probably my favorite room is the living room. 

It is warm and welcoming. It's cozy. It is the hub of family life.

We do school in this room, and at the kitchen table. I keep a basket of small toys behind the wingback chair for the grandgirlies and the little ones head straight for it when they come!

I've always said that our cottage shines in the autumn, and I still believe that is true. It's made for cozy. Beautiful lamps for ambient lighting, soft pillows and throw blankets. I'm in the middle of bring out the autumn decor and that will include the plaid wool blankets.

Our friends who were just with us, said "Your home is a place of peace to us. It feels like home." You could not give me a higher compliment.

It is a joy to me to provide a respite, a haven for all who enter.

This space is not large, it's open to the kitchen, and there is no entry. You literally come right into the room. But I wouldn't trade this home for a palace. The only home I'd trade it for is the heavenly home that Jesus is preparing for me!

Does that mean I will never move? No. I've learned that life changes, and sometimes we must go with those changes. However, this living room space has facilitated so much joy over the years, that if I ever do have to leave it tears will be shed!

If you want to go down a rabbit hole use the search on the blog (top right hand corner) and put in living room. Remember that I love to rearrange furniture, and to use a space for the current need of our family. Enjoy!

I'm glad I have this blog to remember all the years of fun, sadness, joy and hope that have happened in this space. 

Living Room Bookcase

 

I decided to bring the bookcase back out into the living room. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do here. The mirror is too low for how tall the bookcase is, so Tim will be raising that for me.  It's heavy and has to be hung with a special anchor.

I'll be sorting through all my books this year. (this is not our only bookcase!) Some books we've had since Bible School days, some are classics, some are favorites.  I have books on herbs, on natural remedies, biographies, home education, devotionals, Bibles.  I also have magazines, mostly Victoria, and a few other British Homes, or cottage type houses.  I love good historical fiction, too.  I recently bought a Grace Livingston Hill book, The Christmas Bride, at an antique store for $3.00.  I enjoyed reading that last week.  I have a few books I've never read, and some favorites that I've read more than once.

I use books in all of my decorating.  I have them in every room, except the bathrooms.  Kyle has his own collection of books in his room, as does Sarah.

This year, I am reading through a chronological Bible, which I've never done before. I'll be reading through OT books, like Numbers, which I haven't read since Bible School! {grin}

Do you own a lot of books?  Are there books that you can't depart with?  Favorite book of all time or favorite author of all time? Let me know in the comments!

Tiffany Style Lamps

Tim has always loved the look of Tiffany style lamps, and has wanted to find some with a lot of red in them. Oh, and he didn't want to have the dragon fly motif that is so very popular on many of these style lamps.

Several weeks ago, a friend was over and we were discussing decor and style because we had just purchased our new chairs, and our friend really liked them.

 He said that he really liked the Arts and Crafts movement, and Frank Lloyd Wright's style.  I mentioned that Tim loved Tiffany style lamps, etc, and our friend started looking online.  I looked too, and found this lamp.

 Our friend decided to gift us two of these lamps.  We tried to refuse, but he refused our refusal!

We've all been enjoying their beauty.

I had to keep the curtains closed to try to get some decent photos of the lamps.

Here's a photo with the living room curtains open (faces northwest), but the deck door curtains still closed.

They look wonderful in our living room and it was a very generous gift.


The lamps can be found on Amazon if you search for -

Bieye L10024 Baroque Tiffany Style Stained Glass Table Lamp with 17 inches Wide Handmade Lampshade for Bedside Bedroom Living Room, 26-inch Tall (Red)

Home Keeping: New Living Room Furniture

Tim and I were away for several days last week, and on the day we returned home we went to IKEA.  I'd had my eye on a couch that was on sale, and that matched the color of our current couch.  

We had several pieces of furniture that had seen better days, and were falling apart or not working properly.  You can see the before of the living room {here.}


Once we got to IKEA we saw that the couch I'd been thinking of was pretty large, and it would have to be ordered and shipped if we did want it.  I needed to think about this so we looked at the chairs.  I'd been planning on getting an Ektorp chair, also.

I've seen these all over the internet, they are cottagey and have traditional style, too.  So we sat in them, sat in several others and came home with one Ektorp and a plan.

The IKEA we went to was out of stock on the Strandmon, but the other IKEA had it in stock.  Also, the vehicle we were driving didn't have room for two Ektorp chairs.  So, the next day we headed to the other store, and got our other Ektorp chair and one Strandmon.

First we removed the love seat and put the two Ektorp chairs in from of the window.

But it made it crowded by the hutch, so this morning I swapped the Ektorp chairs with the black small recliner and the Strandmon.

We will replace the black recliner with something else when we decide what we want.

Oh, and we have been gifted two very beautiful Tiffany style lamps that will be here this week.  I can't wait to show you when they get here.

I am beyond happy, and everyone else really likes them as well so win-win!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Home Keeping: Preparing To Paint The Living Room, Kitchen, and Hallway

                    Lindsay gifted this pathos to me.   It's called Pearls and Jade.  Its really pretty.

This week I'm tidying and preparing to be away for Rachel's graduation this weekend, and a potential visit by our bffs Rick and Jane next week.  So I'm doing things like dusting, sweeping stairs, cleaning off counters.

Thinking through what I want to get done before Saturday has me thinking about the Autumn season, and I thought I'd write some of it down here.

One of my main projects for this autumn is to get the living room, kitchen, and hallway painted.  I am thankful that I have such a willing crew of friends to help me get this done.  I used to do all the painting in the house by myself, but its harder for me to go up and down ladders etc, with my back.

I think I'd like this to be a September project so that it's all finished before the holidays.  The first weekend in Saturday is already busy,  but I think the rest of the month is pretty open, so I need to think about everything that needs to be done before we paint. 

The biggest task is to clean the walls, trim and ceiling.  This is especially important in the kitchen.  I'll wait to take curtains down to wash, until we are ready to paint.

I need to prepare a place for the furniture to go while we're painting, though some can just move to the middle of the room.  If the weather is going to be fine, much of it can just move to the driveway.

There is a bit of drywall work to be done before we paint too, some repair work, but my son does that as part of his work skill set so he says he'll do that a week or so before we paint, so we are looking at that around the end of this month.

I need to decide on a paint color, too.  I had been thinking of white, because I'd dearly like to lighten the hallway and I want the color to all be the same in these open spaces.  But, I have white trim and white kitchen cabinets, so I think I'm going to go with an aged gold color and have it mixed at  70% pigmentation.  That way I'll still have warmth of the color, but it will be lighter, but not be lemony or baby yellow.

Any thoughts about this?

Once we are done painting, I need to decide where all the things on the walls are going to go.  Will I put them all back where they are currently?  Switch it all around?  Do something completely different? 

That remains to be seen.  I don't even know yet, but it sure is exciting, don't you think?

Living Room Rearrangement Preview

For those who may be interested in seeing what I did in the living room, here is basically how it was set up before I moved furniture around.

These photos are from winter two years ago and were basically how the room was still set up.

The big couch was floating in the room with its back to a book case.  The couch was still that way but the bookcase had been moved to my bedroom.



The chair next to the bookcase had been moved to the left on the wall and a small desk with our computer was under the hanging teacups.



My great grandmother's hutch was still angled in the corner.


And the tv hutch was still in the same place.  The little grey table has been moved since last year, and a small black bonded leather chair was in its place.



Now that you have the general idea of the layout, here is what I did.

I moved the hutch flat against the wall, and left the reclining loveseat in place.  I moved the big couch to the wall where the tv hutch had been, and slide the black leather chair over to float in the room.

I moved the chair that used to be where the computer is in this photo, to join up with the leather chair and make and nice conversation cluster in the room.  When we want to watch a movie, the two chairs are easy to turn toward the tv.  I like that the tv is no longer front and center for the furniture arrangement.

I had to take down the teacup holder, and its the first time its been off the wall since I bought it about 15 years ago.  I need to find a spot for it!  And I know I need to do something with the plate wall.  Perhaps, reign it in a bit with fewer plates.  I'm not worried about it now, as I plan to have the living room, kitchen and hallway painted in the next few months.

I also will be tidying up the many books that are floating around the room, picking up the random Nerf projectiles that are everywhere (boy messes), and hanging artwork over the couch.

I did not get the rug yesterday.  I chose to stay home and work on this and take care of my boy who was running a fever yesterday.  Seems like a virus, and it'll run its course.  He has plans to celebrate his best friends' birthday this weekend, so he is motivated to rest and get well!

I'm hoping to stop and get the rug today after I take Sarah to work, but if I don't manage to do that, I'll definitely get it tomorrow when I'm out for groceries!

Oh, one last thing.  When Tim came home yesterday, he said, "I like it.  Its a lot more open."  When Rachel's boyfriend Wes dropped by he said, "Hey, you've rearranged.  I like it.  It's a lot more open."  {grin} 

Home Keeping: Living Room Rearrangement

Okay, you know how thinking about one thing, can lead to another thing?

I've been thinking about the holidays and one of the big things every year is where to put the Christmas tree.  I always have to rearrange furniture, which is fine with me since I love to rearrange.

You can guess what's coming, right?

A total room rearrangement this afternoon.  You can see how it was arranged in this post.  

Of course, this is just a peek at the rearrangement because I have some wall decor to rearrange before I show you more.

I really like it.  I think the bookcase looks better on the shorter wall.  It looked a bit small for the long wall.  I'm happy with the changes.  Hopefully I'll get to the walls tomorrow, but we have co-op so no promises for tomorrow, but maybe Friday.

What do you think about the layout and arrangement?  Do you move furniture around like I do?  Sarah told me today that when she gets her own house she is not going to move things around very much. "Once I find a good place for everything, its going to stay there."  She takes after her Grammy in this way! (smile)

Home Keeping: Furniture Rearranging

Sometimes inspiration strikes at the most unlikely times.  Like yesterday when it was hot and we did not have the air conditioning on yet!  Once we got moving furniture, we closed up the house and turned the air on. The last two days have been 90 degrees!

These two photos are of the living room before the rearrangement.

 I'd changed things out on the walls already but the basic furniture arrangement had been the same for quite some time.

My idea began with an idea of moving a few things in my bedroom (which I'll show in a few days), and involved me moving somethings around in the living room.

One thing is that I never liked this bookcase here, as I felt like it was alone on a big wall, so to speak.  Even with art and plates on the wall above it, it seemed 'out of place.'

Now, with the red cabinet (you can read about it here) moved out from my bedroom - it used to be next to my side of the bed - and my great-grandmother's china hutch moved from beside the front door to the corner of the living room, the bookcase now feels like it belongs.  I'm very happy with the arrangement here.

But with the hutch in that corner, the chairs needed to switch spots with each other.  It looks better visually, since the tan chair is taller.

Since I moved the red cabinet to the living room, I moved my desk to the wall by my bed and it is acting as my bedside table now.  That left a wall empty, so I moved the small white bookcase from the living room - it used to be next to the love seat - to the empty wall in my bedroom.  I then moved a side table that matches the one between the chairs, to the space where the small bookcase had been.  

 This looks better visually, too, since the bookcase fit right under my teacup holder and the lamp and anything else I put on top of the bookcase hid the tea cups.

I have a great new spot to show off some peonies, too!

With the hutch gone from beside the door, this has opened up this space and makes moving around to the closet easier.  The closet is across from the front door.  This closet houses our vacuum, broom, mop, etc, as well as winter coats.  I put this ladder in that space for now.

I think my favorite thing is how great this red cabinet looks in my living room!

And the hutch in the corner.  My fern loves its place on top of the hutch.  It gets lots of light, but not direct light, and it is out of the way of little visiting hands. My poor fern got scalped one Sunday last year by a sweet little visitor.  It nearly died and is finally recovering well!

I'm pleased with how it looks.

And Watson highly approves!