Going Through The House: The Formal Dining Room.

The formal dining room.

I have to say, when I was a newlywed, I truly questioned the necessity of a formal dining room. A breakfast nook table is sufficient for meals, right? What's the point of a formal dining room? Especially if you rarely eat in there?

Well, Newlywed Katie, the point of your formal dining room is to have something pretty to look at, if nothing else. YES. Amidst rooms full of toys and hallways lined with shoes, there stands your formal dining room. Pretty. Cozy. Your daily eye candy as you pass by with an armful of clean socks and underwear. And, every once in a while, when you steal one moment to yourself in the morning, you settle at the table with your cup of coffee and enjoy the quiet view. Yes, Newlywed Katie, even a rarely-used formal dining room can provide overwhelming satisfaction. And, when you host your yearly holiday (Easter!) and the family gathers at the table, the room comes alive. And you love it. 

There. I've now sufficiently lectured myself. Onto the room.

Note: When I uploaded these pictures to the blog, they looked dark and fuzzy. I'm not sure if it's the blog's compression or what, but, I'm sorry! Just squint if you have to.

Nothing screams "formal" like "columns", ha! I've never been a big "column" fan, but I actually like these. They act as a non-intrusive barrier between this room and the hallway and front room, keeping this part of our house open and bright.

The table was a gift to me from my mother-in-law. It's the same table they had when my husband was a baby.  It's traveled with them through his life and was in the breakfast nook of the house where they currently live. When she remodeled her kitchen recently, the table came to me, complete with a fresh coat of walnut stain (it was natural before). I love it. This table will probably end up in our breakfast nook in a few years so we can put a larger table in here, but I love it in here for now! The chairs are from a local home decor store and were cheap. Yes, we have small children. Three cheers for pleather!

The hutch. The precious hutch. This once belonged to my best friend and through some creative negotiating, it ended up here. :) I love the pale yellow! It holds family treasures and has a character all its own, without being a typical stuffy and fussy hutch. Love.

Behold: The curtains. I had white curtains in here forever and finally decided to jazz things up. I'm a big fan of Celerie Kemble's interior design (will she please come and do my house?) and her Hot House Flowers pattern. Not wanting to spend an arm and a leg on curtains, I found these fabric shower curtains at Target for $15 each. Yes, fabric shower curtains. On my windows. Each "panel" is a shower curtain folded in half and they work wonderfully! Plus, you can see the pattern outside the window, too, which is fun because the window faces our front walkway. The only drawback is the length--I break every design rule and have curtains that only touch to the bottom of the window, rather than to the floor. But, I'm used to them now and with a crawling baby who loves to grab and pull things, I'm now glad these are shorter! Maybe someday I'll splurge ... but today is not that day. :)

The mirror was a quick find at Wal-Mart seven years ago when my husband and I got married. The blessed mirror has been with us since the very beginning. Our precious Wal-Mart special, ha.

Chandeliers are tricky for me because I try to avoid anything gaudy. It can be challenging to find something delicate and sparkly without it being obnoxious or excessive. I found this beauty at Lowe's last summer and it fit the bill for what I wanted with this room. It adds just enough elegance without consuming the entire room. Plus, I love how its femininity contrasts with the masculine chairs.

There you have it! The formal dining room. Oh, my husband's fish tank is also in this room, against the wall. Yes, you can't win them all. I'm trying to convince him how nice it would look at his office ... :)

Have a lovely day!

Day Twenty-what? And then wait what?

Yes, so, the photo challenge was almost completed. I mean, I'm just a few days short, right? Believe it or not, life is, you know, kind of busy and henceforth some things do not finish at their allotted time, but instead finish a little early ... making excuses making excuses ... hey speaking of things that get finished, check out the latest DIY project in our humble abode!

I saw something similar to this on Pinterest (go figure, shocking, right, I know) and thought, "Hmm, that looks doable", and that thought was preceded with this thought that "Hey my parents are coming to visit and I just know my Dad would love another project to work on since I have no idea what I'm doing but he seems to know his way around a hardware store SCORE!"

It worked out quite well.

I decided that the kids' hallway would be the perfect spot for a chalkboard wall. Even after they outgrow the desire to color all over it, I can still use it for birthdays and holidays and as a place to put reminders, like, Remember To Brush Your Teeth. And Be Home By Midnight. YIKES. Anyway.

Because the wall is textured, my Dad spackled the wall with a wallboard joint compound. Just like it says in that picture right there: Wallboard Joint Compound. This smoothed out the wall to prevent bumpy writing.

There is a closet door next to the section of wall we were using, so we made a line with tape that was even with the height of the doorknob. That way the chalkboard wall would only be on the bottom part of the wall and would look proportionate in the hallway. After the compound dried, I applied two coats of the chalkboard paint.

When the paint dried, my hubby and I adhered a pre-meausured piece of trim to complete it and voila! Our chalkboard wall!

The kids love it. And, sometimes I draw pictures after they've gone to bed and they love waking up to see my (attempt at) handiwork! Plus, it was and will be super handy on special days ... :)

There you have it! The chalkboard wall!

Have a lovely day!

Going Through The House: The Laundry Room.

I know. I KNOW. The whole point of beginning the "Going Through The House" series spurred from my intentions to decorate the formal dining room. Which is pretty much becoming the one room that I HAVEN'T DONE YET. I just keep getting ... detoured.

When major life changes happen (like, say, childbirth and adding a third baby to the family circus under your roof), we all react/respond differently. Some eat chocolate. Some watch sappy movies. I tend to dye my hair with a cheap box of color and then randomly and sporadically redecorate portions of my house.

To each his own.

Anyway.

One day last week, I walked into the laundry room, flipped on the light, and almost went cross-eyed from the fluorescent-ness of the fluorescent light that spanned the ceiling. Since we moved in, I've hated that light. In fact, I have a hatred for fluorescent lights in general. When I worked before having babies, I used to wait as long as possible to turn on the fluorescent lights in the office. My boss usually walked in and flipped them on for me when he had had enough of the darkness. I HATE THEM.

So, the light in the laundry room? I decided it was just time to replace it.

And, while I was at it, why not ask for some help and just repaint the room, too.

Firstly, check out the old light:

So ... fluorescent. Blindingly auto-shop-ish. And if you peer closely enough ...

Yes. Those black dots are DEAD BUGS. IN MY LIGHT.

GROSS.

The light needed to go and I wanted to replace it with something a bit more ... elegant. Because, let's face it: I stay at home full-time and most of my work is done in the kitchen and the laundry room.

I liken this to gussying up my cubicle.

Here is a picture of the laundry room "before".

The wall color wasn't bad. Neutral, nothing special.

And here is the laundry room "after":

Fresh! Clean! Blue-ish grey-ish!

And check out that fun light.

This is actually the light that used to hang in our dining room. I liked it just fine, but the shades that came with it were frosted and bell-shaped, which is okay, but it didn't have the personality I was going for in this room. I wanted something a little ... cleaner. So, rather than buy a new light altogether, I just repurposed this old light by replacing the shades. These are clear bubble glass and reflect the light beautifully. The whole room is brighter!

I haven't added many accessories, because, let's face it: It won't take long for this room to get cluttered on its own. For now ... I'm enjoying my new workspace. :)

Ahhh.

Have a lovely day.

Going Through The House: Kiddo Bathroom.

I detoured from decorating the formal dining room yet again to make a quick stop in the kids' bathroom. I promise, someday I will decorate the formal dining room. Someday. Someday when my brain is able to focus on a singular goal and take the appropriate means to achieve it.

Possibly when Lydia is eighteen.

Where was I? Oh yes, the kids' bathroom. It's a simple bathroom, with tan walls, white cabinets, and a seafoam shabby sheek-ish shower curtain. Do you like that gross misspelling? That gross misspelling of "chic"? For some reason, "chic-ish" looks like it should be pronounced as "chick-ish", whereas the pronunciation of the phonetical spelling of "chic" is mostly undeniable. Sheek.

See? NO FOCUS.

SHABBY SHEEK-ISH SHOWER CURTAIN.

(My apologies for sub-par picture taking. I had a camera in one hand, a baby in the other, and two toddlers attached to each leg. Awesome workout. And, it's not even a "before" picture. It exists only to show you the only color in the bathroom. The only shabby sheek-ish color.)

Anyway. It's safe to say the bathroom was lacking in personality. Since this bathroom does belong to the kids, I wanted them to contribute in personalizing it a bit. With Pinterest inspiration, I used masking tape to create a sun on a blank canvas. I then put paintbrushes in little hands and my cuties went to work, covering the entire canvas with happy yellow paint.

When the paint was dry, I removed the masking tape, and Voila!

Seriously. How fun and easy is that? The kids are so proud, so proud, of their sun. I am, too. I then coated some letters in white spray paint and stapled some teal and brown patterned fabric (to coordinate with the shabby-sheekish shower curtain) inside empty frames.

*I used fabric instead of scrapbook paper for durability, given this bathroom's frequent occurrence of steam treatments during croup season. Boo, croup.

I chose to create our little collage above the bathroom mirror, since there is some extra space up there and I thought it might help to heighten the room. Plus, its message is the first thing the kids see in the morning.

Ta-da!

I had been racking my brain for a while, trying to think of what words and decor to use before I started this project, and the inspiration struck during a midnight feeding with Lydia (the time when most inspiration strikes). What a happy way to start the day, referencing Isaiah 60:1--"Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!"

The kids love to see the sun they painted, greeting them every morning. And the encouraging words are pertinent to all of us when we start the day. Mornings can be cranky and let's face it, Mama isn't always shining, either! I'm totally happy with how it turned out. Love.

Have a lovely day.

Going Through The House: The Kids' Wing.

On my way to decorating the formal dining room, I got a little sidetracked and took a detour through the kids' hallway. Because, what can I say. I just love these guys.

We lovingly (and jokingly) refer to this hallway as the "kids' wing", even though it is, obviously, just a hallway. But, aside from the laundry room and a closet, this corridor is the kids' domain, housing their bedrooms and bathroom, and I wanted to add a few personal touches to emphasize that.

The first project was an idea I saw while I was Pinterest-ing during a middle-of-the-night feeding with le bebe. I came across a contributor who put the outfit her baby wore home from the hospital in a shadow box. Love it! Instead of using the kids' take-home outfits, I used the outfits they wore when they were dedicated. I dug into their hope chest and went to work!

This is the bonnet and shawl that my Memere made for my Mom when she was dedicated as an infant, so it's extra-special that Naomi got to wear it, too.

Loved his little vest!

If you come into our house through the laundry room, these are the first things you see, and I love that we get to look at them every day. And yes, there is a space on the wall for Lydia's, too!

Further down the hall, I took a cue from my genius friend to display the kids' masterpieces. I found a celadon green curtain we were no longer using, and, after stripping its backing, I cut it to size and stapled it to a bulletin board and then pinned some of the kiddos' works of art to it. The kids love it! Their artwork is out there for all to see. Totally fun. And, my refrigerator isn't quite as cluttered ... :)

And, lastly, a photo collage of the inhabitants of this hallway. They grow so quickly. Love them.

There you have it--a peek into the much-adored "kids' wing", ha ha! And now, onto the formal dining room.

Um, after I finish the kids' bathroom first ... :)

Have a lovely day!

Going Through The House: The Breakfast Nook.

Last week I started to feel a little nutty, with being cooped up thanks to cold weather, colds, and a newborn. As I glanced around my house one day, I decided it was time to give our breakfast nook some attention. I really like our breakfast nook. Its two walls encompass two large windows, which keep the room sunny and cheery. However. It is also completely void of any decor or personality, so I took it upon myself to remedy that. Of course, this meant a necessary trip to Hobby Lobby, which also meant I would need to take all three kids with me. I had yet to frequent a public place with all three ducklings in tow, and it was time.

(Three little blonde heads. Love.)

The trip was a quick one and once we were home and the kids were fed and entertained, I went to work. It was a little tricky, since my husband wasn't home and I'm not awesome with power tools (or ladders, eek), but, one thing to know about me is that I am not a patient person, and when I have a project on my mind, it has to be completed immediately. The nuttiness required a solution.

So.

This is a picture of the breakfast nook the day we moved in last April (yeah, yeah, it takes me a long time to decorate my house, I know):

(After we moved our table in, I removed the grape-patterned scalloped valances, which came with the house.)

And, this is the breakfast nook "after":

Ta-da!

The curtains are a brown and blue paisley on burlap--a very busy print to hide kid stains and a very durable fabric to survive sticky fingers. But, they're sheer enough to keep the room sunny. I heart them.

I thought about raising the curtain rods, but decided instead to do a collage above the window to accentuate the high ceiling, using a compilation of letters, wall decals, and framed scrapbook paper. And, of course, a sign explaining my approach to coffee: "I like my cream and sugar with a touch of coffee". Sad, but true. ;) I want this room to be casual and comfortable and so far, it fits the bill.

Every time I walk in the kitchen, I get giddy. The room we love now has some love.

Next project: The formal dining room. Stay tuned.

Have a lovely day!

Master.

This weekend I used my Saturday to finish two Pinterest projects for our master bedroom. Let me first say that they are by no means impressive or difficult, but just the fact that I completed something that I started is somewhat noteworthy and, according to my personality, usually all but impossible. I realized that I never did a room-by-room blog post with pictures of our house, so this is me catching up.

When we moved to our new house last spring, our goal was to simplify. You can tell in the decor of our home. I tried gaudy on for size once, but it just didn't fit. I like it clean. I like it simple. A muted palette is a soothing one and with our busy lives, I'm all about creating a calm environment in my home. And an awesome chunky frame on clearance from Hobby Lobby and some spray-painted letters are right up my alley.

The "J K" stands for our initials, not "just kidding". :)

For the other half of our room, I cut some leaves out of scrapbook paper and decoupaged them onto white canvases. I didn't have a particular pattern I was going for and I'm happy with how they turned out. The glider is in our room for Lydia's impending arrival. These windows face most of our land and I love the view. This room is always bright.

Now I can rest a little easier until our lives take on a whole new dimension in a few weeks.

Have a lovely day!

The Front Living Room.

After receiving two atrocious (horrific, terrifying, half-of-what-we-pay-for-our-mortgage) electric bills in a row this summer, we decided it was time to cover the windows in the formal living room, which is the room you see first when you walk in our front door past our entryway. I had left the windows uncovered because the light! The beautiful light! was gorgeous and I loved how it streamed through onto the floor.

I did not, however, like how it helped keep our house at oven temps.

So, after tearing open one of the atrocious electric bills, I hopped in the minivan and sped to Hobby Lobby. I purchased lots of fabric, some curtain clips, a curtain rod, and sped home. I did a really terrible job installing the curtain rods (can we say crazy-lady-stripped-screws?) but by the end of the evening, we had curtains (read: strips of fabric).

I liked how tall they were, how they touched the molding and pooled on the floor, accentuating the eight-foot ceilings. However, the color was always a bit ... dark, clashing with the muted green walls, and I quickly discovered that curtains that pool on the floor become instant targets to two toddlers who like to wrap themselves in fabric. One of the brackets pulled loose and dangled precariously for a few days (eh, remember the stripped screws?) before I finally decided that the blazing days of summer were over, the cool days of fall were beginning to make their appearance, and, thusly, it was time to brighten up the room again.

I bought some sheer curtains, a new curtain rod, and with renewed ambition, I took down the old rod and brackets, filled in the gaping holes (eh, remember the stripped screws?) with spackle and touched them up with paint, and installed this new rod with more precision and, now, expertise.

(Note: tapping a nail and then removing it in the place where you intend to put a screw is a handy way to help the screws go in like butter, especially when you are standing on a step ladder, pregnant, while holding a power tool.)

The room instantly lightened.

The curtains touch the bottom of the window sill (the windows are especially low in this room, so I think it looks fine ... and is much, eh, safer with the kiddos) and while they don't reach as high as the others did, I think this looks more proportionate. I like.

As the days grow chilly, I know I'll appreciate the sunny patch on the floor, keeping the house warm. And bright.

Ta-Da!

Have a lovely day.

Don't Worry, There's An Abnormal Psych Book In There, Too.

So, this little bookshelf in our front room seems to be quite the conversation starter.

Apparently, storing books in such a backward manner seems a bit, well, backward, and more than once we've had visitors do a double-take while passing by. They typically pause, point at the bookshelf, look at me, and raise an eyebrow. To which I respond with What? I mean, what's the problem? So you can't actually see the bindings on the books! Meh, what's the big deal? I've seen books displayed like this on several home decorating shows and in home decor magazines, so, to me, it makes perfect sense!

Except that it's completely non-functional.

Well, okay, not completely. It looks nice and muted. That's its purpose. The front room is soft and muted and I didn't want bright red and yellow book bindings compromising the overall look of the room. Call me crazy, but that's my reason.

That and the fact that I can't part with books. Ever.

You see, these books are just a sampling of the volumes my husband and I have accumulated over the years. Textbooks, advice books, novels and the like. Our attic is full of them. Our closet is full of them. And we need a place to keep the strays that continuously spill from their storage bins. They aren't books that we read anymore, but they are books that I refuse to sell or give away. So, here they sit, with bindings dutifully facing the wall. Would you like to see?

Here's a gem:

Eek. Just the sight of this book gives me nightmares about t-tests and chi-squared tests. Statistics was not my forte in college. Even with Excel. Sad.

Here are some beauties:

My husband, bless his heart, is very much into thoroughly researching every hobby or subject in which he finds himself even remotely interested. Hence, superfluous books on backpacking, blackjack, real estate investment, and golf. Upside down. Thank you, Blogger formatting.

And, of course:

This book was my right hand man in college. And, I mean, why toss it? Someday someone might come by and ask me to write a paper using APA stipulations, right? I mean, that's totally plausible. Really.

And, lastly:

My old lit book. This poor baby no longer has a cover. But who can lazily toss away such epic stories like Homer's Odyssey or Kafka's Metamorphosis? Not me. If I'm keeping the stats book, you can bet I'm keeping this one.

And, of course, there are many more stuffed on that shelf. Call me a book hoarder. It's just my weakness, I suppose. So, if you visit my home and walk through this room and notice my bookshelf, you will at least know now the somewhat ludicrous reasoning behind its existence. And when you point and laugh, know that if you need to know what to do when the dealer shows a ten or how to navigate through the Himalayas, the answers are right there. :)

Have a lovely day.