Monday, February 4, 2013

Our Living Spaces

Ok, Ok, I know already!  Go ahead and take a looksie first, I know you are all dying!  Boy did I ever feel the peer pressure to get these photos up!  You know who you are ladies (wink)!  I hope it is worth all the hype and speculation!  It has been two years already since we moved here into Mark's childhood home,  we have so many little things left to do but I have to say I felt a huge sense of relief and accomplishment when the carpet in the living room was pulled up and the hardwoods were laid.  Hubs did such a great job don't ya think?!!!There is so much to show so I figured I would start with the spaces that we live in as a family just about 99% of the time, even though the kids rooms are right off the family room, they always seem to bring their stuff out into the family space.  This house is turning into the cottage in the woods that I knew it could be and it surely feels more and more like home.  I will try to give a quick little caption under every photo with the details. 
 
First order of business in this house that was accomplished was hanging this chandy from Ballards Designs.  LOVE it!!!  Love the oversized look, it is visible from just about every room in this house so I am so glad that I decided to make it large and in charge!
 
  Since the house is pretty open I try to make the transition from each room seamless.  Carrying the same colors and textures throughout the spaces seems to make the rooms feel like one big room.  Same Ikea slipcovered furniture, just new pillows in my current favorite shades of gray and chartreuse.  Found these pillows in Wisconsin at Gordmans and they became my starting point in here .
 Found some wonderful greeting cards at Iron Grate over the weekend and I framed them with my Dryads Dancing frames and hung 3 on each side of our couch/window,  I really like the look of it! 
 Original artwork in the form of greeting cards at $7 a piece, priceless! 
 Here you can start to see the new floors that we laid.  I chose Hand Scraped Maple Country wood floors from Home Depot, I love the wider planks and warm, rich color.  It really added alot of character to the rooms.  My cute little coffee table was a Craigslist find for $45 from Tag.
 Antlers are so hot right now and I love having a pair that were my Dad's.   (Um from a deer he got, not actually from his head, my Dad was not Bambi!)
 I have gotten rid of so much stuff since moving here, which means only very special items get displayed, this is from my Grandmother, my   parents sent these candle holders to her when they lived in Germany before I was born. 
 I had the buffett and chairs from my sister, and just a few weeks ago I got the table to complete the set, she is going to move and I was helping her and she said I earned it!! Woweee! It is from Ethan Allen. 
 This cute little book table was a find at Salvation Army, it was like new and I snatched it right up, even on the extra 20% off day!  Lucky Ducky I know!  Sorry it is blurry, I still don't have the greatest balance when I kneel on my bad leg. 
 Love my candles burning in the winter, this is apple crumble by Bath and Body works, my favorite scent!
 These pillows have a story, they are made by Hable Construction and are quite expensive, meaning I would never purchase them on my budget.  I had seen them in my favorite store Pizitz in Seaside a few years ago.  I went shopping at a consignment store while in Florida one day and they had a pair of these for sale, in my budget!  I snatched them up so fast the lady's head was spinning, she had no clue what she had!  These are the kinds of souvineers that I bring back from vacations! 
 I love the gray and chartreuse together!

 My succulents are still alive Susan! The ladies at Violets Blue told me that they were easy to take care of and they were right! 
 My Grandmother's piano is finally back in our house, Myah is taking lessons and I love to hear her play!
 The paint color on our walls is, are you ready for this... Sandy Hook Gray.  I chose it a few years ago, but since the awful tragedy took place there, I really want to repaint, it actually really bothers me. 
 Just purchased this tv cabinet at Meijers a few weeks ago, need to find the right baskets for those two slots.  And I need to get rid of those cords! 
 Sorry for the crummy photo, my wider lenses are being borrowed right now so I couldn't get a good shot of the whole room, I promise a better shot of the whole view shortly! 
 Love these cards! 
 Hubs has redone all the trim in  rooms,including a new transition to the foyer, love the wide trim details! 
 This huge PB frame is still a favorite piece of mine!
 I added these other PB frames that are ancient to each side of the big one and put a photo that I had taken at a sunflower farm.  I love sunflowers!
 I am trying to bring in some more white ceramic pieces to make the house seem not so old and chippy!
 The floors looks great with my PB Outlet jute rug, I would like to have a rectangular one eventually but this one was under my other dining table and I didn't have any other space to put it. 



 Reminders of other past trips to Seaside. 
 I had a 12x12 canvas made of Dayton with his senior picture!  I would like to get another one eventually of Myah. 
Hope you enjoyed this little sneak peak into our Living Spaces!  Be back soon with lots more to show you!!!

12 comments:

paige said...

it's all absolutely gorgeous leslie!!
i love every detail. every single one. we have so much in common with how we decorate!
just beautiful
xo

Anonymous said...

I love your home, it's so...homey!

AntiqueChase said...

I have the same table, chairs and buffet in my dinning room!!! Mine is the one tone. I have the IKEA slip covers over my chairs right now. they fit, okay and are nice to change up the look for not too much $.

Come take a peek :)

marcy

Blondie's Journal said...

Beautiful, Leslie! You have such a wonderful mix of textures and treasures, old and new. Love everything!

XO,
Jane

Stacey said...

Everything looks fantastic! It seems comfortable and pretty but also very well thought out.

craftyles said...

I love the colors and feel of your rooms. Glad you're back. Can't wait to see more of your lovely home!

Wendy said...

I love it all--just amazing! :)

AndeM1 said...

so pretty...I can't wait to see more. I wish that you would share the name of the consignment shop in Fl....I take it is near Seaside...my favorite beaches in the world.....

Lisa said...


so very excited to see your post. I LOVE LOVE love to decorate and truly enjoyed all your pictures. Knowing myself how much HARD work it is to remodel and such. Looks absolutely lovely. Looking so very forward to more!!! Thank you:)

Lisa said...

LOVE love this post and was very excited to see all your hard work. I too absolutely LOVE to decorate. It looks beautiful. Looking so very forward to more...thank you:)

Lori said...

Leslie, your home looks wonderful!! You (and hubby of course) did a beautiful job. Love the calm and serene ....the colors are just perfect. I was gonna ask you about the wall color ... I particularly like the shade in the closeup with the framed cards.
Love the pillow find and adore that coffee table.
I love all the very special details and thought that went into it all and can't wait to see more! Laughed out loud about your dad's antlers. lol
xx

Unknown said...

So glad you are back. Can't wait to see more .