Icing on the Cake

Curtains finish a room like icing on a cake.

My mom made window treatments for our kitchen, living room and master bedroom-- the last rooms that needed curtains in our house. My parents were in town this past weekend, so they brought and hung the treatments for us and they look amazing! My mom is really talented.

The Living Room


Before


After


The fabric is Kauffman's Slubby Linen in "Wheat".


The hardware is wood with a bronze color finish.

The Master Bedroom


Before


After; chocolate brown, green and ivory stripes. I would still like to add drapery panels to the windows, but we could also leave it just like this with Roman shades.

The Breakfast Nook & Kitchen


Before


After


After

Attic Update #1

The attic is coming along nicely, but more slowly than I imagined. It's been a lot of work, and it's been so hot here lately that I can't stay up there all afternoon because I'm too hot.

We did make some great progress this past weekend while my parents were in town. Daniel and my dad built a window seat around the duct work on the far side of the room in the attic. It took them nearly all of Saturday, but it looks awesome!

Here's a quick tour of our updates:


Going up the stairs...


I painted the left side of the wall Benjamin Moore's Linen White (my fav) and the vertical risers on the steps white to match the trim.


New window seat; I still need to sand, paint and add trim to give it a more finished look.


It's about 16" high and 24" deep. My mom is making a window seat cushion that will cover the top and make it more comfortable.



"To Do" List in the Attic:
1. Finish painting trim
2. Hang bamboo shades
3. Finish window seat
4. Make a curtain for the adjoining room
5. Prime and paint the floor

Gardening

I just love being out in the yard. One day I was telling Daniel how much I like spending time outside doing yard work, and he said, "I know; you've already told me that several times today!" Well, my hard work in the fall is starting to pay off as tulips, hyacinth, daffadils, and hostas begin coming up. I'm so excited about my hydrangea bushes. We didn't have any when we moved in the summer of 2007, and thanks to some cuttings from a neighbor, a clearance at Lowe's and two splurges, I now have 12 plants. They're small, but I'm hoping in a few years I'll have some beautiful bushes with lots of blooms!


Tomato and pepper plants, raspberry plant, pot of herbs (cilantro, parsley and basil)


Cherry tomato plant


Hydrangeas




I was hoping for more vibrant blue, pink and green hues, but I guess I'll have to work on that!


I had to put a fence around the plants because Shiloh has a tendency to just plow right into them!


Hydrangea, purple cone flower, yellow wildflowers

Red Coral

I've been obsessed with these pictures of red coral at www.art.com. Literally, they're named Red Coral I, II, and III, but I'm not sure who the artist is. I recently purchased these three prints and then framed them to put in the dining room.

I had been looking for some art to put in there for a while; I just couldn't quite find the right thing. What I liked about the red coral is that it's different, unexpected, and brought in a new color to the predominantly blue and brown room. Although, what I couldn't get over was that we don't live near or at the beach (we're about 2.5 hours away), so I felt like nautical decor wouldn't go well in our house for that reason.

Well, I finally had a friend give me some advice "Buy what you're drawn to and not what is necessarily matchy-matchy in the room." So I did just that. I bought and hung them-- and I love this set!

Picket Fences

After almost two years, Daniel and I finally got around to painting the picket fence we put in the day after we moved in. We also gave the existing fence a fresh coat of paint for the summer.


Before; natural wood on the left, chipping white paint on the right


Before


After


After


After