The Ever Changing Family Room

Hello everyone!

Are y'all glad it's Friday?  And are you even happier that it's a holiday weekend?  I know my youngest son is.  He has been adjusting to middle school for several weeks now and is ready for his first extra day off.  He does not deal with change well, so I think this whole new school thing as been hard for him.  

Speaking of change.........I change things up around the house all the time!  I think it's fun.  So, here are some changes I made to the family room (the one that seems to change the most).  

This is what started the whole thing in the first place.

The white rack on the wall back there with the plates in it came from my sons room!  It was intended to be used as a magazine/book holder (from Pottery Barn Kids).  It was used that way for many years, that is until I confiscated it!  My son NEVER hangs out in his room.  He isn't even missing it.  LOL!

So, it is now hanging here.  I filled it with some brown and white transfer ware plates.  

Of course, other things got changed around because of it.  The dog picture got moved over here.

Then the mantel got a little makeover.

I moved my horse back in here and moved the burlap ottoman out.  

The coffee table got a new look too.

I placed a basket with some topiaries in it and draped a striped pillow cover in it for interest.  

A few pillows got moved around too.  They are never safe in one place too long!   (Oh, did you notice I repainted the little round table beside the sofa in a grey color?)  I think it's now on its 5th color change by now.  

So here she is!  I'm happy with these changes until the next big idea comes in my head.  I had to take pics with the overhead chandelier on because it's very overcast outside and my lighting was very poor.  So, if things look a little different that's why.  

Do you have big plans for Labor Day this weekend?  I have no idea what we're going to do yet.  

Have a great holiday weekend!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

Neutral Fall Decor Inspiration

Hello everyone!

Now that the calendar is about to flip over to September, I thought it might be fun to share some Fall decor pics that I like. Since my home is decorated with a lot of grey and white, I can really use any color I want with my seasonal displays, but I prefer to use neutrals.

I love this hutch filled with white pumpkins and white dishes.  The little bit of blue in the jars is a nice addition too.

This wreath is darling!  I love white and burlap mixed together.  The little message on the card makes it extra charming.

More ways to use white pumpkins!  Love the pumpkins scattered on top of the chippy looking old chair.  

Love putting some branches from the yard in a glass jar.  Clip them while they're in their Autumn splendor!

Love this mix of pumpkins and squashes in an urn.

Looks like this was made from part of a pallet.  It's just painted to look like an old sign and some dried corn stalks were placed behind it.  Cute!

This is a pretty vignette of a dough bowl filled with pumpkins flanked by sheaths of wheat.

And finally, how would you like to picnic outside like this?  

I'm looking forward to the changing of the seasons.  How about you?

Source for all pictures above

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Blogger Spotlight

Hello everyone!

Do you follow Susan at Must Love Junk and Kris at Junk Chic Cottage?  Well, if you do, then you know they have teamed up to feature a blogger each Saturday.  They let you into the lives of the blogger behind the blog!  Sound fun?  Well...................

It just so happens that my story is being featured today at Susan's blog!  

So, if you're interested in learning more about me, hop on over and check it out!  It really was a trip down memory lane for me too.  

Click HERE to see it.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

French Stripe Ticking

Hello everyone!

I just adore french stripe ticking fabric!  I have some pillows made out of it too.  The two smaller pillows in the chairs, I purchased from an Etsy shop in France.  

So, I was hoping to find something similar for my sofa.  I found the same fabric, but in a slightly lighter color.  

I love its larger size for the sofa too!

And, I'm so happy that we're finally getting some much needed sunshine today!  I've been washing slipcovers and fluffing the pillows.

This sofa will be calling my name later today!  

Hope you are having a great day yourself and the sun is shining down on you too.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Changes in the Foyer

Hello everyone!

With the purchase of some new pillow covers from H&M recently, I made a small change to the bench area of my foyer.

I used to have blue and white transferware on the walls and a blue and white grainsack pillow on the bench.  Now I have this.

This is my new pillow cover from H&M.

I love it and bought several to use in here and in my kitchen.

With the black and white colors in the pillow, I felt that the mirror should be flanked with that color as well.  I've had these monogram plates for a while now. I hung one with each family member's initials.

The plates also coordinate well with the pictures in the room. 

Hey!  My dog even matches this space now!  LOL!  See him?

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Country French Pillows & Magazine

Hello everyone!

Are you experiencing cooler weather where you live?  We are and it feels amazing!  It's cloudy, but breezy and cool.  It actually feels like Fall today.  That puts me in a very good mood!  

I wanted to share some new pillow covers that I ordered from H&M.  I love them so much!  I got them 20% off too since they sent me a promotion card with my last order.

They are made with a linen material.  I filled them with some down inserts I borrowed from some pillows I wasn't using.  Do you do that?  I have an attic full.  Y'all know by now that pillows are my weakness!

The french ticking stripe pillows that were here are now in my family room chairs.  I wasn't about to get rid of those!!!

While I was out shopping for groceries today, I stumbled upon the latest Country French Magazine.  It is the Fall/Winter 2013 edition.

I thumbed through it and was expecting to like just a couple of pages, when to my surprise, I loved all of it!  It's full of neutral colored interiors.  My fave!  This home stood out the most to me as being my favorite.

Yummy neutrals with lots of patina and texture.

I could just move right in!  Look at those wide plank floors and that huge stone fireplace.

Go grab a copy before they're gone if you like this style!

Hope you're having a good week so far and cooler temps.

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

Everything's Coming Up Burlap!

Hello everyone!

Well, I did it again.  I decided that the master bedroom still needed some tweaking so it would match the rest of the house.  And now it does. I got a good start on it last time with the white walls and bringing some burlap shams in, but that just wasn't enough.  I like for my whole house to flow consistently, from room to room.  Even if the rooms aren't open to each other.  There is one exception..........the kids rooms.  I have a rule that they can have what they want in their rooms.  I did growing up, so mine can too.  It is their personal space.  

So, I decided to bring in a little bit more burlap and add some grey to the mix as well.  That is what I predominantly have in the living spaces of the house.

I brought in more burlap pillows, lamp shades and a coffee sack wall hanging I made years ago.

I also decided to bring in the grey bench from the hallway for the foot of the bed.

I moved the floor lamp over to the chair and ottoman and changed the shade.

My new vintage style ceiling tile is propped up on one side of the bed.

And a grey urn holds white flowers on the other side of the bed.

Both of those add great texture to the space.  I find that is important when using all neutrals.

I'm loving the changes!  All of this was done just shopping the house too.  

Now..........my master bathroom will need to undergo the same treatment.  It doesn't flow with the bedroom anymore.  I'm looking forward to making changes in there soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Wow-Us-Wednesdays

Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis

Hello everyone!

It has been a very busy week here, but I just wanted to pop in to let you know about a new show I found on Bravo TV.  Do you get that channel?  The name of the show is called Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis.  He used to have a show called Flipping Out.  I like his newest show so much better!  

If you haven't seen this show (I don't think it's brand new), you really MUST!  It is so fun to watch.  He basically goes into people's homes and not only redesigns their home but also makes suggestions on how they can redesign their lives.  It's a mix of interior design with psychiatry.  I love that mix!  Genius!  I think many of us can find something in one of the episodes to relate to also.  

Here is a link to a preview of one of the next episodes coming on.

Getting Away with Murder Episode

So far, I've only seen two episodes.  The funniest one was of the couple, Patrick & Pol.   Here are some pics of the makeover Jeff did for them.

You wouldn't believe how awful this place looked before Jeff got a hold of it!  

Then, I saw the Bick's Family episode.

Their home was dominated by their only child that consumed their life.  It basically looked like a day care center before.  Now, it looks pretty amazing huh?  

Of course, what makes this show so great are the couples that need work, not their homes.  

So, if you get a chance, go check out this show!  You will be hooked like me, I'm sure!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Some New Goodies Around the House

Hello everyone!

Looks like I got a great response on my last post about H&M.  I'm hoping to receive my new things sometime next week.  I would love to see what you all ordered once you get yours too.  By the way, many of you didn't know they sold housewares.  It turns out that they are only sold online.  A person commented that she is from Sweden (the home place of the store) and was told they didn't sell the housewares inside their stores, only online!  Who knew???  That may explain why some of you never knew they sold housewares.

Speaking of new goodies, I wanted to share just a few new items that came in recently.  I ordered these before I left for vacation.  

This reproduction medallion wall tile came from Antique Farmhouse.  

  

I just fell in love with it the moment I saw it!  So, it ended up in my foyer here.

I also got this cute monogrammed hand towel.  It came from Laurieannas Vintage Home.

It is now in my kitchen.

And I got this fluted metal pan there too.

I ended up placing it on my secretary and filling it with old book bundles.

So, these are just a few new goodies I've received and enjoyed finding a place for.  I think I'm going to clean out my storage area of my basement and take a lot of it to the consignment store.  I've saved a lot of stuff that I just don't know if I'll really ever use  or not.  It's just collecting dust and I'd rather someone else be able to enjoy it. It's just so darn hard to know what to part with though!!!  Are you like that too?  

Hope you all are having a nice weekend so far.  

Next week, school starts back and I have about a million things to do on top of that next week!  It will be an early morning tomorrow taking my son to middle school camp to get familiar with his new school too.

My oldest son has decided to go into the Marine Reserves too.  So, I have things to do with that as well.  Busy, busy, busy!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~