This is THAT room that I have the hardest time getting good photographs. But, I just realized that I have never shared our cottage living room here on the blog.
It’s a room that definitely gets lived in……actually, ALL of our rooms get lived in—daily! We enjoy movie nights, Bible studies, great fellowship, and fun in this room. Our cottage is an Acadian cottage…or French cottage. It has a very open floor plan downstairs….the entryway and living room are all one big space. So, this is the room that you walk into when you walk through our front door. I love the high, cathedral ceilings and the openness of this area {hard to see in these pictures}. It is great for parties and get-togethers. Our stairs are in the center of this area and you can walk around them in a circle….creating a great flow for parties.
In the spring and summer when the fireplace is not in use, we fill it with vintage book bundles…so we aren’t left with a big, black hole all season.
Here are the links to some of the projects that have been shared from this room over the past couple of years:
We love to open our home to others; so, over the years, we have several things that we like to do to prepare for guests that will be staying with us overnight. I thought I would share a few…..
I want our home to be a wonderful experience for anyone that stays here…I know I have had some not so pleasant experiences as a guest. You know when you have been anticipated….and it makes all the difference in the world. There are a few places that I know I will not visit ever again. Regardless of what anyone may say….there was no ‘welcome’ or ‘so glad you are here’ atmosphere. I would never want anyone feeling that way after staying here at our cottage…so, I’ve put together a few things that I think help to create a welcoming and gracious atmosphere for guests. Our homes are very powerful places of ministry….just with the environment and atmosphere, no need for words.
1. Clear clutter..especially on front porches and entryways.
2. Make sure there are no burned out lights…especially in the rooms that your guests will be using.
3. Dust…dirt stinks.
4. Brings me to my next one….give your home the sniff test. If you have pets….bathe and clean them. After cleaning well, light a candle or put out pot pourri. {Once again…dirt stinks. Even lighting a candle will not cover up dirt…so clean first!}
{The cleaning products that you use can help out with this tremendously! I love Mrs. Meyers and The Good Home Co. Not only do they clean well…..but everything smells amazing!}
Here’s a great cleaning plan from Better Homes & Gardens:
5. Vacuum…thoroughly. {I’ll say it just one more time. Dirt stinks. }
6. Take out trash…even if you cannot smell it….others can.
7. Scrub bathrooms really well….especially whichever one your guests will be using.
8. Remove personal items from the bathroom and make sure there is extra toilet paper and fluffy towels available to them. A robe hanging in the bathroom is a great addition for guests.
9. We keep a basket of stuff just for guests…..sample bottles of shampoo, hairspray, mouthwash, shower gels, disposable razors, toothbrushes, hair clips, soap…..this makes people feel at home, especially if they have forgotten something. We keep this basket in a closet until its needed. {You can collect many of these samples when you travel, etc. Or just stock up on razors/toothbrushes, etc. at the dollar store.}
10. Make sure the bed is made with fresh, clean sheets…..extra blankets are nice, too.
11. Put out some current magazines on the nightstand for them to enjoy if they’d like to…..
12. It’s also fun to have a little basket of snacks, water bottles, etc. in the bedroom they will be staying in…..and fresh flowers are always a wonderful addition to any room. =)
{A great list of how to prepare for guests can be found here.}
13. Make sure when your guests arrive that they know where all the necessities are if they need them.
14. Once your guests arrive you are not preparing anymore…..you need to focus on them. Enjoying them, laughing, talking, fellowshipping. They need to be the focus…..not a perfect home or a detailed plan. You’ve prepared….now just enjoy.
Here’s a fun article about preparing for overnight guests from Pottery Barn…of course, they are plugging some of their great items, but the suggestions are wonderful and will bring things to mind that you may not usually think about. You certainly don’t need to do all of these…just pick out some fun suggestions. I love the one about a ‘Hot Chocolate Station’…for the summer a Lemonade Station or Izze Station would be fun. {We do that for just us…even without guests!}
It is an honor to have guests in your home…..and a great way to serve others.
Keep in mind that the ones that live in your home are the most special ‘guests’ of all….we want to remember to show hospitality to the most precious people in our homes. Almost all of the suggestions above will make your family feel special…even when no one else is staying the night.
The atmosphere of your home will create the most powerful memories for your family.
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Do you have a lot of guests? What is your favorite way to prepare for overnight guests?
Can you believe it is May? I thought it would be fun to do a roundup of some fun summer projects for your home and garden…..ones we’ve done in the past and are still really enjoying.
Instead of only using conventional flower pots for our plantings each year, we like to use unique vessels as plant pots. These are two of my favorite this year….our Chicken Feeder Planters.
You can use just about anything to plant in…..just think outside the norm. If it doesn’t have holes in the bottom, be sure to either drill holes or put a layer of pebbles in the bottom of the container you’ve chosen. You don’t want your plants or flowers to get waterlogged.
These two chicken feeders came from the lovely family from this wonderful place. For many years they were in the hen house on this beautiful farm and helped to feed and water their chickens. They were perfect for a fun planter!
I love succulents….so, I decided to fill both of them up with succulents this year. Succulents like shallow soil, and can thrive in hot, dry climates. They are super easy to care for….BUT, you need to shop around, because they can be very expensive. Here in our area you can find them from 99 cents each to $7.50 each. Same size and condition. {Guess which ones we went with? Yep….the 99 cent ones.} So, if you decide to fill a planter with succulents, just be sure to shop around. Garden centers usually have the best prices….over specialty stores, etc.
Here’s a look at our fun Chicken Feeder Planters……..
You can plant succulents in soil or sand.
You’ll want to really pack them in and not have a lot of space left..they make a better impact that way.
Here’s the larger chicken feeder…..
I like to use many different kinds of succulents planted all together; but it would also be fun to fill a container with all the same kind.
Love. this. Grain sack used as a stair runner. It’s really tough material and can handle it. I love this idea. {Hey, Handsome…how hard would it be to tear up the carpet on the stairs……?}
If I could have this pantry I would do a happy dance. I would even record it and post it here just for you guys. I love the organization, ease-of-use, accessibility of everything. This is pantry fabulousness. {When you open our pantry…things fall on your head. It was definitely not built by someone that enjoyed cooking at home.}
This tablecloth is the bomb! Tailored around the table…how cool is that. I think I need to make one. This would add so much character to any table…any size. Love this idea.
Shutters. Fun colors. Perfect. This is literally just shutters nailed to the wall. I am considering doing something similar in our bedroom…in lieu of a headboard.
Such a simple paint job on this chest….but what a great impact! {This piece if the creation of one of our lovely readers! Be sure to click the source and visit her blog!}
I really want chickens. I’ve been studying up….and planning. Tell me what you know about chickens……everything. Tell me everything you know……
OK..that has nothing to do with today’s post. I just needed to share. Thanks for reading my random thoughts and ramblings.
We have been wanting to put curtains on our front porch f.o.r.e.v.e.r. We’ve had them marked in catalogs and ‘on the list’. You know, The List. The one with all the wants and needs…the one that when you mark 2 things off, you add 4 more. Yeah. That one.
Outdoor curtains for our porch was going to cost around $300. {That’s why they’ve been on the list for a while…..too many other things that needed to come first!} BUT, a few weeks ago I went to an outlet sale. We live in the town that houses the factory for Hatteras Hammocks and Pawley’s Island Hammocks….and twice a year they have a great factory outlet sale.
I spotted them. My outdoor curtains. The exact ones I had marked in the catalog. For $10! SCORE! Needless to say, they came home with me.
I knew I wanted rope tie backs to hold them back when we weren’t using them. I had used rope tie backs on these curtains…and love them. I found them at some of my favorite places…..the cheapest being $89 each. ugh. I really wasn’t in the mood to make tie backs….but, alas, I did. And I’m glad. And they look just like the $89 Restoration Hardware ones. I spent around $8 and it took me all of 15 minutes. Here’s how to do it……..
You will need:
18″-24″ of large hemp rope for each tie back or whatever length you desire for each tie back
small hemp rope – usually sold in a package
thick twine
hot glue and glue gun
scissors
Here’s how ya do it:
When the store cuts your large hemp rope they will wrap the ends in masking tape to keep it from fraying….leave that in place.
1. Cut a piece of twine about 8″…or desired length for your hanging loop
2. Glue the ends on each side of your large rope
3. Begin at the bottom of the twine and hot glue the small hemp rope.
4. Put several lines of hot glue on the masking tape
5. Begin wrapping the small hemp rope around the larger one…covering up the end that you hot glued to get started. Keep wrapping until you reach the top of the rope, and secure with hot glue.
6. Repeat 1-6 for the end of each tie back.
Tah-dah!
I love rope. I love porch curtains. I love chickens. I love porches. I love having rope on my porch curtains on my porch. I love readers that read my crazy ramblings.
Quick Note….only two more days to enter the big Blogoversary Giveaway……be sure to head over to this post and enter!
We have a few ‘rites of passage’ for our family….and one of them is that you get to totally redo your room when you turn 13. Our youngest has been designing her new room for 2 years now…and the day has finally arrived! Over the past few weeks we have patched, painted, created, ordered, fluffed, shopped, and slowly, but surely we have checked off everything on her list.
This morning…possibly as you read this…the Pottery Barn truck is sitting in our driveway delivering her dream bed. She is about to come out of her skin! =)
When we began painting a few weeks ago I had never seen so many holes in a wall. Whoa. I think the spackling is holding the wall up now. Her room ‘before’ was painted a sage green and when she was little was a garden room. We painted clotheslines on the wall that held her artwork and fun creations; birdhouses with cats underneath, etc. It was the perfect little girl’s room for her.
There is an extra ‘space’ in her room that originally was a walk-in attic/storage area; but we finished it and made it an extension of her room.
She is moving on……and has gone in a fun, totally different direction. The walls are now painted a Caribbean Blue Water {Benjamin Moore}, her extra space is floored in a dark walnut wood floor {it was black and white checks}, and her extra space/room is painted a lovely Gleeful {Sherwin Williams}.
Caribbean Ocean Blue – Benjamin Moore
Gleeful – Sherwin Williams
Here’s a quick peek at the in-process redo. All painting is now done…a furrilicious couch sits in her sitting room beside her fridge, and the fun loft vanity bed is being delivered and set up this morning. She did all of her school work in advance for today because she can’t wait to get her room all set up and decorated.
She’s done a wonderful job…and I can’t wait to show you guys the finished project!
It’s our blogoversary! I can’t believe that Cottage in the Oaks turns 2 tomorrow! Wow! We’re a toddler.
I appreciate you guys hanging out here at the cottage with me. So, I wanted to do something special just for all of you……I put together a HUGE $750 Giveaway. Lot’s of fun stuff!
{Also…my designer just sent me some preliminary peaks at my new design…..eeeekkkkk! I love it! Can’t wait for it to be done and to show you all!}
OK…back to the program. {Squirrel!}
I’ve had fun gathering some of my favorite things from our etsy shop, as well as other places….and all these items put together equals over $750 worth of goodies!
Here’s what the giveaway includes…..all $750 worth!
(Mandatory) 1. Become a follower of the Cottage in the Oaks BLOG and leave a comment letting me know how you follow: e-mail, RSS, etc. {1 entry}
(Optional) 2. Follow Cottage in the Oaks on twitter & comment to let me know you do {1 entry}
(Optional) 3. Like Cottage in the Oaks on Facebook & comment to let me know you do {1 entry}
(Optional) 4. Follow Cottage in the Oaks on Pinterest & comment to let me know you do {1 entry}
(Optional) 5. Tweet the giveaway & come back and leave a comment with the link {1 entry}
(Optional) 6. Blog about the giveaway and leave a comment with the link {1 entry}
(Optional) 7. Pin the giveaway and leave a comment letting me know {1 entry}
(Optional) 8. Post the giveaway on your Facebook page and leave a comment with the link {1 entry}
(Optional) 9. Follow Cottage in the Oaks on Instagram & comment to let me know you do {1 entry}
Whoa! 9 possible entries…what are you waiting for?
This contest is open to US and Canadian readers only….so sorry, the shipping everywhere else keeps us from being able to open it up internationally at this time.
This contest will end on Friday April 19, 2013 at Midnight EST!!
A winner will be announced on Monday, April 22, 2013!
Want to do some shopping?
Here’s a discount code JUST for Cottage in the Oaks readers for our etsy shop:
use the code 2YEARS
to get 20% off your ENTIRE purchase through April 30, 2013 !
Thanks for joining me here at the cottage….I love you guys!
We were gifted with several huge hydrangeas last night….and stayed out in the garden until really late getting them planted and watered. {Can you have enough hydrangeas? I say, “No way!”.}
Can you believe that Cottage in the Oaks will be 2 years old this weekend? Thanks for being a part of that……I love you guys! To celebrate we are having a HUGE giveaway…starting tomorrow. {$750 worth of fun stuff!} So, get ready! Be here tomorrow ready to comment and enter!
I probably should have named this post ‘Why We Have Dead Ivy on the Porch’. It has become a spring tradition…and I’ll explain why in a second.
We spend so much time out on our front porch…and like to change it up each season.
Pansies are just so fun and happy….we also like to add them to our salads. We keep little vases of them all through the house in spring. Pansies here in Eastern NC only last until late April/early May. Once the heat arrives…they are outta here!
Pussywillow branches were perfect for the English market basket.
Usually by the spring…the firewood is all cleaned up. But, this year, it has been nippy at night and we have still been having fires. So we left a bit by the door for convenience. {It will be gone soon, though….the 80 degree weather has already arrived this week!}
I love vintage olive buckets. I try to pick them up anytime I see them. We used this one to hold a gardenia.
Around the front entrance grows a lovely Lady Banks Rose. It is just beginning to bud and bloom. In a week or so it will be gorgeous…covered in yellow blossoms.
We call this part of the porch “The Therapy Room”. We spend as much time here as possible. Just this past weekend we added curtains to the sides of our front porch. We’ve always wanted to do that…and we are so glad we did! When the sun shines straight through the side we can pull the curtains and still have it be light and bright….but no one has the sun in their eyes.
We have some finches that really like the Lady Banks Rose, too…they’ve built a beautiful nest in it.
And here’s the reason we have dead ivy…..3 little wren eggs. Each pot of ivy has a nest with eggs, and I can’t water it or it will drown the nest. So, each spring the ivy dies…and we don’t replace it until the birds have flown the nest. I guess our spring front porch will always have dead ivy.
Do you have a front porch? Now that I’ve had this huge one for so many years….I don’t think I could live in a home without one! What about you?
This weekend we finally finished painting the wonderful chairs that we found at this place….and we finished them up by covering the chair cushions with grain sack. {Here’s my favorite places to find grain sack…if I can’t find them in person at a flea market or antique store.}
I shared about these wonderful chairs here…..and we were so excited to finally get them painted and finished. We found them in a barn..and couldn’t believe that there were eight matching chairs! {Two with arms!} Woohoo!
Last week I painted them..if you follow me on Instagram, you found out the I do not like painting chairs! They are a bear to paint. BUT, they’re done! And, it is so worth it.
Here’s what they looked like when we found them in the barn….
And here’s how they look now……..
If you have never covered chair cushions….it is so easy. It’s a great way to completely change the look or update a chair in just a few minutes. {I shared in this post how we covered our outside dining room table with coffee sacks.}
I painted each chair with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White…and waxed them with dark wax. I then used really rough sand paper to distress each chair.
These chairs didn’t have any seats….so they had to be made.
Next, you will need to get Handsome…..no, wait. {You’ll have to get your own Handsome-type of helper….I don’t share Handsome.} I’m kinda selfish that way.
Back to the story….Handsome made a template of the chairs and cut the seat bottom out of 1/2″ plywood.
If you have to cut seats…be sure to ‘test’ them before you start cutting material and padding…to make sure you are pleased with how they fit.
I suggest using 2″ foam for the padding. You can use a thinner padding/foam, but your derrière will thank you much more if you go with the 2″.
Lay the seat cushion on top of your padding and trace with a marker.
Then cut along your traced line with really sharp scissors.
This is not the most fun part…but when you are finished, with your gnarled, cramped hand…stand back and admire your lovely stacks of cushions.
Now you’re ready to cover. {Even if you are not ready…it’s time.}
Gather together a few tools and supplies:
staple gun
3/8″ staples
your material that you will be using to cover your cushions
foam padding
wooden seat bottom
{Handsome likes to arrange the staples in fun shapes when he sets up my little work space.}
Place your foam padding on top of the material that has been cut for each cushion.
Your material should be cut 4″ larger than your foam…to allow plenty to pull around and cover your cushion.
No, those are not bugs on my padding. I like to sprinkle fresh lavender on the padding before I cover the cushions. It makes them smell wonderful…just faintly.
Lay your wooden seat bottom on top of the padding.
Begin in the middle and staple close together all along the top of your cushion.
Next begin in the middle of the opposite side and staple the other edge…pulling to make sure the material is taut, but not so tight that you will create dents or uneven spots.
Don’t worry if the staples do not go all the way down…we’ll take care of that in a moment.
To make the corners you will push the end in just like you do when you wrap a gift. Be sure to pull tightly …. you don’t want saggy corners. Saggy corners just don’t look good on anyone…even cushions.
{Be sure to tense your hand and hold so tightly that your hand becomes wrinkled and red … and looks like it’s 99 years old. Like mine.}
Once all sides are done….use a hammer to make sure all the staples are all the way in and secure.
{My Mom gave me this hammer many years ago and put red dots on it. She said it would keep people from trying to take my hammer. I haven’t quite figured that out….but I just go with it.}
Now…at this point you can finish off the back of your cushion by cutting a piece of felt or material to cover the back. You can hot glue it into place. Personally, I usually don’t do this because this side will never be seen unless someone lays under your chair. I feel that if someone is going to lay under my chair, I don’t want them to be disappointed ….they deserve to find something fun. So, I leave mine just like this. If I was going to sell these chairs I may want to finish off the back with a felt covering. Completely up to you.
The back of your finished cushion.
Here is what your finished corners will look like.
And your finished cushion! 1 down, 7 to go! {It took me about 45 minutes to cover 8 cushions.}
If you are using your cushions in the dining room…or anywhere else that will get heavy use…you may want to Scotch-Guard them. I always Scotch-Guard our cushions. It makes cleaning them a snap! {Be sure to read the directions and test your fabric first.} You can check out my tip on how to spot-clean cushions here.
I like to do this outside….with my cushions on a clean blanket or tarp.
Handsome then screwed each cushion onto the chairs.
And, voila! We have 8 of these beauties!
We are loving them!
Here’s a quick list of what you need to cover a chair cushion:
seat bottom {1/2″ plywood works great}
2″ padding
material that you wish to cover the cushions with
staple gun
3/8″ staples
hammer {red dots optional}
drill
screws to attach cushion to chair
fresh lavender {optional}
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Woohoo…we can sit in chairs for dinner tonight! We’ve been sitting on the floor for a week!
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