Tag Archives: living room re-do

Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks

{Our Cottage} ::: Cottage Living Room

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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.

Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks

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.

Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks Cottage Living Room ::: Cottage in the Oaks

Here are the links to some of the projects that have been shared from this room over the past couple of years:

Living Room Redo

Photo Tree

French Linen Table

Mantels Through the Year

Cottage Front Door {Interior Redo}

Curtains As Doors

DIY Faux Grain Sack Pillows

Burlap Curtains

Trouser Hangers

Blessing Tree

Family Mission Statement Banner

I hope you are having a wonderful week……what have you been up to this week?

Blessings~

daune

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Burlap Curtains

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Burlap is one of my favorite things to use….just under European grain sacks….anywhere I need fabric in our home. Ever since we started the living room redo a year ago I’ve been looking for just the right thing to put on the windows.  They are very large windows and cross the entire front of our cottage.

I found these great rope tiebacks at an outlet type store….and I knew that whatever I did to the windows I wanted to use them! And, of course, rope leads straight to burlap in my mind. :)

I wanted the curtains to be very sheer…didn’t want to cover up the view or block the natural light. {I LOVE natural light….don’t like lamps too much.}

We ran across these wonderful rolls of landscape burlap at an old general store when we were out of town one day….and I knew they were perfect! They are a very loose-weave burlap. They are 3′ x 12′ each and only cost $6.00 a roll. ha! Cannot beat that. Curtains for 3 large windows only cost $36.

We loaded up on 6 rolls and they’ve been waiting in a closet for a few months …… waiting for me to get to them and make curtains. Last week I got out the sewing machine, started sewing, and my machine decided to stop working. Grrrrrrr. I was determined to get these curtains up. SO, I whip-stitched the top seam……and hung them on the rods, trimmed the bottom a bit longer than the floor, and then……YEP, I hot glued the hem! Done. {If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know how I feel about sewing machines. It’s bittersweet and doesn’t always bring out the best in me.}

From start to finish I made floor-length curtains for 3 large windows in under an hour. And….I love ‘em. Thank you whip-stitch and hot glue! You know, it actually looks better than if I had sewn them on the machine.  You do not see a seam anywhere. All things work together for good, you guys! ;)

What have you been doing in your home lately?

Covered in burlap fuzz~

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French Linen Side Table Redo

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We’ve had this little side table by our front door for a while now….but it was looking sad. It needed some TLC……so a few weeks ago, it got some!

Here it is before I began….

Here it is finished in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, French Linen with Old White accents and a dark wax finish. I’m loving it.

It sits by the front door still….and holds some fun little special things……little shoes that made it through Ellis Island in the 1800′s, the original, working movie script of Lord of the Rings, etc.

I don’t think it looks quite as forlorn now. It even brightens up that spot a bit more.

Have you redone any furniture in your home lately? It is the quickest, easiest, and least expensive way to completely change a room.

Be sure to come back tomorrow…….we are having a fabulous Moen giveaway! Shall I say…Oil Rubbed Bronze, anyone!!!??????

Blessings~

Sharing with:  Tip Junkie, Between Naps on the Porch, Thrifty Decor Chick, Funky Junk Interiors, DIY Showoff, Home Stories A to Z,  a.k.a. Design, Serenity Now, Savvy Southern Style, My Romantic Home, Jennifer Rizzo, Miss Mustard Seed

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Grain Sack Covered Handles……

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Handsome has LOTS of games! Especially ones like tavern puzzles, binary arts, etc.  We needed a fun place to put them that could be easily accessible so they could be used, but a little bit hidden. ;)

We found these perfect baskets with lids….and stacked them in our living room; but it drove me crazy that the handle holes were so big that you could see inside and it looked a bit junky. ugh. {The very thing I was trying to avoid.}

I love vintage grain sacks……European ones, especially. I try to keep a stack to use for all kinds of purposes.  I thought little pieces of grain sack would be a perfect ‘handle hole cover’.

So, I cut small pieces of grain sack that were about 1″ larger than the handle openings on all sides and hot-glued them inside the baskets.  I only glued the top of the grain sack ‘flap’……so when you stuck your hand in to lift the basket they wouldn’t get in the way.

grain sacks

grain sacks

I love it! Problem solved.

Do you have any little things in your home that are driving you crazy and you would like to fix?

A little less crazy~

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Numbered Cubbies / Numbered Shelves

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While cleaning out a wayward closet a few weeks ago I found this little dark wood/stained “cubbie box”. It was very forlorn-looking.

I’ve always loved numbered cubbies and numbered shelves….we are actually working on doing a wall of large numbered cubbies in our dining room. I thought this little piece would be fun as a miniature one to host a rotating collection of whatever finds its way to it.

numbered cubbies

numbered cubbies

I painted it white with chalk paint. Distressed it a bit with dark wax…and used a sharpie to number it. We’ve had fun rotating what’s inside.

numbered cubbie

numbered cubbies

It reminds me of a miniature version of vintage hotel mail slots.

numbered cubbies

A fun little project that cost $0….can’t beat that!

What have you been up to lately? Any fun projects going on?

Blessings~

Sharing with:  Tip Junkie, Between Naps on the Porch, Thrifty Decor Chick, Funky Junk Interiors, DIY Showoff, Home Stories A to Z,  a.k.a. Design, Serenity Now, Savvy Southern Style, My Romantic Home, Jennifer Rizzo

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the blessing tree

The Blessing Tree…..

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After Easter was over and our Passion Tree was completed…I had another idea for the branches that we had used. I thought it would be fun to create a Blessing Tree.  I originally was on the lookout for an old, wooden violin case….let me know if you see any!…..to use for our ‘blessings’; but since I hadn’t found one that I really liked yet, I thought the branches from our Passion Tree would be great!

the blessing tree

I wanted to create little cards or tags of fun little blessings….or things to do….or things to ponder and then have them in a convenient location in our home….So, each time someone comes over or visits they can pick one and take it with them.

the blessing tree

the blessing tree

the blessing tree

I still want to use the old wooden violin case idea; but for now I think this is super fun!

the blessing tree

tree blessing

the blessing tree

Our Blessing Tree sits in the middle of our living room/entryway area…perfect for people to grab one as they go or come.

tree blessing

blessing tree

the blessing tree

 I added some fun vintage French dictionary pages so it wouldn’t just have little tags hanging on it……and I’m always looking for excuses to use vintage book pages.

the blessing tree

the blessing tree

the blessing tree

the blessing tree

 For the summer I created a list of fun things to do….to slow people down…..things to be enjoyed or savored.  They are printed on vintage French sheet music……I’ve included those lists/printouts for you below in case you would like to create your own tree.  Feel free to print them out, cut them into little strips and put them or hang them somewhere neat in your home.

 We tell people there is only one rule…..you can’t read the strips of paper and pick out one.  You have to just pick one and be surprised! :) No choosing.

Here is how we created our Blessing Tree:

{See our Passion Tree post for how to set up the branches}

1. Print out a fun list of things to do or ponder, or scripture, or encouraging words.

2.  Cut them into strips.

the blessing tree

3. Punch small holes in one end…I used a teardrop hole punch for ours.

4. Using any kind of wire {or leftover Christmas ornament hooks} bend the wire into a hook to create a hanger for each strip.

the blessing tree

5. Hang away…all over the branches!

Here are the two sheets of printouts that we used:

{You can enlarge or shrink them depending on your preference.}

tree blessing

{Click here or on image for printable}

tree blessing

{Click here or on the image for the printable}

 If you were picking a strip….which one of the above would you want to pick?

Blessings~

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mantel for summer vintage

Summer Mantel {2012}

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The sprucifying has continued…….I’ve been changing up everything around here lately.  I decided to paint the mantel white….it was a very old white when we received it as a gift last summer.  {Yes!  A gift! A 200-year-old solid wood mantel from an antebellum home.} We love it……I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint [my favorite paint] in old white and just dry brushed it on top of the original paint to brighten it up a bit.

 I’ve been in a seashell mood lately….shells are everywhere!

 We stack vintage book bundles inside the fireplace in the spring and summer when we are not going to be using it.  We are a family of bookworms…..so books mean a lot to us.  It keeps the fireplace from being a black hole in the summer.

 I had fun making these European grain sack covered votives.  I’ve collected several 100+ year-old German grain sacks….and I use the edges to cover small glass votives with white candles inside.

 And instead of wood in the basket….there are lightweight summer blankets for some fun movie nights ahead!

 We have only had a mantel for a year…..and have enjoyed being able to change it with the seasons.  What did I ever do without one?

Do you switch things around in your home for different seasons? Or do you like to keep things as they are throughout the year?

Oh, and by the way…..I’ve loved hearing from you guys about the fun memories you have of things you did during the summer growing up!  Keep them coming…..we’ve added some of them to our bucket list because I had forgotten about them and you guys reminded me. :)

Happy Thursday~

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distressed piano

Painted Piano {Gasp!}…..

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It’s OK. Don’t panic. You CAN paint a piano….we’ve pained several. We are a musical family that is very plugged in to many music professionals, have a large music school here at the university…and have checked with all the right professionals. Relax. :)

I would not suggest painting a Steinway, or any other highly prized/collected piano. They usually have a beautiful finish to start with….and you would have to come to grips that if you painted it the value would immediately go down if you ever wanted to resale it.  {However, it’s not that you COULDN’T paint it….I just wouldn’t suggest it, for investment purposes.}

We love our piano…but the wood was not a very pretty color/stain.  So, we painted it.

Here is how we painted it at first….very whimsical to go with our very whimsical living room.  We loved it.

 But last year when we started the living room redo we just wanted something a little different.  So in the fall I repainted the piano….and here is what it looks like now:

 Knobs before {typical little piano brass knobs}:

 Knobs now {vintage cut glass}:

 For a cushion I used one of our hand painted faux grain sack pillows.

 If you are going to paint a piano…. chalk paint is a wonderful option.  I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Gray, and then distressed it with the dark wax. I think I need to distress it a bit more. It only took one coat. {One of the many reasons that I love chalk paint!} This whole project took me just a couple of hours.

There is nothing that I’ve found that can’t be painted. I’ve painted refrigerators, countertops, TV’s, floors, tub, tile, etc. Really…..you can change your whole world with paint!

Have you ever painted anything out of the ordinary?

Happy Wednesday~

Sharing with:   Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Today’s Creative Blog, Not JUST a Housewife,  Blue Cricket Design, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Whipperberry, The Idea Room,  Between Naps on the Porch, French Country Cottage, The Lettered Cottage, Thrifty Decor Chick, Funky Junk Interiors, At the Picket Fence, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Common Ground,  DIY Showoff, Home Stories A to Z,  a.k.a. Design, Someday Crafts, Organize and Decorate Everything,  Making the World Cuter, The Girl Creative, Craftomaniac, Carolyns Homework, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Tatertots & Jello, Serenity Now, No Minimalist Here, Savvy Southern Style, Coastal Charm, My Romantic Home, Redoux, We Are That Family, The Charm of Home, Delightsome Life, Anything Goes, Rooted in Thyme, Positively Splendid, Cedar Hill Ranch,  House in Roses, Rook No. 17, Elizabeth & Co., Domestically Speaking, The Power of Paint, The Trendy Treehouse, Faded Charm Cottage, Michele Raven Designs, Junk in Their Trunk, Gingersnap Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, The Vintage Farmhouse, My Repurposed Life, The Rooster & the Hen, Shabby Nest, Finding Fabulous, Thrifty Handmade Days, Homemaker on a Dime, Miss Mustard Seed

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Spring Mantel

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I am still learning how to take pictures in this room.

It is not as dark as it looks…but the way the light

comes in makes it hard to not get grainy  pics!

{Correction….I’m still learning how to

take pictures in general! ha!}

A few weeks ago we decided to paint the new mantel

white….and I love it! We’ve been all about lightening

up around here for several months.

For those of you not with us last summer…

we had been looking for an old mantel for a very long time.

A local church had this one in storage and GAVE it to us!

It is over 150 years old and came out of an antebellum

home that weathered the Civil War…just like the brick and

floors of our cottage.  We just love it!

Here’s some fun pics of our spring mantel….

Our pussywillow tree is finally big enough for

me to be able to cut branches and force them inside. Yay!

So we put two big vases of them on either side of the mantel.

I love bee skeps…..and this is a little mini one.

*****

On another note….have you guys ever checked out the live Eagle Cam?

We enjoy watching it each spring.

Our kids LOVE it! {Me, too!}

The eagles just began mating last week…

soon their will be eggs that you can watch LIVE…

hatch, grow, eaglets being fed, etc.

Check it out here and bookmark it.

Check back several times a day….it is a live cam.

You will want to keep it on all day once the eaglets hatch…

it becomes addicting. :)

*****

We had fun getting our Easter decorations out yesterday.

Isn’t it fun getting decorations out….it’s almost like a walk

down memory lane.  Lots of “Do you remember when we use

to do ____ with this?” And “I completely forgot about satin bunny!”

Do you decorate for spring or Easter?

Until tomorrow~

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Preserving Fun Memories

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When we re-painted our stairway wall as part of the living room re-do

we came to a spot that we just didn’t have the heart to paint over.

Fourteen years ago when we painted the wall bright yellow

our oldest child was 2—and as he went up the stairs

I reminded him not to touch the walls because they were wet.

He was 2. He was left-handed. He needed help up the stairs.

And his habit was to put his little hand on the wall while he climbed.

So, we had these precious little 2-year-old handprints

from 14  years ago on our stairway wall that we just didn’t want to lose.

We decided to preserve them…and even highlight them in a fun way

when we re-painted.  We outlined them lightly..one even included an arm! ha!

And then we ‘framed’ them in Cape May pebbles…..one of our son’s favorite

vacation spots.

We now have these two cute little framed handprints going up the stairs

to treasure for always.  We have even talked about cutting that

part of the wall out if we ever move. :)

There’s plenty of other things on our walls that we don’t

want to preserve….the large dent from our son’s head

when he flipped back in a chair in the dining room,

the pin holes one of our daughter use to like to make behind her bed

in neat patterns {she thought we didn’t know}, and many others.

But, this one…..it is super special. And we didn’t want to lose it

behind a coat of paint.

What do you do to preserve special memories in your home?

Happy Wednesday~

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