Valentine's Mantle

 I didn't post my finished Valentine's mantle.  It's a little over the top but Valentine's Day is a little bit cheesy anyway...you know cupid's, hearts, bows and arrows.

Christmas Decor 2011

 Here is a short version of my Christmas decorations this year.  Half the antique cabinet with part of my nativity collection.

 The tree and mantel in our family room addition.

 A close up of the mantel.

 The mantel.

 Felt stockings

 One of the book cases.

 The dining table set up for dinner for my husband's students.

Merry Christmas everyone.  We hope your Christmas is full of friends and family.  I know that mine is and we love it.

My New Couch

 My children said that the old couches had to go.  You know how you get used to things and they don't bother you anymore.  They didn't really bother me but they certainly didn't look good in our new addition.  Now don't you want your two cents on what pillows to use on this couch?  It needs them because it is very deep. 

Here is how it looks on that side of the addition.  I'm saving up to buy two chairs to face the couch.  If you find any good affordable ones, be sure to let me know.

The Furniture Has Arrived Finally...The New Office Space

 I finally was able to get my furniture I bought while at the Round Top show last March.  (I actually bought one of the pieces in another room last September.  After 3 other shippers flaked on me...one who cashed my deposit and kept it...I finally found a shipper who would/could deliver.  Roll'en Hills Delivery is the company you want to work with if you need shipping from Texas.)  This is my old dining room.  We took out the carpet and put in hardwood floors, took out the chair rail and patched up the walls, added new wider baseboards, new curtains, and a new computer.  We still have to add the fan and get rid of the chandelier, and add some more lighting.  My husband will also install a flat screen tv over his desk if he can figure out how to get cable service in there.

 Here are the after pictures.

 I bought the Graflex camera at the Marburger show.  A few of the cameras my husband had collected, and I bought a few more at the flea market in Wimberly.  Did I tell you my husband is a photographer?

 Trying to make the bookcases look interesting but stay functional is difficult.  I took off book covers and put the books in all different directions.  The really ugly paperbacks I put on a closet bookshelf.

 I camouflaged some ugly books behind this little poster. 

 Others I hid by lining them up in an old locker basket I bought at Wimberly.  I wish I would have bought more.

 Other books worked as book ends and display risers.

 Here is what the shelf looked like in its entirety.

 I found two corbels for $10 each.  I think they made great book ends as well.

 These gears I found at Marburger.  They add interest to the shelf.

 More cameras displayed.

 The Graflex I bought at Marburger.  It is such a great looking camera.  It was the only one I paid very much for and even it wasn't bad.  The other cameras ranged from $5-$20 each. 

The new desk and computer.  We are in process on this side.


Link to Jennifer Rizzo's "Pretty up you plain jane party.

Living Room Reveal

 What do you think?  I still have to add a few touches but it's mostly done.  New hardwood floors to match what we put in the rest of this main floor last year, new gray paint, and white trim, wider baseboards,  and a salvaged window turned mirror.

 I changed out a few pillows on the couch otherwise, the furniture is the same.  We decided not to put in armoire back in because the new office has two bookcases on that same wall and the rooms would seem to heavy on that side.  There is no place else to put it in my house so I'm not sure what to do with it.  It is a beautiful antique but not in the best shape.

 I found these windows in at Fred's salvage in SLC.  They were very dirty and look as though they are already mirrored in this picture.  Nope, it's just dirt.  I bought them to put over my TV in the new addition but they are heavy so I had my husband photoshop them in a picture of the room so I could see what they would look like.    It looked like a smiley face with the windows being the eyes, the tv the nose, and the entertainment center the mouth.  It saved us a lot of work and I like them in the living room and office.

I used Krylon mirror paint and a spray bottle of water to create the look of an antique mirror. 

 Old living room decor/colors with armoire.

Which version do you like best?

It is Finally Here!

 My antique bookcase is finally here.  I bought it last September and it took this long to get it shipped here.  It was worth it though.   I absolutely love it.  It is so unique that even my daughter who like modern furniture asked to inherit it.  It arrived Thursday morning and I've been working like crazy to get the office, living room and this room all sorted out and styled.  I know that probably doesn't sound like a big job but it was.  I have a ton of dishes I had to stash away plus all the books in the office.  (I only need a new chandelier to finish this room.  I'm looking.)

 I was going to paint the inside first thing but once it got in, it matched the doors from France perfectly so I decided to live with it for awhile.

 And...oh man, it barely fit.  It literally goes from ceiling to floor.  I think it was made for my space.  I wish I knew more about it.  The women I bought it from said it was from a general store but didn't know where or how old it was.  It was made without nails.  The whole thing is doweled together.  The shelves are all adjustable.  the back isn't original.  I actually don't think it had a back because the bottom cabinet is not backed.  It weighs a ton too.  Good thing it is on a concrete floor otherwise it might cause the floor to sag especially since it is full of dishes inside and out.

 I decided to display my black and and white dishes.  I didn't know I had so many.  They were here there and everywhere.  I didn't spend too much time on them because I'm going to change them for Halloween and then fall and then Christmas.  Can't wait.

 And just so you can appreciate the changes, this is what it used to look like before we did the addition.  I think it is much improved.

 And this is what it looked like for far too long since we had to get everything out of the living room and dining room to add the wood floors.  I'm so glad I don't have to live with this mess any more.  We are finally back to order around here...ahhhh.  It feels so good.

A little View of our Home

Here is the living room. It's coming along. I just purchased a new light so I can change out the brass one on the living room ceiling. (I'll probably paint out the brass and use it in another part of the house.

A close up of the couch which I love because those cushions have down in them and are so comfortable. I could use this in my new family room addition, we are working on the plans for it right now, but it shows lint and would be a little harder to maintain in a family room.
Here's a picture of my bedroom. It's big and I love being in there.
More bedroom pictures. That is one of my husband's photographs. I used to have another larger picture there but I sold it. (I wish I had that to do over again because I really like how the picture was framed and don't remember the mat color and frame style to do it exactly the same. We sold the picture for the normal cost of my husband's picture and then sold the frame at cost. I'm kicking myself for that one because I could have just as easily sold the print for them to frame.)
We used to have a tv in that entertainment center but Eli took it over when he got home from his mission for his games. No big loss except for now we have a big empty entertainment center in our room.
Here's a pic of the master bath. We still need to change out the tile floor around the toilet. I'm trying to decide if I should sand and stain the oak cabinets darker to pick up the darker color in the granite. We used to have one of those ugly brass bar lights and a big solid mirror. We built the box under the lights because the electrical box was in the middle and I wanted to add a light over each mirror. It made for an easy fix and I like the added detail. It also made it so the lights stood out far enough from the wall to clear those thick frames around the mirrors. (The lights are from Lowes and the mirror were from Costco.)
Here is our kitchen with a close up of the tile design over the stove. We enjoyed designing this and doing the tiling ourselves. I tried to find a blind I like at Lowe's to go over the window but only could find a whimpy matchstick one. Those country curtains are way overdue for a change. Yuck!

We are in the process of redoing the bar. It has an oak veneer. My husband is making raised panels to match the cupboard style and I will paint the panels off white and then antique. I'm hoping it will look like a separate piece of furniture and add detail.
Looking from the kitchen toward the family room. We want to replace all the floors with hard wood. My kids think I should paint the cupboards. I like them but it might be too much with the hardwood floors too.
Here is the current fireplace. Should be get a new fireplace surround or redo this one in the new addition?
That wall with the fireplace is going. The room will extend out from there another 15 feet and add another 15 1/2 feet to the left making an "L" shaped family room. Man this room is ugly and way overdue for an update. I haven't done anything because we were trying to decide about adding the addition or moving or just updating what we have. We are moving in to the bidding stage on the addition and think that is what we will go with. I want to add another french door where that window is but it will make it much harder to do something with the space.
Here's what I want the new addition to look like. OK. I can't afford the chandelier and the room won't be white washed or quite this big. But, isn't this a great space?

OK everyone. Give me your expertise. You can see my style. What ideas do you have?