What Would Your Dream Home Look Like?

I've been busy cleaning away today... It feels so nice to get all the nooks and crannies clean and dust free! Two roasts are busily simmering in the crockpots while I work--one for our friends who just moved back from Michigan..and one for us.

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Updating an ‘Out-of-Date’ Living Room with Inexpensive Pizzaz!

 New curtains, pillows, and lampshade…really added some ‘pop’ to my vintage style home.

When it comes to ‘out-of-date’ style…well, I surely must be the expert! Style, as I’ve said before, does not come easily to an artsy, craftsy, nostalgia nut like myself.  I’d rather sew, write, play guitar, or quilt than try to figure out that elusive thing called ‘style’..and it shows! Sigh..

Still need to change out the hangers here..but we’re working on it. :o)

For years I’ve longed for clean simple lines, fresh colors, and a light, airy feel in my home. But how to accomplish this always escaped me!I would tell my good friend Maria, over and over again, “Oh I love that room..and this one…and oh that one too!”  These rooms were modern yet inviting and simple…and looked nothing like my home.

If I loved the simple styles and colors so much..why did I keep decorating exactly opposite of that?

 Look at my header to see this shelf ‘before’ packing up the antiques.

In spite of my desire to modernize and simplify, my love for antiques and sentimental knick-knacks would de-rail me every time! Why am I so attracted to the gawdy, ornate, and well..honestly..just plain loud? Who knows..but it is a fact that I am. :o)

Yipes! I don’t remember my living room looking quite this cluttered a year ago!

Of course, it doesn’t help that I’ve never had a budget for furniture or decor so our home was mostly a collection of mish-mash and thrift store bargains. But that really wasn’t the real problem. 

 Removing furniture added so much space! Space..what a luxury!

It’s that the choices I made were  not something I wanted to live with.  In the end, there was just too much stimulation in our pretty, nostalgic home—too much dusting, cleaning, and re-arranging to do. 

With our lives so very very busy, the added stimulation of so many ‘pretties’ and collectibles in a very small home, was really wearing on me.  I needed a ‘rescue’!!

  

I didn’t have to quit hanging quilts..just use one that was a little less ‘busy’.  This quilt is over a hundred years old and was quilted by my husband’s grandmother and great-grandmother in Kansas. 

Living room before updating.

Thanks to Maria’s blog, Colour Me Happy, I  began to get a vision for what elements go into making a home look ‘fresh’ and stylish.  Things like new and trendier colors and accent pillows for the couch that really ‘pop’ are some of the ways to do this.

If you can’t paint a whole room in a new color, you can still add splashes of something fresh and bright with curtains or pillows. And that’s just what I did here with the curtains from Ross ($5.00 each!!) and the new pillows I sewed last month. I’m so in love with YELLOW!! I would have made it brighter but the kids begged me not to. LoL!

Maria has already picked out the colors for our home and the paint is purchased.  The living room will be Bavarian Cream--I’m so excited! You can read about that here. 

Our plan is to paint this summer..do or die. That is the surest cure for a home that is ‘out-of-date’…the perfect colors. For that, you will have to visit Maria. I could NEVER help you! LoL!

  

But one of the simplest and yet hardest things I did recently to update our ‘out-of-date’ home was to box up my precious knick-knacks…and start over.  I pulled out only the BIGGEST decor items I had and very carefully added back to the room only the bare minimum.

This is what you call too much stuff!

My DIL, Ebeth, suggested I remove all the knick-knacks from the piano..and the wall above it. “Leave the lamps,” she said, “But replace all that stuff on the wall with something big…like a modern piece of art..or a giant clock or mirror.”

 

 

The plate is antique (grandmother’s) and the chicken was a gift from a friend. This is the piano and wall AFTER Ebeth’s suggestion was followed.

Part of me, the sentimental part, was cringing, but the practical, get-it-done part of me was desperate for change. So I did just that. Why was I so scared to let go of my stuff? 

The whole family, it turns out, was thrilled at the idea of getting rid of my ‘antique’ or retro look. That was enough of a confirmation for me. Actually, I’ve saved some of my treasures but by adding some modern things, I was able to update the general look of the room. 

We moved furniture out to the office for temporary storage (yes—more of it!), and boxed up the rest. I may Ebay or Craig’s list some of it, but for now, I don’t have to worry. My treasures are safely tucked away. :o)

 

We spent REAL money ($25.00) on a huge clock from Ross. It was a fraction of what the price would have been anywhere else.  That clock was just perfect!!  (This is a first for us by the way.)

Maria was right. You CAN mix the old with the new, if you just have a few really quality pieces in the collection. It makes the older things look more ‘updated’.  It’s definitely worth a little splurge. :o)

 

Next purchase on the list?… According to my 16 yr.old son, it’s something to replace those lanterns on top of the shelves.  Thanks to Ross (an outlet store), we can purchase some modern style glass bowls and/or vases for accent pieces. We want them to be a LOT more colorful than the rest of the room.

 

Both my daughter, Rebekah, and son, Christian have been a huge helping in making this transition, along with my DIL, Ebeth. Who would have thought my Toys-R-Us teen son would have decorating ideas? I’ve decided that I will never again go shopping without my teens in tow for advice.  

I’m afraid I’m the ONLY one I know with this problem of being stuck with an old style habit.  All my friends seem to ‘get it’. But hey..I know when to ask for help! :o)

I hope my experience helps any of you who are trying to update in spite of your natural inclinations. And if you need more help, just visit Maria. Her blog is a great resource. After a year of reading her advice, I think I’m finally making progress.

Decorating our homes is an ongoing process, I think. Are we ever really done?  But with some new ideas, some de-cluttering, and fresh color, we can make our homes not only more beautiful, but more functional too.

Are you doing any re-decorating or home renovation this summer? I’d love to hear your ideas for updating your home. :o)

Linking with My Romantic Home and Raising Homemakers.

Unique Christmas Decor from Germany

 My Romantic Home is hosting a Friday Show and Tell. I had forgotten all about that and didn't want you to miss it. Since everyone was quite happily engaged this evening and I had some spare time, I thought I'd share photos of our home..all decorated for Christmas. If you would like to join Cindy's linky party,  just drop by. This week's party will certainly be festive!

First, I'll take you to the heart of our home..the dining room. This is one of our advent wreaths. We celebrate advent every week, as you know. It's how we keep from losing sight of the real reason for Christmas..our Savior's birth. The quilted gingerbread place mats were all sewn by my Grandma Wood...whom I miss very much! The quilt belonged to my Dad.

 We bought this Christmas pyramid in Germany while visiting my daughter-in-law's family there. 

We don't have a mantel, so I cover my cubbyhole shelf, which I store fabric in, with a quilt and arrange our nativity, which my father gave us many years ago, on top. It makes it easier to display our stockings.

   A closer view.

 

 

 Our nutcracker making nutcrackers.

He was the most beautiful thing we bought at the Christmas Market in Germany three years ago.

 The display on our piano. The ceramic church was made by my grandmother when she did ceramics. The  girl in the Christmas dress has been mine since I was a little girl..and the Santa's were from my dad. I made the quilted frame years ago..and wrote the poem, Christmas Memories,  when I was a young girl.

 

 Rebekah, my daughter, has owned this ballerina since she was a little girl. 

She dances to..what else?..'The Nutcracker" of course. :o)

This tablecloth came from Germany as well.  They make so many beautiful and ornate table linens there , but I especially wanted one just for Christmas. It looks so pretty on my coffee table!

 Snowmen from my friend, Denise, all sitting cozily in Lena's wicker chair.

And of course, you've already seen my living room with the Christmas quilt from my father. 

 

A nativity that I inherited from my Grandma Wood.

This is what many a family's front window of their flat looked like from the streets of Gelsenkirchen. I wanted to re-create this window in my sewing room at home. I just fell in love with the way they did their window displays! These lovely lace curtains and all the pretty stars, angels, and straw ornaments, were all purchased in little shops while we were there. 

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You can't see my schweiboggen, it's behind the curtain but can be seen as you walk up to the front door. Here is one version. Ours is a nativity scene and runs with white Christmas lights.

 And of course, you've seen my Christmas tree already, decorated with help from my teenage sons.

 Tim, Andrew, Elisabeth, Jacob, Rebekah, (Christian hiding), and 

Klaus, from Germany, with his and our' grandson, August.

I do hope you enjoyed my little tour.

And from our family to yours..Merry Christmas!

And now..I'm off to My Romantic Home to see all the other lovely holiday homes on display in 'bloggyland'. Come join us!  And while you are at it, you might want to visit my good friend, Gloria, of Gloria's Blog Viva La Vida is having a Christmas giveaway of her gorgeous hand-painted bangles. She's an artist so the bangles are fabulous!

Sprucing Up for the Holidays…

It was inevitable that I would begin to feel a little anxious about the state of the house with Thanksgiving only a few days away.  Even though Flylady has us cleaning and decluttering the master bedroom this week, I decided to break with the schedule and get the living room spic and span!  You see, it’s our tradition to decorate for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving. Dear hubby is normally off of work and the kids aren’t in class, so the timing is perfect.  Advent is the Sunday after Thanksgiving! It’s so much more special to have our first Advent devotional in a festive atmosphere. Advent, as I mentioned here, is a very special tradition that our family has celebrated for many many years.

So I rolled up my sleeves, grabbed my cleaning caddy and hit the ground running yesterday.  I used the approach that Jeff Campbell uses . I put on my apron and stocked the four pockets with Windex, 409, and Wood & Furniture Polish from Don Aslett and a good supply of paper towels folded up in each of three of the pockets. The fourth pocket was for my FlyLady timer and soiled paper towels and bits of trash I might come across along the way.  I tucked FlyLady’s dust mop (so pretty!)  in the waist band at my back. My 16 yr. old quipped that I looked ‘just like Flylady’. (No I didn’t wear my pin..I save that for more public occasions. :o)

My decor on and over the piano was inspired by Maria’s post on tablescapes. Thanks Maria!

Jeff, author of Speed Cleaning,  suggests doing this because it keeps you in ONE SPOT with every supply you need right at hand. He says that most homemakers waste a tremendous amount of time running around for supplies.  If you have all your supplies close at hand, you can look at each 4 x 8 stretch of wall (from ceiling to floor) and clean everything you see. If it’s glass..use windex. If it’s wood, use your polish. If it’s anything else, use the 409 to clean it. Move from left to right in a clock wise ‘circle’ around the room and work your way to the middle for the coffee table (and/or other furniture in the middle of the room.)  Jeff completely changed my approach to deep cleaning with his book.   

Flylady’s timer helped me to keep from spending too much time in any one area and helped remind me to take a break! That’s a good time to sit down for a nice cup of tea.  I had such a lovely break too because I was sitting on our new and Oh-so-comfy couch! I’ve been looking forward to showing it to you. We all love how roomy it is and enjoy hanging out together in the mornings.

I have to admit that I spent a good two hours in the living room which is much more than I normally do even on a monthly basis but that was partly because I took the opportunity to clean the windows both inside and out. I know…that’s  no fun, but I hate having dirty windows and I hadn’t cleaned them since spring. Don Aslett says there is just no excuse for dirty windows. Cleaning them is the quickest way to improve the whole look and feel of your home and your outlook on the world outside..and even your life! I could have kicked myself for putting that job off so long. I knew I needed to do them. I must have sat for 20 minutes just staring outside at the lovely fall colors! It was such a treat and reward to enjoy that view after two hours of hard labor cleaning.

Now the living room is absolutely spic and span and smells wonderful! I won’t feel at all embarrassed when company comes over in the next few weeks. A quick spruce up is all it will need until Jan. 1st when we take everything down and put it away again. I will do some de-cluttering this week too; just 15 minutes a day though.

How about you? Do you feel like your house is ‘holiday ready’? 

Just 15 minutes a day could do wonders!

Happy Homemaking!

The Color of Fun!

This morning I saw such a fun little linky party hosted by the most inspiring bloggie friend I have, Maria of Color Me Happy, that I just had to join in the fun. It’s so GRAY…DREARY..and WET around here..that this seemed like the perfect fix.

Of course, I can’t be TOO gray…a NEW COUCH is on the way!! It’s too be delivered today this morning!!  Oh happy day..Thank you Lord!  I’m still pinching myself to see if it’s really happening. I really think Maria will approve of the couch. (Crossing my fingers!)

I wish I could have taken her shopping with me, but sigh..she just wasn’t available (due to about 2200 miles of distance-Ha!).  Here’s a sneak peak at the couch… (using my cell phone..Yipes!)  This is from the warehouse at The Dump. Thanks Millicent for a great idea for a place to buy an inexpensive couch!

PS. That cowhide sadly, does NOT come with the couch. I just didn't have an exta $200.00 to get it. Ah..well..maybe next time!

But ..back to her post…She was asking us the question…What Color is Fun?!!  Well, I think these beautiful things from Murdoch’s Bathhouse in Galveston…are just the perfect color of fun! What do you think?

I was shopping with my friend, Gaylan, and snapping photos left and right. I kept telling her THESE ARE THE COLORS!! These are the ones I was telling you about! I’m so uneducated about color..so it was sort of like the blind leading the blind. But the NEW colors for design are happy colors according to Maria. She called them ‘true’ colors.

If you want to join in the fun..just drop by Maria’s and tell her I sent you. :o)  Meanwhile, I’ll be working on a good “let’s get the house together before the holidays” post. (Gee!..got to think of some excuse to post photos of the living room with my new couch in it..right?)

And if you are looking for some great ideas for Christmas, Murdoch’s Bathhouse in Galveston might just be a great place to start!  (If you can't get to Galveston, you might try this online shop.)  Also, visit Gina's The Shabby Chic Cottage for some really lovely nautical gift ideas and home decor.

Happy Homemaking!