Lighting changes everything

I am going out on a limb here and saying that this is probably my favorite change we've done to the house so far. That may not be fair to say, because the breakfast nook's board and batten and window shades and accessories and new wall art all have done their part. But it wasn't until we changed the lighting that it all really came together for me. 

I got this light from Overstock.com. It looks identical to this Pottery Barn favorite. Seriously, identical. I have compared pictures over and over again, and everything matches up. Except the price. The Overstock light was over $100 cheaper! Score.

I am telling you, I squealed once we put this light up. It elevated the entire space and make everything look so very "Pottery Barn." Which, you know, is my ultimate design goal in everything I do, right? ;)

We are getting so close to being "done" with all the details in the main living space (the entry/living room/kitchen/breakfast nook). The only thing left is to replace the two pendant lights above the bar and the kitchen light (both can be seen in the picture directly above, on the left).

I ordered the pendant lights yesterday (and got a GREAT deal on those too, which I will tell you about once they come in). Then my dad has promised to help us install recessed lighting for my birthday (June 25). I want to install four recessed lights in the kitchen area to replace that one big light.

Of course, I'll be sure to post all about that as it happens! But for now, I am just basking in the glory of my new light fixture, that I just love (By the way... I love the light fixture, if I hadn't mentioned it yet).

Oh and just for fun, a little before-and-after action for ya:

We've come a long way, baby :)

An $11 solution...

So let me fill you in on how the decorating process works for me: a lot of the time, I see an inspiration picture in a catalog, and then I basically find a way to recreate it in my own home. Sometimes though, an idea just pops into my head and then I have to set out to find it (if it even exists!).

Thats what happened with this wall:

I knew I needed something dark to bring contrast to the white woodwork and light walls, to keep it all from reading to "pastel." In my head, I envisioned a fairly large square-shaped dark wood carving of some sort. Easy enough, right? Well, how exactly do you google that? Not as easy as I thought. And I searched the wall art at every home decor store I could think of, with no luck for months. Seriously, where do I come up with these ideas?

Then one day I saw this at Kirklands:

Marked down from $29.99 (good price) to $10.99 (great price!). 

What? Its not wood? Well, I figured a little spray paint could create a little "faux wood." And if not, oh well! Its only $11.

So after a coat of the same brown spray paint I used on the kitchen chairs, I had this:

Looking a little one-note, eh? I thought so too. So I decided to bust out the ole acrylic paint in a slightly darker shade and fill in the flower design to give some depth to it. And I ended up with this:

Its not perfect, but I think it gives the illusion of carved wood. And its just the right size for the spot:

So there is my $11 solution for an empty wall. And all of this is leading up to a very exciting post about another new addition to our breakfast nook, coming up next!

One snail's journey

Also could be titled "one sofa table's journey." (Melodramatic much?)

The first time I blogged about our entryway, this is what you saw:


























Those of you very observant types may have noticed a change to the bottom shelf of the table when I blogged about our new light fixture:


Here's a closer look:

I just wasn't feeling the brown storage boxes that I had there originally. They looked kind of dark and dingy compared to the rest of the elements here, which are very light and airy, and even somewhat elegant. Plus this move got me really into being super-organized in my closets/drawers/cabinets (which I am planning to post about sometime soon), so I decided to use the storage boxes elsewhere. 

I really struggled with trying to figure out what to put in place of the boxes. To be honest, I am still not completely happy with it and will more than likely change it once I find something that better suits the space, but until then, here's what I came up with.

The two silvery squares hold candles. I bought these months before we ever moved because they had that "light and airy" look that I knew I wanted for the new house. Honestly, not my smartest purchase ever, because I just haven't felt like they really go with the rest of the living room (where I have used more old-world rubbed bronze elements than I had originally anticipated). To be honest, the only reason these are now in this spot is because I want to use them somewhere so I can feel like I am getting my money's worth for them.

I bought this teal box from Marshall's basically as a space filler. I bought it with the intention of spray painting it white, but once I put it there, I liked the way the color worked, so there it stayed. 

When I go on vacations, I collect postcards. I try to get a postcard from every place we visit on a single trip (museums, cool restaurants, etc). Its a super-cheap souvenir, and helps me remember where I've been. So my little collection has been sitting in a paper bag in a drawer for years now. My collection is finally growing to a size where it needed a true, dedicated spot for it. This teal box is now that spot. I love the way it elevates the postcards to more of a showpiece, rather than just junk sitting in a drawer :)

But wait. Isn't this post titled "One snail's journey" ? We haven't even talked about a snail yet. Oh yes, here he is...

This snail was my attempt to be like my home decor blogger idol Sherry (from Young House Love). She's got quite the collection of white ceramic creatures of all types (dogs, rhinos, rams, horses, squirrels....you get the picture). It looks so very chic, in a kooky sort of way. So when I saw this snail at Hobby Lobby, I figured I could try my hand at my very own white kooky animal accessory. (He originally was a bronze color, and I spray painted him white.)

This is one of those lessons of to-thine-own-self-be-true. It wasn't that I didn't like Mr. Snail, it just didn't feel like me. I'm not really a kooky type. I am more of a white ceramic flower type, rather than a white ceramic rhinoceros type. Especially for this space. I just felt like it was a "one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong" type moments...

Luckily, I had the perfect spot for Mr. Snail. A place you have already seen him before. 

I feel like he fits in much better in the porches' more casual environment. He was a little stark white when compared to the creams of the pillows and accessories out there, so he got yet another coat of spray paint and now is a lovely "almond" color.

As for what replaced him on the entryway table. Well, its still a work in progress. I bought some shiny white decorative balls, which I like for the elegant beach vibe they give off without being too literal. I placed them in this glass bowl that I already had as a temporary solution (I don't feel like it is the right proportion size-wise to the teal box). So I am on the lookout for something that really pulls the look together. I'll let you know once I finally figure it out.

Outdoor living

This makeover has been a long time coming. 

All last spring/summer (in the rental house), I was dreaming of having "real" patio furniture. I even had some picked out and was thisclose to buying it. But we reasoned that since we knew we would be moving we should probably wait, that way we don't have to transport it to the new house. 

Once we got to the new house, my dreams of a beautiful outdoor living space still remained. But there were so many other "higher priority" items to spend money on. So we waited. Finally, with the weather all nice and toasty out (just how I like it!), I could wait no longer. I declared May to be our "spruce up the patio" month. 

And spruce up I did. And hey, we are only mid-month! Can't say I wait around :)

But lets back up here a bit. First some before pictures. This was our patio when we first moved in with the old furniture. It is practically identical to the way it was set up at the apartment and at the rental. Its functional. But not a place that inspires you to spend your time outdoors.

Oh, and please take note that our builder decided it would be a great idea to attach rain gutters to our columns. Um, no thank you. We took those off.

So the first part of our Project Spruce Up actually began in April, when we decided to stain the fence. This truly was more in effort to waterproof the fence and keep it from rotting over time than it was about aesthetics. But it did turn out quite lovely. 

Before:

During (this process was killer. Our fence is huge. It took us three weekends to finish and wayyyyy more stain than I ever would've guessed.)

After: 

Notice anything else different? We added a stone border around our tree bed. Love it. 

Before:

After:

Forgive the weeds. I plan to plant something pretty in this area (or at least cover it in mulch), but that is way down on my priority list for now.

The following picture serves a duel purpose. First, to illustrate that we also stained the columns. Second, to show the sad state that my patio accessories sat in for the first four months we lived here:

And the saddest part is that one day Nick accidentally broke my very favorite teal pots. I couldn't bear to throw them away at first, so they sat here like this for a couple months too.

So after we addressed the fence and the stone border (and I had thrown away the teal pots and planted a few things in the others), it was finally time to bite the bullet and buy some patio furniture! Oh happy day!

We ended up going with the same Target furniture I had my eye on the year before. It is the perfect mix of modern cottage style. 

I really debated the table situation. I would've preferred not to go matchy-matchy, but I couldn't find anything I thought would coordinate. Sometimes you just gotta go with what is easier.






















Leafy pillows are from Target. Green pillow is from Home Depot. I also got some green pots from Home Depot to replace my broken teal ones. Still need some plants for those.

Rug is from the ever-classy Wal-mart. This was not for lack of looking. I looked high and low (online and off) for a stylish green outdoor rug. I had my eye on a couple of pricey options (but was hesitating due to the price), when I spied this green rug for a mere $50 at Wally World. And it has a very similar leaf pattern to the pillows. How serendipitous :) 

Lantern is from Lowes, little potted plant is from Michaels. Yellow pot is Crate & Barrel (an Easter present from my mom!)

The flower box is from Michael's (there is another one underneath the coffee table), the snail is from Hobby Lobby (he has had quite the journey...but that will have to be another post).

This firepit was Nick and my Christmas present to ourselves two years ago (from Home Depot).

We also bought this bird feeder from Wal-mart. Its already empty. We've seen the most beautiful cardinals and even the occasional blue jay!

And the hammock was my birthday gift last year. From Target.

So there you have it. Our backyard makeover! And let me tell you, it has been worth every penny. It has increased our time spent outdoors a hundred-fold. I am out there practically every night reading. And of course, Nick has enjoyed it too:

But no one is happier than this girl...

...because nothing brings her more joy than us sitting outside as she runs around. 

The end.