My Cottage....Still Tweaking!

I haven't posted in a while.

Life seems to be getting in the way!

Although I still have more house projects,

which sometimes seem never ending,

I have made lots of progress settling into 

Buttermilk Cottage.

It's hard to believe I've been here

almost six months!

You've already seen the office and kitchen,

so today I'll show you the rest of the downstairs.

Here's a look at the living room

when I bought the house.

Very good bones,

but I needed to make it "mine."

This shot is just inside the front door.

The ceiling was smoothed out 

and the carpet was removed from the stairs.

All the walls in the house were painted a pale gray.

That enabled me to use the window treatments

from my previous house 

along with my numerous

blue and white accessories.

And of course, there's a pop of red

in every room!

The chalk painted wardrobe came from

the entrance in my previous house.

The mirror backed french doors,

also chalk painted,

were from the dining room.

One of the fun things about moving for me

has been using old things in different rooms.

The fireplace has gas logs which have already been used

on numerous occasions.

I am loving this cozy, comfortable room!

Here's a reminder how the dining room looked before....

...and after.

There's a curved archway

from the living room

into the dining room. 

The table is presently "dressed" 

for fall.

The corner cabinet

is still a work in progress.

The top portion has a

pretty arched glass door

and the bottom 

two shelves will be 

closed behind two solid doors.

Presently the doors are all 

in the basement

waiting for me to finish them.

(Another project....another day.)

I am highlighting green in the dining room,

since these are the dishes on display.

Loving how the downstairs

has come together.

Finally, the last bit of downstairs

I haven't yet shared

is the bathroom.

Except for keeping the

original tub and toilet...

...lots of changes in here.

I am using bead board halfway up the walls.

The mirror above the sink

belonged to my grandmother.

As in the kitchen,

I've also used subway tile

and the same checkerboard floor.

That completes the downstairs.

And of course,

I couldn't have a single room

without at least 

one little lamb in it!

SO GLAD I'm a Scavenger!

I found this set of blue vase prints

in the latest catalogue I received from

Ballard.

Gorgeous, aren't they?

I love Ballard's styling and

it is often a source book of

decorating inspiration.

However, this one time,

I was one step ahead of them!

Several years ago I found two unframed prints

in a local "antique" (i.e. junk) shop for $5.00 each.

I have loved blue and white forever

so could not pass them up. 

I framed them myself with frames from Michaels.

They now hang in my dining room.

Because of their position, 

the lighting in that room,

and my questionable photography skills,

I can't show you a really nice picture

of how they look.

They hang on either side of the 

dining room's archway into the living room 

and are a nice compliment to the

blue and white vases I have displayed there.

Now for the real beauty of it all...

Ballard's  19-inch square prints are priced at

$179.00 each.

My 19 x 23-inch prints cost me approximately

$40.00 each.

Priceless...

Tweaking the Dining Room

I have finished painting my dining room!

(See my last post.)

As I look at my pictures,

I am noticing this was more of a 

"tweaking"

exercise than a major change.

After all, I did only go from yellow to darker yellow.

This was the color I started with,

a bright, "lemony" yellow.

Note the rug.

In an effort to get "less fussy"

it is going away.

Actual painting is not really a part of the job that I dislike.

It's the total chaos and disorder you live with 

while you're doing it.

Getting started by doing all the hand painted edging.

You can get an idea of the color change here.

This darker yellow is a more mustard yellow.

Finished!

I have replaced the oriental rug

with a natural jute one.

I like how my recently painted

french door mirrors

pop against the new yellow.

By the way, the yellow love seats

in the living room

will soon be slip covered in 

an off white fabric.

(Isn't it amazing how one change

brings about lots of

other changes.)

One spring project done!

A hundred more left to do…

Linking this week to
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Twirl and Take a Bow at All Things Heart and Home
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

The Color Yellow and Good Karma...

Today I am painting my dining room.

I'll (hopefully) show you the results next time…

I originally painted the dining room a 

sunshiny, lemon yellow when I bought this house,

and it was my favorite room.

Yellow has always been a favorite color of mine. 

However, my tastes and moods have changed

a bit since.

I am going with yellow again,

but more of a "mustard" yellow this time.

I actually started this job yesterday.

I have always used a "satin" finish in the past

but this time I decided to be a little different

and choose the "eggshell" finish.

BIG mistake.

I think eggshell takes a better painter than me.

The first coat looks blotchy and streaked.

After a bit of research I find I can

paint satin on top of eggshell.

So…an early evening run to Lowe's

last night for a second gallon of paint.

I am using Lowe's Valspar

and to my happy delight,

their policy with this paint is

"…if you are not happy with the color,

have a second one on us."

Who knew????

I picked up Chinese takeout for dinner on the way home 

and, I kid you not, 

this is what my fortune cookie said,

"Focus in on the color yellow

tomorrow for good luck."

That's all the mojo I need and expect

good final results.

But in the meantime…

it's time to paint.

Have a great weekend!