Category Archives: Furniture

06.26.12

‘Round Here.

I have been wrestling with the layout of our living room for years.  We’ve moved the sofa on every wall in the room.  Last weekend we rearranged the furniture once again to incorporate a buffet that I got on clearance at HomeGoods.  Interestingly enough, now the sofa is not up against any wall, and we used the buffet as a sofa table that is adjacent to the front door.  I LOVE how it opens up the entire room.  

 Now I will need to work on centering the butterfly prints and find some new items to style those DD Tables.  E actually styled them here… not so bad, eh?  The most exciting part?  I have saved my pennies and the wingback chairs are FINALLY going out for reupholstery in two weeks.  H E L L O   T U R Q U O I S E   L I N E N.   They are seriously the best buy I’ve ever made on Craig’s List-  so comfortable!  We are loving this new setup and spent more time in our living room last weekend than we have in the entire eight years we’ve lived here.  Lou has even set up her own restaurant.  (Can you see Rudolph above?  He was her first customer.)  She’s been getting great use out of our new ottomans!

For those of you who have followed the progress of this room, you are probably asking where my DIY lamps are… No fear, they have been repurposed in the foyer.
I just love repurposing items in our house to new spaces… It almost makes me feel like I got away with something! 

06.20.12

A Fresh Perspective.

I bought this secretary’s desk a few months ago on CraigList.  Mike had to pick it up for me and when he got it home it was covered in scratches and top spindle fell off.   I paid about $200 and, I was then convinced that I was a sucker.   (Sorry, the only picture that I have is from the actual CL posting.)
I was determined to turn this piece of trash into a treasure.  And finally, I found my inspiration via Pinterest.
It was the perfect color composition for the palette that I selected for our guest bedroom.
Here she is.. all prettied up.
 The interior is Autumn Red by Benjamin Moore and the exterior is Blackthorn by Duron.
More pics and resources on this room to come!

06.07.12

Not Your Typical Model Home.

I have an addiction to houses.  Seriously, it’s a problem.  Perhaps it’s because I am a Realtor’s daughter and so many of my childhood memories were spent at open houses.  If allowed, I could spend an entire Sunday fluttering from one open house to another.  Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t permit that, but on  a whim a stopped by an open house by M/I Homes in a new development near us.  Generally, when walking through an open house I am overly critical of the over-the-top decor and fake ficus trees.  Not this house.  This one stopped me in my tracks.  This was the only open house that I have ever been in that I could move into as is.    Here are some of the highlights (taken with my iPhone…)
 The family room which took my breath away.
 Just look at that ceiling!
 I loved all of the furniture.
 The kitchen.  Complete with Carrara marble tile.
The kitchen eating area.
Just look at this porch off of the kitchen!
 The dining room.
Look at these gorgeous stairs!
 GBR # 1
 MBR
 GBR #2
 One of three guest bathrooms upstairs.
Entryway to the basement.
The Bar.
Loved this Media Room.
There are many more rooms that I did not snap, like the home gym, umpteen bathrooms and additional GBR.  Sure, I’d make a few changes, but a tip of the hat to you, M/I Homes… You knocked this one out of the park!

06.04.12

HomeGoods Hit List.

Our HomeGoods has been knocking it out of the park lately.  Check out some of these finds…

I fell in love with this mirror.  $299…  It was so ginormous.  I wish I had somewhere to put it!

Loved the rustic details….

I ended up taking these two home, determined to make them work in our living room.

I also took this home.  I am going to rework it for E’s room.  Stay tuned there.

 Loved this mirror.
This would make a great bar.
 This is just like the table in Lou’s Room!
I thought these lamps were so cool.

Loved this headboard and these huge wingback chairs.  Perfect for a beach house!

 Loved the nailhead design on these chairs.
Great bench! 

Took these two home for E’s bookshelves.

There was a plethora of fabulous gold tables to choose from.

Loved this ottoman!

 Lastly, picked up some Kate Spade sheets for our Guest Bedroom.  They felt super-soft.  I’ll give you the full review.

05.22.12

From Blah to BAM!

Let me take you through the transformation of a cabinet….
This picture is just plain embarrassing.. We used to use this in our family room to store our baby arsenal of diapers, wipes and burp cloths.  I actually took these photos three years ago because I was going to sell it on Craig’s List.
as you can see, it was distressed..
I decided to give her one more chance, so we moved it to the foyer as a catch all for everything that comes into our house.  Chinese Red was the color that came to mind.  It was really hard finding the perfect red.  It turned out to be Red Geranium by Glidden.  (That’s the sample smack dab in the middle.)
I painted on a sample to make sure it was just the right color.
And it was!  I removed the starbursts from the existing draw pulls and spray painted all of the hardware in Rustoleum Brass spray paint. As you can see, this needs more styling and I still need touch up some areas but nonetheless I am super happy with the results.  It brings a smile to my face every day when I walk in the door.
Last image taken by Ryann Colleen Photography