the cutest kitchen

I was browsing the IKEA site yesterday and came across this little kitchen under the "inspiration" tab...

I love all of the little details and the clever use of space!

living room sources

Ugh, has a month really gone by since I last posted? There are so many things I want to write about...the rest of my house, our new diet, and Calder's 29-month letter. Bear with me...I have a toddler!

Let's start with the living room sources...

My couch is made by Lee Industries, ordered through Crate & Barrel during last year's 15% off upholstery sale (ps: they run this every fall and it's going on right now!). Read more about that here.

The pillows are from Serena & Lily. A spurge, I know. But I had a 20% off coupon and they matched the shade of my couch (grayish-brown) perfectly. It's the only pattern in there currently, so I feel like they really make the room.

The coffee table is actually a bench made by my late Uncle Dave. I was lucky enough to inherit it and painted it white.

The white chair was my grandmother's. It was this horrible orange-tweed, so I had it reupholstered in white cotton. It really belongs in the bedroom because, let's be honest...white and toddlers don't mix. I'd love to find two upholstered chairs in a pattern that complements the pillows (and that hides stains).

I found the throw on clearance at Z Gallerie.

The pouf is from Morrocco. Literally. My brother in law lived in Morocco for two years and hubs went to visit him and his new wife this spring. After lusting after the ones from Serena & Lily (which go for $450), I pleaded with hubs to bring me back a cheap one from the souk. Ours was about $30!!

The curtains are the basic white Vivan style from IKEA. Hang your curtains high and wide for maximum impact!

The rug was about $100 from Lowe's. I don't love it and it's not a permanent solution, but I needed to put something down for little man. I'm loving this one from Dwell Studio.

Here's a closer shot of the fireplace (which I painted, but we'll save that for another post):

The "Bellesol" mirror is from Ballard Designs. Sometimes they run special prices on Ballard favorites called "Bring Home Ballard," so I got mine for a great deal!

I found the mini farmhouse chair at an antique store for $15! It was purple, so I just gave it a thin coat of white...not too perfect because I wanted that shabby chic look.

Here's a shot of the other side of the room...

The cabinet was a floor model from Arhaus, marked down to a third of the original price! I didn't know what I was going to do with it when I bought it, but it ended up fitting perfectly to the left of the door leading out to the sunroom. It's a great place for our mini bar and I use the bottom to store our books for now.

I found the French bottle drying rack on clearance at Wisteria. I don't think they sell them anymore, but I've seen them in catalogs like Viva Terra, etc. Just google "french bottle drying rack." These were originally for drying wine bottles so they could be reused, such as this display from ABC Home:

But they're also a clever way to hold drinking glasses, spools of yarn, clay pots...whatever floats your boat!

So there you have it!

Before:

After:

house tour

Well I do believe I owe you a house tour! Let's step inside, shall we?

To the left is our living room...

To the right of our foyer is the dining room...

To the back, behind the dining room, is our kitchen...

Upstairs is our room, an office and Calder's room...

Step out into the fully fenced backyard to find a lovely deck and cozy firepit...

Not what you expected? I've been very busy...

better late than never

I've been meaning to post photos of the house, so I guess I'll start with the Christmas decorations. Better late than never, right? Here's a photo of the mantle:

And a close-up:

Aren't those stocking holders the cutest? Yeah for Target finds! I wouldn't normally put lamps on a mantle, but they kind of look like vases to me. More on those later...

the kitchen

I LOVE my kitchen. It's basically what sold me on the house. They kept the original drainboard sink and updated everything else. I love the open shelving and the subway tile. I'm not normally a fan of white appliances, but these have a touch of stainless and blend in with the white cabinets, so I like them.

One of the things we did was replace the globe on the pendant light. It was this ugly brown thing that did not go at all. Thankfully Lowe's had a white one for $5...easy fix!

We also painted the walls and open shelving "chic lime" by Benjamin Moore. They had painted a butter color that was nice, but not me. The lime really pops against the black + white and it makes me happy every time I walk in. We also used chalkboard paint underneath the chair rail on the opposite wall:

There are still a few things I want to do...like add a rug, replace the cabinet hardware and switch out the track lighting (too mod for me), but it's great for now.