Craziness and the love of thrift stores

March is here.
How did that happen?
Having 3 kids is pure craziness sometimes. This winter has been a back and forth of sicknesses bounced between each family member. Sometimes it starts to wear on me mentally. There is so much packed into each action packed day, and that's just with normal committments, that there doesn't seem to be any time for extra things like being sick. We're trying to eat better, rest more, and wash little hands a little more. I'm also looking forward to being able to send the boys out to the sandbox and open some windows to let in some fresh air.

I've tried to make a few quick trips to the local thrift shop to check for fun little surprises. I found this great bird picture/collage recently that I couldn't resist. A fun little spring addition to the decor.

Kitchen Love

We have a tiny kitchen, original to our 1920 house. The counters were changed to laminate at some point and a dishwasher was added too. When we moved in I painted the cabinets and we put in new laminate flooring. It cries out for a little TLC. But the problem is, it doesn't need just a little bit of help, it needs to be completely overhauled. New windows, new electrical, new counters, new cabinets and a new sink. Sometimes I think people are able to just do a few upgrades and it helps, and on the plus side, since our kitchen is so small it won't cost as much to give it a little makeover. But this kitchen needs a 100 year do-over. Maybe that should be our goal, a 100 year birthday party for our kitchen. We only have about 10 years to plan for it. It's going to be great! I'll just have to be patient and collect some ideas in the meantime.

images from: My Ideal Home, House Beautiful, Alice Lane, The Yellow Door

Dining Room Inspiration

Some days it seems that the color brown is everywhere I look in our home. Brown chairs, brown patterned couch, wood floors, and wood trim around doors and windows.

Don't get me wrong, I love the wood floors (even though they desperately need to be refinished), and I don't dream of painting the doors and window trim (ok, I thought about for a minute, but then thought about how much work it would be to strip and refinish them if I changed my mind.) And the furniture? All extremely practical with young kids and a golden retriever, but I've got to figure out some way to perk things up a bit. I want things to be practical, but with a bit of fun thrown in.

I'm so hesitant to paint wood, but I've been really considering painting our dining room hutch.

We bought the set from a retired couple and it's all in pretty good shape. It's not what I would have necessarily purchased if given my choice, but it was good timing with a good price and I couldn't pass it up.

I've been eyeing Ina Garten's dining room for some time as inspiration to add some color.

image: House Beautiful magazine

It seems like the touch of blue really livens things up. And add this tablecloth and some art like this?

image: Saffron Marigold dot com

image: Skye Art

Seems a bit more fun than this I think.

We'll see. I've got some more thinking to do.

A new lease on life

For some time I've wanted to find a round dining room table and and set of chairs. About a year a go I found a little flyer on the bulletin board at work selling a dining room set. It's not exactly the style I'd pick if I had tons of money, but this set was only $350 bucks. That included the round table with (4!) leaves, six chairs - two of which are arm chairs, and a lighted china cabinet. The set was owned by a couple who was retiring and moving to sunnier weather. Like I said, it's not exactly what I would've picked out if given the chance, but for $350, it seemed like a great deal. The chairs were covered in sort of a dingy tweed-like stripe and the whole thing smelled a bit like a retirement home. When we got it home, I cleaned it with Murphy's Oil soap and lemon oil and that helped the smell immensely. But for about a year now I've looked for a suitable fabric to recover the chairs. I really wanted a white denim, but with two little boys learning table manners, that seems a bit silly and impractical. I found a limey-apple green and white paisley (for 40% off) that seemed both light and bright, but also might hide some imperfections. This weekend we finally got around to get the chairs all recovered. My husband helped with the muscle and my oldest son helped pick up the fabric scraps. For now, I think it really brightens things up.

An Organized Dream Come True!

I am the proud recipient of a wonderful hand-me-down!
My parents recently moved to a new house and have found that they are no longer in need of a wonderful piece of furniture.
I'm still not quite sure what to call it. A buffet?
I'm not sure that fits, but it's the closest thing I can come up with.
No matter what we call it, it is an interesting piece that's for sure.
My dad aquired it at a university auction. It has metal drawers and we believe it was used to hold seed or some other research project materials.
The best thing about this unique item is that it is a perfect piece to store all sorts of kid things.
I already have four drawers full of puzzles, two full of art supplies like paints, markers and crayons and a whole drawer full of track for match-box cars. These things were previously scattered about the house in various weird locations and I was constantly trying to remember where we had put things and frustrated that there wasn't a central location for it all.

I might have to secure the drawers for a while as my youngest boy is trying to open them and see how much he can take out. But I think it holds years of storage and a centralized location for kid stuff.

A spot to store research project materials indeed!

Sunshine

I treated myself to a little sunshine this weekend.

A mere $10 for a little pre-spring pick-me-up.

I believe it was well worth it.

Belgian Inspiration

Photo: House Beautiful Magazine/Simon Upton

When I opened this I took a deep breath and thought, ahhh, beautiful!

I live in a 1920 farmhouse. There are beautiful oak floors and oak trim around doors and windows that I wouldn't dream of painting. I also got a great deal on a dark wood dining room set that I couldn't pass up. It's extremely functional and will be perfect for raising two growing boys, but it's a little dark and clunky for my simple Scandinavian preferences. I've tried to figure out how to merge the simple beauty of Swedish Style with the realities of my home and living with golden retrievers and boys. The Belgian Style seems to do a great job merging the two. Although, I don't think I will be able to accomplish the full Belgian effect with my lifestyle, it gives me great inspiration.