House Tour, Summer 2010

At last I am finishing my House Tour Series, giving a ‘virtual tour’ to  friends and family who have not had a chance to visit us in person. Last year (wow, has it been that long?) I showed you our Kitchen and Laundry Room. I’ve also done several posts as the Dining Room has evolved. But I have yet to reveal the living room or studio, as well as show you the personal touches I added to the kitchen last month. The next few posts should complete the tour of the downstairs. When we are finished with the renovations upstairs, I will then give you a glimpse into the bedrooms.

So, to start, the long-awaited living room tour!

 Here’s the view from the diningroom. Couch, end tables, coffee tables and lamps all came off Craig’s list! Curtains were discounted at TJMax. Throw rug from thrift store. Decorating with thrift in mind simply takes time – this room really only came to feel ‘complete’ until the last few weeks, but it was worth the wait.

Standing at the front door  looking back into the room and to the dining room beyond.

Turning left, we have the couch and two windows which look out into the playroom.

The most fun (and, admittedly, the hardest part) has been adding the finishing decorative touches that make the room personal and homey. I do not like clutter or busyness, but have to be careful not to let a room feel ‘sterile’. Each piece of artwork or nicknack then has to be very special and chosen carefully. I love this little vinnette – it is very sentimental. Jeremy’s paternal grandfather made the display shelf, and his maternal grandfather, the intracite “Welcome” plaque. The Willow Tree pieces are all, of course, gifts that mark special milestones in our lives.

And here is our little chick-a-dee, perched above a pottery bird house. This was a housewarming gift from a friend and the last detail I added to the room. I love it.

The wall collage also presents a great deal of time to get it ‘just right’ In fact, even yet there are a few more photos to add, but they require Jeremy’s expertise, so I am waiting on that for now. The Collage contains, from the top clockwise, a photo of the day we were engaged, the meaning of our family crest, origanal artwork done by a friend, a mirror (reflecting the robin’s egg blue walls of the hallway opposite), and our family crest (custom designed as a gift for Jeremy’s 30th birthday last year). In the center is my favorite of our formal wedding portraits.