What I've Been Working On

So between me working 40 hour weeks in May and the run up to my parent's 50th wedding anniversary bash, I haven't have a lot of time for blogging.   I've also been busy working on transforming my front room.

When we originally moved in, it was the living room.  It was also 1980's doctor's office mauve.  If you lived in the 80's you know exactly what I'm talking about here.  It was that dusty pink/purple that went with country blue.  I'm sure your picturing the tiny flowers on the wallpaper now.   Needless to say, we painted it pretty quickly.   I went with a lovely sage green.  I've enjoyed it, but it was worn out and needed re-done.  I decided it might be time for a change of color as long as we're going through the trouble of painting.  Then I got thinking about other changes we could make.

So I talked my husband into this:

I know, all that big talk about how "my house shouldn't look like other people's houses," and I go with board and batten wainscoting.   It looks pretty, though.   I'm very happy with it.  The picture ledge is fabulous.   I console myself with the fact that only four people on the planet have that pear picture (I only gave/sold three copies of it.  It's mine. It will also have a red "mat" as soon as I can find the blasted picture file.)  and that paper cut is a custom SVG done by my lovely friend Helena.  She sent it to me to do a cut test.   I loved it so much I framed it.  

Here's a close up of the pillow: 

That bench is right by the front door.   I figured at my age, a little memory prompting can only be a good thing. The words are iron on vinyl.  The fabrics are the leftover pieces from the pillows in the sitting room.   Since I used the same color scheme, it was a great way to tie the two rooms together.   

Here's a terrible picture of the other side of the room.

I'll take better pictures soon.   I have never been happier with my house.  It's been a long process, but I have found over the years that, contrary to popular style fads, the more color I add to my home the happier I am with it.   I would never have been happy with the room if I had painted the space above the wainscoting Sherman Williams Sea Salt like everyone else.   I need color.

Never be afraid to do your own thing in your home.  You do not have to decorate to make the online bloggers happy.   They mostly live in UT; they probably won't visit you anyway.  I read blogs to check the style trends to see if there is anything I might like and to learn some great design lessons.  You can take design tips and use them for the things that work for you.

I'll post better pictures in a bit.  I want to get a new centerpiece put together and I have to paint the eighth chair.