exterior update

Jeff has been hard at work on our exterior updates over the last few weeks...  The progress made after such a short amount of time is so exciting!

Our 'Exterior Project To-Do' list currently looks like this:

• Install new living room windows (and centering them)
• Install new guest bedroom windows (making them regular-size)
• Prime new siding
• Hang new siding
• Hang horizontal batten strips
• Paint all siding (including exterior of sunroom)
• Paint storm door & replace house numbers
• Build pretty trellis to cover stone side of house, with flowering vine
• Plan and build covered front porch (plans TBD) 
• Widen natural area in front of house & landscape

We still have to decide on the paint color... and whether or not we'll paint just the board & batten siding... or the entire house, brick included (which is my vote).

But for having made just a little dent in the list so far, the difference is incredible!

Before:

In Progress:

Stay tuned for the rest of our updates... And my best attempt at talking Jeff into painting brick!

the sofa returns

I am so excited that we got our Lee Industries sofa back from the reupholstery shop!  Two short weeks later, and it hardly looks like the same piece of furniture...

To remind you of our 'before'...

 
We worked with Sugar Hill Upholstery and highly recommend them.  Their prices include pick-up and delivery in the area and wrapping the cushions.  They also added casters to the front legs for us, since it appeared that the sofa originally had them.

It's a little hard to tell in the pictures, but the fabric is a light grayish blue color.

I ended up splurging on the fabric at $14 per yard, but really wanted to invest in something that was neutral and durable.  I decided to go with the practice choice here, since we plan to have this sofa for a long time (and it will hopefully need to stand up to some kids and dogs one day).  So I went with a durable commerical-grade.

And considering these sofas retail new for close to five times what we spent, I feel really excited about our find!  Now I'm off to hunt for a few new throw pillows and a rug... Happy weekend!

new living room windows

While I was off celebrating the nuptials of one of my sweet friends from high school, Jeff was working on installing new windows in our living room.  Much to my surprise, I came home to the work already in progress...

Before, with windows off-center & awkwardly placed in the corner...

In progress, with new windows separated and centered...

city livin vs. country life

One of the things that I adore about my husband is his love of homes... real estate browsing, home remodeling, all of it.  On a monthly basis, we exchange MLS links to homes we're interested in.  While our next home is certainly in the distant future, when the time comes, I have a feeling we'll both have a strong idea of what we want.

However, we do occasionally drift over to the 'what-if' of country living.  We both realize that you pay a premium for living close to town, and those old, walkable, convenient neighborhoods just so happen to be the ones that we love... and are out of our price range.

Then I stumble upon this dream home, and I start to wonder about moving out of town.  Seriously.  I love everything about this house... except that it is located in Monroe.
 

But then I look at this house again, and think I could suck it up for those floors and windows and fireplaces... And the unpictured cottage with separate living quarters on the property.  Oh, and the fact that it is priced only slightly above our current mortgage.

So what do you think?  Would you manage an hour commute to work (each way) and the hassles of living in a small town for an amazing (in price and detail) historical home?  Or would you keep the convenience of city living? 

 

lately...

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This pretty much sums up my life lately... We've had a lot going on and none of it has involved finishing anything on my project list (or cleaning my house for that matter).

The campaign chest is half painted & sitting in the middle of the sunroom, my Craigslist bookcase is lined with paint chips, the 'new' sofa is covered in tiny fabric swatches... and our back bedroom is filled to the brim with items for a yard sale that was supposed to happen two weeks ago.

I'm hoping that my house will be restored to normalcy soon... But (honestly) it's pretty unlikely, given that we purchased windows last week for our upcoming exterior remodel. 

Let's all agree to view it as organized chaos, okay? 

sofa fabric inspiration

My original plan for the 'new' sofa was an ivory or off-white fabric... Especially after reading Kirsten's design with kids in mind series, where so many said washable and bleach-able white is the way to go {and fur children and human children make roughly the same amount of mess, right?}

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Jeff wasn't so impressed by the concept, reasoning that our sweet puppy daughter's love of furniture and my OCD cleaning would have me washing the cushion covers every week.

Plan B was an outdoor fabric (also a suggestion from the kids in mind design series) in a light gray or bluish-gray...

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Then, of course, there is a very big small piece of me that wants to throw practicality out of the window, in favor of a beautiful home... With a colorful velvet upholstery...

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In my defense, Lauren at Pure Style Home has two little ones with velvet upholstery and says it has held up great!  {As a side note, she also mentions purchasing her LEE sofa on Craigslist for $300... That loud squeal you hear is my excitement over our deal!} 

So what do you think?  Washable white?  Outdoor fabric in gray?  Or a fun velvet?

craigslist find

Recently, I've been drooling over English roll arm sofas... Starting with my LEE Industries find on Craigslist a few weeks ago.  I have to admit that I am so glad my hubs didn't let me spring for that one...

Because I scored a different English roll arm sofa for a steal at $80!  ::{This is the part of my blog where I openly acknowledge that Jeff's frugality and patience waiting for a deal pays off for us both}:: When we went to look at the sofa, I caught a glimpse of the tag and immediately knew it was coming home with us.

Yep, for $80 I finally got my LEE Industries sofa!  I've heard so many good things about the quality of this furniture and definitely feel like it will be a sofa to keep for many more years.  But, like most good deals, there is one slight difference between this and the $1200 find (or a brand new one for around $5000)...

Our 'new' sofa is a little rough around the edges, to say the least.  But for the low low purchase price of $80, the hubs has agreed to having this beauty reupholstered.  And honestly, that makes the find all the more exciting... Not only do I get the style I want, but I can customize the color and fabric too! 

Now to just find the perfect fabric!  And I'm challenging myself to get a great deal on discount fabric too... Any suggestions on where to look in Charlotte? 

dining rooms

My mother-in-law recently took down her dining room wallpaper, and it got me thinking about dining rooms I love.  I absolutely can't wait until we start looking for our next home (a long time in the future), and I know a formal dining room will be on my must-have list.

For now, here are a few of my favorites...

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Which do you prefer for a dining room... dark saturated walls or light and neutral?

gallery wall

Lately, I've been considering switching up the art in our living room.  I love the look of a gallery wall around the television... And we have a lot of smaller framed pieces that I think would work together if I kept the frames to gold and black.

Here is a little of my current inspiration...

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What do you think?  Would it add an eclectic feel?  Or would it just look cluttered?

birthday wishin

Friday marks my 27th birthday!  I realize I'll get a lot of disagreement here, but I'm not ready for summer to end... Swapping out my sundresses for jeans and sweaters just doesn't sound appealing to me yet. 

But in an effort to get in the mood for fall, I'm posting my (mostly) fall-themed birthday wish list...

{Toms Womens Classic Cords}

{Rustic Pedestal Side Table}

{Eternity Circle Bracelet & Gold Beaded Bracelet}

{Plaid Blanket/Throw}

{Comfortable and cute sweatshirt}

{J. Crew Leather Tote}

And in a complete in-my-birthday-dreams moment...

{Nikon Digital SLR Camera}

Feel free to send gifts and/or donations in an effort to get me psyched for cooler months ahead...

womp womp

... That's the sound I heard as soon as I got the disapproving email from my husband.  And since the verdict is in (or out, as the case may be) on this amazing Craigslist find for my house, I'm hoping someone else can take advantage!

An incredible Lee Industries sofa for sale, just under an hour outside of Charlotte...

{rolled arms & casters for legs}

{fabric detail}

You may recognize it as the sofa featured in a handful of my favorite design bloggers' homes...

{Pure Style Home}

{Little Green Notebook}

Keep me updated if one of you lucky readers takes the plunge for this great find!

new pillows

I was so excited that our new pillow covers for the living room arrived this weekend!  These new editions marked the second time I worked with Lauren at labdesigns.  She has an incredible Etsy shop and was so easy to work with, even with my custom requests.  The pillow covers are great quality and the best prices I've found for Schumacher fabrics!

I ordered two custom 20 inch pillow covers in Schumacher Betwixt fabric (in the water colorway) and couldn't be happier with the texture and color.  I also ordered one 18 inch pillow cover in Schumacher Imperial Trellis fabric (in the citrine colorway).

Before:

 After:

I feel like the new pillows give the room a more sophisticated and complete feel.  Can't wait to get the painted campaign dresser in here to finish our latest updates.  In the meantime, be sure to check out Lauren's shop!

rug options

Since our ever-so-brief attempt to go with an oriental rug in our living room, I've noticed that my inspiration images almost always feature a natural area rug.  I absolutely love the neutral palette and casualness that the rugs bring into a room.

Jeff, on the other hand, is not the biggest fan of the sisal rug in our living room.  We purchased it with gift cards from our wedding almost two and a half years ago, and I've been so impressed with how well it's held up.  It started off under the kitchen table and then moved into our living room... the two heaviest traffic areas of our home.

I love it, but the hubby feels like it's not soft enough for the living room.  Our compromise is now to move it off to the sunroom, and find something softer for the living area. 

So I've been scouring the internets for something that is soft but has the neutral color palette and the ability to hold up as well as natural rugs like sisal or seagrass.  Luckily, Lauren from Pure Style Home has an incredibly comprehensive post on the pros and cons of different rugs.

My favorite option (as of right now) is to find a wool rug that looks like sisal, and have it cut to size and bound, like Lauren did in her own family room... 

Here are a few of my favorite options so far:

{Granada}

{Kalahari}

{Mirage}

{Softer than Sisal}



I think this seems like a pretty solid compromise.  According to Lauren, wool rugs are pretty low maintenance (and work with her family of two little ones).  Have you ever used a wool sisal look-alike in a high traffic area?  What did you think?