New tv stand & changes coming...

Things have definitely been evolving in our home. And honestly, that's not something that is new around here. Just ask my husband ;-) I'm really loving the calm I feel when I enter our sunroom. The more and more we work on these small and large projects together, I feel roots planted firmly for our small family. We really enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when we DIY something ourselves and it was no different when we finally did the board and batten in the sunroom. If you haven't read our post on how we accomplished our board and batten look, you can find it by clicking here.

I love our cute little cottage style house near the beach but it needs more of a story. It needs more character and more things to bring the life out of it. That's exactly what we're trying to do. Yes, we live here and over the years of decorating, I've let go of the picture perfect room and more so, the picture perfect life. There is beauty in the imperfect, especially when making memories is involved.

Below was how our sunroom looked last year when I could feel my style evolving...again.

 

And here's after we did the board and batten. At this point, I also sold the salvage shutters and the media console because my heart was telling me I wanted something different for this room.

We had our fifth wedding anniversary last week and of course, we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant just the two of us. Between my husbands work schedule and mine, as I work as a licensed real estate agent, have a space in Vintage Living Marketplace and run this blog among decorating jobs, staging, etc... we don't really have a whole lot of time to do a whole lot of nothing. So, that's what we both said we wanted for our anniversary. I didn't want jewelry or anything fancy and he didn't want electronics or typical man things. So, instead of jewelry or fancy things, I wanted a piece of furntiure. And my husband is a good man. :-)

I knew I wanted cupped pulls and a rustic finish. I also really prefer something with traditional lines but that meets the style I was going for and this console did not dissapoint.

 Here's little Winston just watching mama snap some photos while he relaxes on my (his) blanket. He is such a lover and a good boy. All he does is sleep and cuddle. Sometimes he gets wild.

 

I added some new pillows with a linen feel and stamped with old typography style fonts. I also love the look and feel of an old, leather chair. Nothing is better than not having any pressure to keep things "new" feeling. That's the beauty of old... it doesn't have to be perfect because it's already imperfect. "Old is the new, new."

I also snagged up these cable knit down pillows... not only are they super adorable and super pretty but super comfortable too! And can't ever beat washable covers!  I always get alittle taken aback when folks say, I could never have those... or "you don't have kids, you don't know." Well, actually I do. I have kids over here, we have neighbors and we have friends with children. There is nothing in my house a child can't touch, play with...ruin, etc. The slipcovers, although beige, can be washed quite easily! Same with all of my pillows. I don't buy any pillows unless they have covers that are washable....

 

I also scooped up this chair from Vintage Living Marketplace a couple weeks ago while I was doing work... I couldn't resist with its beautiful finish and linen fabric. Perfect accent chair for the time being... :-)

And here's a pretty iew with the sun going down and the lamps on... We are adding crown molding to the top so that's the corner piece that you see in this photo.

 I'm loving the changes and can't wait to show y'all more... Home should be a place where you can be yourself. And be comfortable. And same with your family. Old is the new, new....and beauty comes in all forms... remember that! I'm finding more truth in the old saying that "less is more..." and that simple can be stunning. I am finding I don't pick up as many things to decorate... and I like to let pieces speak for themselves without overwhelming them with accessories. Sometimes too much of a good thing is just that, too much of a good thing. We are slowly adding a few more touches. I'd like to find another couple of pillows for the couch and we also are going to be adding some family photos somewhere. We're hoping to make those out of salvage wood also. Remember to embrace perfection and find the beauty in the "not done." Life is too short.

New windows in the sunroom and decorating around the tv

I don't know about y'all but I just love boxwoods. Something about them in rooms makes it feel fresh, inviting, calm and adds a nice pop of color! I knew I wanted something with a little bit of height but that was slim line and skinny for either side of our new tv stand. Originally, I was going to use my gates that I had back in the dining room of the old rental house. To see the home tour of our old rental, just click here. Well I posted the gates for sale on my Facebook page but they are available right now for $150 for the pair. Here's a photo of them below. I also was going to post our old Ikea coffee table and end table set but they sold within a few hours of me putting them on Craigslist which is always a blessing. They were a cute set and I hope they work for the next person as much as they worked for us.

Onto new things though… So, I purchased two matching 8 pane windows from Rennigers Flea Market in Mt. Dora, Florida last week. I went with a few friends, Heather from Pineapple Avenue and Dawn, from Lucky Day Design Co. I had a ton of fun and we found A LOT of great things! I actually thought that I would be the one to break the bank but we all did really well and mostly got things to sell and transform for y'all so please, feel lucky right about now ;-)

Since we moved into our home, I've been craving a house that I've dreamt of. I'm just "over" keeping stuff that I don't really love. So if you're local, you may have noticed that I have been purging. A LOT. I used to have decor closets that I could go to and switch things out. Well, my decor stash is down to a mere little pile and I am proud to say that. The things that are in your home should reflect you. They should reflect a memory you love and don't want to forget. Or someone you love dearly. I don't want to keep stuff just because I got it on clearance or because I may use it "someday." If you haven't used it in a year, chances are you probably are not going to use it period. And y'all, let me tell you first hand how rewarding and FREEING that it was to purge. I feel so much better already and I am starting to slowly love my home as I've been slowly adding things that speak to me, things that I love…and am crazy about… you should try it sometime. It really is good for the soul.

I fell head over heels in love with the tv stand as soon as I saw it. My favorite part are the middle drawers and the cupped hardware. Drooling over here. The window were raw wood so I painted them a matte black. I've always loved black in interior design as it is a nod to traditional design. I'd like to think I'm traditional meets cottage meets farmhouse. Ya like that don't you?

I added my signature boxwoods…and of course love them. I hung each wreath with one inch thick burlap ribbon that I found at GoodWill for two huge rolls! I love the contrast of the window against the wall, the wreath against the window and the burlap against the black.

Here's a view looking directly in front of the tv stand. As I mentioned before, since I purged, I no longer can go find whatever is in the guest bedroom to fill my tv stand so slowly, I will fill it with things I love. I'm on the hunt for some baskets for the lower half though to hold games, toys, etc.

Oh and in case you are wondering…and I know y'all will appreciate my awesome photoshop skills below! I do have a plan for something about the tv. Originally I thought of doing a small plate wall and using plates that I could customize with quotes or something true to me. Now, I am thinking I am going to make a custom pediment to go above it trimmed out at the top. Something to the shape that I tried to draw in photoshop. I'd like it to say something short, sweet and something that makes me smile every time I look at it. The only thing I keep thinking for it to say is "Life is Good" in cursive or another language. Simple enough right?

I also might add a plate above each window or a piece of architectural salvage. Each needs some more interest since it's such straight lines…but still digging the look. I cannot wait to install crown molding in here later down the road. Crown molding finishes everything off in my opinion...

Just wanted to show y'all this quick update. I've been going through clothes for the past few days to list on Ebay. If you know me personally, you would be so proud of all that I have gotten rid of, donated and sold. A couple of weeks back, I took 4 different SUV loads to a thrift store to donate. Talk about feeling good about yourself, right and helping others… it really is the best feeling.

Linking up to:

Liz Marie Blog

Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Feature Friday's

New TV stand

If you have been following me on Instagram, you may have known that we got a new piece of furniture that I just adore. And it was not really planned. So let me just quickly tell you I had this amazing idea in my head of having a fireplace below on the wall where we keep our tv. So, we went to Lowes and found pre-fab mantles on clearance and I figured we'd build our own built in's on either side. Problem was um… we don't have a fireplace and we're in Florida. So, long story short… it looked cheap to me as far as the faux logs go and that whole thing, so we returned everything. Enter going shopping with a dear friend who I love so much already… and enjoy our NEW tv stand!

Here's the BEFORE photo when we were trying out the pre-fab pieces for the mantle. They were pretty and I'm sure that would have looked ok but I just didn't really like the look ultimately of a "faux" fireplace and thinking about resale later on, I nixed the idea pretty quickly.

Below was the first thing that caught my eye about the tv stand. Some of it has mimicked a few tv stands that we have had in the past but if I were to build one in my head, it would look almost exactly like this one. I saw it and let out the "gasp" and knew I had to have it. In case you didn't know, that's how I know I REALLY love something and have to have it.

It has a beautiful antique white finish with black pulls, window style glass doors and is constructed of solid wood which was a definite plus because I wanted this to really last us and looked at it as an investment. I love all the drawers so, so much. I just love everything about it, let's be honest. It's just that pretty. Haha! We don't know if we plan on hanging the tv on the wall later or not…. but there will be plenty of time to decide that. I haven't even decorated inside the cabinets yet, I just stuck two boxwood topiaries on either side of the tv and called it a day!

I wanted to bring more natural textures and warmth into our space so I bought an XL basket from TJMaxx that looks very similar to the ones at Target that I always look at except this one was bigger AND cheaper! Score! Winston, (Our oldest wiener dog) has already claimed it as his napping place. I knew that would happen when I bought it so I didn't feel one bit guilty. I love this little space in the picture below. So simple but nice and refreshing. 

I still would like to get a new rug for this room and it needs to be at least an 8x10. I loved my Ikea Jute Rug in the last house that we had under the dining room table. I still may go get another because I'm using our old one under our covered patio for our future built farmhouse table out there.

Oh! And I've had this mirror for quite some time. In our old rental house, it hung over the couch in the living room until we moved out. It' s very large, about 2'x3' so it's definitely a statement piece. On a whim, I brought it in the sunroom because I was going to sell it at the market that I'm doing this weekend but I actually love it where I hung it so that's where it will stay for now.

Overall, I am so happy that we got the tv stand. I wasn't really looking for one but I just say that she found me ;-) What do you think of it? I'm just thrilled and will keep y'all updated as I decorate it and the sunroom as well as other rooms more. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a few sneak peeks of the market items that I'll be bringing!