before and after

  SO, the New England grey has descended, and the best remedy for that in my opinion is to pick something in the house that needs rejuvenation.    That would be our bedroom.  I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to see what might inspire me... and found -lots-.   I came home with a few bags full of stuff and two rugs... and spending just hundreds, not thousands, the room was transformed in a half hour.

ahhh.. that feels better. 

Lightening up a room

 I'm one of those who change up the decor just a little with each season.  With the unseasonably warm temps of recent weeks I've starting bringing out the Spring Things... and the dining room table area got a little facelift.  

 I took a big old painting I had done when I was a teenager off the wall and put a mirror I found at Homegoods in it's place. Immediately there was more light.  Then I finally found a simple not quite sheer curtain to put up over that window. It's a linen that looks like sheer burlap and I love the simple rustic look.

I know it needs to be ironed. Just hush. 

 I also found a metal chippy basket to put some of my shell collection and seaglass in instead of having it just sit on the side table looking sort of cluttered.

 The center of the table has a more spring-like theme... 

  

 The top of the curio cabinet with my paperweight collection

has a few old  pieces - a platter and a metal horse I found at an antique store.

The silver (tarnished!) creamer was my grandmothers. 

With just a few changes, this area of the house looks lighter and more welcoming. It doesn't take much to perk up any space and simple changes like this can really lift your spirits.  We're in the middle of some glorious weather and I've been spending it outdoors, soaking up every bit.  I hope you've gotten the chance to do the same in your neck o'the woods.

The Mancave becomes more user friendly

 When this old house was put back together, the Man of the house claimed this area as his MANCAVE.   THIS would be his place to be by himself enjoying peace and solitude while he hollered and sweared as he watched his football games by a crackling fire.  The rest of us could congregate around the other side of that fireplace in the FAMILY ROOM, because THAT'S what it's FOR. 

 See.. once you DECLARE something like that in a particularly burly tone  accompanied by a steely resolve, it doesn't usually stick.  Most often, even when we have company,   everyone congregates in the Mancave.  Even though it only accomodates four people comfortably, (which I'm sure was his intention) ...  sometimes you'll find six making do.

Before...
http://thisoldhousetoo.blogspot.com/2010/08/enter-mancave-at-your-own-risk.html

 It originally had old furniture from the previous house, and would only allow for THREE people to sit comfortably.  We decided,  since it has become the hub, to get more comfortable furniture, and I really like the result.

I love LED candles... do you use them too?  I have the real thing here and there,

but these lend real ambiance without the worry of leaving them burning by accident.

I got them at CVS, cheap.  They even  *flicker*.

facelift

 Because I like the convenience of letting my dogs out the side door into a fenced yard, every house we've lived in had this feature. It's peace of mind at night or early morning when you can't see what they're doing at there, and the house sits close to the road.   In this case, the look added to a new/old house is, to put it mildly, unattractive and industrial. We also use the side walkway area as parking space, and so some of that has to stay.  The question has been how to soften that harsh industrial look to be more in tune with the old house.

 We decided on a boxwood hedge  in a slightly raised bed with packasandra (sp??)

 bordered by old granite blocks which Steve has been working on...



This is the back side , or interior yard, of the dog run out to their yard...

On this side I'll continue the Perennial gardens.

 Across the driveway we will put PG tree hydrangea along that bare wall

with boxwood underneath.

Now is a good time to browse your garden centers for deals on their leftover

shrubbery, trees  and even perennials.

 

If you're looking for a hearty rose, may I recommend the Julia Child variety

(perhaps Connie can tell me what exact kind of rose that is)

Because NOTHING wanted to grow next to the little greenhouse.

Not grass, which we tried by seed & hay...

not sod, which was even worse..

But the Julia Child Rose with stone underneath (ick, but it works)

is very, very happy.  Go figure.

So we've got more coming to surround that greenhouse and cover some

of that lovely stone.  (no offense, dear.)

Zinnia are getting a much bigger plot of land here next year.

They don't complain, they continue to be showy in to the fall..

and need next to nothing of my attention.



 The wagon got a facelift too... a good soaking of Linseed oil

to protect it from the elements.

  I took the remaining pumpkins out of the field,

we had a lackluster pumpkin crop this year...

learning as we go, still learning :-)

Have you Googled your piece of Earth lately?

 I did... and I gotta tell ya ....it disturbs me just a little that anyone can type your address in and virtually drive down your road and park in front of your house.   I was even able to pull in my driveway a little.  Yeah.. disturbing.

 However,  Google Earth has not yet updated our "street face".   This is a really cool shot of the house in 2008, before we owned it and took over the renovation. You can see that the house was 40 feet closer to the road originally -notice the power lines at the road.  There was alot of overgrowth surrounding the house. The previous owner took down some beautiful trees before we were able to acquire it, broke my heart to see it happen...and If I had my druthers, we would have kept some of that overgrowth, including a big tree that was right next to the house.  Because of the extensive work we had to do, alot of that had to be removed.  I will probably spend the rest of our years here replenishing the "green".

This is the face I fell in love with long ago....

 The arial view is an updated version.
We're not really all that far out in the sticks...

Old Family Photos... in the Loo?

 Why not? .... who's rules am I following, anyway...

This downstairs bathroom needed something.

  We still have boxes and boxes in the basement that have not been unpacked since our move. These family photos used to hang in our old dining room and I love them dearly - so why not put them where they will get full attention.  You're just sitting there, guest or resident.......might as well have something to look at, right?

 Some of you might be disturbed by the random assignment and slight crooked
appearance of  these photos..I don't read instruction manuals
and I don't measure before I hang pictures. It's just how I roll.

 

I don't always iron curtains when they come out of the dryer, either - although these are getting ironed

because they're even too wrinkly for me.

That's the dog sink - their food is underneath and they go IN

when they need a bath. 

 My grandmother Elsie - I still have that wedding dress.

 My Dad, who I resemble... except for the ears.

Mike's father, who passed away recently.

Handsome, he was.

And this is one of my favorites.  Mike's dad and his brothers are hanging out on the edge of their

"swimming pool".  Their father had a fruit and vegetable store and he had lots of crates from

the produce.  This "pool" is made of crates in a circle with a tarp laid over it and filled with water.

 My aunt and uncle, who still kiss like this at 78 and 80 years of age. She made that dress for their engagement party.   They sleep in a full size bed, not even a queen. I asked them why they never got themselves a bigger bed and she said  "I can't sleep if we're not touching back to back, cheek to cheek."    I don't know if that's down-right adorable or too much information.

Either way, it makes me smile.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

.... because there are dirty dishes in there that I've been ignoring all day.

  Thank you all for the compliments on our kitchen - In our previous home the kitchen was too big and it felt  isolated from the rest of the house. This time around I wanted a more open feel, especially when we have company. This Old House lent itself perfectly to my ideal, mainly because in the old homes the kitchen, or "keeping room" was the main Hub of the house activites.  Our dining room, kitchen eating area and island work space are all one big area, the entire back of the main frame (the original box) of the house.

 These are the chickens who reside in my kitchen sink window -

I've been contemplating building a coop out back for the real deal...

Feel free to tell me it's a crazy idea....any time now!

These wingbacks were given to us by the previous owner of the house. They date back 100 years - and the upholstery was probably original.  The stuffing-cushioning were in pretty good shape, so I reupholstered them in this coral/cream/brown print and they look like new again. They don't make things like they used to.

The two prints above the fireplace were my grandmothers.  They are floral prints from the Smithsonian, one in the month of August and one in November - my grandparents birth months.  Many years ago they  were hung on the wall over their headboard.

 Our small kitchen table and breakfast nook - This area needs some decorating help. Haven't gotten to that yet.

Dining table area -  this is a tiger maple set with black crackled chairs -

Haven't figured out what I want to do with the windows yet...

KIM!!!!!  HELP!!!

 I don't know why there is fog to the right in this picture. A  previous tenant, perhaps?