Ok so it's really just our living room/dining room and a bit of the master bedroom, but I finally got around to taking photos of the redecorating that's been in progress since I moved in August. Believe me... you wouldn't want to see what my studio space looks like right now... and there's not a whole lot else to look at in our house aside from that and the bathroom.
There is also a room that we like to call the "office," but it usually ends up being the place we dump everything we don't want to look at while we're lounging on the couch. It currently houses a treadmill, my computer, my closet (as the master bedroom closet is barely big enough for Sean's clothes,) and a
5 gallon bucket of fermenting beer.
Please don't hesitate to tell me if I smell a bit hoppy the next time you see me; this is a new experiment in our household, and there aren't many rooms to choose from to leave said 5 gallon bucket in for two weeks other than the same room that also houses my entire wardrobe. I'll post photos of the above mentioned spaces someday when they're
clean. Moving on... you can click on photos to make them larger :)
The above photos are what you would see when you walk through the front door. I built a mock-sofa table out of
2 x 6's and covered it with fabric. Most of the stuff on the shelf came from my past apartments- the vase, the bottle next to it, both bird candle holders (handmade ceramic I found at a thrift store,) the wood box, metal star, and the candle base at the right. I bought candles to coordinate with the room's color scheme, and the floofy thing coming out of the vase is from
Hobby Lobby. It's some kind of fake berry that I'm certain would never be that color in nature, but it also worked with the color scheme. The ampersand was purchased for our
engagement session, and the poster is from the
Missouri History Museum. A friend of mine has the same poster (it's a 1904 World's Fair advertisement) in her bedroom, and I lust after it every time I'm there. Lust no more! I have my own :) Pillows were purchased at
Pier One at a super crazy sale, throw is from
Home Goods, and lampshades are from
Target. Each pillow is different, one's silk, one's embroidered velvet, one's a chevron print and the last is plain velvet. For three reasons: 1. I couldn't decide between these four and 2. I like being eclectic, and 3. It works. Couch, end tables, lamp bases, coffee table and recliner were Sean's existing furniture. Too bad I forgot to turn that digital photo frame on before taking these pics :) Did you spot Nelson in the above photos, by the way?
Well if you didn't, you can see a different cat in the above photo. It's kind of a miracle that Greta is A. in this photo at all and B. looking directly at the camera. Not many people have been lucky enough to spot this lady. White rug courtesy of my parents old bedroom carpet, which they had bound after getting hardwood in their bedroom. It's thick and shaggy and I love it. And oh, hi there
Lisa Hessel Photography so conveniently gracing our coffee table! I had books made of our engagement photos for us and for parents/grandmas as Christmas gifts at
Picaboo. I was impressed by their quality and think you would be too.
This is the corner behind our front door. Drapes are from Pier One, and were on a bit of a sale, but not enough so I only bought one and cut it into four panels to fit the two windows in this room. We never close them anyway since there are nice wooden blinds on the windows, so it all worked out well. I got this chair from my maid of honor who no longer had room for it in her old apartment, and I recovered it with upholstery fabric from
Hancock Fabrics to coordinate with this room. The pillow is from Target... and it's apparently still available since I saw that
this lady recently purchased the same one! The chest is an heirloom from Sean's family. I believe it was painted gold or something at one point, and Sean's mom stripped it to it's original awesomeness. It's full of stuff from Sean's childhood and I love every last bit of it. Photos above the chest were originally above our couch and included a few more frames, but we took the rest into the master bedroom. The one on the left was captured by Sean. I still can't decide whether that little shelf is fun or a total nuisance, but it was there when Sean moved in two years ago and it will remain when we move out.
Above is our kitchen table, which Sean already had. I added a giant lace doily that my mom brought me from their European river cruise, a mirror from
Big Lots, and a couple of little white vases from Pier One that I had in my last apartment. The giant fake flowers are again probably not natural looking, but Hobby Lobby has a great selection of such things for people like me who just want their colors to coordinate. On the wall behind the table you'll see shelves with family photos and a few knick knacks here and there. I made the teacup candle... it's a vintage teacup with peppermint scented wax. I made a couple for Christmas gifts and just couldn't give this particular teacup up!
Across from the kitchen table, one of our many bookshelves. It holds most of our cookbooks (that doorway on the right is the kitchen) and various books we've recently read. The second shelf is full of wedding planning details (I've condensed it all to one binder now!) and a mail/bill organizer. I'm working on a collection of wine corks in the glass
Oberweis bottle that lives on the second shelf from the bottom. Sean put a hook on the left side for me to hang my purse on when I get home because I'm ridiculous and insist that the kitchen table not be cluttered with stuff other than decor and food. Take a left at the doorway...
and you'll find your way to the master bedroom. Pillows above were purchased during an
Ikea shopping spree when we went to Chicago to
try on wedding dresses. They were one of the first purchases I brought home to Sean (whose opinion I always ask for when decorating our home) and my reasoning to him was something like, "See, they're girly and manly. Embroidered flowers on one side, blue and brown plaid on the other!" He went for it.
I brought over a dresser and a side table from my last apartment. We had to paint the one above, as I had painted it a much brighter blue after finding it at an antique store, and it just did not work in this room. Sean took a few tips from his mom with paint stripping and we went with a much softer blue. We kept the drawer pulls I had installed a few years ago, and it was good as new! The bird artwork in the back left is from
Burlington Coat Factory, believe it or not, and I gave it a distressed white wash to make it more interesting. The little piece of art with the couple's feet ice skating is a Valentine's Day gift I drew and gave to Sean last year, as a nod to our first Valentine's Day together and the evening we spent at
Steinberg freezing our buns off. I'm still working on this area, as I'd love to find the perfect gold trimmed mirror to put above the dresser and move most of the stuff that's currently there elsewhere.
This is the other dresser I brought with. I got both of them for less than $100 when I first moved to St. Louis, including delivery. You bet I wasn't about to give that kind of a deal up when I moved here... but Sean is probably ready for them to be a part of the guest room furniture in whatever home we move to next, as the drawers don't function as easily as he would hope (and all of his clothes are in this room!) The lamp if from Target. So what's that chain you see peeking out of the corner of the blue dresser photo?
It's the
countdown chain! It's hanging around the entirety of the master bedroom and was, amazingly, the perfect fit to go around once when I first installed it. We've been taking down the links as the days count down to...
(Sorry that's not the best photo; the last link is in a pretty dark space in this room! I did manage to take all of these on my own without the help of my photographer Sean this time around :) So that's what I've been keeping under wraps for oh, 5 months now? I hope to be able to show you the rest of our home before we decide to move out, but I'll keep you posted! What's your favorite part? Do you take as long to decorate your home as I do?
