Hello all! Hope you had a lovely weekend! We were home most of the time and it was WONDERFUL. I absolutely love a weekend with no plans and time to relax and tackle the to do list just a bit. :)
I always love our home but there are times of the year that I get extra googly about it. This is one of those times. Fall is approaching whether we want it or not (I'm starting to get really excited!) and I find myself "fluffing" quite a bit around here. I'm craving more comfy spaces.
I've been moving things around and layering onto what we already have and loving it. Come January I'll probably want to remove all of it again, but that's how it goes. :)
I moved some things around to prepare for the upcoming changes in the kitchen and rearranged some stuff on the shelves in our kitchen:
I LOVE the new "gather" sign (from World Market) too -- it probably won't stay red but we'll see.
I wanted to simplify the actual items on the shelves, but still make good use of them. This one is a prime example of form and function for us -- this shelving unit it a work horse! It's an animal station -- all the food and treats are here, plus we keep napkins and placemats on the shelves and a ton of office supplies and storage as well. I added some of our plates to the top to free up some other storage space and I love the white there. We will use these often during the holidays and for upcoming parties so it's nice to have easy access too.
I think I've finally decided what I'm doing with the kitchen table so I hope to get that done in the next month or so!
I moved a few of the frames I had on the kitchen shelves to the dresser in the family room:
It's little changes like this that I step back and appreciate -- first of all I love having family photos out. Our kids are cute. :) I also just love how it adds layers and some warmth to the decor.
A few weeks ago I was checking out my favorite local nursery and got an incredible deal on some fiddle leafs that weren't doing so great -- this one is a small leaf fiddle and they say it's even easier to take care of than the larger leaf version:
I threw it in a basket, as I love to do with all of our plants, and it filled this space nicely. Plants do that so well -- if you can keep them alive I can't recommend them enough for your decor!
I added the limelights (as big as my head and that's a big head) to what is normally a candleholder -- I removed the candle and put a Goodwill vase inside instead.
I moved some chairs around and don't know why I waited so long to do it! The chair that used to be in this corner was moved a few feet away in the family room, and the spool chair that was in that spot was moved to the living room (more on that in a minute). I took the blue chair that was in the living room and put it in this corner:
Got that? ;) It was basically musical chairs. This is when I call the Bub into the room and get his advice -- he is seriously my deciding factor anymore. If I give him two options he always picks the one that looks best. He got it from his Mama. ;)
This feels SO much cozier now! I think it's the added contrast that the dark chair adds to this corner. This is the chair I sit at most mornings to write, like right now. :) I love being able to look out at our pretty backyard one way and my massive limelight bush the other direction.
That spool chair that used to be in the family room? It looks so. much. better. in the living room:
Love! That dark gray chair looked odd with the blue credenza. Now all is right in the world. The pouf was from Target last year and I love it's more modern look combined with the traditional spool chair. A small side table added another layer to this spot as well and now I'm thrilled with it.
What you don't always see in this space is a couple very bright, very red juice stains in this rug. I usually edit them out of most pics because they are SO BRIGHT. I've tried every single product or concoction you can think of to get them out and they won't budge. I've had professionals out to try it too and nothing works. (The drink sat and soaked in before I realized it, I think that's why they won't go away.)
So anyway, I had been eyeing the tribal coffee table from World Market for months. I loved the look and I wanted to pull another round shape into the space to break up all of the rectangles. (The coffee table before was another rectangle.) And the bonus -- I could cover up the stains. :)
I stalked it online for months and then it went on sale. I ordered it in the store and they honored a coupon I had as well, so I got more than a third off the price. Sold!:
Absolutely love it! I'm so glad I waited a while to get it -- I got such a good deal. And that massive fiddle leaf in the corner was the deal of the century! It is in rough shape (I've taken about 20 dead leaves off) so the price tag on this six foot, $130 plant was $30. So far it likes it's new home…hoping I can nurse it back to health.
You can see here why I wanted to add another circular shape to the space:
Rectangle sofa, rug, chair, dresser and art!
It works great with the round mirrors on the wall:
And finally, while I was picking up the coffee table I couldn't resist this pretty wall lantern:
It was on sale as well and it looks very "Pottery Barn" to me. I put an LED candle in there that goes on and off with a timer. I added the plant to that corner as well and adding the "layers" makes that area look so much better!
The palm used to sit in that corner where the fiddle is and I tell you what -- I can't keep these palms alive! Thankfully it was on sale at Lowe's and I only spent $7 on it, but the other palms I have like this don't do well either. I can keep just about anything else alive but these. Tips are welcomed! (I've trimmed most of the dead off of it so there's not much left.)
All of these little changes make the house feel cozier without getting too busy. I don't like a ton of stuff out and am pretty minimal in my accessorizing. But something about this time of year makes me want to fill spaces just a bit more than usual. I'm loving all the changes, and most of them I did for free. I find there are two sure-fire ways to refresh a space -- purge it and remove 20-30 percent of the stuff in it, or move things around from room to room and see how they work in their new homes. When something clicks in it's new spot it feel like I just went shopping. ;)
Do you feel the need to cozy up your space yet? Or is it still super hot where you are? Our temps are slowly starting to drop -- next week it looks like we'll be in the 70's. I just hope it sticks!