Coastal-Rustic Sun Porch

Hi! Welcome to my sun porch! I did a post of my back porch a couple of years ago. Basically, the changes are all furniture right now. This chair was my latest addition to my porch and seems to be everyones favorite!

My Favorite Little Pillow!

The oak sofa table and end tables shown in the photos below were from my living room. I have been gradually transforming my that room over the past year and a half. I didn’t want to get rid of these pieces because they are in such great condition. They may not be the latest trend but I think they can pass the test of time! lol

You will notice through these photos that I laid down an area rug. I really need to get new flooring. It is not in our budget right now. So I found this area rug and thought I would try it out to see which way to go when we were ready to redo the floor. I love the colors and texture, but after laying it down, I realized that if I was to buy carpeting out here, this choice would be too light. Especially because most of my furniture is dark and my stone wall is made up of darker earth tones. Unfortunately, I did return the rug.

This brown recliner and the sofa are fairly new. We had purchased these last year after my son moved out and took our 3 yr old sectional, that was in our family room, with him. lol. We decided on these pieces for the family room, but after about 4 months, my husband was tired of sitting in on the recliner every night. This set was very inexpensive and I feel that we kind of rushed into it. Our other porch furniture was old and I was constantly try to keep the slipcovers clean. So we decide to get rid of that furniture and bring up the sofa and recliner. We like this set so much better on the porch. We then bought a new sofa and love seat for our family room. So much more comfy after a long day! ?

I hope to hear from you soon. It’s been a while ?

Have a Great Summer everyone!

Lining the back of bookshelves

I have owned these six bookshelves since 2004.  I finally decided to line the back of these shelves with four nice wrapping paper rolls from TJ Maxx.  The lining was not hard, but the removing the books and putting them back were laborious for me because I neither have strong arms nor hands.  I like my lining muted, hence these paper patterns/prints.  I have 16 more bookshelves, but I am not lining those.  This activity was spring lining for me instead of spring cleaning.  The paper rolls were around $15.

The Courtyard

Life was happening when the weather was warm,and I never took the time to post some pics of my fav place….just outside our door is our Courtyard..we live in a one story townhouse….connected to others..but our entrance is thru this wonderful,space,this was our second spring and summer here,so I’m going to find even more ways to make it inviting.But sitting here with coffee in the morning or wine at night,is,a little heaven on earth…..hope you enjoy,as I try to bring a little England to my surroundings!

Welcome to the New Year

Happy New Year!

It’s been awhile since I posted.A lot,of life has happened,but a new year is a perfect time to renew my love of hearth and home.

I love color and need it in our home to keep hubbys depression at bay,he is also disabled,and over all of the many years,I find it to be cheerful and helpful,as life can be very challenging. I love the English Country look..not sure if I’m achieving it..lol but I like to try.

Blessings to all,of you..God Bless.

A

Budget Friendly Farmhouse Kitchen

Welcome to my Farmhouse Kitchen Above!


BEFORE:

BELOW is my Inspiration Photo! Our kitchen makeover started when we went to the Stone Shop to pick out a remnant for our new Laundry Room cabinet. We had renovated our Laundry room earlier this past summer and chose all new white cabinets. We found this gray leather textured granite remnant. We liked it so much that we decided to replace the laminate counter top in our kitchen. We decided not to replace our oak cabinets for now, but wanted to take down the blue tile backsplash. We had looked at several tile samples to replace the blue tile that would have coordinated beautifully with the oak cabinets. Then, we decided that is was too expensive and not in our budget right now, being that we had not planned on doing a kitchen makeover so soon. We went with shiplap for the backsplash instead. I always loved the idea of shiplap. It took some convincing, but my husband liked the inspiration photos I found online of beautiful kitchens with shiplap. 

So thats what us Do-It Yourselfers did! Shiplap! I even googled how to build a farmhouse window frame and I think my husband got it right! Yay! We had taken out our 3 tier shelf that was attached to the corner cabinet you see in the photo below on the left. This would make room for the new window frame.

BELOW: New farmhouse faucet! We didn’t plan to replace our faucet when we purchased the granite. When the stone company came out to measure our countertop, we told them our faucet was only a couple of years old, so they measured 4 holes to accommodate what we already had. (You can see the old faucet in the 1st BEFORE photo above.) After the new countertop and new under mount sink were installed, we had put the original faucets back in, only to find that there was a leak coming from the hot & cold fixture that could not be repaired. I really wasn’t planning to buy new fixtures. Fortunately, we were able to special order these beautiful farmhouse fixtures that would accommodate 4 precut holes! A little pricy for our budget, so much so that after my husband and I left the shop from ordering them, I started to cry. But my husband reassured me that it was okay and these would probably last forever! ?

I love our rustic Kitchen Island! I actually had purchased this last winter, a few months after our floors were installed. I think this was my first inspirational piece that would eventually lead us to this!

I have some thoughts for more changes:

1. Keep the oak cabinets and eventually Sand & Refinish them. Then replace the chrome hardware with black rustic hardware.

2. Paint lower cabinets medium gray, with lighter gray cabinets above.

3. Paint top & bottom cabinets white.

What do you think?

Thank you for taking the time to stop by during this busy Holiday Season.:)

Wishing you all very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Fall’in for Farmhouse Part 2

Hi Ladies! I hope everyone is enjoying the Fall Season! I had mentioned in my last post that I have incorporated some new furniture pieces & wall decor in my Living Room. You might notice some of the changes if you have followed my postings of this room in the past. I seem to have leaned towards a little bit of a Farmhouse look to go with what I already have in this room. What do you think of it? Does it work??

I wouldn’t usually think of buying a floral pillow for Fall, but I was drawn in by the orange embroidered flowers & burnt orange trim. I think it kind of works. What do you think?

I am really happy with my living room space now, all except for this area rug that I bought after the Holidays last Winter. When I had the new flooring put in my bedroom, I had moved the 2 area rugs that were previously in this room, up into that room They were lighter in color and seemed fit in better with the color scheme. With this rug, I feel that the large pattern & color is too bold for the look I want to achieve in this room now. And it has been very difficult to find throw pillows to coordinate with, So I am on the hunt for a more neutral color rug for in front of my dark love seat. 

I do want to mention that I don’t mind this pattern for the runner as you enter my home, as you can see in the 2 photos below. So, that will be staying. ?

I actually made this “Thankful” banner below, last Fall & didn’t even get the chance to post it! So My message from this banner is that I am “Thankful” for my Family & “Thankful” for my humble little Home . . . ?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! ?

Library/Dining Area

          I have more use for a library room/area than a dining room, but I can use the space as a dining room when necessary.  I finally bought one more tall bookshelf to stack and line three each against the walls.  I don’t believe in styling bookcases because it is really a waste of shelving space.  Bookcases are for shelving books.  There are white curtains hanging from the bookcases to prevent dust by covering up the bookcases when I am not home during the summer.  On top of the bookshelves I store my vases and other decor items, but they also look good as decor.  I put up two long rose-print curtains for the autumn season.  Behind the thrift-store bought table is the daybed.  From this library area, I can watch TV in the living room and also have a view of the kitchen.  My house has open floor plan.  All in all this space is my favorite area in the house presently. 

How To Create A Beautiful Autumnal Mantel Display on MyHumbleHomeandGarden.com

Autumnal Mantel Display

   To those who are observant, the inspiration for beautiful displays is all around us.  My husband Dave and I took a trip through Southern Indiana a couple of weeks ago.  This display was inspired by a display I saw at a restaurant.

   Sorry, the picture is grainy.  I took it from across a big room with the cell phone.  You get the idea, though.  

   It was so colorful, I couldn’t quit looking at it.

   On the way home from our trip, I started trying to remember what gourds and sunflowers were stashed away in bins in the basement.   Fortunately, I had most of the items needed for this project.  Only a bouquet of sunflowers, some interesting curly things, and a few small gourds were needed.

   Putting the display together, I realized something was needed to raise the height of the individual sunflowers.  A piece of styrofoam or floral foam small enough to be hidden would not support the stem.  
   After brainstorming for a few minutes, I found a new use for wine corks!  Gluing a few of these together and using the corks as a ‘floral frog’, worked perfectly!


   It’s funny, my eye is drawn to that colorful display on my mantel now and I smile.  The person who created the display at that restaurant has no idea he or she inspired this lovely Autumnal display!


Fall’in for Farmhouse Part 1

Welcome! I am finally ready for Fall! We recently had some long over due painting done in our Kitchen & Family Room! What a big difference! Fresh white painted ceilings & trim! And lighter painted walls with a paint color called Grayish. So I thought I would start my Fall decorating with this Table Scape by adding some Farmhouse details including 2 New wicker chairs for either end of my table. 🙂

I wanted to mention that this weekend we will be doing some demolition on the opposite side of our kitchen. Yay! We will be making some small kitchen renovations including taking down our blue tile back splash. Please follow along to see what material we have decided to use for a backsplash to replace the tile. We will also be replacing our laminate counter top with granite! I am so excited! 

Lets keep in touch . . . I will be posting my Living Room soon, that is now ready for Fall. I added a couple of new furniture pieces and a few new decorating pieces to start giving this space a fresher, more updated look. 

Thank you for stopping by! 🙂

“Hello”

“Hello” from Danville, California.  I am Angie Rose and I am new to Home Love Stories, but have been a follower of Melissa for about the last 6 months or so. I absolutely connect with everything she has written and posted.  In fact, it has given me confidence to trust my gut on what I love and what I want to surround my home to make me and my family happy!! I have recently done a remodel on my home and The Inspired Home has truly inspired me. My brain is bursting with so many interesting, fun things that I have learned and experienced to post.  I am a little nervous to “put myself out there”. I have thought to myself for the last year or so that I have so much valuable, credible, information that I have learned with regards to home, lifestyle, nutrition, pets, etc. in my 52 years.

My husband and I work at home doing real estate investing, we are both real estate brokers that work under our own brokerage company. We also buy distressed homes to fix up and sell.  So we are always dealing with all different aspects of homes and the real estate market. 

A big part of my life, besides, my work and family are my 3 dogs (Daisy, Bentley and Angus). I specifically remodeled our home to be pet friendly.  They are a big part of our life and bring so much joy. As I continue to post more stories, it will become apparent how much a part of my life they are.

Since it is fall I have to mention something with pumpkins!!! This pumpkin art piece was in Yountville, California (Napa Wine Country and near The French Laundry). When I was there I visited the winery Nickel and Nickel-very farmhouse rustic feel. I will have to share pictures on another story….

Happy Fall, my favorite time of year and my birthday month!!. I am looking forward to sharing lots of fun things with you all.