Better Late Than Never...Right?

That's what I keep telling myself. Mary had a Design Carnival to get inspiration for her new home. I told her I'd get around to posting last weekend, but I've spending most of my spare time been here:



One of my favorite childhood memories is visiting my grandparents. Nearly every night after supper, Mema and I would go to a neighbor's house and sit on the porch talking. I enjoyed the small town gossip, tales of the good ole' days, and feeling like a grown up.

Seems like no one does that anymore. We're so busy on the merry-go-round of life that we don't take time to sit and visit. I decided that my family will make time. I pulled the wicker love seat from the back porch, which we never use (long story!), grabbed a couple of lawn chairs from the garage, and pulled a few other knick-knacks together. A trip to the W*l-Mart garden section completed the transformation. CJ & I have spent time out there every day since the makeover on Saturday (R's been on evening shift). We love it. As she keeps saying, "It's so peaceful." You see, I am still pursuing peace and simplicity.

Still, I promised Mary I'd show her some of the different paint colors in my house (there are 14. Yes. FOURTEEN.) I think she was particularly interested in my dining room, which boasts 4 (including the trim).


This picture is actually taken in my dining room, and shows the entry. The secretary belonged to R's great aunt. And I absolutely love the archway into the dining room. Isn't R the master craftsman? When I think about how he built this home for our family (and put up with all my changes to the blueprints!), my insides turn to mush.

I wanted to show off the peach ceiling, which I never would've been bold enough to try without a friend's suggestion. This particular friend has impeccable taste. She inherited from her interior designer mom, who came to my house as we were building, looked at all my fabrics, cabinetry, etc., and helped me pick paint colors. What a blessing!

As you can see, the view from the dining room is stunning. Why would I want to cover it? The Pottery B*rn sheers are an E*bay find.



Here are the linen curtains I told you about here. Much too pretty to stay in the attic! I think they lend a summer-y, cabana feeling to the living room, and lighten up the room, which is painted a cozy dark green. I think R hoped I'd get tired of this color by now, but I haven't.


Another of R's masterpieces:


This was a bookshelf/stereo cabinet in our old home. I have built-ins here, but I couldn't bear to part with this piece, so I re-purposed it for the kitchen. The baskets hide the plastic containers quite well! And the bottom holds the bread machine & larger serving pieces.

You can see even more of the green here, behind the kitchen command center:


Yet another neat design idea is my re-purposed towel bar:


And finally, let's step out on the back porch for one of the most gorgeous sights you'll ever see, created by the Master Designer himself:

(please ignore the swing set...and no, R didn't actually build that, but he did put it together!)

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this little tour. Maybe you even got inspired. For more ideas, head over to Mary's.