Bits of the Bedroom

A few friends have been sweet and have asked to see a few pictures of our bedroom updates.  (Nice of them to pretend they care!!)  I snapped a few iphone pics and have shared them below if you're interested.  These pictures are nothing special, but I think the room has come a long way.  We still need pillows for the bed and a light fixture, and I plan to check those off next week!



 

I'm loving everything so far.  This face lift has made the biggest difference - I love hanging out here in the evening before bed.  We've painted, installed new bamboo blinds, and installed the curtains.  We found a dresser and little bamboo side tables at an antique shop, and we grabbed the little tufted benches to go below the windows from Target.  Few more things to go, but we're getting there!

See our (dreaded!) before shots here, and our original inspiration here!

~Mary Keller

Pillow Talk

I've just about "finished" our master bedroom redo, and I'm really happy with how everything has turned out so far.  Only two little details that I still need to check off - an accent pillow for the bed, and a ceiling light fixture.  (I'll take some pictures soon to share the progress!)  I have of course been over analyzing the pillow for our bed trying to figure out what I like.  I've gathered lots of different looks below, and I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have an opinion.

To paint a visual picture, we now have a king bed!  (Oh my gosh, I never knew how much I needed a king bed in my life until we got one!)  I like really simple bedding, and for my own home I don't love tons of pillows.  Just sharing that in case it sways your vote!  Our bedding is simple white, and our drapes are in the fabric shown here.  I'd like to have a pillow made in the same fabric.

1 |  My original plan was to go with one large lumbar pillow - something that will make a clear, simple visual statement, and something large enough to show off the fabric.

2 | Two small bolsters in front of shams may be my all time favorite look, but I wonder if small bolsters would look too small on the king bed.  I also wonder if you could really see the pretty fabric on bolsters this small.

3 | Two accent pillows with pattern behind shams is also a beautiful look.  I probably won't go this direction because I think two pillows are more expensive than one (and require more fabric!) but I still would love to do something like this in a guest room sometime.

4 | This image with three accent pillows had me thinking - am I supposed to use two shams or three on a king bed?  I like a simple look with two, but J.D. thinks it looks bare and is pushing for three.

5 | I also really love this look with one large bolster.  It seems a little more formal than the top lumbar pillow, but I can't decide if it seems too formal??

6 | Last but not least (because I'm pretty much obsessed with this entire room), I love this look with two simple lumbar pillows and one pretty accent pillow.  It seems sweet and simple at the same time. 

So what do you guys think?  I think my vote is for look 1, 5 and 6, but it's really hard because they're all beautiful.  Do you love lots of pillows, or just one or two?  I owe my seamstress an answer this week! :)

~Mary Keller

What's On Your....Bookshelf

This month, for the "What's On Your" series we're showing off bookcases.  I certainly don't think I really know what I'm doing when it comes to decorating bookcases, but they're one of my favorite parts of my home and most peoples homes I visit.  I think they can be so hard to decorate!  I truthfully unpacked boxes when we first moved in and put most of this stuff in place as I unpacked, and other then a few tweaks here or there, I haven't given much though or attention to these areas since!

A few (really dark!) photos of one of my bookcases below....

We have built in bookcases on either side of our fireplace.  They're really not anything fancy, but once they're filled you don't really notice that.  I tend to like bookcases filled with tons of books, plus a few personal items tucked in.  (I know some prefer bookcases with more decorative pieces, less books - personal preferences!)  My book club makes fun of me for only buying hardbacks, but I dream of having a "library" in my forever home so I'm adding books once month at a time!  Rooms lined in bookcases to me are the absolutely coziest!

A wedding picture, a few pictures of Virginia, miscellaneous vases my mom has gifted me through the years and a piece of art by my cousin's wife also are tucked in. 

Be sure to visit these other bloggers sharing their personal bookcases today too.....

Brittany at Brittany French

Kristy at   Design Chic

Brenna at   Domestic Charm

Elizabeth at   Little Black Door

Sarah at  702 Park Project

I've considered painting the back of my bookcases a fun color, but my house has a lot going on in it so I've stopped! :)  What do you think of this idea though?  Kind of fun!  Thanks for having us participate Sarah - it's always so much fun!

~Mary Keller

What's On Your....Kitchen Counter

Next up in the series "What's On Your..." we're sharing what's on our kitchen counters.   Most weeks the only thing that is only our kitchen counter is a big bowl of fruit, lots of our favorite olive oil, a bottle of wine and dish soap.  (As a matter of fact, once we were enjoying dinner with friends at our kitchen table, and our friend said, "I have a question, do you guys really go through that much fruit and olive oil?!"  We're obsessed!  I can tell looking at these pics below I've got some work with accessorizing to do!  Things are looking a little bare, and I know I'd like to at least add a few plants.  A few pics of what's on my kitchen counter below, and also I shared more pictures of my kitchen renovation here if you're interested!

The one pic above left is really difficult to see, but it's one of my favorite parts.  This area isn't really my kitchen counter - it's really a butler's pantry but I still love it.  I keep a growing collection of glass tumblers here, perfectly in pretty sight and reach for J.D. to make me an evening cocktail!

To see more "What's On Your Kitchen Counter" pics, check out these other bloggers below:

 

Brittany at Brittany French

Kristy at   Design Chic

Brenna at   Domestic Charm

Amy at  Eat Sleep Decorate

Olivia at  Lacquered Life

Elizabeth at   Little Black Door

Cathy at  The Grit & Polish

Sarah at  702 Park Project

 

Thanks Sarah for organizing!  I can't wait to see everyone's.  I know I need to add some accessories to give the kitchen a little more warmth so I'm hoping to steal a few ideas.  I went to a friends recently and her kitchen had a few BIG potted plants that I loved, so I know that's one thing I'd like to add eventually!

~Mary Keller

p.s. more on collections here!

Master Bedroom Overhaul Part II

Heath mentioned that we made progress on our master bedroom renovation this past weekend and we really did!  We had the bedroom painted that pale blue I had been admiring, and I got just about every other major component for the room on order.  I found this fabric to use for drapes and pretty much used it as my starting point for everything else.

I always love crisp white bedding in bedrooms, and Horchow is always running good sales.  My mom bookmarked this bedding for me months ago, and I loved the feminine scallop.  For lamps I'm using sconce lights, and I'm hoping to switch out the shades to something pleated.  I love how a pleated shade looks all lit up, and I'm hoping that these sconce lamps are just what I need to get back on track with lots of bedtime reading.  (I'm blaming my terrible bedroom for my lack of book club participation lately.) 

I'm a little more torn on the rug direction.  J.D. would like something more "plush" (pretty much non-sisal) but wool carpets can get pricey really quickly, plus I think I'm liking the warmth that a neutral sisal gives colorwise.  This option from Dash & Albert is always a favorite, but it's popular and we've already used it in Virginia's room in blue. 

So!  Lots of fun stuff and we're moving right along.  I've never "decorated" a room like this.  I'm always slow and methodical, but for some reason I'm just quickly going with my gut and moving along with this project.  (J.D.'s probably cringing imagining me changing my mind later! :)  Not pictured is a new/old wood chest that we desperately need so J.D. can quit using the Rubbermaid.  I think that it will visually be a big help too - the wood will add warmth.

So, next to add is one more lamp, a few new picture frames and accessories, possibly art, and if anyone has rug suggestions or a vote I'd love to hear!

~Mary Keller

p.s. before pictures here

Bedding | Scones | Rattan Bedside Table | Picture Frames | Fabric | Rug and another Rug

Kitchen Reveal

Remember way back (almost one and half years ago!!) when we were renovating our kitchen?!  We'll the kitchen is most definitely renovated, and it has been for some time, but I was waiting to photograph it until it was "finished."  And then I realized, I don't know when that will happen.  It's still missing art, lamps, accessories, etc., but the bones of it are renovated, and we decided it would be fun to share!

Our inspiration and before pictures are right here, and we shared lots of progress shots here.  Even though these after pics aren't perfect, they're much more impressive after seeing what we started with!  Truthfully, I didn't style these pictures at all - like I wanted to!  I asked J.D. to grab flowers from the grocery store so that I could try to spruce things up before taking these pictures, and he came home empty handed.  He said only neon flowers were available, and he decided to pass! 

Okay, picture overload below if you're interested....

We are loving the kitchen!  It's completely transformed the house, so much so that I think we'll stay here far longer than we originally planned.  It's changed the way we live in the house.  J.D. usually comes down here super early and works before Virginia gets up, and I spend lots of time in here cooking.  (We never hung out in here before.)  We eat breakfast together most mornings in the kitchen, and the little sitting area is a combo of Virginia's playroom/where J.D. enjoys a drink while I cook.  We added no square footage, but the house feels bigger, and the addition of the French doors have made us use the back yard so much more.

I'm still on the lookout for a piece of art to use above the loveseat, and a better lamp in that area.  If anyone has any questions, please let me know!  We have sources for everything written down, but it's been a little while so they aren't on the top of my head! :)

~Mary Keller

Master Bedroom Overhaul | Dreaded Before Pics

I really can't believe I'm even putting these pictures out here, but I feel like you can't get a good sense of the "overhaul" I'm planning without seeing these dreaded before pics!  When we moved in, we hired a painter to come in and paint before we got in the house.  I didn't want to mess with it once all of our stuff was in the house.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with our paint selections almost everywhere, but our master bedroom color was a total BUST!  I was going for a dark, masculine look and my inspiration was the image above - a beautiful dark charcoal blue - it's so beautiful in the above photo right?!  But, my master bedroom has lots of light, plus the color of our original old hardwoods is very light.  Those two things I blame on making this dark, cozy color a total miss for us.  I knew the color was off very quickly and pretty much didn't touch anything else in the room as a result.  SO, fast forward two years and we're going in the completely opposite direction!  I'm ready to get this makeover started!

What's On Your....Bathroom Vanity

We're kicking off a new series today along with a handful of fun bloggers called "What's On Your..."  We're going to continue this series monthly seeing little sneak peeks insides of everyone's home.  (Maybe I'm nosey, but I love getting little glimpses into people's personal space!)  First up for February is "What's On Your Bathroom Vanity."  I'm showing a few pics below of my bathroom "vanity."  Truthfully, both of my tiny bathrooms have small pedestal sinks.  They really don't have a vanity, so when J.D. and I first moved in, he switched out the hardware to what you see in the pics below and added that little glass shelf.  That little shelf is the closest thing I'll have to a bathroom vanity for years!

Virginia's First Birthday

We've mentioned that we just celebrated Virginia's birthday this past Saturday.  We shared a few pictures here, but I'd love to share a few more below if you're interested.  I love going back and seeing these personal memories.  I knew I didn't want to do much for Virginia's birthday.  I wanted the day to be simple, filled with love and family.  My parents, my grandparents, J.D.'s parents, and Heath and Andy came over for a simple celebration.  More pictures from Virginia's day below....

Around Here

avacado BLT simple summer lunch | our house Sunday morning | our house Sunday evening - no screens!! | peach caprese salads and pasta | unintentional twins - lots of denim action | me staring at my favorite girl

Happy Monday guys!  It was a simple, nice weekend.  Not much to report around here, but it did turn out to be a good one.  Saturday, all of us (me, Heath, and J.D.) were fighting colds but Sunday things started looking better.  J.D., on a whim, tackled our front porch screens.  We woke up with screens and went to bed with a brand new (much improved!) front porch.  The picture above was taken at night so it's hard to tell, but it makes our house so much brighter and more welcoming.  Sunday afternoon we met Heath and Andy for a patio drink for just a little while to enjoy the weekend's beautiful weather.  A nice, relaxing weekend, and hope you had a good one too.  Have a good week guys!

~Mary Keller

Backyard Garage Before & Afters

We have some fun before and "after" photos from the backyard garage/shed renovation to share today!  We're sharing them on 702 Park Project today so stop by and take a look!!  If you aren't familiar with 702 Park Project, Sarah's blog documents the renovation of their amazing (and huge!!) historic home.  I cannot imagine how wonderful this home will be when they're finished.

I say "after" regarding the photos of our garage/fireplace renovation, because is any project ever really done?  These are the after shots for now!  These are basic quick pics with no styling, and these also show that obviously there is no landscaping (or even grass) out back right now.  Also, you'll notice the new back gate hasn't been installed or the new fence.  We have some landscaping plans, but they won't happen until the temps cool down in the fall.  I'll be sure to take lots of pretty pics too because I think that's when things will really start to look good. 

Anyway, hope you head over and enjoy!  Last thing - I'd love to hear, do you vote to paint the brick fireplace or leave it as is?  Our original plan called for painting the fireplace, but now we're a little on the fence.  Good news is we cannot paint the brick until it settles for a few months so we have some time to think on it.  I'd love to hear your vote.  See you at 702 Park Project in a bit!

~Mary Keller

Progress out Back

Guys, I'm so excited because our backyard is really finally coming together.  (For a refresher, we shared some of our inspiration pics here, and analyzed which direction we should go for porch and patio furniture here.)  Unfortunately, we don't have too many before pictures to share, but what we do have I'll share below.  Keep in mind, this before picture was the best the yard ever looked.  It's a little misleading.  (It's from the real estate listing when we bought the house!)  I think sod was laid a week before the house went on the market because it died and never looked the same a week after we moved in.  You can see all of the new progress below. 

 

Things are obviously not finished but we're getting there!  Basically, the backyard went from being a reason that we almost didn't buy the house, to being what I think will become one of our favorite parts.  By shrinking the size of the old garage/shed, we really only gained about 3 feet or so of yard, but it just feels so much bigger.  And, our house is small.  Adding an outdoor space for us to treat more like another living space, well that's huge.  We likely won't tackle landscaping until the fall.  (We think the extreme summer temps would kill any shot we have at laying new sod.)  And, we still have cushions and a few patio pieces to order.  On that note, your votes were consistent, everyone loved look number two so we're planning on some sort of variation of that look for the furniture.  I'll keep you posted when we're all wrapped up, and have you all for drinks by the outdoor fire. :)

~Mary Keller

Virginia's Nursery

This past weekend I finally got around to taking a few pictures of Virginia's nursery.  I've been putting off taking these pictures waiting until her nursery was officially "done" but then I realized I'm so short on time these days her nursery will likely never really be done.  I may have mentioned it before, but Virginia's nursery is actually the master bedroom of our house.  You can probably tell from these pictures, but her room is huge, especially for a house as old as ours.  When we first moved in we decided we would never have enough furniture to fill the bedroom as a master bedroom, and instead decided to make it a giant nursery.  If Virginia becomes a big sister one day, our plan is for her to share this room with her sibling.  :)

I shared plans for this room here, and I think the room turned out pretty close to how it was imagined.  I really wanted this room to be colorful and full of Virginia's art and toys as the years go by.  So many pieces in the room are things we already had, but I'll share sources and tons of photos below.

The twin beds were actually my mother's childhood beds with simple matelassé bedspreads from Bed Bath and Beyond.  The splatter paint pillows are from Biscuit.  We purchased an inexpensive chest at auction to use between the beds and the gourd lamps are from a local boutique Cottage & Vine in Columbia.  The elephant and giraffe bookends are Serena and Lily (a gift from grandparents) and the art between the beds is by Michelle Armas.  (It's a print.  Wish we could have done an original but Virginia will never know the difference!)

For her rugs we decided on two Dash and Albert rugs.  In the end, two smaller rugs looked better than one huge rug.  One rug really took over the entire room.  Her crib is an inexpensive Jenny Lind, but I loved it's old fashioned classic look.  Crib splatter paint bedding by Biscuit.  Art above the crib is an old framed Spoleto poster, and the hot air balloon mobile is from Shower Me With Love in Charlotte.

We DIYed her glider (a tutorial to come!) and the blue and white garden stool I purchased to actually sell in a booth here in Charlotte.  (I purchased LOTS of stuff to sell in a booth here in Charlotte and then the next weekend I found out I was pregnant so the booth never happened.  So many of my purchases have ended up in Virginia's room.)  The pillows on the glider and crib by Kevin O'Brien Studio.  The bookcase was actually made by my grandfather for my nursery when I was a child. 

I'm using an antique buffet (another purchase that I planned to sell in my booth!) as a changing table for now.  I found the toile flower lamp at a vintage shop and the black mirror is an inexpensive piece that I painted a long time ago.  I would love something more fun like this, but it's not in the budget for now.

Right now this nursery stays nice and neat (too neat!) like this since Virginia can't yet move around, but I really look forward to the day that she has lots of room to run around in here, pull out all of her toys, invite friends (or a future sister) to have a slumber party with her, etc.  I'd love to add roman shades or some type of drapery to all of these windows to soften the room, but for now we're pretty pleased with our girl's sweet room! 

~Mary Keller

Our Kitchen is just about finished!

I'm super excited that our kitchen is really just about finished!  Below are a few quick sneak peeks before everything is finished up!  The cabinets still need their hardware.  Fridge, stove and hood need to be installed.  Cabinets are still missing a few details, but we're definitely getting closer to the finish line.  The biggest difference is the addition of the French doors.  They've added so much light, and they have such a better view vs. the old single door. 

Next time you see the kitchen everything should be done and in place!  Wish I could have everyone over for dinner and a glass of wine in the new kitchen.  JD's requested Ina's Parmesan Chicken over salad for the first dinner in the new kitchen.  I can't wait to make that, plus all of our other warm weather favorites, this August since July was full of takeout and cereal!

~Mary Keller

Kitchen Cabinets Are In!

The kitchen cabinets are in!  We still have major work to do, but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!  With the cabinets in, it's so much easier to see how the space will really feel.  This week the countertops will be cut and the French doors will go in.  I'm really excited about seeing the French doors.  The space will have so much more light!  A few progress shots are below.  I'm sure you're all sick of seeing these shots, but we only have a little over two weeks to go! :) 

 The view from where you will enter the room.  The little cabinet peninsula is where the wall used to be.

View on the other side.  The French doors will be located in the same location as the temporary door.

The original butler's pantry is still in good shape, but we will add a fresh coat a paint and matching hardware.

Sink will be located under this window, with the dishwasher to the left.

Pantry door on the far left, then the little desk with shelves above, space for the refrigerator, and then the oven/storage area on the far right.

 View standing in the middle of the kitchen.  The boarded up door leads to the dining room.  I'd like a little loveseat and chair in the former breakfast nook.  JD can then sit and talk to me while I cook dinner. :)

Happy Early Weekend!

Happy early weekend and Happy 4th of July!!  I hope everyone had a nice short week.  I don't have too many pretty iphone shots to share from this short week, but we did make major progress in the kitchen.  Cabinet boxes are in and the kitchen if finally starting to come together!  I also discovered a new favorite grocery store ice cream.  If you haven't tried Talenti Banana Chocolate Swirl, go try it immediately.  It tastes like the most delicious banana split. :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July.  Heath's heading to Charleston (I'm super jealous) for a nice long weekend.  JD and I are staying put here in Charlotte, and my mom and I have shopping plans to do what else other than keep plugging away at the baby's nursery. :) 

~Mary Keller

So much progress on the renovation!

Guys there has been so much progress on the kitchen renovation!  I'm really surprised how much things have changed over just one week!  We've begun making some of the finish selections.  I was getting a bit nervous about my decision to paint the lower cabinets black, but then Lacquered Life blog posted the kitchen below from Country Living and I fell in love again.

Along with the black lower cabinets, we'll be painting the upper cabinets white.  We've selected Carrera marble on the counter tops and a 3"x 6" Carrera tile as the backsplash.  I've heard nothing but horror stories about using Carrera marble so we're probably crazy!  I just can't find a white granite that looks clean enough, I've always loved Carrera, and similar looking Quartz options are waaay too pricey!  We've selected unlacquered brass hardware, simple knobs for our doors and bin pulls for the drawers.  I'd love to do an unlacquered brass faucet, but the options we're finding are still too pricey!  The faucet shown below is lacquered--why do they triple the price NOT to lacquer the brass?!

 

Below are the latest progress shots:

 The back of the house with the kitchen.  This wall used to have a small window and single door.  We removed the single door and instead will add French doors on the other side.  No more view of our neighbors doing their dishes!

Back of the house with the temporary door.  This temporary door will become our French doors.  Clearly they still have a lot of old electrical items to move!  The view out the French doors will be so much better than the last door location.

Inside the kitchen, the former window has been covered.  The stove will go along this wall.

The new sink will go under this existing window.

The wall that separated the old breakfast room and kitchen is officially gone!  The wall used to be in between these two windows.  It looks so much bigger now.

Looking through the kitchen to where the French doors will eventually be.  The new doors will add so much needed light to this space!

This wall used to have a small window and exterior doors.  Those have been covered and this wall will have our fridge, pantry, desk and oven.  The framing for the pantry is in place!  (Pantries are such a luxury in our neighborhood.  Kitchens are often so small!)

~Mary Keller