Um...Another House Tour..?

Hello again!...Welcome !..I wanted to show you one of my favorite rooms in the house.....Now quit dragging your feet and try to keep up...

It's not really a room at all..an entry,... a foyer,... a hallway...but it's one of my favorite places.

Perhaps it's because it is more muted than the rest of the house. The other rooms are filled with color but the walls here are a soft, creamy, vanilla. It's sort of soothing.... Did you HEAR me? I said it was SOOTHING! just making sure you were paying attention. Now then...


(She supposedly came from a church.... )

(I recovered the bench in this wonderful embroidered fabric I had found in an eBay auction. I don't know what the name or brand is but my heart goes pitty pat whenever I see it....)



It might also be that this room houses my most favorite possession. How can anyone have a love affair with lamps? But I do!.. and I always joke that in an emergency (aside from the family & pets of course ) that I would run back in for these lamps.



I think they were meant just for me.... (sigh)


Is all of this confusing you? Let me start at the begining of the house. Come on now, up off that bench! Try to keep up with the rest of the group...



If you walk in through the front doors...



You will see the Living / Dining room on the left...




And thru this little door on the right...




Is the office.....



If you venture up the stairs ......

(Another favorite of mine - Chandelier courtesy of the Kathy Ireland Collection - who knew a swimsuit model and I could have the same taste? )

You will come upon this sweet little corner chair....

But if you don't feel like hiking upstairs and you walk thru the entry......


You may or may not notice this....

(It's a raised plaster stencil. I wanted something there but nothing really jarring out at you.....)



Oh! you will see these too....


Then you will come across this little table....

(That I am trying to update seasonally....but even I have to admit it needs a little help! I'll be off to Michael's shortly!)

( I don't really know what you call this...it's some sort of framed "book"...)

(This little lady was $14.99! I am looking forward to filling the basket she carries on her back - currently with wheat - to suit the seasons. )

(These plaques were my Great Grandmothers....)

An opening into the dining room is on the left......Tea will be served later.

But if you turn to the right....

You can either dash into the kitchen on the left.....

(A little bit of a view on the way......)

Or continue down the hall to the sitting room....




....and if you turn around you are looking at the kitchen!

Confusing..? I know, I apologize. Did I mention there is a second set of stairs..? it's off of the kitchen...now if you follow me...hey wait! Where are you going? ..What?! You don't want to follow me on any more of my house tour?...well okay, you don't have to go running off screaming like that! But you might have to ask me for directions on how to get out of the house...and no refunds!

(I apologize if my posts lately are a little redundant and you are probably banging your head against your desk over me doing another house tour but I am just trying to stall until I can finish up my latest project : ) but it kind of involves the same thing - Decorating!)

The Kitchen.....

I am not crazy about cooking. Seriously. It's one of my least favorite things to do - but I do enjoy it more when we have a crowd - isn't that strange? I've got a few picky eaters in the house but when you've got people over who enjoy eating what you cook, then it's a pleasure and not a chore.

But I LOVE to bake! Sweet muffins on a Saturday morning. Ooey Gooey Cinnamon rolls lulling you down the stairs on Sunday. That's more ME! All about the baked goods!

The kitchen is open to our sitting room (previous post) and as with any other room in my house it was an opportunity for decorating!

Let me give you a little tour....

The butcher block that makes it so convenient to pour yourself a glass of milk to go with those baked goods!

Over here is a glass front cabinet that stores my "pretty" dishes or as my 4 year old calls it "Show & Tell". Doesn't matter that I have to stoop down to the cabinet below to get our "everyday" dishes but as long as I have something nice to look at then I can deal with the back problems this causes....;)

To further enhance my "pretty view" -I lined the back of the cabinet with a subtle fruit & bird toile wallpaper. It makes the dishes stand out a bit more and it appears that I have more than I really do! another wink! ;)

Uh Oh! Do you spy another Rooster lamp...? Don't you just love HomeGoods!?......

Then to address the looming space above the cabinets (but I was the only one in the house to think this) I think I have made the most of the soffet..no Wasted decorating space in this house!

An old painting that I carried from room to room for months trying to find just the right spot for...how about above the pantry door?! I enjoy looking at when I am lounging on the couch in the adjacent room...and I do like to lounge!

A pretty antique platter above the stove.... it's mounted with a plate hanger attached with wire to a nail that I hammered into the cabinet -my hubby wasn't too happy with that part! - then I used that poster putty on the backside so it doesn't shift all around.

An iron bull's head that my kids get a kick out of!

I wish I had some exotic story about him being from a French Boucherie' as an advertising sign... but (sigh)... no... He was originally a towel rack with a huge ring through his nose! I would have used him in his original condition but I don't have wall space by the kitchen sink. So we hacksawed off the metal ring and I puttied up his rather large nose holes and dabbed on some paint. So now can I "fib" about his origins?

A little transferware here and there.....

And my sweet hubby brought me back those copper pots from a trip...Now he's finally getting the real me after 12 years of marriage!

The nook that my husband and I spent one loooonnng weekend building benches for....(can you say marriage counseling?)

Had to throw in my favorite pillow - there is a hen & chicks one down at the other side of the bench - the kids know NOT to wipe their grubby fingers on these! Still working on the husband...;)

And finally back around to the sitting room....

Oh! one more thing before you go - How many of you have stainless steel refrigerators? Then you know you can't attach any little notes or cute magnets to it right?




Well I applied a couple coats of magnetic paint & then chalkboard paint to the other side of the fridge cabinet (gasp! I know I had reservations at first too!) to make a sort of message center. Had my husband install some trim around it and I painted it to match the cabinets.

It looks like it was always there... I get a little more organization and the four year old usually doodles up the lower half and leaves us little masterpieces!

Well, I think that about concludes the tour - Now I've got some Baking to do! See you next time!