The Main Room

I am coming to you with a very exciting post today-- one that I am calling "the main room."  I decided it would be easier to show you our kitchen, dining room and living room together since they are really part of the same big, open space.  I think it helps to see how it all flows together, too.

Now, I did do a little tidying before taking these photos-- but no more than 20 minutes' worth.  This is pretty much what it looks like when we're enjoying the space, save for a blanket draped over the edge of the couch (c'mon new scratching post, help us out!) or a glass or two on the coffee table.  We are taking a lot of pride in keeping this place tidy!

Also, you will notice that I had a helper this morning.  She was very curious about what I was doing and ended up in some of the photos.  That is pretty normal, too. :)

I am also especially glad to bring this post to you since we just celebrated our one-month anniversary in the house two days ago.  I think we can all agree that we have been very busy!  I hope you will enjoy this post-- I think this is what you all probably have been waiting for!

This is what you see when you turn the corner from the hallway by the office and bedrooms into the kitchen.  I think just from this first snapshot, it's easy to see why we really have to look at the rooms all together.

I told you we'd have a special helper! Look at that face-- it's like, this again.

If you were coming from the master bedroom or study and were looking straight out, this is what you would see.  Past the fridge is the pantry, and beyond that is the buffet for the dining room.  The space on the left looks a little empty, but we have plenty of time to figure out what to do with it.

The dining room.  We purchased a new dining table and chairs (our first furniture purchase for the house!) since our previous set only sat four max.  This table has a leaf (not in the table here) so it can seat up to 8.  The size of it when it's set for 6 is perfect for the space, though.  We later purchased the matching buffet and I am so happy we did.  It holds a lot of our serveware, glasses, etc.  The set is from Ashley furniture.

This is the kitchen from the dining room.  We had concerns that there wouldn't be a ton of counterspace, but there's actually way more than we need.  It's hard to tell in pictures, but the island is actually very wide.  We haven't run out of room yet!  You can also see the light fixture we had installed and it really adds something different and special (we purchased it from Lowes online-- I can't even tell you how many light fixture webpages I looked at--but I can't find it up there now).  Mike and his dad installed the cabinet hardware here, too.

Another view of the kitchen from the living room.  I think my favorite part is the fridge-- I go crazy for the water/ice dispenser in the door.  Coolest thing ever.

In this photo, you can see where the kitchen ends and where the living room begins.  You can also see the entryway.  I am not crazy about the decor on the entertainment stand right now, but we will figure that out in time.

Someone just got a new kitty tower last night (thanks Amazon!) with LOTS of scratching posts built in.  Here's hoping this curbs some of the scratching on the new couch.  Luckily, it's a tweed type material and it doesn't show too badly, but we're doing our best to really work with her to stop.  And clearly, she hates her new spot. ;)

Here is the living room from the entryway.  You can see Dora's new tower and old scratching post, and all of our new living room furniture.  The only furniture left from Albany, in this whole room, is the coffee table (even though it's all scratched up we still love it) and the side table on the left.  We did some big spending!  We purchased the couch and chairs from Ashley furniture during tax-free weekend and the rug is from Target.

 

This is still one of my favorite parts of the room.  I love how this horizontal book case (Target) came together.  It holds my cookbooks, several of my grandmother's passed-down pitchers (I have a thing for pitchers; I don't know where it came from!) and treasured photos.  The plant is doing very well too, thanks to Mike!  The mirror is from Target (last year), curtains and hardware from Pottery Barn.  The pillows came with the couch.

Living room furniture, for this floor plan, was really a puzzle for us.  Most sectionals were (unfortunately) too big for the space and likely would have overwhelmed the room.  We originally had a sofa and loveseat in the room, but we decided that what we really wanted was a sofa and two chairs.  We went to look around and fell in love with this set.  They are so comfortable!  Plus, the room really needed some color, and these chairs add nicely.  The framed photos (Forsythia 1 & 2) are from Z-Gallerie.  Eventually, I'd like to replace that lamp with something more substantial, but it's absolutely fine for right now.

A better shot of the chairs and paintings.

Another overview of the whole space from the front entryway.  I gotta say, we really love it!

One more overview from the entry by the spare bedrooms.

Here is a better photo of the entertainment center.  This is also from Ashley furniture (we definitely have a favorite line of furniture) and holds Mike's new TV, which we purchased when Target was doing their crazy Cart-Wheel app sale.  Like I said, I'm not in love with the decorations on the piers now, but over time I know we can make it look nicer.  We have all of our housewarming cards on the top-- thanks so much for thinking of us! :)

I also wanted to show you our entryway.  This was our final purchase before our decorating money ran out, so it will be a while before we have more projects.  It was funny because it looked so empty there, but it was really Mike who advocated for doing something in this space.  He said to me, "we really need something there." So I consulted my trusty rolodex of home stores and found this table at Kirklands online.  We were at the store purchasing it about 3 hours later.

Here's a better shot of the entry table.  The table is from Kirklands, as is the faux forsythia (to echo the paintings, right?).  The basket below is from Target and the mirror-- I love this-- I rescued from the garbage room at our apartment in Albany.  Mike really advocated for the blue table, and I'm really glad he did.  It just looks so nice there.

A view out our front door.  Why not?

 And as always, when I take my camera out, I have to get a few good shots of the D-cat.

Modeling the new couch and wondering what I'm doing.

Being pensive as she looks out over her domain.  A regal photo, if I do say so myself.

And enjoying much needed quiet snuggle time on her new tower.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I am so excited to have been able to share this with you.  I imagine most of this will stay the same-- at least until fall decorations come out. :)

Our Master Bedroom

I have always struggled with decorating our bedroom.  As a kid, I loved it, since it was the only space that was mine--and only mine--to decorate.  But as an adult, I tended to focus more on decorating the common spaces so that when we had people over, that space looked nice.  This meant that our bedroom was always an afterthought and never really felt totally pulled together since it didn't get the attention it deserved.

With our bedroom here, I really wanted to make it feel fresh and new, though again, we spent most of our budget on dining room and living room furniture.  So again, our bedroom was sort of an afterthought, but we did just enough that it feels much more pulled together, much fresher and much more comfortable than any bedroom we've decorated before.  And incredibly, it's one of the first ones done!

Here it is!  We still have the same furniture, but we updated the accessories to make it feel like a new space.

Clearly, our bed needs some more pillows (I'm sure Mike disagrees) and you can hardly see the shams behind our pillows! We purchased a new duvet, new sheets, a new bedskirt and new shams for the bed.  I have some ideas for decorative pillows, but I have yet to find the centerpiece pillow.  That plan is on hold for now.

I really love how the nightstands came out.  We found the lamps at TJMaxx, and beside it is my jewelry box that I've had forever.  On the floor is a basket with an extra blanket and all my checked-out library books.

I really love the way this all looks together!

This is one of my favorites.  You can see the lamps, the bed and the curtains.  I really love how it came together, even if it doesn't necessarily translate too well via photo.  The floral pattern on the duvet, for instance, is much more muted in real life.  If only I could take pictures with my good ol' eyes.

From this angle, you can see the way the window treatments really ties the whole room together.  They are a turquoise damask pattern that clearly, are sheer enough to let light in.  We used our wedding photos on the side wall (we wanted to change it up a bit, after all!) above my makeup desk.

Here are some small pictures of my makeup organization and this adorable perfume tray I found in Texas over the weekend.  Again, I'm really loving how this is functional but pretty.

This is the final wall of our bedroom.  We have our long dresser with our TV on it, though our TV actually has not turned on since we moved in (thanks AT&T for making us pay for boxes for every room-- we'll pass).  So the TV is just for decoration for now.  Maybe we'll find something to replace it with down the road.  You can see the curtain better in this photo, too.

Speaking of curtains, I know this isn't the greatest picture, but it does show the curtains and hardware better.  I loved these little finials-- they really add a special detail.

I'll end it with a photo of our closet.  We are really working hard to keep this space organized and nice, and so far, so good!  We really enjoy this closet and its proximity to the laundry room!

So there is update #2!  Our last round of new furniture is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, so once that is in I will likely move onto the common areas.  We still have several more projects lined up in other rooms, but we are getting there!

The Master Bathroom

I know we were all getting a little antsy for the first post, so that is what I am bringing to you today!  I've decided that, because we are still unpacking, purchasing things, waiting on deliveries (ugh!), and changing things, with this blog my goal is to go room-by-room.  I can't really give you a definite timeline for these posts, as how quickly we really become settled is dependent on so many different things right now.  But I do promise that I will bring you along as we do different things and you will see our house become a home!

So it might seem weird that our first post is about the master bathroom, because it seems like such a minor part of the house compared to the kitchen or the living room, or even the bedroom.  But if you have any experience with moving, you already know that the first place that needs to be functional (not pretty, but functional) is the bathroom.  You gotta have your stuff in line to brush your teeth, take showers, etc.  So I feel like the master bathroom came together pretty quickly because most of what we have done is based upon functionality.  There is still room for more decor down the road when we figure out what we want to do, but for now, simplicity and functionality are key.  Without further ado---

Ahh!  So dreamy!  I still love it just as much as I did when it all came together!  I wanted to keep it pretty minimalist on the counters because I find that if there's a lot of stuff on the counter, I don't clean them as often.  I love how fresh and airy it feels.

You can also see the hardware that Mike and his dad installed on ALL of the cabinets throughout the house.  I think it really dresses the space up and definitely makes it more functional.

The main decor we have in the bathroom is this beautiful orchid garden from Whole Foods.  I knew I wanted a fuchsia orchid in the bathroom (anyone else get really specific ideas like this?), and when I saw this one, I knew it was the one!  Since I am awful with plants, Mike is in charge of keeping this baby alive.

View of the bathroom from the shower.  Very minimalist and simple, but I think, very striking.

And this TUB!  I can't even tell you how glorious this tub is.  The only other decor idea I had for the bathroom, aside from the orchid, was that I wanted some sort of aqua colored accents.  I found these beautiful aqua towels at Dillards and fell in love (though I just discovered they have been "permanently reduced" and that Dillards does not do price adjustments.. gah!).  Still worth it though.  The towels are in the basket with some bath bombs from Basin, a bath store at Downtown Disney (I have been waiting so long to break them out!).  On the shelf in front of the window is a wedding photo, one of my grandmother's crystal bowls, and a reed diffuser that smells absolutely heavenly.

Frustratingly, our bathroom does not have a closet, nor did it have any other storage besides the cabinets below the sink.  So we knew we would have to figure something out for medicines and other things that you want to keep handy but not out.  We were thrilled when we found this cabinet at Lowe's, and even happier when Mike and his Dad installed it.  It matches our cabinet color very well and gives us just the right amount of storage.  And I love the baskets in the front-- they let me keep things I use every day easily accessible but not on the counter!

Yeah, so this isn't the most interesting picture, but it's our shower.  We are still trying to find a good towel-hanging solution-- this is what we've got going on for now.  

 Let me leave you with a sneak peek of our bedroom, illustrated by our favorite model.

 Mike and I hung the new draperies and rods last night and I put the new bedding on the bed this morning.  Dora climbed on the bed to check it out, and it just looked so pretty.  I busted out my camera and got some amazing shots of her.  We have some more decorating to do in the bedroom, but it is coming along nicely!  It's amazing how much window treatments can transform a space!

Thanks for stopping by and I will do my best to be back soon with another room to share with all of you!

Welcome to Our Home Decor Blog!

Hi everyone!  Welcome to our new blog that will be just about home decor!  Before I explain my vision for this blog, I want to explain why we felt the need for a second blog in the first place.

We have really enjoyed documenting the construction of our new home and sharing it with all of our family and friends.  We enjoyed hearing your feedback and reactions and appreciated your suggestions along the way.  We know many of you are interested in following our journey into the new house, and we are excited to share that part of this adventure with you, too!

However, in sharing so much about the construction of our house, we have really been quite public with many of the distinguishing features of our house, so that it would be fairly easy for someone to track down where we live.  We aren't very comfortable sharing the insides of our house with just anyone, but we also wanted to share it with those we love!  So in order to password protect the blog, this was our solution.  There may have been an easier way, but my knowledge of blogging is limited and now is not the time for me to learn more about that!

I see this as a place to share what our furnished house looks like, projects we might do, and other things that we may not necessarily want to be public, but want to share with those we love.  My guess is there will probably be more posts on this blog in coming weeks than on Louisiana-Bound, but we will work with both and I will continue to send notifications via email and Facebook when new posts are published.

So we hope you will continue this journey with us as we move into and begin decorating our new home.  There will be LOTS to share, and we are excited to begin!