The Charming Home Series at Town and Country Living

 
I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful weekend! 
I'm so excited today because my home is being featured on

 Town and Country Living's Charming Home Series.

Town and Country Living has been one of my very favorite blogs since I started my own blog several years ago, and Jennifer is one of the nicest and sweetest women I've met in the blogging world. Her beautiful home has been instrumental in my love for all things farmhouse, so you can imagine what a pleasure and honor it is for me to have my home featured on her new series.

 
The Charming Home Series showcases a different home each Sunday from all kinds of styles and periods with Jennifer sharing what it is about them that makes them charming. I love my home, of course, but I'm so excited to see and hear what Jennifer finds charming about it!

So I hope you'll come along with me to Town and Country Living and see my home featured on 
The Charming Home Series.

The Sofa Solution

Hi everyone, I hope your April is off to a great start! I'm so excited to share what came in the mail today. 

New England Home

 We're redecorating our living room from a vibrant traditional look to a more simple neutral farmhouse look like in this inspiration picture from New England Home. 
 

  

 We've been struggling with a dilemma because we're too cheap frugal to replace our perfectly good-in-every-way, but unfortunately very red, sofa. (Notice how I'm trying to hide that it's red here with a lot of big pillows.) Reupholstering costs almost as much as a new sofa, and I'm not a fan of hard to take on and off slipcovers. But the farmhouse look I love practically requires a white sofa.
 

Pottery Barn

 Pottery Barn to the rescue! When I saw that this drop cloth furniture cover was on sale and remembered I had a Pottery Barn gift card from last Christmas, I just had to give it a try.

  

When it arrived in the mail today, I immediately tossed it on the sofa and spent a few minutes tugging and tucking to see if it would work. 

I love it, wrinkles and all!

I mean, the way I figure it, I just saved us a ton of money and will still be able to have the white sofa farmhouse look I want without buying a new white sofa. For a cheap frugal person like me, that's like winning the lottery!

And please don't worry, I do plan on ironing out the wrinkles and spending some more time draping it just right and making some new pillows, too. But I snapped this photo on my phone and just couldn't wait to share my "new" sofa with you.

Thanks so much for stopping in to see!    

 

This and That and Some Farmhouse Art for the Kitchen

Happy Friday, everybody! 

It was spring here in Boise a few days ago, so my husband and I made big plans for spending the weekend gardening in the warm sunshine. 

Turns out spring was just having a joke on us, though, because this is what it's doing today outside our back window. Looks like the garden will have to wait a bit!

I was shocked to see it's been almost three weeks since my last blog post, so I'm checking in today to share what I've been up to lately.

First of all, you might remember I started a food sensitivity test awhile back and then kind of left you hanging about the results. I'm happy to report today that so far it's been a great success! So good, in fact, that I continued on with the other steps in the book and am still working on them. When I'm done in another month or so, I'll share the whole journey with you.

 I've also been working on designing our master bathroom remodel. We've picked out all the surfaces and finishes, and my husband is searching for a contractor now. We were hoping for our wonderful kitchen contractor, but he's too backed up doing other jobs. Contractors who are experts at working on one hundred year-old homes are not easy to find, so I'm not sure just when we'll be starting, but I'll share my inspiration photos and plans soon.   

 

I've been pulling my hair out trying to choose a paint color for the living room walls. I'll share a whole post soon just on the technique I came up with to make my final decision, but here's my pick: Benjamin Moore White Dove.

I had to squint and use my hands to block out the bright Stuart Gold that's on the walls now, but when I saw these neutral textures and colors framed by the white, I knew I had the look I wanted. I haven't had white walls since living in an apartment, but I'm excited by the new challenge! 

Painting swatches all over the living room walls isn't the only thing I've been doing with paint. 

We took a couple of the old cabinets from our kitchen remodel and made a new cabinet for the living room that I chalk painted and waxed. I'll share the tutorial for this penny pinching project in an upcoming post.

I've also been purchasing a few accessories to nudge my traditional decor towards a more vintage farmhouse vibe, especially in the kitchen. So, may I introduce you to my new barnyard friends? 

I love a touch of whimsy, and these barnyard fellas make me smile every time I walk into the kitchen.

Green mason jars are finally on sale to the public. Green is my favorite color, so I was super excited to see these on display as I was leaving Michael's Craft Store the other day. I don't even need to put anything in them, I just love the color on my kitchen window sill, the perfect touch of spring green. 

Hear that, Spring? Green, not white like snow! 

I'm so glad you stopped by today so we could catch up, and I hope you have a wonderful spring weekend! 

I'd love you to come party with me!

Rooted In Thyme 
The Shabby Nest
Jennifer Rizzo

 

Spray Painting a 1990's Brass Chandelier

I was all fired up to take photos of some new kitchen artwork I got over the weekend, but it's so dark and cloudy outside I know the pictures won't turn out well. 

So instead, I'm sharing an oldie but goodie project today: my spray painted 1990's brass chandelier. 

This was the inexpensive brass chandelier we bought for our dining room around 1990. These fixtures were very popular back then for traditional dining rooms, but not so much anymore. You can often find them at thrift stores and yard sales for great prices, or you might even have one of your own collecting dust in your attic or basement.

When I needed better light in my kitchen and had an almost zero budget, I decided to remake our old brass one. I knew it would give off great light, and I thought the shape would fit my eclectic vintage French farmhouse look. 

I hung the chandelier from its chain on a shepherd's hook in our back yard. Other than removing the light bulbs and dusting it well, I didn't take anything apart or mask anything. I just went to town with a can of matte heirloom white spray paint and painted the entire chandelier with a couple quick light coats. (Multiple light coats when spray painting are best for even coverage while avoiding drips.) It only took one can of paint and about ten minutes. Hanging it from the shepherd's hook was great for moving around easily and spraying from all angles.

I bought a new white chain by-the-yard at Home Depot, where they cut it to length for me. I just threaded the cord through the new chain, and my husband wired it up where the old kitchen light fixture had been. 

I think it's so cute hanging in my kitchen now. With its six frosted bulbs, it provides lots of light for the whole room with its ten foot tall ceilings. 

We also installed a dimmer, so we can turn the kitchen chandelier down to a soft glow when we're eating by candlelight in the adjacent dining room.

If you need a new light fixture on a budget, keep an eye out for an old 1990's brass chandelier. It's an easy DIY project. You can spray paint it almost any color of the rainbow and hang it in any room of the house. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and keeping me company on my dark and rainy day! 

 Let's go party!

Mod Vintage Life
Cozy Little House
Our Home Away From Home
My Romantic Home