House Tour: Living Room

Good morning! Did you watch Brother vs. Brother on HGTV last night? I didn't get it. I thought the idea was that the two teams were suppose to make changes that would increase the value of the homes they were working on.

But the contestants that were put on the chopping block were the ones who were installing hardwood floors and renovating the kitchen. The contestants who were safe from elimination "added value" by pouring paint on a canvas and glueing and torching wood on a wall above the fireplace.

I didn't bother to stay up to watch the rest.


Today is the second day of my house tour, and we're heading into the living room. I hope you won't be too disappointed that I don't have any homemade art or torched wood on the walls :)

Here is how the living room looked when we bought our house 6 years ago...

And here it is today...

The changes we've made:

• removed white carpet and installed hardwood floors (Columbia Chatham Time Worn Dockside Maple)
• painted walls (Benjamin Moore White Dove)
• installed wood shutters
• painted the inside of the corner cabinets with homemade chalkpaint (Benjamin Moore Wedgewood Gray)
• seagrass rug from naturalarearugs.com
• ottoman from Ballard Designs (used my own fabric, which was a Fabricut velvet. I think it was "raspberry.")
• custom pillows in Magnolia "Gootar" and Diamante "Flax"
• zebra print pillow from Etsy
• framed "The Art of Audubon"prints, custom bamboo frames at Michael's
• recovered vintage Louis chair in Magnolia "Defoe Ice"

On the "to do" list: 

• maybe eventually add some drapes, but for now, I'd say this room is DONE!

Well, I've got to run. There's a little brother vs. brother taking place in my house right now, and it sure isn't adding any value to my house :)

If you missed the first room on the house tour, check it out here.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!



Sharing at Tuesday's Treasures

House Tour: The Foyer

Admittedly, I don't get much decorating done in my house during the summer.

There are too many fun distractions... hanging by the pool with the kids, walking the dog, playing tennis, cooking out and sipping cocktails with friends. Priorities, people :)

In an effort to make myself not feel like such a slacker, I've decided to focus on what I have gotten done in the 6 years since we bought our house. In a series of posts, I'll take you on a tour of each room in the house and show you how it looked on day one and how it looks today.

I'm hoping this will also help me get my blog more organized. Thanks to my decorating ADD, I tend to jump from room to room, and you may have gotten lost along the way :)

I suppose the best place to start would be the entrance to the house. Let's take a look at the foyer.

This is how it looked 6 years ago when we bought the house...

I remember walking in at the Open House and immediately being smitten with the wainscoting and door casings.

This is the foyer today...

Another before shot...

And today...

The changes we've made:

• painted the walls Sherwin Williams Sea Salt
• installed new wide plank hardwood floors that extend into the adjacent living and dining rooms
• removed carpet from the stairs and stained the treads
• painted the oak handrail Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black
• painted the front door Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black

On the "to do" list:

• new door hardware -- I'm betting on brass, unlacquered
• maybe paint the bench. The bench has been in our family for ages and has had multiple coats of paint. I had it stripped and refinished several years ago, but I predict some chalkpaint in its future. Any color suggestions??

Gosh, I am exhausted from thinking about all that work. Think it might be time for a cocktail by the pool ;) Hey, it's Friday isn't it?

Thanks for joining me for the first room on the tour. I'll be back soon with the next one soon. Have a fabulous weekend!



Sharing at Tuesday's Treasures