Thursday, January 8, 2015

starting with the living room

 Thank you, everyone for the get well wishes. That nasty respiratory flu bug lasted
"only" four days ~ which isn't bad for the flu, I suppose. But those four days were the
sickest I've been in many years. There wasn't much I could do except rely on good
old-fashioned home remedies (sipping warm water with raw honey and fresh lemon;
steaming my face over a pot of water with tea tree oil in it) and upping my dosages
of vitamins C and D3 and Allibiotic (a mixture of elderberry, olive leaf extract, garlic,
oregano oil and rosemary oil). I don't like to take anything "over-the-counter"....
I prefer to use natural ingredients whenever possible. I find most of that OTC stuff makes
me wired and sets my heart to racing anyway.

So now that I'm well, I've been working on rearranging and organizing some rooms.
It's frigidly cold here (below zero temps), so what better time than to start indoor
 organization projects? I have so much to work on, but I started with the living room. 
Remember how the black ladder bookcase used to be on the other side of the living room
 with vintage suitcases and plants stacked next to it? I moved it to this wall where the 
buffet used to be. I think it looks so much better over here - really opens this space up. 
That buffet is so big and cumbersome that it took up that entire space and crowded out the couch.  



Brian moved the buffet for me to where the black ladder bookcase used to be. (Side
note: my mom said this spring she wants to teach me how to re-do the buffet. I'd like
to paint it flat black and leave the top with the mahogany finish, but fixed up and varnished.)
In other words, I traded places with these two pieces of furniture. Now the two big
things are deciding what to hang above the buffet (art work? floating shelves?) and
deciding what to finally do with that darn fireplace wall!
 

I had ordered a large white moulded floating shelf to go on the fireplace wall
and I was going to put corbels under it - kind of like a faux mantletop. After waiting
six weeks for the shelf and some shipping mishaps, I finally got the shelf. It was damaged
in three places, one of which was a deep crack. Totally unacceptable. I wrote to the company
and asked for my money back - which they gave me. And they didn't even want the 
shelf back! In the meantime, I found a carpenter who does custom wood working and
sent him some pictures of what we're looking for as far as a simple mantle. He's working
up a quote for us. I am hoping that it's not too expensive. After living in this house for almost
26 years, I think it's about time we finally get this fireplace wall finished the way it should've
been in the first place! It's always been a matter of finances though.


 I moved the vintage suitcases and plants in front of the window - another thorn-in-my
side area. I hate that fake plastic brown molding around the windows. I don't want to
replace it with white molding until we get new windows. So I'm thinking this spring that
I will just prime and paint the molding white. I also desperately need new curtains. I
have tried several pairs and nothing has looked "just right". I was looking at curtains online
yesterday and found these from World Market. I think I may order them.


 Today, I'm tackling the kitchen. Cleaning out the junk drawer, the baking cabinet,
the food pantry cabinet, and the freezer. Organizing my cookbooks and redoing
the inside of the china cabinet. What organizational projects are you working on
this January?

 

28 comments:

  1. Hi Melanie;
    My goodness your living room looks fantastic! Much more space with things moved around. It is lookin' good! All I do is think about it, but never do much to re-do or reorganize. Glad your feeling better, I hear you get really sick with this flu going around. Can your mom give directions to all of us in re doing the hutch? I would love to learn! Have a great week end. Love and Hugs, Nana

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    1. When we re-do the buffet/sideboard, I will definitely do an instructional post! My mom has redone her two large bedrooms dressers which were both mahogany like my buffet, so she has experience. I have no idea what I'm doing, so it'll be a good learning experience!

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  2. Glad that you are feeling better. Your living room looks wonderful.

    Debbi

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  3. I am glad that you are mending and getting better. Stay warm and safe inside and enjoy making your changes and updates! The mantel will be wonderful when it is done I am sure, and probably better than what you started with because I am sure that sometimes things don't work out for very good reasons! xx

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    1. Well, we just got one estimate. Now I'm going to contact a couple of other carpenters and get estimates from them also. Then we'll proceed!

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  4. Melanie, as usual everything looks fantastic. I just don't know where you get your talent from. I have to send you a picture of my craft room wall. I need some kind of shelving so I can get stuff up off the floor. I need some ideas and then I'll hire someone to hang them.

    And, yes I will tell how we did the buffet when we finish it. I have never done the top in a different medium, but why not. I've been looking into it and need to do my dining room table and that's what I want to do.

    Love you baby and I'm glad you are well and full of energy.

    xoxox

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    1. I will talk to you in person, Mom, but I don't think shelving on the walls is the way to go. I'm glad I'm well and back to being full of energy, too - I hate being sick!

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  5. Glad to hear you are feeling better. I've not done any organizing. Thought I would get to some over winter break but didn't happen. Perhaps after school finishes I'll get something done. The curtains are lovely but having a pattern might limit how much you can change up colors in the living room. I tend to go for solid fabrics for curtains and then throw small rugs or scarves or table runners over the top as a sort of valance to give it some personality. Good luck with the kitchen work. Best wishes, Tammy

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    1. I have never done patterned curtains either, but I've noticed my eyes have been drawn to pattern and brighter colors of curtains on other blogs, so I'm going to try and break out of my plain rut and see if it works for me. If the curtains don't work, I can return them, no problem.

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  6. I love your suitcase vignette and the plants must love being close to the window. I can't wait to see the new mantel.

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    1. Glad you like the suitcase vignette - I'm excited about the new mantel, too! After not having one for 26 years, it's finally time.

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  7. I like your new furniture arrangement, Melanie, and your photos are really nice, too. Are you using your new camera? Isn't it frustrating when you order something and end up with a damaged item after waiting weeks on end for it to be delivered?! I'm anxious to see what your carpenter comes up with for your fireplace mantel. I'm hoping to revamp our dark brick fireplace, but we'll see if it's as easy as the tutorials I've looked at make it look. I'm glad you've recovered from the flu!
    Vickie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, these photos were taken with my new camera! I was able to use the automatic setting because of all the sunlight in the house that day. I still don't know how to use the manual setting, so can't take photos when it's dark inside the house (otherwise the flash goes off on automatic). Are you planning on repainting the brick on your fireplace?

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  8. Happy New Year, Melanie!

    I've been catching up with your latest posts, and am glad to see that you are feeling like yourself again, only to be bitten by another bug - the decorating one! Your living room looks lovely and bright. I, myself, would put a print or painting above the buffet for more artistic balance. Good luck with the mantel!

    It was wonderful to see all your photos of your extended family reunion, as well as reading about your year in review. I've enjoyed following your adventures in decorating, treasure hunting, and reflections on life.

    Wishing you the very best in 2015!

    xoxo
    Poppy

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    1. I'm waiting on hanging anything over the buffet until the curtains get here and I see if I like them; I might wait until the mantel is done, too. Thank you for following along on my adventures!

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  9. I am glad to read that you're feeling better. Love the curtains you're contemplating. I like the colors in the pattern and think they'd complement your room nicely.

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    1. Thanks so much, Terri. I hope they work out - I have the worst luck with curtains!

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  10. I'm so glad you're feeling better. The redecorating is looking great! I really like the buffet where you put it and those curtains will be beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing more as you continue with the process.

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    1. Thanks so much, Jennifer. It's a small, but exciting re-do.

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  11. You really got me thinking. I love to decorate my home, but I don't like to switch things around as much as you do! I hope you get your mantle finally. My fireplace has a niche over it, so a mantle would just not work. But then again, the niche kind of takes the place of a mantle, and I decorate that instead. Just a thought for you. When I saw your window wall, I automatically thought that the buffet would like nice under the window because the sizes would dovetail with each other. Maybe switch with the suitcases? Just a thought!

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    1. Thanks for the thought, Robin but the buffet wouldn't work in front of the window as there's already a console table along the wall right next to the window.

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  12. Glad that you are feeling better...everything looks very nice :)

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  13. Glad you are feeling better, Melanie...so much junk going around this year! I really like the changes you made...opens things up nicely. Hope you get a good quote for the fireplace mantel!

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    1. Thanks much, Linda. So far, one quote. I have a couple more carpenters to contact.

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  14. Hi Melanie, I'm so glad you're feeling better and I love the changes you're making in your living room. It looks great. I just ordered lamps and one of them arrived broken. We're hoping to get our money back, too.

    I actually do have a couple of projects lined up for the next couple of months. I also want to put up curtains in my living room and now I need new lamps... :)

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  15. Your home is lovely. First time here.

    I've had the flu, as well. So glad to be wobbling back to wellness.

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind comment - I read and appreciate each one!