Today I have a few before and after pictures to share with you. Some of the before shots were obviously taken at Christmas – so ignore the Christmas tree and just look at the colors and the furniture arrangement.
These are photographs of the main living area in our house. We had this furniture when we moved into this house 10 years ago. I was pretty tired of the dark colors and Joel’s spot on the couch was quite worn out. It was time to pick out something different – but we hate furniture shopping, so we kept putting it off!
Since Carter arrived, we have also been looking for a softer coffee table. Joel made all the mission style furniture in the living room, so I am sorry to see it go for that reason – but those corners are just too stressful to have around with a toddler!
This is the dining room before. I loved the red for a long time, but I was ready for a change – something lighter and brighter. (By the way the lake view is out these windows, but they get blown out when I try to make the rest of the photograph show up. It’s so hard to photograph high contrast areas . . . the window look bright white and everthing else looks darker than it really it )
I am sure I will miss the red at Christmas time. It was always fun to decorate a red room with Christmas things.
Here is the new paint color I chose – big surprise right? Everything I do has some aqua blue in it.
The living room has been lightened too. We now have two swivel chairs so you can talk to the people sitting on the couch, or turn to watch TV. The new layout works much better. And see the softer “coffee table”? Now the only worry is the stone corners on the fireplace hearth, but that isn’t changed so easily.
The chairs are supposed to be a lighter version of the paint in the dining room, but the colors are so hard to photograph. The blues look off, the greens look very yellow and the yellow looks brighter than it actually is. Hopefully you can use your imagination.
I am still working on the TV wall. I found the media stand at Home Goods and I am trying to decide on some sort of photo arrangement. Any ideas? I am not sure what else to do.
I am still on the hunt for some pillows to pull all the colors together, but in the meantime I have been finding some fun geometric prints. I found an Ikat print to make a slip cover for the ottoman. I plan to change it out seasonally, with different prints. I attached it with Velcro so it’s easy to change or wash. Does anyone else see things in Ikat prints? I see a dog’s face in this one. I’m not sure if that means I need a psychological evaluation or not!
I still need to make some runners and quilts for the space – again to try to help pull things together. The furniture arrived last December but I haven’t shown this to you yet because I still haven’t decided if I am done yet. I still think it need some “tweaking”.
But aren’t houses always a work in progress? Or is it just me?
Stop back later this week – I realized that my 5 year blogiversary has come and gone and I missed it. I think there should be just a little bit of a celebration!
Love the changes! It looks great! Sometimes a little change makes everything else seem new!
Love all your decorating ideas and fabric!!!
It’s all so pretty – I liked the before just as well as the after. It is amazing how a little paint can change the look of a room.
What is the new dining room color? I have been looking for a color for my own dining room and I love this.
You kill me!!! Love all the changes!!”
we have sharp corners around the fireplace too – sharper than yours as they are uneven pieces of rock – we would place pillows around those edges when the grandchildren were babies but that was just for short visits – not sure how to solve that for long term. The rooms look very pretty – airy and bright.
Love the new colors and furniture, now looking at the print I see a man with curly moustache.lol
It is so hard to protect our babies from everything, our grandson is blind and now six years old and although he has done some bumping into coffee table it has mostly been his hips he hit but if you keep drawing there attention to it and have them feel it with their little hands they do become aware of it. I have never had any major accidents so I will keep fingers crossed for your little one.
It is just so beautiful! I am giggling because I have the same dining room light in our kitchen! Great minds!
I love what you did with the colors. The house is so open, airy and inviting. I would change the tv area little. I feel the pictures around the tv are too much. I would go with a blank wall behind the tv and put some sort of vinyl saying along the top. The tv brings enough attention to itself when it is on so I wouldn’t want to bring attention to it while it is off. Overall, I love the look of your house.
It’s all so pretty. The after is as nice as the before. It’s hard to know when the decorating is done. Nice job.
Wonderful! I loved the red, but the aqua is a nice brighter change. I like Susan’s idea of some vinyl quotes around the TV, but I love having family photo’s around too. Maybe scatter them around the end tables and on the TV stand? I’m sure whatever you decide will be perfect~ you have that talent. Have a happy day!
This is so pretty. I like the aqua blue a lot, but I absolutely love the green that’s on the fireplace wall. I like all the fun prints. I am the ‘redecorating fever’ now!
I love the dining area. The aqua is so pretty!
Beautiful before and after! And with a view of the lake…..sigh.
Heather, What are your paint colors for the creamy yellow and teal?? Does it come from bringing your fabrics to a paint store? Thank you for always sharing your beautiful decorating!
Love the new wall colours and the pretty fabric!
I LOVE your home! Room for myself and hubby? We would love to be near the lake! LOLOL.
The red room is/was gorgeous, but I do like the aqua(ish) colors you used.
All in all, I’ll give you an A+++.
Thanks for sharing your lovely home.
Karen L.
I love all the new colors. You are so good at rearranging!!!! I could look at the factory here for pillows if oh wan. Is the old Dakotah now called creative Furnishes. Julie delaney
Just gorgeous!!!! You have a very beautiful home! Definitely jealous!
Love it, love it, love it! Caribbean colors are my favorites; most of the quilts I make are in those colors. Your last picture shows more of how the chairs are supposed to look…nice! You are inspiring!
Love the new color palette! Such a beautiful home!
I love the new blue color… so refreshing.
I am going to use your idea of rolling up quilts in a basket. I tend to lay them over the couches and I am frequently picking them up off the floor or they are in my way. Thanks for all the inspiration.
Heather, how about making your pillows in the color fabric and sizes you like? Also maybe big bolster pillows at the fireplace corners filled with sand or something so they would be hard for Carter to move.
Your home is lovely.
The new rooms look great! You can get fireplace bumpers at just about any baby store (or online) to help with the fireplace. My kids have hit the bumpers several times and they are well worth it!
You are so brave and wonderfully creative! The rooms are just perfect !
Love the changes!
Love, love, love, but then I often come and look around because you always have great ideas, and it feels so inviting!! Not sure about the TV area. I love seeing pictures and family but I’m kind of stumped at my house for wall space. My daughter has a very long shelf that she can change out the pics and then some hanging. How wonderful to sit and eat and see that beautiful view!!
Yep…kid bumpers are available for fireplace edges. Love the room its such a joyful color!
Hi Heather,
you have a good eye, your color choices work so much better for a mission style home. I think you are on your way to having a stunning cottage. Just a word of advice from a professional – EDIT, when you think ” maybe its to busy” it is. Less is always more.
good luck and I wish I was there to help you find all your needs to complete the look.
~ gail in Austin,tx.
Since the blue/green teals are my most favorite I just wanted to come sit in your dining room. Lovely! I agree with some other posters about TV wall in that simple is better with a TV and it’s stand. Perhaps you could find a smaller wall to group all the photos together. Great job!!
We bought a cushion type thing for our hearth. Velcro goes on the hearth itself and then the cushion, which is some kind of really dense foam, sticks to the velcro. It only covers the edges and it blends pretty well into the hearth. I bought it 17 years ago (can’t believe my oldest is that old!) from a kids catalog (one step ahead, probably-that’s where I ordered most everything when the kids were little and we had no internet) so I’m sure there are even more options now. The house looks beautiful!