My Mini Redo of the Sitting Room

It feels like a new day here around the old homestead now that the painting in the sitting room is done. Some of you were interested in the "after" even though I had no major plan. But we did simplify and switch out a few things that I can show you.

What I was looking for was breathing space and impermanence. A sort of blank space to change up a lot. A ton of the accessories have been removed, from the fireplace especially.

BEFORE

We took out all of the old mirrors that were originally there to make the space feel larger, but I found that they came to make the space feel too busy, and that they turned out to be tricky to photograph around. This is an earlier picture that also shows the old khaki wall paint. 

This was the room on Friday. That cabinet in the center was switched with another taller, white one. It was full of books and movies and had a large decorative birdcage on top. Placed against that wall, it hardly ever had a change up. The windows had also been framed in the dark wood with a dark header over the one in the adobe brick wall. 

The new cabinet was formerly in my hallway and full of cookbooks and kitchen storage. The room is shown flooded in mid afternoon light.

This little chippy white coffee table gets moved around a lot and gets to stay. It's quite functional, and will be a great spot for changing displays. (It's also great for showing off my linens.)

I just picked up three of these yummy baskets at a super closeout price from my local Pottery Barn. I always check out their clearance section for bargains. I passed them up when I first saw them marked down to fifteen dollars, but went back hoping one might still be there. And voila! Ten dollars each!!!

The cabinet has change up potential too, but it also houses the majority of my ironstone collection in one place.

BEFORE

This is the same corner at Christmas. The birdcage has yet to find a new home.

The woven blind was already in place, and I have added a woven french basket of the same color on top of the cabinet. It still needs flowers!

In my hallway BEFORE.

While this wonderful cabinet was very functional, I felt its decorative potential was underused.

A french desk was removed from in front of this window. I thought I wanted this bench for stacking books, but found that it not only made better sense for extra seating in a pinch, but that I also preferred the visual space it left. One of the club chairs was taken out permanently too.

BEFORE

This dark, tall, and bulky entertainment center has been replaced with a louvered console (below) that coordinates with the plantation blinds. (Pottery Barn.)

The TV and console, tucked away and invisible from the entryway, gives a much cleaner look. (The console is only about forty inches wide.)

Having a bank of windows makes all the difference in this small room.

Less busy, still cozy, lighter, and feeling more spacious. (For now, absolutely nothing has been rehung on the walls.) There's even room for pulling in more chairs when needed. Come on over!

I hope you have a great week ahead!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jacqueline

Join me at

Between Naps on the Porch~Metamorphosis Monday

Cedar Hill Ranch~The Scoop

Savvy Southern Style~WOW Us Wednesday

Timewashed~Blissful Whites Wednesday

French Country Cottage~Feathered Nest Friday

Sixes & Sevens

I've started out with a pretty picture, but I really wanted to show you how things are all at sixes and sevens (as our dear British friends might say) around here.

Painting is underway in the sitting room. It's really our living room in a more literal way than a lot of you live in your main front room, so I'm calling it what it is. In winter it's even more of a snuggery.

For more than a decade the wall color has been Ralph Lauren Khaki, which we used to love, and which you can still see on the adobe brick here. Even the window wells were a dark stain like the overhead beams, and they have been given a white wash too.

Almost everything is coming out. And very little is going back in.

To sooth myself a little I'm taking photos of a few spontaneous vignettes. (A nicer way of saying things are a  big mess!) But when you throw all your things up in the air like this, you get a chance to see them in a new light for a fresh new start.

A few things from my recent travels are hanging about too, like this French baby gown that is still finding its place.

This rack has just been stacked out the way, but I can see what a great display board it would make that way!

My little wicker planter is taking on more of an unintentional seasonal turn lately.

Things often just get stowed here to get them out of the way, but it all seems to work out!.

I'm sure the big cage is enjoying its temporary airing.

My corner laundry vignette is still hanging.

Baskets have been stacked to make more room.

I temporarily hung a short sheer curtain panel from a vintage pair I found while travelling just to have a good look at them next to my regular lace. I love the little tucks and ruffles. (They were seventy-five percent off of their original price of two dollars!)

A couple of handkerchief linen aprons came home with me too. Now freshly laundered, light as air, and very old.

Hanging them together makes them soft and billowy here. The one underneath is even plainer, without either the pocket or the pintucks for detail.

I turned over a bit of pretty silverware I had tucked away just like this a while ago too. It doesn't even need a polish!

'Tis the season for transferware. But when isn't?

I'll be spending the weekend setting things right. How about you? So much going on this time of year. Our State Fair starts next week. Have fun, whatever you're up to!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jacqueline

Why don't you join me over at

French Country Cottage~Feathered Nest Friday

Shabby Art Boutique~Shabbilicous Friday

Common Ground~Be Inspired

No Minimalist Here~Open House

Timewashed~Blissful Whites

The Charm of Home~Home Sweet Home

My Romantic Home~Show & Tell

In the Pink of September

I'm back home again enjoying familiar pursuits with a new inspiration that only getting away from it all for a while can give you. Being on the road with real freedom is liberating in the way of no other kind of travel. No planes to catch. No reservations. No commitments on the other end. Even scrambling for a room late at night can turn into an adventure.

We did a lot of sightseeing and stopping along the loop from New Mexico into Arizona, up through Utah, and down through Colorado. Even though I had traveled some of the same roads years before, it was all new without kids to wrangle.

This time I was patient through his museum stops, and he was patient through my junk shops. We could have cried through some of the breathtaking scenery.

But raptures aside, it became obvious why so many rooms are already taken at the end of the day at the end of a summer when things have relaxed and cooled to the ideal temperature for just about anything. 

But now we're in the pink of September. And indeed the color has changed. The hue is paler and more delicate at this end of summer, and tinged with a yellow glow like my new plates above. I just adore finding things in pairs, don't you?! I also found these cheery white balls of rug yarn all ready for a project, or for standing alone on display.

My forays yielded a couple of ironstone tureens for just a song. 

Now, if only I could turn into three people in order to get everything I'm inspired to do done!!!

Love this detailed rim. . . (Sorry, don't know the pattern!)

Still so much to catch up on! Thanks so much for all your visits. I'm looking forward to getting back to business! 

Jacqueline

Join me at

Ivy & Elephants~What's It Wednesday