Tag: decor

FamRoom1Square

Progress in Our Family Room

Posted on by Joy

Our family room is looking a bit more up-to-date these days. Like everything else in our home, it’s a work in progress! I’m going for a “collected” look throughout the house, and curating takes time. The changes are happening slowly, but they are happening! Remember what it looked like when we moved in? Eventually, I want to paint the family room (and foyer and hallways) light gray to match my home office, but I have to hire a professional painter for that job. The ceiling needs to be painted, and it’s about twenty feet high. This girl is not climbing Read more…

WreathSzd

Christmas Decorating in Four Simple Steps

Posted on by Joy

Have you started decorating for Christmas yet? It seems like the holiday season comes earlier and earlier each year. The stores have Christmas decor on the shelves by October! I enjoy looking at the merchandise, and part of me gets so excited for this time of year. But on the other hand, I feel the stress of it all creeping into my life before I even buy our Thanksgiving turkey. So how can we avoid some of that stress? We can’t put our lives on hold for the whole month of December. Bills still have to be paid, homework has Read more…

Office4Square

My Home Office Update

Posted on by Joy

My home office is ready for its first appearance on the blog! Transforming it took longer than I expected, which I admit was entirely my fault. For one thing, I’m much better at starting a project than finishing one! Also, I really took my time choosing the paint color because I’m planning  to carry the same neutral color throughout most of the house. Here’s what the office looked like before we started painting: After trying a few neutral colors on the walls, I selected Benjamin Moore’s Gray Owl. I found it to be the perfect warm gray tone, but it Read more…

LowcountryArtists2

Three Charleston Art Galleries for Finding Local Art

Posted on by Joy

One of my favorite things to do in Charleston is stroll through the many impressive art galleries. Charleston’s vibrant and diverse art scene rivals those of much larger cities. If you’re visiting the holy city, taking a piece of local art home is a great way to remember your time in the lowcountry. If you’re not an experienced art collector, some of the Charleston art galleries can be a bit intimidating (not to mention expensive), so let me tell you about three places where you’ll find friendly artists and beautiful local art. These are all within easy walking distance of Read more…

ClearSkiesWallSq

Paint Colors: My Boys’ Bedrooms

Posted on by Joy

The first item on our new house to-do list was painting our boys’ bedrooms. I was excited to begin making the house our own, but I was a bit stressed about choosing paint colors on a deadline. We wanted to paint B’s room before we moved his bunk beds in, so I only had a few days to test colors, and it rained every day. I don’t recommend choosing paint colors without the sun! B wanted blue walls, and I wanted a color that would play nicely with the blonde wood tone of his furniture, so I decided to go Read more…

NewHouseSzdMrkd

Introducing…Our New Home

Posted on by Joy

My full house tour is finally here! Oddly, it’s not the tour I’d imagined when I started this blog. Since then, my family has moved out of our rental and into our own lovely lowcountry home. When we moved to Charleston three years ago, we thought living here was temporary, but life has a way of surprising us in the most wonderful ways. We’ve become attached to the community here, so when the opportunity to buy a house presented itself, we went for it! We chose this house because it bucks the trend of super-sized houses on tiny building lots. Read more…

EtsySpring

Etsy Roundup: Pretty Paintings

Posted on by Joy

Etsy is one of my favorite places to shop for affordable art. In today’s Etsy roundup, I’d like to tell you about five artists who create pretty paintings and prints to adorn our walls. 1. Janet Hill Studio Janet Hill offers a delightful selection of whimsical prints with a feminine touch. Her work features a cast of stylish characters and their animals in colorful vintage scenes. Each piece will surprise you again and again with its fun details. 2. Solo Work Studio Cathy Horvath Buchanan uses vibrant colors in her modern folk art paintings. She paints charming scenes of houses, Read more…

MantelSzdMrkd2

How to Style a Fireplace Mantel

Posted on by Joy

If you have a fireplace in your home like I do, you know that styling the mantel can be one of our biggest decorating challenges. The fireplace is often the focal point of a room, so bringing it to its full potential can enhance the entire space. But most mantels are only a few inches deep, so how can we pack a lot of style into that small space? Today I’m sharing four elements of a well-styled mantel. 1. Focal point A strong focal point will draw attention and encourage the eye to linger on the mantel. A large mirror or Read more…