White Inspired

To inspire: to affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence; To fill with enlivening or exalting emotion

If there is anything I love about owning a house, it is the freedom to decorate and design in a way that is perfect for me and my family. When B and I bought our home a year ago, I knew, in general, what I wanted our home to look like...I knew this because of all the items that inspire my taste. 

One of the most inspiring aspects of my interior is the color (or lack of) white! I love everything white; white dishes, white bedding, white cabinets, white paint. It is slightly ironic that I love the color white and the natural feeling it provides. My whole life I've loved color...bright colors.... yellows, greens, pinks, corals. My first car was even bright yellow!!!! However, there is something so calming and refreshing about the color white in a home that truly makes it hard to pass up. 

source

White with natural elements (lavender & wicker)
[picture from Pinterest]

White on White {source}

White doesn't have to be an insane asylum...it is simply a blank canvas to allow textures, prints and natural elements to stand out. It takes the focus away from the walls and places it on the important parts of a room...the people in it! 

White creates a sense of calm that makes a room super inviting. It provides a peace for the mind and the eye...the perfect feelings after a long stressful day. 

white walls and cabinets {source}

Some people feel that white is too difficult to manage, but if handled properly, white can be work for any family. It doesn't have be used in 100% of your home, but including white will bring a crisp, calm and finished look to any room.

so natural {source}

     I guess the important thing to remember when decorating and styling is to "be inspired"...by something! Be enlightened, enthused and creative! 

                                                                   ~G 

Guest room inspiration

Since we moved into our house, I have tried to be very patient with decorating. I have a very specific taste and I didn't want to just fill the house with random chotchkies. For this reason, my house is not decorated completely, quite yet. My mom once told me, decorate your house room by room. If you don't you will end up with incomplete thoughts in each room. I can understand why she said this. It's very easy to get on a "kick" and if you don't stay focused, that "kick" will travel. 

Until last week, our 2nd guest room was completely empty...well, except for our ironing board and bike trainer, ha! The bed is a beautiful antique bed and sits in the room quite nicely. Now that I have this large piece of the puzzle, I want to start gathering some inspiration to complete the room. I have guests coming in February and would love the room to be completed for them!

PhoebeHoward.net

 
http://acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com/

I love the contrast of dark wood with naturals and white...basically most of my house is this idea. I think white bedding in a guest room creates an inviting, peaceful feel. It resembles an old Bed & Breakfast to me.

horchow.com

I also love the use of natural linen for bedding. It's light and creates a comfy, less formal look. 

Keep the room "clean" is important for a guest room. You don't want to clutter the room or the bed with unnecessary items. 

Pinterest.com

I <3 Buffalo check!!! I think my eyes are always drawn towards it...balance of french country, traditional yet functional. This resembles my master a little too much though... ;( 

I am NOT very patient, but I'm trying to gather all my inspiration so that I make the perfect choice for the room. It's is always worth the wait!!!!

Stay tuned for Guest Room feature COMING SOON! 

                             ~ G 

dining room table

One of my very favorite hobbies is finding old pieces of furniture and updating them to fit my home. Most of the furniture we have is refurbished in some way. I have a few local antique stores that I search on a weekly basis for new finds. 

Several weeks ago, Brian and I stumbled upon this beautiful 7 piece dining room set with 2 additional leaves. Our current dining room table, if you can even call it that, was a little farmhouse table that we re-did about 18 months ago. It was really too small for our new dining room and it could hardly hold 4 people. This new piece was actually painted white and the chair seats were covered in burlap (not necessarily what I would have done...but the burlap I can live with).  I wasn't really "looking" for a new set, just yet, but when I spotted this, I couldn't let it go. The table is a beautiful oak table, with cane-backed chairs  (swooning). 

Redoing furniture always sounds like a very easy process...but honestly, it is a work of patience! This piece took me about 2 weeks to complete AND I'm still working on the leafs for the table. 

Before 

I don't usually strip paint off furniture if I am going to repaint it. Stripping paint is a VERY tedious process, so I only recommend it if you are restraining wood to its original. For this piece, I used about 4 cans total of paint stripper. I should have bought the big canister. You can find paint stripper at your local hardware/paint store. You want to use the HEAVIEST/THICKEST stripper you can find. DO NOT USE aerosol stripper! I basically pore the stripper straight onto the table, then use a foam brush to spread the paste all over the paint. This works best if you do small sections at a time. Let the paste sit for about 20-30 minutes, then begin to strip the paint. You will need a paint stripping knife to do this. If the stripper is working correctly, the paint should come off in big strips...if it's not it will come off in smaller pieces. 

This piece took about 1.5 weeks to strip ALL the paint off. It had lots of trip work on the sides that were very time consuming to strip. 

 Once you've gotten all the paint removed from the surface....and it must be ALL the paint. You will want to sand the surface. I usually use a 220 grit sandpaper for most projects. At that level, you can be sure it will not scratch the surface. You just want the surface smooth and slightly gritty in order to hold the stain. 

After, you are comfortable with the sanding, wipe the table down with a damp cloth (mineral spirits or water). 

After the table is dried, you are ready to begin staining. I always use MinWax when I stain furniture. I trust the tint of the stain and the durability on the furniture. For this piece, I actually used two different stains (a regular oil-based stain-table top and legs & a gel based stain-trim work). 

Again, I use a foam brush to coat the stain. It is important that you notice how thick you are coating the table. If the stain is too dark you can always wipe it off with a clean cloth. Let the stain dry for about 24-48 hours or until tackiness goes away. DO NOT rush this process. If you rush the drying process, you will it end up with blotchy spots on the table. 

After the first coat is dry, sand the table (again with 220 grit sandpaper). It is important to go with the grain of the table to insure that you don't get scratch marks. Again, wipe the table down with a damp cloth of mineral spirits or water. Let dry. 

Repeat staining process to desired color. 

After the stain is 100% dry (for this project it was about 3 days), you will want to coat the top surface with a Polyurethane. This keeps the surface protected and also allows you to clean the surface later on. I used a clear semi-gloss for this table, but there are several surface options. Let dry for about 48 hours or until dry to touch. 

Finished product

I am very pleased with how this piece turned out. I still need to finish the leaves, but it is the perfect table for this room. 

The key to refinishing furniture is really patience! Try not to have a set deadline and allow it to become a fun, relaxing hobby! 

sorry for the poor quality....I've asked Santa for a nice new camera :)))

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                                                                                                 ~G

christmas decor

This is our first Christmas in our new house!!! So far, it has been wonderful! I love having a nice, cozy fireplace, a pretty mantle and a place that truly feels like "home" to decorate for the holidays. Growing up, my mom was the queen of Christmas decorating. Now it wasn't tacky christmas, it was the MOST elegant Christmas decor you could imagine...luscious garlands wrapped around staircases, a massive tree in the middle of the house and every inch in between was "done to a tee". 

This year, I wanted to create a very cozy, yet elegant feel for Christmas. I got a little lazy though and didn't get nearly has much completed as I had hoped for. Next year, I'll add more, but I think it's a good start. 

I love natural colors and textures, like burlap, jute, & linen. So the "theme" for our house was a very natural Christmas. I used lots of natural fabrics and elements like pinecones, berries, and sticks. 

                                         
I was soooooooo excited to have a mantle to decorate this year and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I found 12' long garland at Bed, Bath & Beyond believe it or not. It's very thick and hardy. I added strips of burlap fabric that I had around the house and picked up some pine cones from our yard to add too. It is amazing how much the green garland makes our white fireplace "pop". The other elements, including the blue and white urns, candle sticks and basket are there year round. I'll more elements once the garland comes down after Christmas. 

Mark Robert's "Sweetness" Fairy

Mark Robert's "Light the Night" Fairy

Some people ( my sisters) hate these little guys...but I happen to LOVE them!! They add so much character to the house this time of year. I love to hang them from chandeliers and pendant lights. I also have a miniature santa ornament that hangs on my tree.   

 I'm kind of sad at how this picture turned out...it was really difficult to get the lighting right because of the sun coming through the back doors. We bought a real tree this year about 7 feet tall. It's adorned with 800 lights and could use about 300 more. I like when I tree looks full with lights :). The bow is made of Jute Ribbon and Gold Mesh Garland. I originally planned to just use Jute, but it absorbed too much of the lights and I like that "sparkle" effect on my tree, so I over lapped them.  I also added some sticks and gold bunches throughout the tree. The majority of my house is monochromatic and my tree is not much different, so I added a few red Poinsettia flowers to add a little color. They tuck into the tree so nicely! 

 My dining room is in the midst of transition, as I'm refinishing a new table (post coming soon). However, this room always feels so elegant to me! It was actually one of my favorite rooms in the house when we were looking to buy it. I love this chandelier. It's perfectly rustic enough, but still somewhat trendy. I bought these little chandelier rings at Design Additions in Avondale (one of my very favorite home decor stores). They add a lot of charm to the chandelier and my little fairy doesn't hurt :) Again, I used a simple glass jar filled with sticks as a centerpiece to keep the natural theme continuing. 

I usually burn Frasier Fir at my house, but this year, I tried Trapp Candles and they are delightful and they burn slower than Thyme candles. 

Small berry garland adds touches of Christmas to my bookshelf decor

Cabinet in the kitchen decorated with pinecones, berries and topiaries. 

I definitely did not plan to do a RED wreath, but I made it and it stayed :) ha! Next year, I'll make the wreath that I intended on making!!  

 I love this time of year and I KNOW I will be depressed come January 1st when all the Christmas decorations come down. I always feel like everything is so complete ....can we just leave it decorated for Christmas year 'round? 

                                                                                    Merry Christmas! 
                                                                                                ~G

Thankful

I'm sorry I've been slightly MIA from my blog lately. Things have been a little crazy around here getting ready for Thanksgiving, work, school etc. I'll try and be better at posting more reguarly :))

Thanksgiving is always a time for reflection and giving thanks, each year seems to role by so quickly! I LOVE this holiday (actually, I think it may be my favorite). It's the perfect balance of spending time with family, being around the table, having fun, watching football, without all the pressure of Christmas. In our families, food is the primary focus of the day. There is more food than would feed 5 families!! I'm still not sure why we cook/eat so much...but HEY...

This year I treid to stop and think of the TOP 5 things I am thankful for, but not just things...I tried to think of the reason WHY I am thankful for it. Obviously, I am thankful for family, friends, health, but I wanted to give more specifics to these items. Here's my list:

1- Our Home: Brian bought a townhouse when he graduated from college. It was a nice, new place, but it was not exactly where we wanted to live to raise a family. We began looking for houses about a year and a half before we bought this place. It was a long, stressful journey. We put in several offers on different houses, actually had a contract on another house and it all fell through. I wasn't sure what the reason was while it was happening, but now I know it was because THIS was meant to be our home. It is perfect for us! It was exactly what we were looking/hoping for and patience paid off. This home has aloud us to entertain more and be home more. I am SO thankful that God opened the door (literally) for us to move into our new HOME. (Christmas home tour coming soon!)

2- My Job: I know this one sounds cliche, but I am really sooo thankful to be in the place that I am working. Exactly one year ago, I was hired to teach 7th grade science at Twin Lakes Middle. I really wasn't so sure what I was getting myself into...and honestly, it was a challenge at first. This year has been the MOST rewarding years of my life. I feel like I get to impact the lives of 100 students each year. I get to invest in them and show them the love of Christ...something I view as an awesome privelege!!! My job has taught me patience, understanding, acceptance and compassion and I couldn't be more grateful for that!!

3-Family Healing: This is NOT something I prefer to blog about, but I am thankful this year for family healing. My family has been through quite a bit in the last 3 years....challenges I never thought I (we) would face. Within those 3 years, relationships have been made, broken, hurt, tarnished and now healed. The saying "Time heals all wounds" may be an appropriate saying, but I believe it is the power of God doing his work in each of our lives. My family is one of the most important things to me and I pray that God continues to work in our lives daily!!!

4- My hubs: Again...I know this one is cliche too, but I think it's important that the world know how thankful I am for Brian. He has the ability to balance me and ground me in a way that no one else can. He challenges me to be better, to love grater and to care more. I cannot wait to see where our lives take us together! I'm thankful for that summer on the boats o' so many years ago!

5- New and Old Friendships: This year has been filled with making new friendships and mending old friendships. I am not one that has a TON of close friends, but one the ones I have are treasures!!! I'm so grateful for the friendships I have that challenge me! I'm also grateful for those friendships and acquaintances that make you laugh and enjoy any moment spent together. I hope that God continues to place people in our lives, that love him and challenge B and I to work harder and be better people.

OK-enough with the seriously stuff...now to the materialistic small things that I am truly thanksful for : all things J.Crew, frasier fir, essy nail polish, sweet tea, rib shack, extra fine point pens, Auburn football (not the crappy season, but...), TB Revas, burlap, bare minerals lip gloss oh the list goes on and on and on....

I hope you had a FABLUOUS thanksgiving and a great time with family and friends. May you remain in the spirit of thanksgiving as we enter the holiday season and remember those that are less fortunate.

                                                                                   Happy Thanksgiving!
                                                                                                    ~G