I can't tell you how long I've been working on this room. When we moved in, we (Brian) had no idea what we wanted to do with it. It seemed silly to just stick another table in it and have two places to eat.
From the beginning, I said we needed to build a banquette and make it comfy. We also tossed around the idea of a mudroom, office, "lounge" with a small couch and tv. What if we put in a window on the blank wall for some sunlight? No? French doors leading out to a deck? No? The ideas were endless.
I can't believe the transformation when I see them side by side. It's not even the same room. It looks bigger, more cozy and so perfect for us!
OKAY- back to my story/post. You see, I felt like this room really deserved more than what it was in it's previous life. I took these photos from the listing when we purchased our home. And that hideous light fixture. I seriously loathe that thing. Looking back at these pictures, I really can't believe it's the same room.
Side note-- you know what really annoys me? Those blinds with WAY too many blinds left in them. Take out the excess!! Rant over.
Finalllllly-- one day, I won. Brian agreed to the built in banquette and we got started. Uncle Steve built us the most beautiful, awesome banquette that we could have asked for. Brian's only (I say ONLY!) request was that I bring the outdoors in. Then the request grew-- eclectic, homey and comfortable. He wanted the walls covered with things.
So we got the banquette. I never though to build it to specs that I could easily find cushions. OMG. I could not find cushions. So we had some made at Bevy's in Downtown Conway. I was going to the doctor every couple weeks when pregnant so it worked out.. stop in, get fabric samples, go back, drop off samples, pick fabric, order, drop back in, pick up, etc, etc. We went with a simple linen so that we could do lots on the walls and windows and not have to compete with the cushions. Now that we have a kid, I'm questioning the color. I see lots of scotch guard and cleaner in our future.
High Chair | Side Chairs | Bar Cart | Diamond Pillows | Macrame Plant Hanger | Light Fixture | Fabric for Valences | Valance Pattern
So we decide on cushions. Then realize... we have no table. Cue my frantic search for a table since we knew Brian's family was coming in town and we would have access to a truck and someone to help lift since I'm pregnant and can't do anything. Basically. Facebook, antique stores, craigslist, everywhere, repeat- all the time. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Then the day they are coming to town, I find a $40 table on craigslist that looks semi-perfect. But it comes with 6 chairs and they are ugly and I really don't need them... OKAY, fine.. sold.
Turns out the table top wasn't solid wood but had a coating that would make it harder for me to do what I wanted to do with it. So the table sat and sat and sat because I was intimidated. Then one day, I had Brian and his brothers drag it out to the carport and I sanded it. It was a pain. Then it came back inside and sat.. and sat and sat. I think it might still be sitting if my friend Jennifer didn't come over and help me.
We painted the base white- with a non toxic paint since I was prego and then I left the room and Jennifer used a gel stain on the top. It worked so well!! I really love the finished result. And all under $50. We ended up taking the extra chairs from my craigslist find to the habitat restore.
So we have a table, have a banquette (with no cushions yet) so we sit on the dang thing for weeks with no cushions and it's hard. Finally our cushions are ready and I jazzed it all up with a bunch of throw pillows. I've changed them a million times. I actually just traded one out about a month ago. Most of our pillows are from Target, two from Dillard's and one from TJ Maxx.
One weekend, before Kate, we decided we were going to finish this place up. So we went to the antique store, together. We found the bird prints in the green frames above. They were cute... so we bought 3 and hung them in a line on the wall you see above. We instantly thought it needed more but left it for... you guessed it.. months.
Fast forward to this spring, Brian saw a picture of an eclectic gallery wall in some article he was reading.. somewhere. There.. finally we had inspiration. I gathered all the random frames we had in our house and tried to put something together.
One night, we were having dinner with Ben and Nicole in their new house and they had the most amazing gallery wall.. that's the push/inspiration that I needed. I went home, got my frames out and went to work. I made a couple trips to Goodwill and found some awesome frames!
Eat Well Travel Often Print | Kate + Mama Illistration | Our 1st Home Illustration | Herbs & Spices Print
I actually kept some of the prints in the frames from Goodwill. I was shocked at how spot on some of the things were that were being sold for less than $5. I mixed in our bird prints on both sides of the room and finally framed some things we had just sitting around. That crazy canvas on the bottom right needs to be replaced but for now, I'll just let it hold the empty space.
I love this one! A girl I went to high school with started an etsy shop a little while back. I've always wanted a picture of our first home together. When she posted one similar, I knew we had to get one. This is so special to me! I love how she paid attention to detail and placed every single thing on our porch just the way it was before we moved. I love it! You can find her on Etsy at Little Goose Paperie.
I ordered the macrame plant holder from Amazon. I just realized in the pictures that I have the tassel tucked up in the base of the plant. It actually hangs down a little lower. I found a plant that I put in it that I haven't killed, yet.
The flower canvas is one of my favorite artists, DeAnn Art. The map of the US is a scratch off, it's pretty cool and you can pick artwork to reveal underneath. You can find the map on Etsy HERE. Bird prints are from Mid-towne Antique Mall. Two of the frames have hand written recipe cards from my grandma Penzo. I love them!! I asked her for these about 3 years ago, they finally found a home, too!
I also love that little message center and hooks to the far right. I found it at Pottery Barn. It was actually the first thing I put on the walls in here.
Brian said my reward for finally finishing the room was getting a new light fixture to replace that UGLY one I showed you earlier. Well.. I kind of ordered it a few months ago before anything was finished, stuck in the a closet and we finally hung it two weeks ago. I found the light fixture at Wayfair on WAYDAY for an awesome price.
I love this room the very most because we really enjoy cooking. More so on my part before Kate. But now we can all hang out, relax, cook and eat in the same space. I love being able to cook, Kate playing and Brian chilling or assisting. And sometimes it's the other way around :) Except Kate.. she's always playing or climbing in the dishwasher.
We love our kitchen floors, they are really pretty but we were really wearing ourselves out trying to keep the dark floors clean. You can't really see them in the pictures because we got this massive rug a little while after we moved in to help out. It's also nice to have the floor covered since Kate is all over the place! When Kate started to get a little more mobile, Brian suggested getting another rug for in front of the fridge. She loves to sit in front of the fridge and play with the magnets.
I really wanted a round rug to layer but I couldn't find the right size. With the air return in the way, it was getting tough. We liked the color in this one and decided to try it. I'm getting an itch to replace the big one right about now :)
The valences in the kitchen match the ones in the nook. I actually made these. I found the fabric online at fabric.com. I bought a pattern from Hobby Lobby, 1x3's from Home Depot (i think) and some mounting brackets. Maybe I should do a blog post on those. Yeah, I'll do that.
I also made the curtains below.. but you can read all about those HERE. They are legit
And I guess that a bout wraps up this post. We really, really love this room. Have you told you that yet? I'm so glad we went with a comfy, functional use. It's basically where we spend a huge chunk of our evenings.. cooking, eating and cleaning. We're officially old.
XOXO
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