You are going to really love seeing how Jeanette at Creating A Life pulled her living room together. She started with such adverse circumstances and turned a negative into a positive with tons of DIY and creativity.. So grab something to drink and enjoy as she shares her gorgeous home.
Hello everyone! I have been a big fan
of Marty’s for some time and I can’t tell you how excited I am to be invited
over here to participate in her “Pulling It All Together”
series.
Marty’s home is so warm and inviting
and she is so good at showing us how to add personal and beautiful details to a
home without breaking the bank!
Today I’m going to be sharing how I
pulled together our cozy, casual, cottage style living room!
Just over three years ago, in the
middle of a divorce, my four kids and I moved into this rented home. We had no clue how long we
could stay or what would happen next. This photo is the day we moved
in. That young man
on the left is now my son-in-law 🙂
Just over a year ago, I finally felt
ready to invest a little effort into making this room ‘livable’ for us, and gave
myself “Permission to Nest”. Since then, I’ve
never stopped tweaking and rearranging and working to make it the most
functional and comfortable room it can be, on a very small
budget.
When it comes to redecorating,
I’m all about “shopping” my own house, reinventing pieces, using
thrifted, gifted, and yes, curbside finds to gain a fresh look for our
rooms. This is how
the living room looked this past summer.{Summer Living Room
post here}
And here it is this week, wearing a
freshened-up cottage style look for Spring. I sure would love to replace the
ceiling fan with this!
Come on in, and I’ll share some of
the details of how it all came together.
When I decided to rearrange and
redecorate this room for early Spring, I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going
to go with that. I’ve had an electric fireplace with a faux mantel on this back
wall for over a year.
I was ready for the electric
fireplace to go to a different room, and I knew I wanted another “statement”
piece for this wall. I also knew there wasn’t going to be any possibility of
buying a large piece, so I set about thinking up a way to make a large piece for
this wall. That is how the gate ended up
here!
{If you’d like to see how
I accidentally made the gate from a former
shelf unit, head over here.}
Once it was up, it seemed to become
the cottage-y inspiration piece for the room.
On the gate I hung a sweet little
antique print of sheep and that I’ve had for several years. I ‘framed’ it with a
large grapevine wreath that has been repurposed around my home (3 homes!) for a
long time.
Also on this wall, the only items
that were actually purchased new recently. I am in love with these darling sheep
and cow watercolor prints from artist Rachelle
Levingston! Her original watercolors are far beyond my budget, but
these little prints were very affordable and fit my rustic thrift store frames
perfectly. Did I mention I
love these?
There is just no getting around our
big “brown beast” of a sectional. It was perfect in our old house, but pretty
overwhelming in this small space. Someday I would LOVE to replace it, but until then
we have to make it work, right?
Pretty pillows and a fluffy comforter
help to lighten things up. I know it looks a little rumpled and messy, but it’s
so comfortable and we like it that way 🙂
Pretty Rachel Ashwell pillow covers,
one thrifted (for a dollar!) one from Target several years
ago.
The large yellow bookshelf
was given to us a few years ago. I’m used to having it filled with books from
top to bottom, so this is different for me. I thought it would be fun to hang a
curtain across the bottom and add some of my ironstone, my grandmother’s
suitcase and some cottage-y feeling accessories.
My collection of little Beatrix
Potter books fits just right in this ironstone
tureen.
You can never go wrong with beautiful
old books and birds 🙂
You can find a free printable of this
vintage Easter postcard here.
Inside this rustic white planter box
I placed some deconstructed books and pretty vintage style postcards. My little
iron chick has been a springtime favorite for
years.
At the left end of the sectional I
created a storage end table using a very large, sturdy, basket and the top of an
old table.
The white curtains are actually
pretty cotton sheets picked up long ago at a thrift store {of
course}.
They have actually been used as
sheets at times. They also been used as tablecloths, and even as a room divider
at our previous home! Everything gets re-purposed…
To the left of the window, a little
d.i.y. wall art. I used double sided tape to attach this vintage print to
the lid of an antique picnic basket.
To the right of the sectional is my
vintage farmhouse cabinet I purchased at a consignment shop years ago. It needs
to be repainted so badly, but I’m holding out for when I can afford some “nice”
paint 🙂
The curtain panels inside the doors
are actually flour sack kitchen towels that I got from the Frugal Ain’t
Cheap shop when I won a giveaway! Atop that, an
antique toolbox I got from a farm sale a rustic wood caddy from an antique shop.
Pretty pink coffee filter flowers courtesy of my 10 year old
🙂
On this side of the room, a thrift
store dresser, lamp and chair add to the casual charm of the
room.
I was so honored to be included in
the Spring issue of Artful Blogging Magazine! It was really fun to be
able to choose some things from The Shoppe at Somerset, and this wire basket with
three jars was one of the things I selected. You can see some of the other
things I chose over here.
An old farm basket holds some of my
favorite decorating books close at
hand.
A vintage suitcase becomes a unique
side table next to my chair.
It’s hard to believe the room I used
to try to avoid is now one of my favorite spots in the
house!
If you’d like to see more of our home
or my projects, I’d love it if you’d pop over and visit me
at Creating a
Life.
Marty, it was so fun to share our
living room here today. Thanks so much for having me
over!
Don’t you love her style. If you don’t know her, be sure to hop over and click that follow button, you don’t want to miss a single post, plus you will definitely want to see more of her home and how she continues to create a warm and inviting space for her family.
Creating A Life
Don’t forget to sign up for my French Grain Sack Giveaway. Just click here to enter.
I am joining the following parties:
Craftberry Bush for Inspiration Gallery Thursday The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursday
No Minimalist Here for Open House Party, Posed Perfection for All Things Thursday Hop
Katherines Corner for Favorite Things, The Vintage Farmhouse for Creative Things
A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden, Between Naps On The Porch for Tablescape Thursday From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday The 36th Avenue for 36th Avenue Party
Imparting Grace for Grace at Home, My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Fri
French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Fri, Common Ground for Be Inspired Fri
The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home ,
Chic On A Shoestring Decorating for Flaunt It Fri
Finding Fabulous for Frugalicious Fri ,Rooted In Thyme Simple & Sweet Fri.
Jennifer Rizzo for Fabulously Creative Linky Party
Redoux Interiors Friday Party,
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