Another Ann Sloan Makeover: Before & After

                                         I love myself a good furniture makeover!

 Finding time to paint when you have a little baby is difficult, but made me enjoy painting this piece even more! We were in need of some more storage in our home and this small dresser sits perfectly in our living room. I used a mixture of Ann Sloan's French Linen and Miss Mustard Seed's Grain Sack. I distressed the top and sides of the dresser. I switched out the wood knobs for brass knobs. I love the way it came out. Hope you enjoy!

Partying over at The Scoop

Savvy Southern Style

This is How We Roll

Miss Mustard Seed

Thoughts from Alice

Small Space Living Solution: A Traveling Table



Small space living requires dual purpose furniture....for sure! Our living room has been taken over by oversized baby furniture and chairs that we had to rearrange the room. I am used to having free range of rearranging furniture to my liking...usually on a monthly basis :)....but now I must make our home suitable for our sweet baby girls and her belongings too.

I sat down one morning and went to put down my cup of coffee and realized that there was no table to rest my mug on. We had removed the old white chippy painted table to make room for an oversized gray tufted rocker. (which I just love) The side tables to the green couch are used for our pretty little things are really not functional at all. I now had to put my thinking cap on and think of how we can find a table that could be easily moved in between the chair and couch and was not overwhelmingly large. Tada! Homegoods had the perfect table with wheels for our drinks to rest! It was the perfect size and wherever my husband and I decide to sit and enjoy a glass of wine....the table rolls with us :)

Our living room prior to our daughter.

A tufted gray chair has replaced the blue one.

Perfect table for placing my morning coffee :)

Best purchase I have made so far in this home!
Happy Day!
Alison

Partying over at Organized 31 & Miss Mustard Seed

Anthropologie Inspired/DIY Valentine's Day Decorating

It makes me happy to decorate for holidays now after having our baby girl. Every holiday since October has been extra special with her in our lives, but Valentine's Day has a deeper meaning of love this year.

We all love a good craft project every now and then, but when you can add some holiday excitement to something you already own, it makes it look and feel even better than store bought! Right?!

I found this heart garland at Michael's craft store and thought it would look sweet placed somewhere in our home. After playing around with it for a few minutes, I found it a home wrapped around the wreath I recently hung in the living room.

Here are some hearts I have used to decorate with 2 Valentine's Days ago. I had the idea to use the leftover letters used from the Project Nursery post. Click HERE for Project Nursery post.

The letters are very Anthropologie like! I love them! They are stickers so I just placed them on the hearts and they stayed perfect.

The flowers and vase were another DIY project. I fancied up the red mason jar with the "C" for our last name and the roses were a sweet gift from the husband :)

Loving this twig bouquet! It added the perfect red color I was looking for without screaming "IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY!"
(Also a gift from my husband :)

Hoping you all your homes are filled with love this Valentine's Day.
xo
Alison

Partying over at My Pinterventures, The Dedicated House, Homestoriesatoz
The Scoop, SNAP

Living Room Makeover: A Peg Board with a Story

Happy 2015!!! I may be a little late but I have a good excuse being a new Mommy of a 2 month year old. : ) Our hearts are filled with joy and a new type of love this year with our new little one but I will save that for another post ; )

I have had enough sleep to get my creative itch back! I'm so ready to take on our home with new projects and style in 2015. I started with a small makeover in our living room as my first project. I wanted to stick with a neutral color palette with a splash of green for a hint of color. I love green and could have it in every room, but really enjoy it in the living room since that is where we spend most of our time.


When I start to think about projects, I overwhelm my brain. I start writing the list of shopping items to buy, the old items I need to look for at a thrift store, and the pieces of furniture I can give a quick makeover....but this chaotic mind is not my reality anymore after having a baby. Getting the store in this freezing cold weather with a tiny infant is not a smart choice for our family, so I decided to shop my closet. Once I opened the door to shelves of stored vintage items and décor, I was smacked in the face with the most perfect item to begin the living room makeover. A peg board. It was not JUST a peg board, but my Poppa's peg board. A board that was once filled with beat up old tools that were used every day by a talented skilled carpenter who happened to be my grandfather.

Poppa lived to work. His creativity was seen in many of his projects he tackled and loved to tell stories of all his accomplishments. I think I was lucky to get a portion of his "creativity gene." After Poppa passed away, I wanted a piece of him with me. I wanted a small item from his workshop that would remind me of him at every glance. The peg board where his tools hung stood out to me. I knew I can come up with somewhere in our apartment to incorporate this special piece.

The color was perfect for the living room. The rough texture, the perfect imperfections, and the white splash of paint (done by Poppa) is the perfect arrangement for the focal point of our living room. The room is coming together slowly, but I am happy with the way it is unfolding.

Stay tuned for the completion of the room (is it every really completed?) Thank you for letting me share my story of Poppa with you.

Cheers to a year full of inspiration and memories!
~Alison~

**You can find our BEFORE pictures of the living room HERE

Partying over at Savvy Southern Style, Adelightsomelife, Elizabeth & Co.,  &  Organized 31

Before & After: Living Room Tour

If you are an apartment renter, you know you have to make the most use of your space. Luckily, we found a very spacious apartment, large enough to be a small home. I still had to choose wisely with decorating and find ways to create more storage. Here is the living room section of our home. This room is one large open space with the kitchen and the dining room. Those Before & After's will be in separate posts. For now, I focused more on the details of the living room.
I hope you enjoy this space as much as we do :)         

                                               

Before

                                      

After

                              
                               

He is NEVER not with me.

Mackenzie Childs Coasters. My favorite thing in the living room & also matches my teapot shown here..One of my Favorite Things

I put a candle inside of one of my favorite pots. I love how the candle glows in the dark.



I purchased this bird's nest art at Brimfield for $1. I cut it to make it fit my favorite frame.

Coat/ Dog Leash hooks at the entranceway

A quick reminder every time I enter and leave our home.

The first purchase for the room. I LOVE old barns and knew it would be a great focal point for the room. Still need to get a better frame, but this works for now.

Partying over at Cedar Hill Farmhouse,  Savvy Southern Style, Organized 31, & Liz Marie Blog