WHERE DID YOU GET THAT...

This has been the number one question from my readers lately...

I have answered dozens of e-mails and comment on the blog and now I have decided to do a post on this GREAT sofa because it's on sale and a very, very good buy!

Before I tell you about this sofa I first have to tell you two super important things...

RED, WHITE AND BLUE SUMMER FAMILY ROOM

Even though it does not feel like summer here at StoneGable I am getting ready for it!

Decorating in easy going summer details and lots of reds, whites and blues!

This is why I love a neutral family room... it can be transformed by the addition of other colors! This summer I'm feeling very patriotic... here's little splashes of color on my sofa and coffee table...

FAMILY ROOM CHAIR REVEAL

 It all started because Bobby thought I needed a recliner to put my feet up. I was not going to have an ugly, bulky recliner in my family room. But, I went to look at them under duress! 

Recliners have come a l-o-n-g way baby! Yes, this is a recliner! Wow, Lazy Boy sure has a lot of great and very chic recliners!

I fell in love with this wonderful houndstooth fabric! It's bold and classic... yet very modern!

So I paired a stylish recliner model together with an updated houndstooth to make this ultra comfy and dapper chair!

And I have YOU to thank for it...

NEW HARDWOOD FLOORS IN THE FAMILY ROOM

I've been waiting a long long time to share these floors with you. Finally... there are new hardwood floors in the family room!

Here is what the room looked like before (with the ugly fuzzy carpet)...

ORGANIZING THE BOOKSHELVES

January feels like "organizing" to me! After taking down the Christmas decorations I am ready to sweep the house clean of clutter and get organized!

My bookshelves are a constant frustration! They can be seen from the kitchen and breakfast room and always look busy and cluttered!  There is so much going on in my other rooms, I wanted my eye to "rest" when it looked at this end of the family room!

So, I filled the bookshelves with identical chunky baskets (Pottery Barn Outlet) sporting number tags ...

NEW ???? IN MY FAMILY ROOM

I'm a ... "I'll know it when I see it person", when it comes to my home.

I have an idea of things I need and want, but I'm not quite sure until I see something. And when I see the perfect piece I just know it!

Take my family room for example...

NEW SOFA SLIPCOVERS...

This started out as a very sad saga... I bought a beautifully made sofa about three years ago. Chose the custom fabric carefully...and was thrilled when I first got it. But, over those three years I changed the decor and colors of the family room so much that I grew more and more unhappy with the piece!

The sofa itself is comfortable and large enough to stretch out on but it's color and pattern were NOT playing nicely with with rest of the room.

So I kept the sofa and changed it's look... with slipcovers! And what a change it was...

PAINTED CURTAINS DYI

In the story Alice in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts, a very bossy and demanding woman, was ALL ABOUT the color red!!! 

She loved red so much that even the her white roses became red! She ordered her card-shark knaves to slap a coat of red paint on the snowy blooms in her royal garden!

As I was painting my curtains, the song "Painting The Roses Red" from the Disney movie Alice In Wonderland kept running through my head!

But here at StoneGable, the zippy little tune went something like this... 

"I'm painting the curtains white... I'm painting the curtains white... do-Do...do-Do...do-Do... do-Do...

I'm painting the curtains white!"

I'll show you how I did it...

PAINTED CURTAINS

Do you ever get an idea in your head and in the moment think it is just brilliant! But of course, you have not thought it through very well and have no back-up plan and have almost a compulsion to go ahead and do it anyway!!!

That's exactly what happened when I painted my family room curtains...

BOOKSHELVES IN THE FAMILY ROOM

My family room is the hub of activity when our family is all together. It is not a fancy room or even a very well decorated room to tell the truth... and it's not very big either!

But it is a loved room that we used HARD!

Just today, as I am trying to take photos of the bookshelves (in the best light since this is the darkest part of the house) I had to maneuver around my girls stretching and doing yoga to warm up for an exercise class... my one son watching tennis... and Bobby sprawled out on the sofa drinking coffee...  all before 8:00 am!

SHUTTERS ON THE MANTLE

Lots of little changes going on in my family room... especially on my mantle.

Here is a before picture...

This picture was taken in January.. can you see the changes?

And AFTER...

First to go was the paint color. Although I loved the Benjamin Moore Springfield Tan it made my family room and kitchen very dark. 

After painting my living room and dining room with Benjamin Moore Sonnet, I was convinced that I need to lighten up the back rooms of StoneGable too!

So we painted the family room and kitchen in Sonnet also.  What a difference!!! 

The mantle needed some depth of color and texture, so I started my hunt for a pair of chippy shutters.

My friend Fiffer, who is the best treasure hunter I know, had a pair in her barn.  They were old and authentic and the original black paint was chipped off just perfectly!  They were just what I was looking for. Thanks, Fiffer!!!!

Bobby cut them down to size and refitted the bottoms and we hung them on either side of the clock.

Then I brought back in the candlestick lamps I repainted and layered them in front of the shutters.

I'm still playing with the rest of the mantle vignette...

To see how to make the Rustic Summer Topiary... and see how my mantle originally looked... click HERE

The trio of pitchers came from the Pottery Barn outlet a few years ago.

Bobby painted the brass portion of the fireplace with Rustoleum High Heat Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

I don't know what I am more thrilled with... the chippy shutters or no more shiny brass strips on the fireplace!!!

The next family room project... new hardwood floors... will hopefully be done this summer!

StoneGable At Home 

OUTDOOR ENTERTAINING FLASH SALE

is going on now!!

Click HERE to see the sale... and more!

And please like AT HOME facebook page to get the latest scoop on sales and decorating ideas!

Click HERE to like! Thanks!

BE INSPIRED

CHALKBOARD IN THE FAMILY ROOM

This is a "before" picture.  I just had to share this big chalkboard I brought home from a barn sale in November. It has waited patiently through Thanksgiving and Christmas for me to pay attention to it and find it a home....

Originally, I wanted to hang it in my dinning room I am slowly working on... but the wainscoting and the crown molding did not leave enough room on the wall to hang it... this chalkboard is quite big!

I settled on a bare wall technically in my family room... right next to the kitchen. 

My family room, breakfast room and kitchen share one big long space. I don't have a whole lot of wall space in that area. 

It is totally the wrong color... I think I'll paint it a pure white and do a little bit of antiquing.

But, it has great detail.

For now I stuck a little rattan bench under the chalkboard and fluffed a couple of white pillows on it.

The little square baskets under the bench are great for tucking away dog toys and leashes to keep things tidy!

I'm hoping to have the chalkboard repainted later this week... so look for an update soon!

In the meantime... I'll be finding fun quotes to write on it!

UPSCALE SHELLS

Summer is the time for shells, beach cottages and all things surf and sand! I pour over magazines who's beach  homes are graced with views of bright blue water and white sandy beaches.

Homes filled with bleached linens, outdoor showers and lots of beachy elements! Things that are swoon worthy... but do not work with my Lancaster County home! 

Determined not to miss out on the summery feel of beach life, I am upscaling shells to make them feel at home in my family room decor...

To make this work in my traditional farmhouse inspired home, I chose just a couple of beach elements... shells and rope knots... and contained them to one area of my family room... the coffee table.

I also kept a very tight color palette which helps tie the vignette together. These colors would be found at the beach... sand beige... blue...white... and soft textural browns. 

Mixing just a wee bit of coastal detail with decor elements that are authentic to my family room gives them an upscale and not contrived or out of place look. There is no way I can pull off a full blown beach look in the middle of bucolic farmland!

Shells, starfish and sand dollars fill a blue willow bowl that is set on a complimentary saucer. The shapes, texture and color of the shells looks so pretty  in this very traditional bowl and give the shells a more upscale feel.

This big flat-bottomed basket has great texture and  works well to hold the books that work as a riser for the bowl full of shells and little blue pitcher.

If you look carefully in the picture above... the top book is one I published of our vacation in Bar Harbor last summer. I like MY PUBLISHER to make books. It is a bit addictive!

Big rope knots in blue and white continue the beachy theme.

A big glass bowl on a wrought iron stand holds assorted white shells. A white candle is nestled in the middle to bring a soft glow to the arrangement.

This vignette bring a little bit of the beach to my family room!

Don't forget TUTORIALS TIPS AND TIDBITS goes live Wednesday evening at 8::00!  Bring your great ideas, tutorials, and things you want to show off!

WOW US WEDNESDAY at Savvy Southern Style

MAKE IT PRETTY MONDAY at The Dedicated House

OPEN HOUSE PARTY at No Minimalist Here

HOME SWEET HOME at Charm Of Home

ALL ABOUT COLOR at Thistlewood Farm