We have lived here almost two years and I have yet to do a real room or home tour of anything finished. Here is the home in the state that we bought it. It didn't seem to need much at the time, but we have truly put a lot of effort into this old house. The dining room is the least changed of all the spaces. We basically painted the walls and changed the light and moved our old stuff into the space.
We don't have a breakfast nook in this house, so we had to get rid of a table and chairs. I decided to keep the mismatched white ones, included this one that is a favorite find of mine.
At our previous home, I had luggage stacked to the ceiling. I still love old cases, but there was no great place for them here. I kept a few smaller favorites here and I have a few in our guest room as well.
I think we have done more editing here than buying, but I pulled this little area together with some recent local finds. We had planned on using this metal shelf in our bathroom, but it didn't work. I had moved it several places before we bought the little hardware drawers. They seemed to fit well together so I have left it alone. The drum is a find that the Mr. found a long time ago. I needed a little more space for yarn, and I love the look of it.
On top of the drawers, I put a few treasures. My little man loves crystals, so these are ones that he lets me "share." The turned wood bowl is from an artist in Clinton, TN. And, the vase is from a local artist that I am taking classes with at Studio 212.
I just finished a sweater, so my neutral stash is getting dangerously low.
This pretty grey piece made the cut of the furniture we kept from our last house. The lower drawers are in a serious need of being rebuilt, but I love it. I sent the Mr. to an auction with specific instructions to get this piece.
One of my sweetest friends bought me this brass owl and the lovely green bowl.
I must have a thing for black wood with decals, because I had to have these candle sticks when we stopped in Franklin for lunch over the holidays.
If I had the wall space, I would collect landscapes in these colors. I found this one in an enormous frame at the Hell's Kitchen flea market. I removed this little painting and gave the frame back to the dealer.
Here you can see into our living room. I fell in love with this big arch when I first saw the listing online. I am still happy with my decision to NOT paint the original woodwork in most of the house. I think it worked because I kept the wall colors neutral. The dining room is painted Grey Owl by Benjamin Moore and I have a slightly different grey in the living room. The curtains are ones that I used in our last living room and are from Anthropologie a few years ago. I don't think I will tire of them.
Even though our old house is 84 this year, we sorely lacked in original light fixtures. The only one was in here, and it was not our taste. I searched exclusively for a chandelier for this room. I knew I wanted vintage and brass with some crystals. I was looking for a wedding cake type fixture, but I couldn't find one with brass. We went to Blair House and it was almost overwhelming with all the incredible fixtures. It's pretty sparkly, but I think the size and the rest of the room being pretty casual keep it from being too frilly and fussy.
I am so glad this Mora clock survived the move. It was a Happy You Quit Your Job/ Early Retirement present from the Mr. a few years ago.
It no longer works, but I love the mixing of metals. It has the original maker's signature from 1790 on the back.
I bought this cabinet when I was in college and I am surprised it has survived so many moves without getting broken. Right now, it is kind of a case for curiosities and my mercury glass collection.
I don't expect this room to change very much. I've decided I like not having a rug under the table right now. I have added a few plant babies since these photos were taken. I would love to find a really narrow bench or plant shelf for them. I hope to do more tours as tidiness and natural light allow. We live all over this house, so that can be difficult. Most of our home is "finished." There is some editing that I still want to do. I'm actually content with the textured walls. The ceiling, not so much. Since it is actual plaster and not popcorn, I don't expect it to change anytime soon.
