A Cottage Livingroom

This weekend David and I were at home working on the house. While he was busy installing the bathtub in our master bath, I was rearranging the living room and adding some color here and there, with new pillows, throws and curtains.

I may have bought too many items from the Pioneer Woman collection, but a friend recently told me that with cottage style, you really have the freedom to do just about anything, so I went for it!

I remember reading The Nesting Place years ago and one great piece of advice she had for redecorating a room or space, was to completely empty the space of everything and start with a blank slate. She called it "quieting a room." So, this is what I did with the windowsill behind the couch, the dry sink and all of the end tables.

I have so many books, really, and these are books that I want readily available for afternoon reading with a good cup of coffee. Most of the ones I keep in the livingroom are home decor books, organizing books, homemaking type books and books about cottages and houses. I can sit down for 15 minutes in the afternoon and turn the pages, read a short story or just look at pictures and then move on. (Say "hi" to Banjo making his presence known in the middle of the room.)

I wanted some color around this window, so I added a valance and cafe curtains. We like to draw the curtains at night for privacy (and creep factor), but keep them open during the day, so I liked the idea of having a valance that still added color, even when the curtains are pulled back.

We still have several rooms to renovate and redecorate, but we are making progress. It's definitely not a process you can hurry, especially when doing it yourself. Although I want it to hurry! We've tried to choose the rooms and projects that have bothered us the most over the years and start with those.

Oh, and I had to get a shot of this guy sitting on top of the feeder. Basically, we feed the squirrels and the birds stop by every now and then. We used to have so many squirrels, but when we cut some of the trees, we lost the gang of squirrels that were eating up all the food. Now I see one or two when the feeders are full. The funny thing about that is that we still have hundreds of trees, so I know they're out there somewhere.

Well, hopefully you've enjoyed this renovation update. I can't wait to show pictures of the bathroom renovation! Soon (please, Jesus)!

Until Next Time...

Blessings!