New House Pics!

Happy New Year! I hope that all of your holidays were fantastic. Ours were great! We had a quiet Christmas at home, just the four of us. Then, the following week we had most of my family in town, where we enjoyed late nights, lots of food, and of course, shopping!

I am excited because over the coming days, I actually have some brand new tutorials lined up! Getting settled into our home has really reawakened my desire to create (probably something to do with not living in chaos!), and I look forward to showing you a few things I've been working on.

In the mean time, I thought I would give you a mini tour of the place that sucked all of the creative energy out of me (but was well worth the effort) over the last 4-5 months: Our New Home! I know that I have family and friends who have been waiting patiently for pictures, so at last, here they are...

Won't you come in?

One of my favorite features of this house is the double-sided fire place that greets you upon arrival.

So cozy.

(Please ignore the mantle - I change it every day, and haven't achieved the right look.

In fact, after seeing this photo, I will probably be switching just about everything out!)

The leaning mirror is actually taller than me, but our mantle is so high it dwarfs it!

I love the velvet chair I found for a steal in Dallas while visiting my sister.

Lately my daughter has been using it as her reading chair.

Here's a view into our living area.

And this is another perspective.

I still have quite a few pieces I want to add, but for now this will do!

A trunk that my dad built is acting as entertainment stand right now.

Eventually that will become a side table, once I find the perfect replacement for it.

Also, my husband plans to build a frame for the TV to give it a little more weight.

I used the trick that I've learned from so many other bloggers -

curtains made from drop cloths!

I saved SO much money ($40 for all six panels!) and love the look just as much.

As you can see, we have a very open floor plan, which helps create a feeling of spaciousness.

The kitchen is my very favorite room.

A lot of time and energy went into planning it, and I am thrilled with the results.

The island was a big part of our plan - we wanted a place to gather around.

So far, it has been the most utilized space in the house (now if I can just keep it uncluttered).

The mantle above our stove was a headache to get right, but it turned out perfectly.

It is an excellent feature spot for my twine monogram.

I got the idea for it from this tutorial (fun, but very time consuming!).

Our final stop is just a quick peak into our bedroom.

I was inspired by the color palette in a guest room in Southern Living's Idea Home.

The blue walls (Aquatic Edge by Valspar) is perfect - I feel like I'm living in a Tiffany box!

Thanks for stopping by; check back later this week, and I will try to post something crafty!

p.s. I apologize for the poor photo quality; a cloudy day and shoddy camera are to blame.