Entryway Before and After

(photo by Elise Abigail Randolph)
Our entryway is another big change in our house!  Honestly, I've never had an entryway before, so this was new territory for me.  Do I set up a gallery wall?  Do I paint the space?  It was basically a blank canvas and it wasn't until we had the wallpaper installed in the living room that I KNEW wallpaper would be the perfect first impression as you walk into our home!  Wanna see what it looked like before?  This one of my favorite before and after spaces!!


I found TONS of wallpaper I liked as I was searching, but just because you like something doesn't mean you can afford it.  Oof.  I found both of the wallpaper designs we used in the living room and the entryway at Wallpaper Direct.  A friend asked how I came to the decision for this bold selection, and honestly, it took me over a dozen wallpaper samples to settle on something.  You never completely know how it's going to look until it has been installed, so I'm EXTREMELY HAPPY with how this turned out!  Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and go with your gut!


(Most photos by Elise Abigail Randolph-- a couple are my own)
I love the contrast of the teal door and table legs, and the peeks of teal in the other rooms with these colors!  I'm so glad I didn't shy away from the boldness of the pattern-- it makes such a difference in this room!  I'll be back soon with a better look at our dining room!  xo.

Sources-- Wallpaper: Wallpaper Direct;  Table: Hobby Lobby;  Mirror: Craigslist;  Family Portrait: Pop Pop Portraits;  Candle: UO;  Large airplant: Bowood Farms

Weaving Workshop with Rachel Denbow!

That's right!  I'm hosting a weaving workshop taught by weaver extraordinaire, Rachel Denbow!  It's a local gig so if you're regional, come to my house!  Learn weaving skills!  Let's hang out!  Seriously, though-- Rachel is offering this workshop at a seriously discounted rate.  If you sign up, you will get to take home a special loom made locally here in Springfield, yarn, tools, and other goodies!  If you are interested, you can check out pricing and a more detailed description right here.  I'm looking forward to seeing some of you at my home (what?!)... I only wish I could fly all of you in for this!  xo. Katie

Our Living Room Tour

Well... it's finally time to share more completed rooms in our house!  I am SO EXCITED about how I've transformed some of these spaces.  I've been wanting to keep the cozy/eclectic vibe that I feel is very "Katie" while trying to not do the same old things I always do.  I'm happy with my space so far!  Here's a peek at where our living room started:


(Photos by Sarah Rhodes)
This room would traditionally be used as a study, but the light is so good in here that I wanted to figure out a way to make it work as our living room.  My first tasks were painting over the black and picking wallpaper for the shelf walls.  Once I got that far, things started coming together!

   
Johnny and I have never spent the money on a new couch before, so we decided it was finally time to treat ourselves.  I scoured the internet and local shops before I discovered Article.  I knew I wanted leather with kids and a cat, and this Sven sofa in Oxford Black is so comfy and easy to maintain.  I'm so glad we went with this couch!

Hosting get-togethers is one of my favorite things to do, so setting the room up with plenty of seating was important to me.  I went through idea after idea for the bay window, but ultimately came up with the idea for the window/storage seat.  We keep all my vintage quilts and blankets in the drawers and it seats multiple people comfortably.  Win!


 
We ended up loving our couch so much, that we got the matching Sven arm chair in Grass Green from Article in green velvet.  Talk about my dream chair!  If I could have all green velvet furniture, I totally would.  Obviously, I have invested stock in lint rollers considering Google thinks this is his cat bed, but I don't mind.  This chair is swoon worthy.

One of my biggest projects in here was finishing out the window seat.  After we had the unit built by a professional carpenter, we had to have special foam cut for it.  I spent weeks and weeks picking the right fabrics for the pillows and bench.  I'm really happy with the way it all turned out, so all-in-all it was worth the headache.

The door behind this chair isn't functional, so I ordered custom acrylic shelves, painted some basic brackets gold, and filled it with plants.  I make it sound easy, but that door really did stump me for months.  I would just look at it and obsess and brainstorm and scrap those ideas and start again.  This final solution is one I'm really proud of!


I've lived in houses with very textured walls all my life, so you can imagine how excited I was to be able to play with some wallpaper.  The cream chair was one we had in our old house, but the seat was ripped up beyond repair.  We took it to a local upholstery shop that a friend recommended and they did an amazing job!  The fabric has small flecks of gold in it and it's one-of-a-kind.  I love that!


There you have it: our living room!  It's a bright, happy place to be able to call home.  It feels amazing to finally have some more rooms finished in our house!  Hooray for progress!

Special thanks to my dear friend, Elise Abigail Randolph, for shooting these photos!  Check out her site for some seriously beautiful photographs.

Source list-- Couch: Article. // Rug, Table, and Chandelier: Wayfair //  Wallpaper: Wallpaper Direct // Bison Head: White Faux Taxidermy // Green Chair: Article. // Acrylic Side Table: TJ Maxx // Pillows: Society6, Target, and Handmade // Custom Acrylic Shelves: Online Metals // anything else that isn't listed is most likely vintage

...And It Made Him Shine As Much As A Sleeping Sea Cow (Poesy's First Homework)

If you've been following along on Instagram, you may already know that Poesy started Kindergarten last week.  I'm not really sure how that is possible since she's still a tiny baby and definitely not 5 already, but people are telling me that this is reality.  Up until a few weeks ago, we weren't sure whether we were sending Poesy out to school or homeschooling her.  We've been on a waiting list for our ideal (for Poesy) school since the beginning of summer, and we got a call just a week before I ordered our homeschool books that there was an opening for her.  Poesy is a social butterfly, so we were pretty sure she'd thrive in a classroom full of peers.  Obviously it was hard for this homeschool mama to let go and not be a helicopter parent over my last precious baby, but hey- sometimes good things hurt, right?  I'm happy to report that she is IN LOVE with school and asks every evening if she can please go to school in the morning.  Yay for loving to learn!

Poesy had her first homework assignment this week, which was telling a story about an illustration and a parent writes it all down.  The theme of Poe's stories are piña coladas, quitting gymnastics, and people having a party because there was a car crash but no one died (I have no idea about this one). They were so great, I had to share:


In her words:  "Okay, so they had a car crash and nobody died, so they're having a party.  And they've had a happy day, and the cake is carrot cake."


"At first they went home but weren't having a good day at home, so they went to the beach.  They had a lot of fun at the beach relaxing and having piña coladas, then they went back to the hotel, then they went to the beach again, and then they went back to the pool.  They had a great time."


And my personal favorite... "A baker is baking!  At first he was at gymnastics but didn't like it much, so he spent a lot of money and became a baker and made piña coladas.  And he was smiling as bright as the sun, and it made him shine as much as a sleeping sea cow."


There are a few more, but these are my favorites.  How is this kid so smart AND cute AND funny? She's a little charmer, that one.

Happy first full week of Kindergarten, Poesy.  You really just get better and better.
Love, mama