House Update

I was looking at older photos of the house and I realized that the house now looks a little different than previously pictorally documented. On this rare occasion of the house being practically spotless, I thought I'd do a house update.

"Before" photos can be seen in this post.


This is a cool, beat up vintage/antique desk I recently got off Craigslist. I am such a sucker for the "shabby chic" look. This desk has a fold-down writing table and little organizational cubbies inside, as well as 3 drawers, which make good storage space.




Not too much has changed in the dining room...the chairs have all been recovered, but I don't even think that's visible in the photos.




I've played around with the living room the most...I switched the "side table" (3 stacked vintage suitcases) and lamp to the other side of the couch, in front of the tall mirror. In its place, I put the tall paper lantern from Ikea that used to be agaisnt the wall between the two windows facing the yard. I moved the white chair to where the lantern once was, and added another side table. Also added: cloth roman shades and curtains. Whee!




In the kitchen, we have a lot more brightly-colored utensils, thanks thanks to Chandler's Le Creuset job. All the colors are incredible...I want a hanging potrack to display all of the incredible pots and skillets, but the weight of the cast iron would probably pull the whole thing down.


This is such an odd little half-bath. There's no way I'm painting walls until I actually own a house, but if I were going to paint any room, it would be this one. It needs something, but I can't figure out what.




The office is the most colorful room in the house, thanks to Chandler's bright couch. Manda's art brings some of the color onto the wall.



The main bedroom is the only room in the house that has absolutely nothing on the walls. I don't have enough art to hang! I have been spending a lot of time on Etsy looking for some pieces to hang.




I added more colorful bedding, fixed up my desk/vanity area, and hung my inspiration board (not shown). I love curling up in this room; for some reason, my creativity flows easily in here.


I found this shower curtain at Goodwill. It still had the tags on it, and the linen curtain with floral appliques adds a bit of texture to the room...it looked too much like a hotel bathroom with the white curtain. However, the white curtain made it a lot bigger. The other thing I like about this curtain is that the purple perfectly matches the star lantern in there, which is so nice to light during baths. But I can't decide if the curtain should stay.




The backyard is so lush and green. I love it, but I get eaten alive out there! Citronella candles are a lifesaver. I love going out and picking fresh hers. Chandler picked his first tomato last week!

I didn't take any photos of the front because nothing has really changed. We really, really want an outdoor set to put on the front porch. Because I was lazy, I missed out on this incredible deal.

If anyone still has a Belize Outdoor Set available at your local World Market, if you buy it for me, I will pay you back and provide an extra-special gift! I hesitated and these babies sold like hotcakes. All the World Markets in Charleston (and Charlotte) sold out in less than a day.

Anyone have any decorating tips or advice they'd like to share?