Redecorating

I have not been blogging because I have been redecorating. We took a trip to Ikea which started it all! The cover of their catalog reads “A home doesn’t have to be big, just smart” and it got me thinking. Why do I have so many large pieces of furniture? Are they really doing that much for our lives to take up that much space. Then I took my friend Kelly to Ikea and it was over! The day after we got back she looked through the catalog and declared that we should sell our stuff at a garage sale at my house…tomorrow. Well, sounds good. We sold some big furniture pieces which then created a decorating fund to be used to purchase the things we wanted. Our husbands are happy because we aren’t spending their hard earned money. On our 3rd trip to Ikea in 11 days (It’s 1hour and 30 mins away) I was able to get a few things that I felt we needed first. Like a toy bin for the kids toys. We got the “Trofast” system and I love it! We also bought a lamp for the living room (because I sold ours at the garage sale) and a dining room lamp (because ours broke) oh and dishes (because I sold all those at the garage sale too!)

When Brad was putting up the dining room light it wasn’t staying up and it is because the piece that holds it up was broken. That meant another trip to Ikea so 4th trip in 14 days. Brad was not so happy to be spending every day off driving to Ikea. But all is well now, they took back the light no problem and we won’t be gong out there for a while.

The next thing I did was paint the entry. It has been deep red for a few years and I have been really sick of it but just haven’t gotten around to changing it. Well I went for it. I have a few decorating blogs I have been following and I decided to go much lighter in there.

Before

After

It is called seashore fog and it is a pale, pale blue. I am still looking for a shelf with hooks for the one wall and that shelf will make it look a lot more decorated and functional. Another thing I did in here was scrub the grout with oxyclean. It looks so much better. I found the little table at a garage sale for $2. It is rickety but it looks cute. It was a horrible brown and I painted it white. It is good for now.

I will still be posting the pictures of the Grand Canyon and more decorating pics. (including the table saga, yes a saga. We currently have our 4th table in less than a year)

Links to some of the blogs that inspire me:

Our Vintage Home Love (She built her dining room table and other stuff. Beautiful home)

Home and Harmony (I am copying her dining chair slipcover style)

Vintage simple home (I love these shelves and hooks)

Miss Mustard Seed (How to make slipcovers and lots more)

The lettered cottage (Great idea on how to change stock kitchen cabinets to make them look custom)

Crisp Interiors (I love her “family rules” and her home is beautiful and she is a believer in Jesus)

Shopping Candy for my first home (Her house is amazing and I have been following her for a while. It is so calm and peaceful)