Show Us Your Life - Master Bedroom

I'm a little late on this, but Kelly from Kelly's Korner is doing a Tour Our Homes post every Friday. This (past!) Friday - see I really am a little late - the room of the week was the Master Bedroom. So, I present to you, our new-old-in-progress master bedroom.

Some of the details: glass knobs on all our doors, rug from market in Hughesville, dresser from when I was a little girl.

The chandelier above our bed. I love the medallion above it. I won't tell you how many weeks it took us to figure out the dimmer switch on this fixture.

Lingerie chest: my dad gave this to me when I graduated from Winthrop. Flat screen TV is a newer addition.

Fireplace: difficult to see here, but all painted black, with tile hearth. My portrait is there temporarily, looking for a gold-framed mirror for above the mantle.

Built-in bookshelf. We were told that at the time this house was built (~1897-99) built-in bookshelves were a sign of affluence, since not everyone could afford books. Thankfully, books are much more affordable these days!
Close-up of bedspread, from Pottery Barn. I was looking for a print to lighten up our very dark room.

When we bought the house, this room was already painted a very dark red. The doors, wide baseboards, and molding were white. The draperies matched the paint perfectly. We liked it - besides, who wants to try to paint over all that dark red! - so we decided to keep it. I chose the comforter for its relatively bright colors - and if we ever want to change the wall color, it will be easy to pick a color from the print. I'd like to eventually replace the rug with a lighter one. Still lots to do in this room, but it's comfortable and I think lovely in its own way, so we're good for now. I'm sorry that some of the pictures are blurry on closeup, but my daily chauffeur service is due to start, so I don't have time to take new ones!

Hot House Roses

One advantage to 93+ degree temps during the first week of autumn is that the roses are continuing to bloom. Including this pink beauty I found outside this morning.

It has begun.

When we first looked at this house, the kitchen is what sold me. Well, to be honest, I loved just about everything about the house. And the yard. It had been beautifully restored all around. But the kitchen. I just loved it. The owners had taken down a wall between the very small kitchen and butler's pantry to make a really nice, updated but still old-fashioned kitchen, with great big windows. granite countertops, and wooden floors. The upper cabinets have the original glass and are white, perfect for displaying our multi-colored Fiestaware. There are some changes we want to make, but they will be very gradual as we can afford them. We got a start this week, when Lowe's made us an offer we couldn't refuse on the Samsung refrigerator we've had our eye on for a while.

So, here are our first before and after kitchen pictures. Before, complete with all the cross country schedules, homeschool notes, and a 1980s picture of my uncle and cousin during their Grizzly Adams phase stuck to the fridge. And after, with the stainless one that isn't magnetic. Oops. Don't know how I'm going to keep up with everything now!

Next stop: replacing those brass knobs and handles with some that will go better with the stainless appliances. And that cable hanging down in front of the old fridge? There's the perfect spot for a little flat screen TV up on top of that cabinet. You know, so I can watch The Food Network while I'm cooking away. Sadly, I'm afraid I'm a little more Paula Deen than Giada De Laurentiis.

End of summer

I need to apologize to my blog because we have been so busy that I've neglected it. Lots to say, not much time to say it! While I catch up, here's a picture of my kitchen window this morning. It's very nice to pick flowers from our yard on into September.