Hello 2017!
Is your new year off to a great start? Or should I really be asking… are your Christmas decorations down and neatly stored away?
Mine are down… and stacked up all over the storage area downstairs waiting for me to get them “cleaned out and better organized.”
If you are a regular subscriber to my blog, you know that we moved from an old house in a historic community to a newer one in Michigan last summer. One that needed a bit more work than we originally anticipated!
So all of last fall my goals for our new house were:
To get it clean – seriously. Ugh. Just ugh. They left such a mess behind inside and out it took several months just to make it look, feel and…smell clean. (And no, it wasn’t a foreclosure!)
New flooring throughout. We had to replace the bright blue and bright red shag carpeting. As a side note, the flooring company told me this blue shag was fairly new and pretty expensive carpeting. Who knew brightly colored shag was still a thing??
Paint every surface and change out light fixtures. YIKES! Wish I would’ve thought to take pictures when this Volkswagen sized light was coming down… It was quite a production.
Tear out the HORRIBLE landscaping in the front yard and help the 4 million weeds and thistles that were tall enough to me in the eye (yep…5’3″ tall thistles with concrete-like roots) find the weed version of the afterlife. Holy Hannah… that was a project and a half!
Here are a few sneak peeks of what we managed to get done before the snow started flying…
Making Over the New House
And along the way, the house started to take shape and gain some character and personality.
Enough that I didn’t feel the need to cry myself to sleep at night or beg the people who bought the old house to let us move back in so I could sit right here at my desk in the entry again…
From our new floors…
to our fun planter for the mailbox… (and yes…a functioning sprinkler system now!)
to the arbor Pops made for me at the old house…
to a fresher, more inviting kitchen (still a work in progress!)
BEFORE
WORK in PROGRESS
to our almost finished dining room…
We’ve made great progress in giving our northern house a southern-style makeover a short amount of time …
Home & Garden Goals for 2017
Now my goal is to continue to pump up the “character” inside and out…
You see, I’m missing magnolia in our new house…that old southern style I love so much.
To me, southern style means:
- Mixed metals
- Leopard as a neutral
- Burlap
- Magnolia and boxwood wreaths
- Warm paint colors
- A crackling fireplace
- Blurred lines between indoors and out
- Window boxes
- An eclectic mix of old and new
- Hand scrapped wood floors
- A warm, inviting kitchen
- Gardens overflowing with herbs, cutting flowers, hydrangea and critters
- Outdoor living space with cozy chairs for napping and reading on the porch
- Music…
So my goal for 2017 is to bring on the magnolia!
Home & Garden Goals for 2017
Starting with window boxes. The window boxes at the old house had their own fan club in the neighborhood…
This time around I’m thinking wrought iron?
I found this great window box company online (Flower Window Boxes, in case you are wondering) and have narrowed it down to two choices…
This is Vienna… isn’t she a beauty? She’s my favorite most days.
And this old gal is Savannah… I want this to be my favorite mostly because of the name!
What I need you to keep in mind as you are helping me decide is that the antique horse head posts my sister, Bunny, got for me for the old house will be making an appearance at this house… fairly close to the window boxes.
Giving the Kitchen a Mini-Makeover
And the kitchen is getting a little Botox. Not a full on facelift… just a bit of a spiffing up to make it more inviting.
It gets tons of natural light which is a great asset, but also makes it tough for my amateur photography skills to capture good photos. So my apologies for the pics!
But we all know the kitchen is the heart of the home whether you are living in the north or the south, right?
I already changed the wall color (Sherwin Williams White Hyacinth was the winner!) and painted the trim white.
I sanded off the terrible blue paint on the fireplace and repainted it with a color that coordinated a bit better. Just enough so the fireplace wasn’t such an eyesore.
Once I get new counter tops, replace the busy backsplash, track down better lighting and add new hardware… the fireplace trim will probably get another tweak. Probably something in the charcoal grey family.
Plans for our Outdoor Living Space
I also have big plans for the gardens now that the front yard is almost done (photos to follow once the snow melts!). From an herb garden to a cutting garden and a place for our fairy garden, 2017 will be a big year for our house outside.
Including expanding the patio and tracking down some new furniture – a rectangular dining room table and some “curl up and take a nap here” stuff.
I’m kind of liking looks similar to this…
But with an aged wicker for the dining chairs and the couch similar to this…
(Except for, you know, our house is far less grand than the backdrop of this photo!)
I have to make up my mind so I can start doing some online coupon stalking… I know patio furniture can be a real budget buster!
The Sound of Music
The old house made it easy to use cute “rock” speakers in the garden that hooked up to the sound system located in the sunroom.
But I decided it’s time to make the leap in to the new century and get something wireless.
Anyone have any advice? Wondering about SONOS? Or should we go with Amazon’s Electra and Echo?
I want a speaker in the kitchen that we can just pick up and move to the patio…
I guess I better stop yapping and get busy right?
Before you leave, will you help a girl out and cast your vote for which window box I should order… Vienna or Savannah … by Commenting below?? (Just don’t be like me and let the name influence your choice okay?)
I just can’t decide…
Until next time,
Shelley
Pin Me!
(And any other images you like on the site!)
I love what you’ve done. I would go with Savannah. I just may be because that’s my favorite city in America. Completely off topic, look on Craigslist daily because you’d be surprised how often people are selling wonderful treasures for pennies on the dollar. You just have to be consistent. I can’t wait to see the wonderful things you do to your home.
Thanks Rebecca! I’m right there with you on the city of Savannah. Our Craigslist here in the Ann Arbor area is mostly college kids trying to buy or unload stuff. Definitely not like it was in D.C. when you could score great stuff! But I will take your advice and keep checking…thanks for stopping by!
I like both window boxes! I would choose Savannah. The metal decoration looks a little sparse on the other. Too much of the box shows, if you are going to use a light colored box to p!Ant in.
I looked at my picture again and you are right… But I think I posted a bad picture of it. But it’s definitely less ornate. It’s funny because my online commentors are voting for Savannah, but the emails I received all say Vienna…thanks for helping me try to decide.
Wow! You’ve really gotten a lot done in a short amount of time. That blue carpeting… is awful. Your wood floors are gorg! What brand is that?
As far as the window boxes, it is a tough call. But I vote for Vienna! The detail is so pretty and southern.
Looking forward to seeing your gardens develop and your window boxes. I think I’ve pinned every picture you have of your old window boxes…
Thanks for saying it looks like a lot, Caitlyn! It really doesn’t feel like it until I look at photos from when we first got keys.
The window box voting is split almost right down the middle!! I can’t wait for spring just to get them up and get planting!!
Thanks for visiting my blog again and for voting!!
And I forgot to answer your questions about the wood floors! They are from a Michigan-based company called Chelsea Plank Flooring. Mine is Sawtooth Mountain Plank. I had them do a random pattern with 3, 4, 5 and 6 inch widths. I’ve had so many compliments on them!
I would never have considered iron window boxes! Now I think I have to have them, too. I say Vienna… but Savannah is pretty also. hope you get them up soon so I can see what you do with them! I used your LIBERTY photo as inspiration for my window boxes last year on July 4th and got so many compliments.
Thanks, Stephanie! I’m anxious to get them up too. I missed having them after we moved. Fall and winter window boxes add so much to a house! And thanks for always leaving such nice comments!
My sister (who is also a window box expert like you!) is visiting from Connecticut and I was showing her your blog… we are no help really because I voted for Vienna and she voted for Savannah!! But you can’t go wrong with either one. They will both look great on your house…
Haha. That is funny! From my emails and comments here, it is a split decision!! Thanks for sharing my blog with your sister, too.
I like Vienna better. I got on the company’s website and one of the photos shows the box from a different angle. It looks like there is more ornamentation (if that’s a word?) than on the closer photo where it looks more sparse. That was my concern… What I like about Savannah is there is more iron covering the box but may that is just the angle of the photo on Vienna? Maybe you can see if they have better photos? Because Vienna really is very charming! And I look forward to seeing whatever one you choose. Your window boxes are my favorites!
I agree Erin! If I could see them in person that would help. I love Vienna but I want fuller coverage like you see with Savannah. I think I will email the company like you suggested. Stay tuned… And thanks for being a fan of my window boxes. I love designing them and redesigning them each season!