These are my favorites days of summer, the bustle of 4th of July is over, that easy rhythm of slower mornings and later bedtimes has set in. The stores are full with of fresh fruits and vegetables and the flower garden is producing enough for fresh bouquets all over the house. I love the greens, soft blues and faded yellow of the season. I’m so excited to decorate my house again. Our renovation kept most of our basement off limits for most of last year. Enjoy my summer touches and see how the rest of my house looks outside of the kitchen.
Seaglass on a soft green runner dress up the dining table. Lighthouses line our stairs. I thrifted most of them. Summer touches in the foyer. Soft summer touches Shells, driftwood, coral and lighthouses bring back great beach memories. The Princess on a windy day in New Orleans.
It really felt like summer last week, really high temperatures, nothing really planned, sleeping late, popsicles on the porch. With all the business of life with an 11 year old during the summer months, it was great to take some time to just enjoy a bit of lazy. I did get some laundry done…what a pleasure it is in my new laundry room. Let me show it off a little. It stays pretty neat most of the time.
My laundry station. Don’t you love the blue and white checked tile? It was a bit of work to find but we love them. The view of the laundry room from the kitchen. Most of the aprons belonged to my Grandmother.The view from the back door. We are gearing up for some landscaping.And for good measure , the inside of our new pantry!We visited New Orleans last spring. The Sno-ball stand is Princess approved!
It started off as a dream about “what if…?” When we were renting our house. We laughed at some of the ideas and filed just as many for the maybe time. When the opportunity to buy the house came available we jumped at the chance and, well, dreamed a bit more and actually started to make tentative plans to start and then, COVID. It was frustrating because at that point we just wanted it done or at least started.
When that magical day came for groundbreaking we thought we were off on a great adventure…that kept going…and going. Lots of surprises in the old house, a few permit snags and general slowness of the contracting procedures. We were told to think about the end game. This is hard to do when half your bottom floor is crammed into the dining room and your washer, dryer and oven are taking up space in the garage. The adventure grew quite thin.
And then, Hallelujah!, it’s time to move back in. It was a mostly smooth project to reassemble our kitchen, pantry, mudroom/ dining room. Absolutely worth the tears, late night panics, general frustrations for a year. I’m glad everyone is enjoying the view…here are some more shots!
My antique baker’s cabinet got spruced up…my baking center. I love my Polish pottery in the upper cabinet. Also, the perfect place for my antique cracker boxes.
A cozy nook to read or dream framed by antique French pans and vintage rolling pins. There was no way to salvage the fireplace safely. We turned it into reading shelves. Soapstone countertops was one of our dreams…we love them. The faucet set took 8 months to arrive. It guess it is pretty popular. Roman shades by Sew Lovely by KellyThe Princess and her Hero Dad ran a 5k. The training was hard but the pride at the end was priceless!
A Day of Small Things... 