charles' domain

It's tough to decide how to blog about our new house. I am thinking once we are moved in, I will post room by room. This will take awhile...

This past weekend, I got this shot of the barn and silo in the backyard. I took it from an upstairs bedroom.
This is where Charles can call all the shots. He has great plans for the silo one day. Currently, it's covered with wisteria. Now you see why I'm going to call this our farmhouse. It was in fact, a working farm back in the day. Like 1850.

more cuteness...

This should be called the "I Love Whippets" blog.
I couldn't resist.

Taken over the weekend at our new house!

Yes, we have a bedroom with pink carpet. Plush, pink, and perfect for Whippets. They love it.

I guess me too, since I was on the floor with them.

I took a million pictures of the interior, so I will be sure to have great before and after pics for the years to come.

Another exciting thing, today I got them new silver dog bone tags-name and new address!

bar stools

A kitchen island is a wonderful thing. It's such a great way to mix in different styles into a kitchen.

via newlyweddiaries blog

I absolutely love this sleek kitchen and it's antique looking table that doubles as an island. In our new kitchen, we will not have a true island, but I will be on the lookout for a small version of this. Just large enough to tuck some stools under.

Suzanne Kassler

That is the reason for this post. Our new kitchen has off white cabinets, wood floors, and a grayish granite counter top. There are so many different styles of bar chairs, that I will have many options....

Phoebe Howard

When I think of "bar stools," I tend to picture a vinyl covered thing at a sports bar. But some of these pictures prove they can be very chic.



Charles has always liked Windsor Chairs, so I saved this picture above. I really like the small Windsor bar chair.



Found this one on Twenga. I think it's from the UK. I will have to keep looking for more affordable versions if we decide to go this route.

pachairmaker

renovationstyle

This kitchen above has been all over design blogs. What a nice sized island! In a smaller space these lucite stools are perfect!

stools from propsfortoday



via mstreetdenver blog

I like these mod stools mixed with a traditional space.

And here are some other great options I found.

overstock

Henriksdal from Ikea

home decorators

home decorators

And a few more good looking kitchens.

Shelley Gordon via House of Turquoise

Alys Beach

via things that inspire blog

weekend cuteness

Thank goodness the weekend is here! Have a good one!

casual dining rooms

I tend to gravitate toward non-formal dining rooms when saving pictures. Maybe it is a generation thing, or maybe it's just the fact that we don't want to spend tons of money on formal dining room furniture! Either way, here are some current faves.

I love this light fixture. Saw one at Restoration Hardware at Lenox recently. It is a fortune $$$!

* via house of turquoise blog*

This was a photo that helped me decide in painting our dining room chairs cream.
*via decorpad*

Okay, so this space is a bit more formal, but I really like a skirted, round, dining table.

*via decorpad*

LOVE the green curtains, and I also really like the look of slip covered parsons chairs.

{BTW, Charles can't stand them for some reason}

*via plain & fancy living blog*

In this room, again I like the painted chairs, and I love the curtains and bamboo blinds. Be sure to notice the built ins on the left. The green plates, and starfish are a great addition.

*via matters of style blog*

That's all from my files for today. Getting closer to making our move. My mind is racing with ideas, but luckily I will have to work with what we have, so I can't go too crazy with the designs.

sleeping porches

The current issue of Garden & Gun has our wheels turning. One fun part of buying a new house, is to think about creative ways to use the different spaces. Wouldn't a porch swing/bed be so fun to have on an enclosed porch or sunroom?

Saturday night we were also inspired by a fabulous porch with a large swing at a party. You could just imagine the fun fall days watching football, and hanging on the porch...literally.

The picture above is a favorite from Coastal Living. I had already saved in my favorites file because of the fabrics and colors.

The Southern Living Idea House is also in on the trend. This is the lower terrace at the house in Senoia. So, Charles and I want to make one and hang it somewhere. I think the girls would like napping on it too.

weekend update

This is a happy time for us. We couldn't be happier that we have a great couple that wants to buy our house.

Then, Saturday night, we had a party to attend. "Summer Chic" was the dress. What is more summer chic than Lilly?

The girls being silly.

Then, a real picture.

Then, Sunday we went to Scott's Antique Market.
And I found this great painting. Scott's is always so fun. Now to work this week. We have lots going on!

soon to be sofa...

I am sofa shopping for the new house. This is the current 76" sofa in our living room. We bought a shorter sofa to work with our design/furniture arrangement. I have been very happy with it. Great color when you have beige/tan dogs, and the back pillows are easily fluffed back to life after some 30 lb. pups have been sleeping on them!
Another great idea we had when buying this sofa was in the event of a move, it could work in a more formal living space. Well, that's what is happening. This little guy will be living in a formal living room!

For the family room in our next house, we are going for style & comfort!! Charles' only request is for it to be long enough for napping. This one below is from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. Christine and I saw it in the Atlanta store, and it is impressive! It is 98" long, and super comfy! The showroom model was slipcovered in an awesome linen. However, this extra long, linen, down filled sofa is a tad out of the alloted budget! So I am moving on....

So, I did drag Charles to Atl for some sofa testing. My main concern is the look and style, but I did want his input on the comfort factor. We hit Crate & Barrel-nothing there for us, then Restoration Style-the only sofa I liked online wasn't in the store, then Pottery Barn. We both really loved the Comfort Square Arm sofa with the box cushions. It definitely passed the comfort test. This sofa is 89" long, and has a very deep seat. We also like the fact that it is slipcovered, and their twill fabrics are machine washable. A very important thing for us with the 2 Whippets. I really do like square arms in general, so this was top of the list for about 2 weeks until.....

I find out that my favorite store in Saint Simons carries a brand called the Best Slipcover Company. Everything is slipcovered, and the big clincher is the fabrics are all washable and fabulous!!! We're not talking about your basic denims and twills, we're talking awesome linens and printed fabrics that I LOVE!!! Then I remember my favorite designer & blogger, Erika, has posted about BSC before. This is her sofa below. It's called the Rachel, and I love it. Style-check, washable linen slipcover-check, good review from a real designer-check!

Now the only question is, will Rachel be long enough? The website has her coming in at 84" wide. That worried me, but I also see that the arms aren't wide so, I called BSC, and happy day, the inside seat width is the same as the Pottery Barn sofa above!!

After obsessing over this sofa for a few days, I remembered seeing one similar.

Same looking sofa, and awesome box pleated skirt. This is from Market on Newcastle in Brunswick, Ga. I loved that store, and I don't think I ever did a post about it. It's crazy that earlier this year, way before the new house/furniture thing was even an idea, I apparently like this style of sofa.

So now I am just waiting on pricing to see if it's going to be a go....Also like the matching club chairs, but that will be another day.

Have a great weekend! We have a full weekend of end of summer parties, and more packing, cleaning, organizing, etc. Oh, and our Comer Jones cottage is now officially under contract! We could not be more happy at the timing of this!

New Blog!

If you live in the area {middle Georgia}, but sure to check out Parks & Mottola Realty's new blog! You can also find them on Facebook.

great finds of the week!

Head on over to your local Big Lots because they might have some great stuff! On Sunday I found this cream garden stool. They retail for $139 at Ballard Designs. We found for $10 at Big Lots! Can you believe $10!!!!!

I went back yesterday, and all the cream ones are gone, so I got another blue one.

Then, I saw two of these cool lamps. Marked down to $40 from $130. They are large lamps. I don't like spending a lot of money on lamps, so I snatched these up.

I don't particularly like the flesh color, so I plan on painting the base. Probably white.

I do love the burlap shade!

Saw this at Shades of Light, thought it could look similar.

Also, this lamp in the background is a similar size and shape. From Things that Inspire Blog.

I guess it is the week of lamps. I found this small one at Roses the other day. $5! It is very small, but so cute! They did have a few others in a darker color brown.

Looks similar to this one from Shades of Light for much more money! Anyway, that is all for my great deals in Griffin!