Farmhouse Redux ~

Each January ~

…. I get the urge to purge.

why is it every year I seem to 'collect' more & more even though I say I won't?

This year marks the 13th year that we are here living in this old farmhouse.

Peter & I gutted each room and hung sheetrock... 

he redid the woodwork and even remodeled the attic space 

into a third floor room for Hannah when she was still living home.

we took down walls to make a large spacious sewing room for me,

and what do I do?

clutter it up.

well I'm done.

I need to de-clutter and refresh my working & living spaces.

So, room by room I will do just that ~ without a lot of money spent 

and refinishing/upcycling everything that I want to hold on to.

I like to take photos of our rooms, and see them on the large computer screen.

I can get a better feel for things that I want to let go of and/or keep.

Here is my sewing room this morning:

a hot mess ~ 

with too many dark surfaces and dark window treatments.

they 'gotta go' !

my massive bookshelves {behind the curtains held on with clothespins}

will get a total makeover and hold nothing but books and baskets of supplies

which I will keep neat & tidy.

after removing everything from the walls, they will be painted a brighter shade of white 

and I'm thinking of also painting my desk & large cedar cupboard too!

Here is our bath ~

this room was finished a few years back

{{You can see the 'before' HERE & HERE }}

I particularly LOVE how clean, bright & un cluttered it is now ~

well, except for a few loverly things that I can't live without ~

like the lightening rod on the chippy metal cabinet, the weathervane arrow 

and the cast iron oil lamp bracket that now holds a flicker candle…

and those curtains ~ they are black & cream Waverly 

and the toile is of beautiful, bucolic farm scenes ~ 

complete with chickens and a donkey or two!

see the double lamp above the sink?

that was found at one of our local auctions last year…

perfect.

{oh ~ hey Iggy!}

*that blue bowl in the sink is Iggy's personal water bowl….sorry*

a couple of postings ago I showed you my bonnet topped hutch in the dining room ~

it holds my ironstone & a few other trinkets…

but

I am disliking the color more & more.

Somewhere in it's past, 

someone did a poor job of painting it this oxblood red color.

That will change, 

and I will use my own concocted-color of handmade chalk paint ~

{yep, I make my own chalk paint! more on that to come soon ~}

white? grey? green?

the out dated wallpaper border was awesome 13 yrs ago ~

but it has grown weary & faded & tired…

so it will be removed

{although I still love Carol Endres' artwork}

Our little breakfast-nook was slap-dash painted with a mural {by me}

and it too is feeling very tired to me….

So a nice, 

warm buttercream color will grace the walls in here soon enough ~

and that blue corner hutch will also be repainted.

:)

the old glass-front hanging cabinets in the kitchen are beautiful…

Peter & I have had them for ever and we even moved them with us from house-to-house.

They too will get a facelift of fresh paint, as well as that red/blue cupboard.

my I have lots of work to do!

everything that you see in the photo below will change ~

from the curtains, to the removal of the self above the range…

to the base cabinet color and even the knobs & pulls!

I'm even entertaining the idea of painting a faux rug in here ~

 checkerboard of course ;)

and the Keeping room will undergo a transformation

 from dark to light in paint & accoutrements…

no more stenciling along the top of the walls ~

no more black or red paint anywhere.

even the antique radiators will be painted!!

sorry about the blur!

 yes, a lot of work to be done…

but

with more elbow-grease than money

more imagination than sense I guess ~

it can be done :)

I'm excited to start 2016 with a bright new outlook ~ 

so why shouldn't my home reflect that?

Hoping your day is filled with fresh & wonderful new ideas!!!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori