Dining Room {Then & Now}

Just the other day I was going through tons of photos from when Gracie was a baby and I almost cringed at what this house looked like seven years ago! When they say a space evolves with time that could not be more accurate with our home!! Seven years ago when we purchased this home we gutted it and started over with a blank slate.... Lord if only I had Pinterest back then and if only I actually knew what the heck I was doing!

Tomorrow I will start our little kitchen renovation. I say "little" because, for one, I am doing it myself and two, I'm doing it on a very tight budget which means not everything will get done in a week or two or even in two months...Ok, lets face it, it could very well take a year!!

 All I know is that I have a plan and I'm sticking to it!!

Today I thought I would give you a little idea of what our dining room & entry looked like just about three years ago. It's still a work in progress but for sure has evolved with time and Thank the Lord for that!!

I struggled with this wall for years. I thought about painting it with chalk paint, removing the pine boards, buying a large hutch to hide the wall... The list can go on and on. Then one day I decided to just brighten up the whole space. I started with the railings. I was so tired of all the dark stained wood that I just painted everything white. Best thing I ever did!! This room is so much more bright and airy, not stuffy and cold... I painted the pine wall a little over a year ago and I am never looking back!!

This room is still not complete. I am still deciding on what type of open shelving I want on the forever empty wall on the other side of this room. I need to switch out the dinning chairs... I love them, but I'm over them if you know what I mean!! And I've had a tiny issue picking out window treatments. I honestly don't like anything on the windows personally, but they do make a space look complete and gives it an over all cozy feeling.  Please don't judge the before photos, this was way before I had any clue what my style was.... This whole change took literally years of pulling out magazine clippings and thousands of pins later and it's still not 100% where I would love it to be, but I am pretty proud of how the room has evolved in the past two years.

 

BEFORE

BEFORE

BEFORE

PROGRESS

NOW

NOW

NOW

Everyone always asks me "How did you do it?" And all I can say is that I just find inspiration everywhere and document it. I can't tell you how many photos I have from magazines that I have torn out and keep posted in my office. Pinterest, HGTV and following numerous blogs is for sure how I found my style and what I love. I have also learned that it's ok to make up your own rules when decorating your space. When you use what you love it's just a matter of placing things where they look and function best.

Now it's off to Home Depot for paint... Those kitchen cabinets aren't going to paint themselves!!

Have an amazing weekend!!

 



Changing Tastes {my design style}

It's amazing how something you loved two short years ago and had to have suddenly isn't of interest any longer. Now, I'm not talking about how I feel about my hubby by any means because Mr. GB is the best and wouldn't trade him for the world! What I'm referring to here my friends is design style. My tastes have evolved so much and I've learned not to listen to what "experts" say or what others say is right or wrong. I've learned to go with what I like and move from there. For example, ever since I was a little girl I have always loved chalkboards. I loved writing on them and I loved being able to erase and change my mind, not to mention black is my favorite color! So I decided on day to make the side of my large empty pantry cabinet wall a chalkboard and wow the flack I got... I had this one telling me, "Oh no it's just too messy, there will be chalk all over your house!" and my hubby saying "But what if we sell the house!!??" And others just asking me the simple question "Why!!??" Why you ask??? Uhmmm..... maybe because I never followed through on living out my childhood dream of being a teacher, or maybe just because I like it!! And now when people come over and see a chalkboard in every room in our home they just get the fact that I love chalkboards and probably will forever!!

No one has the right to come into your home and tell you that you can't do this or you can't do that! Unless you rent which is a totally different post!!

Your home is your castle and should be a reflection of you and how your home needs to work (and look) best for  you and your family.

People ask me all the time where I "learned" to decorate. Well, it's quite simple really. Over the years and even as a young adult far before I was married with kids, I would collect magazine clippings and read decorating books. When I would go over to people's houses I would actually take note of what I liked about it, how it made me feel and I would put it in my "someday" binder. It was pretty much Pinterest in a binder!! I still do this to this very day, though a camera phone makes it much easier!!

Pinterest is obviously my best friend when it comes to my décor style and how I found it. I didn't always know exactly what I wanted or what I could do. So having Pinterest to fall back on really and truly helped me mold how I want my home to look and feel.

Although Pinterest is a phenomenal tool and I don't really know what I would do without it, you must understand that it's not "Pinterest" that's responsible for helping my design style evolve, but it's actually the people behind the pins! It's the designers and bloggers that really make Pinterest what it is. This fact really does go overlooked which is very sad because if people actually took a moment to click on the link (and hopefully the correct link) they would find the most amazingly talented people behind all these great ideas!! I have over 60,000 pins!!! I know crazy, but I was one of the very first to jump on the Pinterest ban wagon more than four years ago!!

That being said, I did a ton of research to find exactly what I was looking for and who was responsible for such style and décor ideas.

I have a handful of bloggers and designers that I follow faithfully! Pretty much on a daily basis. They are all different and amazing in their own way and that's what I love about them. So if you have ever wondered what my "design style" is you can find a touch if it from the following blogger/designers. Ok, so it's more than a handful, but I just love them all!!

 

 

grand design co.

 

 

chip & Joanna gaines

milk and honey home

jill hinson interiors

holly mathis



house seven

jenna sue design

my sweet savannah

I find décor inspiration everywhere!! I love walking into others homes and seeing how they live and how they decorate! I also find daily inspiration from Instagram which I find myself on more and more!! It's great because it's the "behind the scenes" of bloggers, friends and family and what they are doing on a daily basis!! So much fun!!

So I guess if someone were to ask me my design style right this very moment I guess my answer would be....

A little bit new.... a little bit old... a little bit county... a little bit rock and roll and somewhere in between!!