Living space...

(picture above; on my bookshelves in living room... antique horse bookends holding back the complete knowledge of the Harvard Book Series)
take a ride around my living room...

This place needed some funkin' up... some place worthy of my record collection...
of part of the collection of books we own...
somewhere HAPPY!

SOMEWHERE TO INSPIRE! play games... make music!!!!!!!!!
when we first purchased our farm house... there was pink ruffles on the windows (not a pretty pink) that were sooo dusty that they got pitched pronto...
brace yourselves...
here's what the room looked like after we installed new windows, and a good cleaning... and a few pieces of furniture to rest our tired bones...
but it need sooooo much more...

okay... here we go!...
before;

can anyone say "80's dark?" it didn't help with our furniture being dark, curtains being dark, but on even a bright day, it was dreary in there... I like cabins... I would live in a cabin... but this farm house is not a cabin
we were under so much renovation, I grabbed a $1/yard fabric to quickly put up window treatments... something that would totally block out onlookers... you know... the 10 cars that pass our farm house out here on a weekly basis (just kidding... kind of)

Our home was built around 1910 — 1920 (no clear documents)... it's the second house on this farm land... first came the barn (the one that burned) and the corn crib, which we still have!

and we both like keeping true to the style of the house... And being that my husband is a carpenter... and a fine one at that... he treats our home like Monet to canvas... he uses paint brushes onto wood, and hammers and nails...

details... like bead board... black walnut... and a very high end paint...

crown molding... and an arched top graces the top of the bookshelves...

Our floors were to stay 'as is'... the oak flooring is beautifully laid out in an intricate design...

we also painted the dark original bead board the same creamy white...

it's a love affair between my husband's carpenter side and all the original oak 6 panel doors and trim, and the contemporary and light feel of creamy white...

Most importantly...

my husband and I both wanted to have it feel like our home... not someone else's idea of style, but ours... all of these things mean something to us, and as GKChesterton has said:

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

we just happen to agree with that

and now, it looks something like this:

my love for sailing items, came from the years of sailing I did when i lived at home...

and is echoed everywhere in this room...

from the little oils from my grandfather, to the wooden turtle we purchased on a trip to Maui...

the oil paintings depicting sailing, that I have collected seem to find me...

as well as that shadow box of tying sailing knots (which i only remember a few!)...

the new white crown, and the bead board... let's my other oils shine...

and let's in so much more light...

the curtains echo those of the dining room (fabric I found at an estate sale) — with over sized tabs in vintage red/white ticking... and the main curtain is an original French linen tablecloth, that I just couldn't cut up, but sewed the rings right onto the linen...

time to get off the ride, but I do hope I have given you a soft place to land...
this is a place where I feel at home
this is a place that is an accumulation of our lives, in full color
this is home
~until next time~