Decorating State of Mind

The farther along we get on the house, the more I think about what I need for certain areas. I look online for ideas and came across a great blog, One Woman's Cottage Life. I like to pull things from all different areas; the internet, magazines, other homes and friends. This may bore some of you - I apologize for that. I am just putting it all out there so that I can refer back to it and hopefully some of you may have suggestions or more decorating sense than I have. Otherwise, I'll just get overwhelmed and end up putting pictures of my kids everywhere :).

I have mentioned before that Jared wants a rustic house. I am okay with rustic / primitive/ country / antique. But, I don't want to be tied to dead animals (deer) and horses & saddles all over the house. I showed him something tonight from the blog mentioned above and he said that it wasn't western enough. I stopped in his tracks (no pun intended) and told him that I don't want to go all western. He said we could go with the idea I had found. Has he finally given up some control he has over the house, I can only hope. I don't mind horeshoes and stars but they must be able to fit in with my wooden signs and other cute stuff. Fortunately for me, First Monday purchases are non-refundable. He'll have to like what I have bought and where I put it. We'll go for the lodge look and hope to have a happy medium. In all reality, he does not spend enough time inside to care.

So, here are some ideas I have seen and would like to share and get your opinions on. Let me give you a run down of the house and my ideas for each room.

* Entry: it is a big area. Jared wants an antler chandelier and I am okay with that (better than it hanging over my kitchen table). I am going to want a sofa table with decor and I am thinking we may need a big metal star on the wall. I will grin and bear it.

* Office: His grandparents mentioned that they would hook us up with this room. They have a storage shed full of antique furniture, so I hope they do. This may be the dead animal room - the deer heads and stuff. We'll think "old cabin" theme for the office.

* Ashlyn's room and bathroom: We're going pink and brown in both. She is into butterflies and polka-dots. I am down with that. I found the cutest pink glass cabinet knobs online and her cabinets are a brown distressed look, I can't wait to pull it all together. I bought her a brown shower curtain and will tie it up with pink ribbons. I also want to look for wicker baskets for shelves. Her bedspread is plain but it is the sheets that will liven it up. I saw the ensemble at Belk and had to have it all. I got her a wrought iron bed, still need a bed table, dresser and maybe a little desk.

* Living room: We'll need a sectional, recliner and Jared has high hopes for a big flat screen. Theme in here: rustic. You may see some horeshoe candle holders in the great room. I saw in a magazine where they created a bench-turned-coffee- table and adorned it with a quilted runner and some flowers and it was oh, so neat. I'll be on the look out for an old bench. (I also saw the bench used as a sofa table and at the foot of the bed. Maybe I need three...)

* Kitchen: Colors: red, blue and brown. I have bought signs with sayings, milk bottles, wooden stars, shaker boxes and coffee signs and decor. This is what I am little concerned about - my coffee signs. I hope I can pull it all together. I am thinking that if they don't look good on the wall, they'll look good on top of the cabinets. I am searching for the perfect canisters. I would also like to make the tops of my cabinets full of primitive pieces. Another cool idea I came across was a small antique table used as an island. It had a long placemat on it, an old tea pitcher with daisies, an old bowl with fruit and a place setting sitting on it. Way neat. Another simple idea from a magazine was a mason jar with a cute cup-towel placed inside and sticking out the top.

*Dining room: It is painted a barn red. We need a rectangular farmhouse table and chairs. I bought a wooden decorative bowl and stand for the centerpiece. My friend Zan told me how much fun it is to fill it with seasonal things. I am excited. We hope to get a corner hutch.

1/2 Bath: Outhouse theme. I have a country bath sign and a couple of outhouses. We want to do the vessel sink on brick countertop.

Laundry room: Well, it was supposed to be terra-cotta but it turned out orange. It'll wake you up. We have a mud bench in there, so it will be our mud/laundry room. Ideas I have found: a shadowbox that was created by covering a former exterior window with corkboard and then putting the old window frame over it. Then, you fill the box with themed items. I also want to get a big chalkboard with a frame around it to cover some of the orange wall. I really wanted some crosses and flowers in here somewhere. Still trying to determine how I could do this. I love the mud bench I mentioned. There are three cubbies - each child will have a top shelf, hanger for backpacks, and storage under the bench. Got some great ideas at Pottery Barn kids for this - they used buckets and wicker baskets for the storage areas. I bought old /rusted coat hooks at Canton for cheap.

Entry to master bedroom: There is a wall, then a stair closet, then the master bedroom (hard to explain but when you leave the master bedroom, you see this wall). I bought a sign that says "Children are a gift from God" that I am thinking I will put here and then a collage of pictures in different frames. The stair closet may be for storing gifts if I get the lock knob. Ashlyn would really like it to be her play house.

Master Bedroom: I think I have a bedspread that I bought a long time ago. We have a bedroom full of matching furniture. I think I have a sign or two to spruce it up.

Master Bathroom: I am at a loss for this area... need to keep looking / thinking. There is a lot of space to fill. We are thinking about doing a river rock countertop.

Clayson's Room: It is green for a camo theme. I've gotten him some pictures and signs and other decorative things. This room won't be hard.

Trey's Room: It is blue for fishing. I've also gotten him pictures and signs. He wants a fish aquarium. I'd like to get some fake trees to put in here, fishing net and a bait bucket.

Boys bathroom: I went a little crazy at Bass Pro Shop and got them antler toilet paper holder and some other hunting and fishing things. This will be a combination of both worlds.

Gameroom: (is in front of the boys room and bathroom) As much as I would like to do skateboards, motorcycles, Hannah Montana metal signs and stuff I am wondering how it would be with the hunting and fishing all around it. Maybe this could be the montage room - a little bit of everything. Ashlyn will have her stage up here and this is where the boys' TV and game stations will be.


Random ideas:
* Take old shutters and prop them against the wall for hanging pictures or other things on. My aunt actually did this and they are neat to have. I was blessed to get one of my Granny's that they had made her.
* I see old books and hymnals everywhere with things on top of them or beside them.
* Window planter with terra-cotta pots that could hold pens and paper if kept by the phone or other items depending on its location.
*Cute baskets filled with bathroom towels, soap sitting on bathroom counter.


That's all I've got for now. Please share your ideas and/ or suggestions. I hope you weren't too bored in my room-by-room interior decorating ramblings!