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I lived with it a few weeks and found it to be great for housing my stash of Ghirardelli peppermint chocolate candies. However, the color scheme was really not fitting into my kitchen – I have absolutely no green in my decor and I just wasn’t feeling that blue railing with the burgundy door and green siding.

So I decided to paint it. For some reason I was a little hesitant for fear of “ruining it,” but I figured I had nothing to lose as I wasn’t fully enjoying it “as is.”

Being torn between blue and white, I decided on a very pale blue – “Little Whale” by Fusion Mineral Paint. It reminds me of snow at dusk – white with just a hint of dusty blue.

It took 4 very light coats to cover. Here’s how it looked after the first coat – not great!

Don’t worry about the first coat – or even the second or third – when you’re using Fusion on a ceramic piece. The first coat(s) are really just to adhere to the surface and get a foundation for subsequent layers. If you end up with some uneven spots, wait until it’s dry and lightly sand between coats.

Voile!

Since I already had the paint, the whole thing only cost me $3. It’s amazing what a little paint can do! If you’re not loving an item, don’t be afraid to try a little paint on it. It fits so much better with my decor now:

Unfortunately all my peppermint chocolates are gone…I guess I’ll have to get more of those…

Blessings,
Melissa

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Only two days until Christmas!

I’ve been excited but also a little frazzled this season because I finished gift shopping and wrapping much later than I usually do! I’m not so sure wrapping far in advance would’ve done me much good this year anyway, though – we’ve had to block off the tree with a baby gate because baby girl is determined to pull off every ornament and strand of ribbon that she can. She also likes to tear up paper and eat it, so one can imagine what she would do to wrapped gifts…

Side note – one time during a trip to Target, I was trying to keep her happy, so I let her see a stuffed animal as we walked around the store. By the time we got to the checkout I realized she had eaten a piece of the cardboard tag!! Mom fail. I felt it was only right to purchase the toy at that point [insert face palm here]. Thankfully it was one of those dollar spot items!

Seeing as Christmas is upon us, I’d thought I’d share a few glimpses of Christmas decor around our house. I don’t decorate every single room – I simply don’t have the time and resources for that. I pretty much keep it to our main living spaces.

A little greenery over the window, some wreaths on the cabinets, and a few Christmasy touches on the counters…Found that fresh greenery at Trader Joe’s for only $7.99! (You can find the curtain tutorial here.)

Wreaths – World Market
Greenery – Trader Joe’s
Sign – Michael’s
Rug – HomeGoods

My little tiered-tray winter village… Back when I was pregnant with my first child, I would come home from work every day around Christmastime and work on making these little pine cone people. (That was back when my evenings were so carefree! Ha!) I made about 20 total, and gave them as gifts in groups of 3 to family members.

I found inspiration for these on Pinterest, but didn’t follow any kind of pattern – I just made my own little pattern on paper and went from there! I love making homemade gifts – anything from crafts to fresh bread from the bread maker! I’d love to hear about any homemade gifts you make! Leave me a comment below!

Tiered tray – Marshall’s
Houses – Hobby Lobby

I love how red pops against this white pew. It’s going to be hard to beat that vibrant, cheery contrast once Christmas is over! And doesn’t that green vintage ladder lend itself to star ornaments? I found that 20-ft fresh greenery also at Trader Joe’s for only $9.99(!) and topped it with some dried oranges and homemade salt dough hearts. Instant cozy.

Big wreath – World Market
Baskets & little houses – Joann Fabric
Pew Paint – Rustoleum “Chalked” in Linen White
Striped Blanket – Michael’s
Pillows – HomeGoods
Wall Color – “Urban Raincoat” by Behr
Curtain fabric – by Lush Fabric (curtain tutorial here)

Our dining area sideboard… This decor is extra special, as those wood slices under the houses came from our beloved tree we had to have taken down back in August. We were so sorry to see the tree go – it was big, beautiful, and original to the house, but we were at least able to preserve its memory in this way.

Flocked Trees – At Home Stores
Sign, Runner, Large House, & Beaded Garland – Hobby Lobby
Small Houses – World Market
Bottle Brush Trees – Pier1

Have you ever watched “Christmas in Connecticut?” It’s a great classic Christmas movie and I highly recommend watching it if you haven’t! Well, the main character, Elizabeth Reed, is a writer who has a home-making column in the newspaper. She is extremely popular for her stories about her farm, all her fancy recipes, and so on. The only problem? She doesn’t have a farm and she can’t cook. I won’t spoil it for you, but sometimes I feel just a bit like Elizabeth Reed – not because what I post is false, but because what you see is not necessarily how we live every day. That’s probably pretty typical of most bloggers – most don’t show you the bottle drying rack on the kitchen counter…though some will.

Well, that was totally the case with this table setting. I set this all up with absolutely no plans to actually use it, knowing that I would have to take it down immediately after its photo shoot. Why? Because it’s our only table – we eat 3 meals a day here – and fancy linen runners and toddlers don’t exactly mix well!

So why did I even bother? Because I enjoy creating pretty things and sharing ideas and inspiration with you. It makes me happy. Big thanks to my husband who watched the kids while I took photos and didn’t roll his eyes too much when I made him eat lunch standing at the kitchen counter!

Bottle Brush Trees & Window Wreath – Pier1
Table Runner – HomeGoods
Chargers & Napkins – Hobby Lobby
Plate wreaths – Joann Fabric
Candlesticks – Vintage
Table Paint – Fusion Mineral Paint in “Lamp White”
Table Stain – Minwax Gel Stain in “Coffee” (table makeover here)
Curtains – Ikea “Vivan”
Wall Color – “Urban Raincoat” by Behr

Winter printables and rustic touches create a cozy vibe that can last beyond Christmas! I like to make the “base layer” of my Christmas decor just plain wintery so that I can strip away the overtly “Christmasy” stuff and still be set through January!

It helps ease that awkward period between Christmas and springtime!

Printables – click here
Frames – HomeGoods
Bench – Facebook Marketplace (see makeover here)
Throw – At Home Stores
Milk Can – GoodWill
Flocked Pine – Home Depot
Star – Local shop
Wall Color – “Urban Raincoat” by Behr

It’s amazing how one photo can have so many memories in it: the Christmas tree we had so much fun finding at a tree farm (in spite of it being bitterly cold!)…our family’s ornaments, both old and new…the vintage tree skirt and star sewn by my husband’s grandma…my beloved piano that I’ve had since I started playing at age 7, which my grandmother helped purchase in spite of having very little money, because she wanted me to have a quality instrument…

Christmas brings forth so many memories – both joyful and difficult ones. The same grandmother who helped buy my piano passed away the very next year shortly after Christmas. I was 8 years old. I miss her dearly and think of her often, but I take comfort in the fact that I will see her again one day.

I pray that whatever memories and feelings you are having this season that you may find peace, comfort, and joy in the true reason for Christmas – our Savior, Jesus Christ.

A very Merry CHRISTmas to you and yours!

~ Soli Deo Gloria ~

We tore out our old kitchen and dining room the first week of November 2017. Doesn’t everyone tear out their main cooking, eating, and living space right before the holidays? We also had a 9-month-old baby. We were probably nuts, but it seemed a time to do it, as my husband had vacation and parental leave time available. Needless to say, we didn’t host any gatherings that holiday season and anything we took to other people’s houses was store-bought!

We had been planning this remodel for months and dreaming of it ever since we bought the house. The kitchen hadn’t been touched since the 80s. It was dark, cramped, and falling apart. Ironically, it was the only room in the house with carpet. The walls and range hood smelled of old cooking grease, there was a rusted-out microwave above the oven, the cabinets were being held together with duct tape, and we had to set the oven 20 degrees hotter than we actually wanted it.

We lived with it for 2 years until we were ready for a complete gut job. Don’t get me wrong – I’m very thankful for our house, but we were ready for a fresh space! Living through a kitchen remodel is no small undertaking, and doing it all yourself is an even bigger task, so we wanted to be sure we were good and ready before tearing it all out!

In light of all this reminiscing, I thought it would be fun to share some before, during, & after photos with you all!

Before

(Just a note – those recessed lights you see below were not there when we moved in – my husband put those in about a year before our remodel because I couldn’t see to do the dishes in the evening. They stayed when we did the remodel.)

This photo gives you a little better idea of how dark it was before the recessed lights:

The dining room was through that door next to the fridge. The door to the garage is next to that.

That space was SO narrow (see below) – it was literally about 20 inches between the fridge and oven. We had to turn the baby carrier long-ways to get our son in from the garage!

The dining room – just a plain room with a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. We had taken down the old chandelier for fear it was a fire-hazard (the wiring looked pretty iffy). This is how our dining set looked until recently – you can see the makeover in The Dining Table That Could.

During

Then, the first week of November…bam! Gutted! Thank you to our family and friends who helped rip everything out! (You’re looking at the door to the garage below.)

We tore down the wall between the kitchen and dining room (non-load-bearing of course!). (You’re looking at the dining room window below.)

Below is the bay window where our antique church pew now sits:

Our living room became a hotel-style eating area. It wasn’t pretty, but setting it up like this worked well – we had our basic pantry items, a microwave, disposable plates and utensils, etc. We washed dishes and baby bottles in plastic storage tubs set inside of the bathtub.

Our old refrigerator took up residence in our family room.

My husband rigged up our old stove on top of the dryer in the basement so I could still cook simple stovetop meals. No one ever said kitchen remodels were glamorous!

In the weeks leading up to our remodel, I would often double or triple recipes and freeze the extra, so that we could pull it out later and just heat it in the microwave. It worked well! Two of our favorites that reheated well were lasagna (cut into portions and wrapped) and white chicken chili. We also had a few convenience foods on hand just to make it easier on ourselves (me!). I think we went out to eat maybe 2 or 3 times during this whole process. Eating out can get so expensive (and old!), so I highly recommend the tips above if you’re planning a kitchen remodel.

Our whole main living space became a construction site – it was cramped and often loud! Shout out to my parents for letting baby boy and me crash at their place frequently!

My husband never ceases to amaze me. He is a tremendously hard worker. He was working a full time job, occasionally traveling for work, and rebuilding a kitchen from the studs up. He was able to use some vacation time as well as holiday time-off to get a lot of the work in on this kitchen. We designed it together, and he did just about everything himself with help from family and friends. There were two things we had professionally done: granite countertop installation and floor re-finishing (my husband laid the new wood floor, but we had it all professionally sanded and stained).

Things began coming together. The dining room already had hardwood, which we kept (it’s under that cardboard) and we laid wood in the kitchen. We would later have it all refinished to match.

Oh, and did I mention we were replacing our entryway floors too? The tile that had been there was old and chipping, so we decided to replace it with hardwood and have it refinished with the rest of the space. Our house was such a mess!

A HUGE thank you to my father-in-law who assisted my husband with so many different aspects of this project – everything from electrical to drywall to cabinets and more. Thank you so much!

Our little guy LOVED watching them work!

It was starting to look like a kitchen!

We made it through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. (Note the shiny new fridge in our family room – Woohoo! – and the high tech plywood gate to keep out the mobile baby!)

Finally, by mid-January the kitchen was functional enough that I could start cooking in it! It was still far from complete, but it was sure nice to have a kitchen again! In case you’re wondering, it took a little over 2 months to get from demolition to this point.

We left our new refrigerator in the family room until we had our floors refinished in May. So our fridge spent a good 6+ months in the family room! It kind of became a joke after we moved it into the kitchen, because I kept going into the family room to get milk and butter!

We hosted our son’s 1st birthday party in February with cardboard on the floor, no window or door trim, no backsplash, no outlet covers, and no cabinet hardware! It was still a good time and one to remember for sure!

Fast forward to May (these are the floors before refinishing – and the old curtains!). This is the view from the dining room into the living room. You can see how the kitchen flows into the dining area, which flows into the living room, which flows into the entryway. We decided to have all these floors refinished at one time to make it cohesive.

(You can see the new hardwood my husband laid in the entryway below.)

Just for fun – this is how the entryway used to look – wood screens and old chipping tile. Please excuse the mess. This was the only picture I could find.

Fun story – I snapped this picture as we were decorating our Christmas tree back in 2016. I was pregnant with our first child, and my husband and I randomly just decided to tear out those wood screens in the middle of tree decorating!

So with floor refinishing, we were back to our house being in more chaos. We stayed with my parents for a week because of the fumes. Thanks, Mom & Dad! (Just FYI – this is before we redid the family room!)

I’ll never forget that day in June – 7 months after demolition day – when the fridge was finally moved into its proper location, we finally installed a dining room chandelier, and our last building inspection had been signed off. We took that building permit sign out of the front window and breathed a sigh of relief!

And about a week later I found out I was pregnant. Life is never boring!

After

I never really thought I would get the white kitchen I had always wanted – but I did, and I am so very grateful! This really is a dream come true. It’s a space in which I love cooking while visiting with loved ones. It’s a space which my husband and I designed and built together as a team. It required hard work, patience, perseverance, and teamwork. It was hard, but so worth it!

Our house was a constant construction site for 3 years with project after project, culminating with this kitchen remodel, which was our largest project.

Even after the kitchen was done, we spent a few more months replacing trim throughout the house, converting our office into a big boy room before baby #2 came, and so on. I can’t tell you how good it feels to finally be done with major projects.

I felt like I could finally start decorating our house after living there for 3 years! It hadn’t really been worth it before as things were in constant upheaval.

I am so very grateful for the experiences we have shared as a family through all this, the memories we have made, the ways we have grown, and the enjoyment we now get to have in our special space. We have truly shaped it into our home.

Details:

Wall Color: “Urban Raincoat” by Behr
Trim: Ultra Pure White
Flooring: White Oak stained in Minwax “Provincial”
Cabinets: Custom Wood Products through Callier & Thompson – Soft White finish
Cabinet Hardware: Combo of Home Depot & Amazon
Countertops: River White Granite from Arch City Granite
Dining Table: Fusion Mineral Paint “Lamp White” & Minwax “Coffee” gel stain (makeover post can be found here)
Appliances: GE (refrigerator is counter-depth), except Dishwasher (Maytag)
Faucet: Delta

Have you ever watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas?” Well, if you are familiar with it, you know that part when all the kids are making fun of that twig of a tree and Charlie Brown tells them all that he doesn’t care…that it will be perfect…and besides, that little tree needs him? That, my friends, is how I felt about this antique church pew.

This church pew, which I purchased several weeks ago at Vintage Market Days of St. Louis, is a bit quirky – I’ll get to that in a minute – and wasn’t in great shape, but it had potential and I wanted to turn it into something both beautiful and functional. I’m so excited to finally be able to share with you all!

For quite a while I had been searching for a church pew to put in the bay window of our kitchen. It seemed like everything I would find was either the wrong size, the wrong style, or too expensive. We had thought about a built-in window seat, but decided it against it for several reasons:

1. The room is already a bit small and a solid seating area might make it feel even tighter.
2. My husband wanted to be able to see the hardwood floor he laid (I don’t blame him), so we didn’t want to cover it up.
3. There is an air vent right under the window which we would have to re-route if we did built-ins. It could be done, but would definitely make it more complicated.

And…I like vintage church pews. Kind of fits with the Hymns & Home theme, am I right?

So… it’s quirky! Here’s why: at some point along the way, one side of it was replaced, so the two ends are not the same! The two ends have different curves, differently sized knobs, and one side is plain while the other has a decorative panel.

Does this bother me? Not in the slightest!

When my husband was initially listing all the work this pew was going to need and basically telling me that this thing was a mess, I told him it has character! His reply? “That’s a LOT of character…more like emotional baggage!” Haha. We laughed.

So exactly how much work needed to be done? Well…

• There was a big gap between the front board and the seat where they were not meeting up (the seat was not being supported well on that end!).
• The front board was broken on one end.
• The original side was pulling away from the main body of the pew.

• There were nails sticking out in places.
• The person who attached the new side whacked it into place with a hammer, leaving hammer dings all over the end of the pew. Doh!

• Oh, and the replacement end must have been the wrong height, because someone did some serious retrofitting to attach it!

It was pretty rough, it bowed in the middle when you sat on it, and was a dingy brown color. Even more than making it look pretty, making it safe for our little kids to sit on was our priority.

My handy hero hubby fixed all of those things – filled all the holes and dings, removed and replaced the dangerous nails, reattached the ends, got the seat aligned properly and filled the gap with a new piece of wood. What a guy! Thank you so much, my dear!

I gave the pew 3 coats of Rustoleum Chalked Paint in “Linen White.” This is the second time I’ve used the Rustoleum Chalked line, and I’ve been pleased both times! It’s a very affordable but nice paint. Not as many color options as some other lines, but if they have a color you like, give it a try!

My son (age 2.5) helped paint the back of the pew. It was so much fun – while baby girl was napping, he and I listened to Christmas music down in my husband’s workshop and painted together. He stood on a wooden box, wearing one of my old t-shirts as a smock…it was precious. I just had to remind him a few times to paint the pew and not daddy’s table! Oops.

Now it’s all decked out for Christmas! My son loves sitting on it while eating his afternoon snack, and I can envision my kids hanging out there to read books or do homework in the future, visiting with me as I cook dinner.

Have you ever saved a piece that “needed” you? I’d love to hear about it!

I had been looking for something to break up all the white. I mean, I love the brightness of my white kitchen – it’s what I’ve always wanted – but it just needed some contrast.

Enter my love of black and white buffalo check. Or is it gingham? I don’t know, but I love it and actually have a dress that is black and white gingham from Shabby Apple (got it a few years back and it’s no longer available – sorry!).

After seeing Miss Mustard Seed’s tutorial for curtains made from linen, I decided that’s what I wanted in my kitchen – only, in black and white gingham. While I did not use her design or pattern, she did inspire me to use linen to get that perfect drapey look with slightly raw edges!

One little problem, though: We have wood blinds in our kitchen – NEW wood blinds – and we love the versatility, ease, and privacy they provide. Also, given my perfectionistic tendencies, I didn’t think it would be the best idea to have to tie up and let down the curtains every day. I would forever be adjusting them to get them “just right.” And if my poor husband was to try to do it – well, I’m sure I would be obnoxiously “fixing” them!

So…

I decided to make my own faux tie-up curtains, meaning they look like the real deal but will never move. I can pull the wood blinds all the way up and they are hidden by the curtains. Yay!

Now before you run away saying, “but I want REAL, functional tie-up curtains,” don’t worry – you can still follow this tutorial and make them functional. You’ll just need more fabric than I used.

And…I had one more issue…

Both in our bay window and over the sink there is pretty much no room for a curtain rod. Like, zero room, and if we were going to keep the blinds, I couldn’t use a tension rod inside the window frame.

Hmm.

Right or wrong, I came up with a solution: since I would be using a very lightweight fabric, I would use the decorative front piece of the blinds as my “curtain rod.” I would not try doing this with heavier fabric!

Tutorial

Let me begin by saying that this is not rocket science – I made this up as I went along, and it worked. I was able to finish these in one afternoon/evening, pausing for a few hours in the middle to make dinner and get the kids to bed. It does involve sewing, but please know I am pretty much the world’s worst seamstress (ask my mom!), and if I can do it so can you! You only need to be able to sew a relatively straight line.

I used this black and white gingham fabric from Amazon. (Did you know you can order fabric by the yard from Amazon?) It is gorgeous and drapey and everything I wanted!

Tap here to buy the fabric I used!

(I love my Gingher dressmaker’s shears pictured above – if you do any amount of sewing or fabric crafts, do yourself a favor and buy some good sewing scissors! It makes all the difference in getting a clean cut!)

#1. Determine how much fabric you need:

Now, I’m totally not a math person, and I get easily confused when measuring, but somehow I managed this without trouble.

My fabric was 55 inches wide. Since my “rods” were 43 inches wide (less than the width of the fabric), and I didn’t need the fabric to reach all the way to the bottom of the window, I settled for 1 yard of fabric per window, plus an extra yard for making all the ties. I had 3 windows, so I ordered 4 yards of fabric.

Measure the width of your rod(s) as they will be when they are in their final position, not including any finials or decorations on the end. We’re just looking at the actual part on which the curtain will be hanging.

Decide if you want the fabric to reach all the way to the sill to be functional or if you want it to be a “faux” curtain, in which case you don’t need as much fabric and can save some money. Be sure to measure the diameter of your rod or whatever you are using to see how big the rod pocket will need to be. You will need enough fabric to wrap around the rod, plus some extra for seam allowance and wiggle room to get the rod through. Remember, you can always fit a smaller rod in a bigger pocket, but not the other way around!

#2. Gather Supplies

• Fabric:
  • Desired curtain width + 2 inches for hemming = total fabric width needed
    Desired curtain length + 1 inch for bottom hem + ? inches for rod pocket = total length needed
    Extra fabric for ties
    • 1 yard was plenty for 6 faux-curtain ties. You will need a longer length for functional curtains – this will be double the length of your curtains, plus extra for tying a bow. You could use ribbon if you don’t want to buy this much extra fabric, or you could sew two strips together and put the seam behind the curtains to hide it.

• Sewing Machine
• Thread to coordinate with your fabric (I used white)
• Sewing Scissors (sharp sewing scissors really make a difference!)
• Fabric Measuring Tape/Ruler
• Straight Pins
• Curtain Rod(s) (I’m not covering how to hang a curtain rod.)

#3 – Cut your fabric to the right size. See above for measuring details.

#4 – Pin the side hems of each piece. To make it easy on myself, I folded the fabric so that one line of squares was in half, which ended up being about 1/2″.

NOTE: Make sure you’re folding your hem over to the back side (the “wrong” side) of your fabric. You want the “right side” to be the front of your curtain!

#5 – Sew a straight line down each pinned side.

#6 – Pin the bottom hem on each piece, as you did for the sides, and sew a straight line across each bottom edge.

#7 – Measure and pin your rod pocket. Mine was extra wide, because it was going on the front decorative piece of the blinds (see above for explanation).

#8 – Sew a straight line across to make the rod pocket.

Now, as an aside, I will show you how I made this work with my blinds. If this doesn’t interest you, skip down to #9. Here is the decorative front piece of the blinds on which I hung the curtains:

See all those little clips? Yeah, I had to make sure I could still clip them to the blinds, so I snipped tiny holes in the back of my rod pocket like this:

Then I put the clips through the holes and secured them, like this:

Sorry that’s a horrid picture, but I was working with my phone camera at, like, 9pm trying to get this done without waking the kids.

Even if I ever wanted to hang these with a “real” rod, no one would ever see those little holes in the back, so it doesn’t ruin them by any means.

#9 – Thread your curtain(s) onto the rod(s) and hang.

(Side note – this is what 1 yard of fabric looks like in length on my very long window after hemming and rod pocket, but before tying up.)

#10 – Decide how wide you want your ties to be, and cut 2 strips per window. I went with one “square” wide which was about 1.5″. I cut them width-wise from the fabric, so that each strip was 55″ long.

NOTE: If you’re working with gingham like I was, or something similar, the different “rows” of color on your fabric will give you different looks. Allow me to show you. See how two strips below are white & gray and two are black & gray:

They’re all from the same piece of fabric, but alternating rows. I would not advise mixing them as ties on one curtain. Choose either two of the lighter or two of the darker. If you mix them, you end up with something like this:

Looks a little wonky, huh? Thought I’d share my mistake to spare you the trouble!

#11 – Drape your ties over the curtain rod like this:

#12 – Bunch up your curtain on one side:

#13 – Tie with a bow.

#14 Repeat on the other side.

Done!

P.S. That bench isn’t there anymore – it’s painted and in a new location! Now I have a church pew in this window and can’t wait to work on it and show you soon!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Oh, and thanks, Mom, for letting me borrow your sewing machine!