| | | |

Rearranging the house and an announcement

I mentioned a few posts back that I’ve been busy rearranging the house. This happens every year after the Christmas decor comes down, once the pine needles and inevitable broken ornaments are swept up, I’m ready for a fresh start. Thanks to my mother in law, I had a HomeGoods gift card burning a hole in my pocket. So, this is post 1 in my little rearrange the whole house and see how long it takes the Mr. to notice (spoiler alert 4 days before he noticed this little change).

Basket Wall Decor

You may remember this cute print from my fall tour, it was one of those things I fell in love with at a local shop (Al Fresco in Hastings, Michigan for you locals). I had no idea where I wanted to put it, but just felt like it belonged in my home. Until I got it home and it was just too small everywhere I put it…enter this ginormous basket from HomeGoods.

Basket Wall DecorAgain just something I had to have, but it was way too big for putting on our ottoman like I intended.

Dear too ginormous basket, meet itty bitty, too small wall art…it was like match. com for lost and lonely home decor items. :)

I hung the basket up first and then pounded a really long nail through the basket into the wall to hang the print up as well. Voila, a little winter freshening up in the front entryway!

Basket Wall Decor

You see that door jamb to the right of the wine rack? Well, in the interest of keeping it real over here in 2015, I’d like to introduce you to my guest room, we lovingly refer to as the black hole…prepare yourself…

A living room filled with a mess

Don’t you want to come over for the night?

No?

I mean we could probably find a corner for you to curl up in…yeah all of you always wondering how my house is so picked up and organized?…

Well, this is where everything goes when it’s in home decor limbo land. The chair is the latest addition that is awaiting it’s new home somewhere out there on craigslist.

I have promised the Mr. that I will tackle this room by February because you see that treadmill back there, the Mr. actually likes to torture himself by running on it. I like to think I’m just adding to his workout by throwing a few hurdles in there for him to jump through first. It’s like his very own off road obstacle course, be jealous.

Image wall art

This is what happens when you don’t have a basement people, sad but true.

Oh and you all are like, “is this the announcement? That you have some scary black hole in your house where you may be hoarding an entire family of throw pillows?”

No, no, thanks to the reader survey and your fabulous ideas, I’ve decided to start a new segment here on the blog featuring you! I’d like to try to answer some of your design dilemmas, so here’s what I need you to do –  Send me a photo (or a few) of a space you need help with and some info about the space. I’ll pick one every few weeks to feature, with some ideas and design boards to help spark your imagination. You can send them to my email [email protected]

A plant in a container

Sound fun? Good, can’t wait to hear from you!

Similar Posts

38 Comments

  1. I really enjoy your blog including the pictures of both yours and your mom’s house. Very inspirational. I also greatly appreciate the fact that you have a Black Hole room and are willing to share it. It makes you very relatable and makes your blog just that more enjoyable! Thanks ! Sherri

    1. Hi Danyel, oh I made this out of an old black wine rack that I painted white and then used our old dock to make the top. It was one of my very first blog projects!

  3. Hahahaha!!!! I love your black hole!! Hubby and I were just talking the other day about renting storage space in town for all my decorating crap. We have a basement but it’s scary … it’s more like a cellar. I hate to go down there so everything gets stored upstairs and we’re running out of room.

  4. Seeing your chaos room is such a relief! I have so many design dilemmas going on with our own lake-front house reno, that I will have to pick one room to send along to get your ideas. Looking froward to seeing other homes and idea boards too. I have to say this blog is just FULL of the type of home decor inspiration that I like.

  5. i have loving looked at home blogs for over a year…I love them but inside i sometimes feel bad about my cute house..i think i’ve only commented once or twice on a blog..Thanks for showing me that messy guest room…it made my year

    1. Hi Anne, oh my goodness if you only knew the half of it. Us bloggers are always just moving piles of junk around to get pretty pinterest shots but our homes totally do not look perfect all the time that’s for sure :) We actually dug out some of the guest room this weekend and now the Mr. can at least get to his treadmill without breaking a leg ha!

  6. This is my first time commenting – I’ve seen your blog a few times and think I need to spend some time (or an entire weekend) going back through it all! Anyway, wanted to say that I, too, loved seeing the chaos room! For us that’s how our back room in the basement looks – like an episode of hoarders! Goodness knows we’d be in trouble if the furnace ever needed servicing….you can’t get to it! Most of our junk is on “hold” for a garage sale in the spring….but we just HAD a garage sale last spring! Where does it all come from? Now I’m thinking it all may need to be donated somewhere. I hate the idea that it could make us some money to spend on our summer vacation, but I’m also so stressed at the mess it’s making that I don’t know if it’s worth it! Anyway, thanks for keeping it real in blogland!

    1. Oh I just went thru this dilemma this weekend! I was hoarding things for a garage sale too but in the end decided my sanity wasn’t worth it. Took 2 trips to the thrift store to donate things and now you can actually walk into this room, it’s still a mess but walking in is an improvement :)

  7. Your basket/art vignette inspired my own Aha! moment. I’ve been wanting to hang a large round basket (also purchased for the top of my ottoman) on my wall, but thought it looked a little lonely and blah. It needs a little “somethin’, somethin'”. I’ll find a piece of art I can repurpose from another room…shop at home. Problem solved! Thanks.

  8. Hi Kelly! Love the changes. Didn’t think it was possible to improve upon perfection. Your posts always crack me up. Btw, the picture you mentioned in your post? I sell it in my store. Just thought I’d mention in case any of yours readers are interested.
    Enjoy the rest of your week!
    Kim

  9. hello Kelly, I ‘m reading your blog since a few months and I love it . You have a nice house and so lovely ideas . Yes , I want to play with you !! My study- sewing place- music room- is also a chaos and the place where all disorder is waiting . I’ld like for a long time to have this room , nice ,quiet and peaceful . Just let me the time to have a picture of it and perhaps you will help me ….
    I wish you an happy new year from France and lot of happiness
    Sincerely,
    Sylvie

  11. OMG Kelly – don’t miss the opportunity. Make it into a workout room!! Just think of it – he will be soooooo happy but you can put your own touches to it — feminine – you know what I mean. Heh, heh, heh!! The treadmill could be the center – but do you have pink weights? How about some really good work out pictures? Go for it — make it into a female workout room extraordinaire. !!Put a juice bar in there — I have to think on this but I could come up with some inspiring touches and I’m sure you could out think me. Go for it.

    1. Ha ha, I definitely have plans to make it more functional and a little more attractive than it is now at least :) just need to get thru a million other projects first!

  12. Well…let me tell you…I thought I was alone. Not so according to your messy room. I too love a styled, neatly organized main space, yet also have a “mom den” from a bad episode of Hoarders. That said…I am excited about the new segment of your blog. We are currently designing a reno of a home we just purchased (one week ago today). We’re going to live in our current home and put it up for sale while we’re working on the new house. I’ll be sending photos and looking for suggestions very soon.

    p.s. I love the basket/art idea. I collect trays as well and it’s such a neat way to display them. Thanks again!

  13. EEEKK! Finally someone who can help me figure out what to do with my bedroom!! Now I just need to tidy it up enough to take a pic and send it over!
    Oh and don’t worry about that room, in my house it’s called the craft room and I usually get around to organizing when i have to jump over boxes just to find my desk..Which is right about now actually =/

  14. Love that your so honest.. Also love love love the idea of showcasing other people’s homes and giving therm ideas. Can’t wait to send you a picture!. Love your site, keep the good ideas coming!!!

  15. Oh you’re in trouble now! My whole house is a design disaster waiting for a kind woman to come along and rescue it! Haha. Now if I could just be granted a few thousand dollars and a month off of work, then I’d be set.

  16. I am new to your site, Kelly, and I couldn’t be more excited about your offer to help us decorating-disfunctional readers. I have been wanting to adopt a cottage look in my home for years now, but I have no fashion sense and can’t-for-the-life-of-me figure out how to utilize the space I have in an effective way. My “cottage” is small, and yet I have large gaps in the floor plan everywhere. I hate clutter, so that is one piece of the puzzle. Can’t wait to take some pics and send them to you. I need help STAT! Love your site! Thanks, Lori

  18. I saw this basket at HomeGoods and HAVE to go back for it. I have a serious problem with trays, and this one is to die for! Great minds think alike…btw, it does my heart good to know you have this unorganized room :)!

  19. I absolutely LOVE how you framed the art with the basket :) Totally thinking outside the box as always. Can I say that seeing your guest room was refreshing? I look at your house and swoon over how clean, crisp and beautiful it is and think…there must be a trick. It was great to see you are just like me…neat and organized with a little bit a of chaos :) xo Liz http://www.4evermysweetpea.com

    1. Thanks so much Elizabeth! Yes the trick is to shove all the junk in the room and shut the door quick before you are buried alive :)

  20. Hahaha!! One of my favorite posts you’ve done so far! I love the basket/picture on the wall! Thanks so much for the laughs, but mostly thanks for showing that although your home is absolutely gorgeous, it’s not “perfect”! Makes me feel so much better.

Comments are closed.