This post and the projects in it have been a long time coming. And, I don't just mean since we've updated our furniture a few weeks ago. I've been dying to have my way with this space of ours since we moved upstairs and I realized that, quite literally, everything in this room was brown. The furniture, the trim, the accent wall and curtains, even the carpet was a shade of tan. I've always loved this room. It's so warm and cozy. But, this new furniture set completely transforms it! It went from being so very basic and boring (and well, blah-ish) to a room that I genuinely enjoy and cannot get enough of!
I've got so many pictures to share, sources and similar product links (also, a very comical (now) story about bringing it home..) so, please just bear with me and I hope you'll enjoy the read!
We purchased our brown microfiber set the year we were expecting our second child, about eight years ago. I remember being big and pregnant and thinking, I love these SO MUCH. We had been married about three years and, like all newlyweds, had a house full of "hand me down" furniture up to that point. We were just beginning to make some purchases for ourselves and this was one of our first. I'll admit that it served us so well. And I was able to sell it for a great price so, that helped a lot with the purchase of this new set!
I knew I wanted a "farmhouse style" sofa set this time around but, convincing the hubby would be a bit of a struggle. He's come a long way in the decor department since we were married though and, in the end, he completely agreed on the set that I loved the most. Now, before you say, "Nichole, you got white?... You have four boys and you got WHITE?!". I totally get the hesitation for most people. However, we don't allow our boys to eat on the couch. Never have, don't see us beginning to allow it anytime soon (hello, boys just get messier don't they?). So, white is totally not a problem for us. Glen and I occasionally eat on them, usually after our boys are in bed at night, but, nothing too messy so, I think we'll be fine there. If anything I'll just need to do a little spot cleaning every now and then so, I'm not too worried.
This set was a floor model sitting in the very first place we looked and I was immediately drawn to it. We went a few other places but, eventually came back to it, obviously. The couch was the very last one so, we bought it as is (but in perfect condition). The ottoman and chair, however, were brand new. Well, so we were told. After getting the chair home and unpackaged, we realized it had three major imperfections on it. One being what looked like a long box knife slit in the side and the other two were large black marks. Presumably from shipping? We're not sure. Here comes the crazy part. (get ready) We loaded the damaged chair into our truck to switch it out for the another new chair about a week after getting the set home. We had to drive to Springfield which is about an hour away from where we live (small town, MO). The drive up was perfect. Smooth with no hitches. The way home however was a slightly different story..
We got to the furniture store and, after having them unpackage the new chair so we could look it over before having them rewrap it, got it loaded up. We put it in the back of my husband's flat bed truck, the same way we did the other to bring it back. Everything was good. My husband didn't strap it down though so, I mentioned he may want to, just in case. He claimed that he didn't strap the other down on the way up to Springfield and it was fine so, there was nothing to worry about. Okay hunny. I mean, he's in construction and hauls stuff all the time, what do I have to be worried about, right?? Fast forward to the drive home on the interstate. We were about twenty minutes out from Springfield, just chatting and joking around with our boys when my husband says, "aaaand there goes the chair!"... WHAT?!?! I whirled around in my seat to see it land less than two feet in front of the car behind us as they swerved into the other lane to miss it.... Gahhhh... Just picture us coming to a screeching halt on the side of the interstate, backing up in the grassy median, running to get the chair out of the road before someone hit it and then carrying it all the way back to the truck.... We were QUITE the site, let me tell ya... One of the leg support boards was broken and the other three legs sustained some damage as well. Nothing too bad and, honestly, we haven't even replaced them yet because the carpet in the living room covers it. Haha. But, MAN. What an eventful trip back home! I could tell my husband felt so bad about it because all he could do was smile and agree with me the entire rest of the way back.
Holy moly. Looking back, a semi passed us just as we went under an overpass and we think there was some strong wind that whirled it around and just took it. I'm so so thankful that the people in the car behind us were paying attention. All I could think was how much worse it could have been had it landed in their windshield..... Needless to say, my stomach was in knots the entire drive home after that. I guess, if anything, we'll have a good story to tell our grandkids though, right? lol
Anyhoooooo, onto the photos! I'll include some links to exact or similar products along the way!
sign | made by me and the hubby (love the signs from this shop though!) (paint markers used)
frames | Walmart
prints | Shutterfly
tan pumpkin |Walmart (in store only)
buffalo check pumpkin | made by me (you tube tutorial I followed here)
light up jack o'lantern | super old ceramic, updated by me with chalk paint and APC wax
faux greenery | Walmart (lighted style here)
wooden bowl | thrifted (similar here)
twig pumpkin | walmart (old, similar here)
frame | Walmart (old, similar here)
butter churn | antique (similar on ebay here)
ceramic pumpkin | super old (similar here)
cream pumpkin | Walmart (in store only, similar here)
rabbit figurine | Perrennial (a small boutique in the town I live in, love this one from amazon)
faux moss and natural paper grass | seasonal at Walmart
FALL banner | Target dollar section
old toolbox | diy at church a few VBS's ago
small chalkboard | Walmart (old, similar here)
PRAY BIG pillow | Amazon
lamp set | Lowes (old, similar here)
piano | antique we purchased from some family friends
decorative cloche | Amazon
wooden square | Walmart (in store only)
natural jute placemat | Walmart
distressed bird | Marshalls (similar)
love you more block sign | Perrennial (similar)
round table | antique (similar here)
distressed bird (same style but larger than the other pictured) | Marshalls
candle holder | thrifted (similar here)
large cream pumpkin | Walmart (in store only)
(all large throw pillows came with the furniture set)
large sign | upcycle by me from an old cork board
basket weave pumpkin | Joann's
two small fabric pumpkins | made by me using tutorial linked above
entryway bench | thrifted (similar here)
buffalo plaid pillows | made by me (inspired by these)
basket | Lowe's (similar style here)
large pillow | came with living room furniture
wreath | Walmart (diy, bought it plain)
cotton stems for wreath | Walmart
entry rug | Menards (old, similar here)
blankets | similar here
shooties | JC Penney
ceramic bird | Perrennial (similar here)
Tobacco basket | thrifted (similar here)
candles | Walmart
buffalo plaid ruffle table runner | made by me (similar here)
chicken wire basket | Walmart
small white bucket | Walmart (in stores only)
small pumpkin | Walmart (upcycled by me, similar to linked above)
ceramic milk bottle | antique (similar here)
large old tin bowl | family heirloom
large burlap pumpkin (inside tin bowl) | made by me (followed tutorial above)
wire milk crate | antique (similar here)
old glass bottles | super old side of the road find lol (similar bottles here)
old cookie jar | antique
coat rack | upcycle by me (story at the end of this post! scroll down to read it!)
white chair | old chair upcycled by me
basket | old and.. ahem, falling apart lol (similar style here)
gravy boat "planter" | wedding gift (similar here)
curtains | Lowe's (old)
dining table | Ashley Furniture Homestore (it was a wedding gift, hoping to update soon!)
(no longer available so here's a similar style on amazon)
metal HOME sign | Joann's (couldn't find it sorry)
Pumpkin Butter candle | Perrennial (similar here)
parsley crock | Perrennial (similar here)
serving spoons | super old
round cutting board | family heirloom (similar style here)
letter board | Walmart
lamp | Walmart
canvas print | Canvas People
blessed sign | locally made (similar here)
deer mount by a local taxidermy (love how it looks on the barn wood!)
Back to this diy coat rack! My husband's grandparents are always sharing stories from their youth and things they've learned growing up in a very difficult time. His grandmother, who we affectionately call Grammie, has told us many times about the home her grandparents lived in and how she would visit and all the wonderful memories she has of the place. Last Memorial Day, we decided to drive down to the old homeplace with Grammie and Poppie and take a look at it for ourselves. It took a while to find, the driveway was barely even visible from the overgrowth but, we eventually found it and made our way up it's long and winding corners. We drove as far as we could before parking the suburban and going by foot the rest of the way. And, oh was it worth it! The house was still standing, though in very poor condition. As we explored, she shared stories and memories and pointed out things she remembered about the time she spent here. What an emotional time, let me tell you. We came to the sun porch right off the kitchen and saw that many of the beautiful boards from the walls were falling off. Some were lying around the floor and some were barely attached. We decided to take a few home with us so, we carefully removed a few. Goodness guys, it was so so cool. I used one of the boards and made a scripture quote for Grammie for Christmas last year. My Mother in Law and her sister were gifting Grammie a gallery wall of board photo prints and this was meant to be above it. It turned out perfectly and looks so so good as the feature wall of their home.
I still had two boards left so I was back to square one on what to do with them. I wanted something eye catching but, useful. Something we would enjoy looking at and be able to remember all we were told every time we noticed it. I wanted it to be perfect. That's when I landed on this space. I've always kind of struggled with decorating our entryway because I didn't want anything to make it too cluttered. It's only about five-ish feet wide and about six foot long so, it's not a large space. You may remember me sharing about this bench I thrifted a while back with the intention of it going into the guest room but, it fit so perfectly here, I just couldn't resist. I love how it looks. Then comes the space above it. I couldn't do a sign because there's one on the wall mirroring this one. One of the boards I had saved from the homeplace was just a few inches too long to fit between the trim of the archway into the dining room and the trim around the front door. That's when I knew. We simply cut it off and cleaned it up a bit. Basically, dusted it off, no major cleaning done. I got a copy of a photo Grammie had of her brother standing on the front porch of the home and put it into an envelope before taping it to the back. Then, I wrote where the board was from and we screwed it on, making sure to hit studs so it would be nice and sturdy. I found these simple hooks at Walmart and added three of them so it wouldn't be too busy. From there, I made the wreath and the buffalo plaid pillows and, put it all together! It honestly makes me so nostalgic and emotional when I start thinking about all the history behind that one single board. How incredible that it ended up in our home where we can share with everyone where it came from. Then, one day, it'll be removed again and it's story can be told to more generations. I just utterly love it. It's the perfect entry to our home and it came together just as I had imagined.
If you've stuck around til the end of this post, you're a rock star! Thank you so much for reading and going along on this somewhat emotional journey with me! I have so many more updates and diy's I want to share soon so I hope you'll come back! Have a lovely week friends! I pray many blessings for you and yours always!
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