Catching Up

Hello friends! How are you? I have been so sporadic at blogging that I feel a bit out of touch. I thought I would take some time to catch you up on my life.

Last Saturday our family honored the year mark of my husband's death. It has been a year since my sweetheart unexpectedly passed away (typing those words still seems very foreign). We spent the day talking about the events of a year ago in the field where it all happened. Then we created a happy memory by going out to dinner, laughing, eating and enjoying being together. There are days I have a hard time believing this new circumstance of ours and yet I feel an odd sense of relief knowing I have survived the worst year of my life. I know that our survival was a result of many prayers and much love and support given by family, friends and even strangers. For that I am profoundly grateful.

In the wee hours of Monday, April 1st, my darling daughter delivered her second child...a boy. I am so thrilled to be the nonnie of three beautiful girls and now a handsome baby boy!

Throughout this past year the importance of home has become even more significant to me. 

It doesn't matter the size of our house or it's location. Our house does not need to be magazine-shoot worthy but it does need to give us that sense of JOY that no other place can. Home should be where we feel comfort despite all that is happening in the world. It should be a place where we delight to come at the end of the day; where we feel a sense of warmth and well-being. Our homes should be where we house our happy memories as well as our sad; where we have beautiful traditions as well as mundane routines.

My whole purpose for writing this blog is to share the ways I find joy in my home. I am passionate about helping others feel about their homes the way I feel about mine.  I hope you find inspiration here in creating joy for your home.

Thank you for visiting! I truly appreciate you for being so supportive in the many aspects of my life.

 

A Bedroom Retreat

Son #3 just returned home after two years of serving our church in New Zealand. As a welcome home I gave his small bedroom a makeover using furniture from our storage and the thrift store. Even the prop hanging above the closet was a thrift store find.We've owned the lawyer bookshelves for years. They've been used in the family rooms of two of our homes.We pulled the vintage chest of drawers out of the garage. They were used by my husband years ago when my style was a bit more country. A change of hardware gave them a nice update.My favorite piece is the antique bed, a thrift store find. The details are stunning! It likely was originally a tall four post bed; what remained of the posts had been attacked with a saw and were rough and uneven. My husband cut, filled, and sanded, then I stained the ends and now they look original.
Although the room is small (about 10'x10') I love the way the large furniture pieces make the room warm and cozy.I'm pretty pleased with how the budget bedroom makeover came together and so is my son.

The Evolution of a Wall and a Giveaway

Our dining room
is really more of a nook off of our living room. The living room has vaulted ceilings. However the dining area's ceiling is the traditional 8 feet
making it seem like a design afterthought.
Years ago in an attempt to give the dining area
a little more character I gave the far wall a
special color and plaster treatment.
I loved that it drew one's eye to the little nook,
even when viewed from outside our home.I adored the dark green aged wall, but last year I was
ready for a change.
I began by painting the wall a very dark blackish-green
with the idea that I would put a light gray glaze on top to
give it the look of a well used chalkboard (without the mess of chalk). It turned out to be not as pretty in real life
as it was in my mind.
I was so disappointed that I didn't even photo it.

Next I found a geometric shape that I liked
so I enlarged, repeated, and painted it on the wall. Again the design didn't thrill me.

I then asked myself what it was that really bothered me about the previous design attempts. I discovered the problem was that I really was tired of a dark painted wall.
My next step was to paint the wall the same color as the other walls.
This gave the area the fresh, new look I'd been wanting. But I still wanted the wall to stand out so I considered my options. I thought I would try my hand at the new type of wall stencil. I have stenciled walls before, years and years ago, when stencils were small and tedious to use. But the new stencil designs are so much better! I ordered the Marrakech Trellis Allover Stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils. Let me tell you, this isn't anything like stenciling in the 90's! The stencil is huge and easy to use. Instead of a little stencil brush to paint on the design you use a foam roller. And probably my favorite thing (because I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist) is the little level that you can attach to the stencil to keep it lined up perfectly. If you're a novice at stenciling you can watch the how-to videos on the Cutting Edge site. I reviewed the video just to regain my confidence in stenciling.

With a lot of patience, trial and error,
and the use of the beautiful Marrakech stencil design
our dining wall now has that
"wow factor" I've been searching for.If you're searching for a wow factor for your home
Cutting Edge Stencils is giving away
a choice of stencil (up to a $50 value)
to one very fortunate Joys of Home reader.
Just go to their site, pick your favorite stencil and come back here and leave a comment. For additional entries Like them on Facebook, &/or Pin them on Pinterest, &/or follow them on Twitter---for a total of four entries!

The giveaway will be open until midnight Leap Day, February 29th 2012. Best of Luck to all of you!!!
***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

A Shelf Story

You've seen the shelves in our family room before but I don't think that I've told you their story. Several years ago I dragged my husband into a quaint little consignment shop. While I was there enjoying all of the furniture and home accessories, my hubby stood enamored with metal items piled into an old wooden crate. He was so excited with the contents, asking if I knew what they were. I was clueless as to their use so he explained to me and the shop owner that the vintage metal pieces all fit together into a shelving system. Once I understood what that old crate held I was enamored too! After a little dickering on the price we walked out of the store as happy, chippy shelf bracket owners.Sometimes it really pays to drag a husband into a quaint little shop!

Got The Red Out

After years of having red walls in our family room,

they are now a
delightfully, delicious
chocolate brown.Yum!

What's Old Is New

This is one of the last remaining original cabinets in our home that has not been removed or had a paint make-over. It will eventually be replaced with a beautiful thrift store piece that we will fit a bathroom sink into. When we first moved into our home I was overwhelmed with the amount of cheap, ugly, cabinets and hardware. But little by little we have managed to turn ugly into lovely on a very tight budget, which even surprises me.
I remember our first year in this home when I counted all of the cabinet handles on our first floor. It amounted to over one hundred! I knew if I could only replace the ugly antique brass it would update the cabinetry, but with so many pieces even that could prove costly. So little by little we removed some doors, some entire cabinets, and then primed and painted what remained until our home began to look like ours instead of a contractor's bargain build.
Years ago I couldn't wait to get rid of the antique brass hardware but, ironically, just a few weeks ago I added antique brass back. It looks beautiful against the now painted, but still original (cheap) cabinetry. Of course I would love to have all new cabinets in my home but I am very content with the beauty that I have been able to achieve with a small amount of money, time, and energy. It's very rewarding to be able to make a house

your home!

Guest Ready

I was contacted by Better Homes and Gardens to see if I would review some products in their line at Walmart. They asked if I'd like to use $100 to get a bedroom guest ready. I was excited because, although I liked my guest room the way it was, the bedding was never warm enough for my guests during the winter months.I picked the beautiful BHG Fleur de lis comforter set because it goes well with the colors already in the room. It's a gorgeous grayish brown with accents of green and yellow. The all-over ruffles pillow is the perfect accessory to tie in the existing browns in the room.While I was freshening up the bedding I added the branch over the bed and hung a framed botanical. I think that my guests will be very comfortable in this updated room.I'm excited to give one of you the chance to win a $100 gift card to Walmart so that you can make your home guest ready.

To enter all you need to do is:

*go to their site and pick a Better Homes and Gardens item you would love to have in your home.

For additional entries you can:

* "like" BHG on their Facebook page, thank them for this awesome giveaway and tell them Joys of Home sent you.
* Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway.
Be sure to leave a comment for each entry.

The giveaway will go until Tuesday, October 11th. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced shortly afterward. Good Luck!

Arrangment Perspective

I love having a formal living room, but the room has it's share of challenges. The ceilings are high.It's long and large, measuring 13 1/2 feet by 21 feet, but is has only one solid wall. The other walls contain large windows or door openings, with one that opens into the dining area.Because of the quirks of the room I kept my furniture in the exact same spot for a few years. Then one day, as I stood high upon a ladder painting, I viewed my near empty room from a different angle and perspective. I wondered why I had allowed myself to get trapped in a furniture arrangement rut?!?
Of course there were a few pieces that couldn't be moved because of size or practicality, but others could find a new home. Just because the room is odd doesn't mean the furniture placement has to be stuck in a rut.
Because of my ladder-top awakening I've never kept the furniture in the same spot since. These are some different arrangements I've had over the years.Sometimes it takes looking at a room from a new perspective to see how it can be rearranged. You can get on a ladder (like I did), empty the room out to start fresh, try an on-line room design site, or ask a trusted friend where they would place your furniture. You might even try switching furniture pieces from other rooms.

Are you in a furniture arrangement rut
or do you like to move things around?
***Don't forget to enter the Scentsy giveaway***

Bigger is Better

This was the light over our kitchen sink.But when you have a light like this over the table,
you really do need a bigger fixture over the sink.It's a good thing that someone donated the light I needed.And it's a good thing that a can of spray paint was all it took tounite the lights.