Exciting News - BH&G Feature!!!

It's been pretty exciting around our house lately! I'm still on cloud nine and

  truly couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to have our little old house we

love featured in BH&G!  

Do you guys remember when I shared the details of the photo shoot two years ago, and

then BH&G's Refresh Magazine Spring 2015 feature of the exterior of our home and yard.

 And, also mentioned our interior would be in the Refresh Fall 2015 issue.

The dates, as well as which magazine our interior would be featured changed a few

 times over the past couple years, and I'm still bowled over that it ended up in the

October issue of Better Homes & Gardens!!

  

I'm happy to be able to share some of the photos with you, as not all the homes

 they feature are published in all areas, and ours happened to fall in that category.      

 As you know, if you're a regular reader, furniture gets rearranged,
walls repainted, and color schemes refreshed...often. It's fun to look back
and see how it's changed.

Wow, the entry is still the same!

My favorite thrifted chairs, after their makeovers, are still in my living room today.
(I'm not as bad as I thought!)

This hutch has had nine lives, and was one of my favorite makeovers. It's now
white and in my dining room.

My mostly neutral dining room, except for the addition of my bold buffet, and a peek at
 the nailhead ceiling.
This set of chairs is going on Craigslist any day, if you're local and interested let me know.

This free dresser I rescued from the street was the first time I was brave with a
bold paint color. I was so scared, ha!  

Hmmm...looking at this makes me wonder how my island would look if it were white?

My bedroom hasn't changed a bit, but I'm getting the itch.

BH&G did a great article that was a fun surprise when it popped up on my
Pinterest feed! :)
"The Cottage Makeover is All in the Details"
 with lots of before and after photos and links to the DIY tutorials,
 you can find it HERE.  

It starts with a diamond in the rough photo when we first purchased our home!

Thank you all so much for always stopping by, and for your endless enthusiasm and
encouragement for all my projects and decor!

xoxo,
Pam

2015 Reader's Favorite Projects

Hey friends, I'm ready to get back in the groove after a wonderful break, how about you?

 We spent a lot of time with family and friends and I was reminded how much I enjoy having

 them over. I'm not much for making resolutions, but a goal for the year is to entertain more,

it doesn't have to be a boatload of work to be fun!

 (More on that in an upcoming post.)

 I was in a bit of a funk last year, feeling overwhelmed with too many commitments,

blogging started to feel like a burden instead of the fun exchange of ideas and sharing with

 friends that I had always loved.     

Thank you so much for hanging in there with me, I can't tell you how much I appreciated

 your kind words of encouragement when I needed to step away for a little break.

 It was exactly what I needed, and I'm feeling refreshed and ready to take on the new year!

        

It's always fun to look back on the year's projects and it's no surprise you guys love

 room reveals and home tours! 

Coffee Table Reveal & Styling Tips

I joined several bloggers for Project Design Series - Coffee Table Styling,

 and shared my addiction/collection of coffee tables I've found on Craigslist.   

DIY Four Arm Candelabra

This was a knock off of the pricey Dunes & Duchess candelabra that I love. 

Living Room Refresh

A few new Craigslist scores resulted in an unplanned refresh of our living room. 

One Room Challenge - Another Craigslist Bedroom

My favorite before and after project of the year, filled with DIYs and Craigslist finds! 

Summer Home Tour

Our stone path and cottage garden looks very inviting as I type on this nippy January day!

Create Overflowing Window Boxes and Planters Inexpensively

You don't have to wait until summer is half over for lush plantings! 

Anthropologie Knock Off - DIY Weathered Gray Dresser

My client's unfinished dresser got a new look. 

Fall Home Tour

An early fall table setting was part of our fall home tour.  

Budget Guest Room Reveal - Inspired by Williams Sonoma

Another fun before and after that includes DIYs and Craigslist gems. 

I'll be back tomorrow with My Five Favorites - organization ideas!

Our Christmas Home Tour 2015

Hi friends, I'm so happy you're stopping by to check out our Christmas tour today,

welcome if you're new to Simple Details!

If you've been following the 12 Days of Christmas Home Tours    

I don't have to tell you the inspiration has been fabulous so far! If you want to

catch up these tours were earlier in the week:  

Jenny @ Evolution of Style 

Amanda @ Dixie Delights

Vel @ Life at Home 2102 

Tamara @ Provident Home Design

Today I'm sharing my living room and dining room and next Wednesday my

 family room and kitchen. I LOVED the pink that I added to our Christmas decor last

year, and decided to enjoy it again, but change it up a bit. I've purged a lot of Christmas 

decor over the past couple of years, it feels so good to keep it simple instead of

hauling boxes of things I'm not crazy about up from the basement.  

 I didn't buy a single thing, except...

 the amazing Black Friday deal on wreaths and garland at Home Depot.

 Oh, and some grocery store flowers that will last forever. :) 

Living Room

I love all of my Craigslist finds, in case you didn't realize, every piece of

furniture in this room is from Craigslist or a garage sale. I'm a big proponent of

the 'buy what you love and it will work' philosophy. 

    

Did you guys plant Paperwhites when I reminded you? :)

I'm sure mine have a head start, I wanted them in bloom for my

party on the 1st and for this tour. They're 37" tall!   

The poinsettia pillow is a Pottery Barn Knock Off I made several years ago.  

Dining Room

This buffet has had nine lives! 

You probably don't recognize it from my Christmas tour last year,

it was in our living room ~  painted gray and and had a hutch.  

I ditched the hutch, gave it a modern vibe with high gloss white paint, and

changed out the hardware.  

 A row of Ikea lanterns filled with gold and silver ornaments, nestled in greens

from our yard are an easy centerpiece down the center of our farm table.   

Here's a sneak peek of our tree I'll be sharing next week.

Our Christmas Home Tour 2015 Part 2 here

A huge thank you to Jenny @ Evolution of Style for putting together 

the 12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes this week, and

 Lisa @ Shine Your Light for our awesome graphics!

I can't wait for tomorrow's tours, two of my favorite ladies in blogland,

Paige @ The Pink Clutch Blog and Becky @ This is Happiness 

are up with styles that will delight!! 

12/1  Evolution of Style Dixie Delights 

12/2  Life & Home At 2102    Provident Home Design

12/3  Simple Details

12/4  The Pink Clutch Blog    This is Happiness

 12/7  Bless’er House The Tale Of An Ugly House

12/8  Classic Casual Home    This is Our Bliss

12/9  Primitive and Proper

12/10  Shine Your Light    Driven by Decor

12/11  Suburban Bitches     Our Storied Home   

12/14  Simply Sarah Style  Rough Luxe

Joining The Nester's Annual Tour of Homes
It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to be Beautiful Christmas

living room refresh

Who knew a couple innocent little Craigslist purchases would create such a
staggering domino effect! I've been arranging and re-arranging furniture for the past
 two months, hauling it downstairs and back up and have come to the realization that
clearly we need a bigger house! :)
 I thought I'd share a few of the changes to our living room so far.

Remember when these vintage chairs popped up on Craigslist, and I couldn't resist them?
 I always knew a pair of chairs would fit perfectly in our bay window, and they did, but it
was the beginning of a domino effect I didn't see coming! The sofa had always been there
 and the only other option for it was against the wall - I wasn't sure what I'd think, but I'm
 loving the new look after placing the mirror from the dining room above it and creating
 an eclectic gallery wall.  

I love how the bay windows are more visible without the sofa obstructing the view, and
 the comfy down cushioned chairs tuck into the space and create the best reading nook.
 

As much as I loved the bold floral pattern I was a little skeptical if it would mix with
 what I had. You guys know I don't stray far from my neutral base so I can change things
 up on a whim. Well, it all came together and the only new items I bought were the citron
 ikat pillow and the artwork on the bottom right.
Remember the day I showed you how to shop Goodwill, both were finds from that
 outing, the coral chevron ikat pillow was a steal from there last year that inspired
  my family room spiff up.

(sorry about some of these bad pics, my weather app didn't forecast clouds till later)

I dug out this DIY Rope Vase I made a couple years ago for my Cinco de Mayo party
  centerpiece. I love the texture and the casual vibe keeps some of the traditional pieces
 from looking too stuffy.  

 

The other irresistible find that added to the chaos was this HUGE ornate mirror,
 originally finished in a dark stain giving it a heavy appearance. I lightened it up
 with two coats of Gold Rub 'n Buff, applying with a toothbrush so it still had some
 variation in color vs a solid painted look. See below.
My  DIY framed batik gallery wall that was here is piled in the dining room in the process
 of being re-hung, the good news is it gives the room a fun unexpected jolt of color, looks
 great with the chairs, and ties everything together without being matchy!  
 

You can see the finish on the mirror here, I'm still tweaking it, I think it needs a few
more brighter highlights throughout.
 The shelf and greenery hide our thermostat. :) It worked before, but now looks a bit off,
the thought of an ugly thermostat right there in the middle of the wall gives me hives!

Progress should be picking up over here after the One Room Challenge is over in
 just two short weeks! I'm thinking of having a sale and parting with a few
Craigslist treasures ~ you'll be the first to know!

a reader's home...

Imagine my surprise when I opened an email from a sweet reader, from Iowa 

yesterday and saw these chic photos of her home!!

She was so kind, offering to share her solutions for her narrow living room after reading

 about my friend's dilemma. She used the same inspiration room from Sally Wheat, and did 

an incredible job! I can definitely see similarities but love that she infused her own personality

 in her space. I knew you'd love to see it, and she graciously agreed...  

She was hoping for a mid-century piece to use as a buffet table but didn't have room.

I think her compromise is lovely and still allows for storage.

Great texture, variety of furniture styles, mixed metals, and combination of patterns. 

Her room is as functional as it is beautiful! She's incorporated plenty of seating,

and although unconventional I love that she thought outside the box and placed the

 chairs in front of her fireplace. It makes sense to do what works for you and your family,

this is a perfect example of an unexpected solution carried out well.  

Look at that gorgeous kitchen with black cabinets, tulip table, modern seating and 

dose of bling - the chandelier!! 

Also, did you notice the floor lamp next to the sofa, perfect scale!

This appears to be the formal living room on the main level.

Beautifully paired patterns on the pillows, and her adorable six year old Shih Tzu.

I'm sure you'll agree Angie has created a gorgeous home, she shares it with her

 husband and has two sons, one still at home.

She says, "More than anything I love to see normal people's homes."

Thanks so much, Angie ~ you're an inspiration!