My Little Bouquet and A Tour of the Mainfloor

Starting the day with my sweet Scarlett before her Halloween part at school this morning.  She says to me in the car on the way, "mommy, you sure picked a cute flower this morning."- I sure did my sweet girl:)

I'll post some more pics of both little kids in costumes on Sunday- I'm not entirely sure what the teenager is going to dress up as but will attempt to take her picture as well:)

And while we're on me and the fam, I thought now might be as good a time as any for a little house tour a la bijou. My home is definitely still a work in progress and I have big plans left for most of it.  For today, here is what the main floor looks like, starting with the living room.  And I apologize in advance for the long post- I could never work as an editor.



The walls are actually painted a lilac/pink shade- it's from Behr and is called French Heirloom.  I started the room after selling almost all of our furniture on craigslist (in a matter of weeks.)  I just wasn't happy with the mish mash of stuff we had accumulated over the years and decided to start fresh- best thing I ever did for myself and my family.  I am a much happier person now my home is the way that I like it.  I started shopping before anything was actually sold (I should have started this blog then- pure shenanigans) and began adding pieces to the room (again, before old things were even gone but whatever.)  The room's direction really started to evolve after I purchased the artwork on the fireplace, which are actually hand painted wallpaper panels; they really set the mood and colour palate for the whole room.  The story of how it all came together is much too long a one to get into now but sufficed to say, I had things shipped from everywhere and in every manner possible.   My dad once said that my house was like the UN and in a way, it is.  My first choice is always to support local business and trade but sometimes, I just can't always find what I am looking for locally.  I do a lot of online shopping and love finding special things on Craigslist or Ebay.  I have some high end items in the room but also some great budget finds.  My favourite piece in the room is the antique settee, which was purchased online and came all the way from LA- my husband actually drove to Buffalo in a rented van to pick it up; he's actually done that three times just for the living room alone- good husband:)  The rosewood credenza is also a favourite of mine.  It holds absolutely every piece of electronics we own, and does a great job and hiding everything but the kitchen sink.  The credenza and rosewood leather chairs were my late mother in laws and I truly love them- they remind me of her everyday and I feel so lucky to have them in our home.  All in all, I have to say that I love the room- it is totally me and works really well for our family...and only one thing left to change (wonder if there will ever be a time I don't say that:) I hope to eventually replace the chandelier with something white and more modern.  In my dream world, I would have a perfectly perfect white 3 armed Serge Mouille fixture lighting up the room but... that's not likely to happen so I continue my endless shopping quest and am hoping to find something similar and cheaper:)

Next, the foyer.  My main floor is made up of only three rooms- living room, hallway and kitchen (and yes dear friends, that means that there is no main floor bathroom- really great stuff- especially with three kids.)  The entrance way has started to come together but I still have plans for it.  I have ordered the wallpaper and fabric for the two french chairs and hope to purchase a new runner.   Here is how it looks now.

And lastly, the kitchen.  This is the room that I am just about to really put some time into.  I actually don't hate the way it looks now but I definitely want to give it a face lift.  Husband of course, being a man, wants nothing at all to do with painting out the wood but I really couldn't give a hoot- maybe that makes me a bad person/wife but whatever- they wood is warn and is kind of yellowy and there is just way too much of it everywhere.  I like wood just as much as the next gal (but never as much as the next guy) but I want a change.  So, I hope to paint out the cupboards (either charcoal or white,) install new hardware, put in solid (calacatta white) marble back splash and matching counter tops (and yes I know they will get stained but I still want them) and get a new huge sink.  I am also toying with the idea of knocking out the island and swinging the table around so that it sits in the middle of the kitchen.  I do use my island alot so I know this might be a bit of a risk but I like the idea of sitting right in the kitchen and having so much extra space on the ends for entertaining; our table is a little cramped right now and 8 is definitely the max for seating. If I went with that plan, the area where the table is presently would become a little seating nook- two wing chairs and round table in between them kind of thing. This possibility makes me very happy because it means I have two more chairs that I can stick one of my many fabric obsessions on- point in favour of moving the table.  Oh, and drapery- As you can see in the pictures, all that is there now is wooden California shutters.  I've selected the fabric but I'm not entirely sure what I want to do yet- definitely curtain panels on the large windows but not sure about the smaller ones.  Anyhow...here's how the kitchen looks today.

xxx