New Furniture

My husband and I set aside $3000 to buy the important pieces we knew we would need in our new house. As all the professionals say, you spend the money on quality staple pieces in the room and then you decorate around them. So that is what we did. We searched high and low for what we were envisioning in our minds and then we hit the jackpot. We were able to find everything at one store and they were having a 33% off sale! So we managed to get everything we needed for $2200! The furniture just arrived minutes ago and I can't wait to share it with you...

We bought two beautiful chairs for our study. (I don't really know what to call this room. It is the first room on the right when you walk in the front door. The last owners had a grand piano in it and nothing else. We have our great Pottery Barn corner desk, our antique Asian hutch and now these two wonderful chairs in the room. So any suggestions for a better name?)

But where was I...oh yes BEAUTIFUL chairs. These chairs are statement pieces. The fabric is bold and they are the first thing you see when you walk in the front door. It is clear to me that I am going to have to design the whole room around them.

Did I mention, my whole house is white. But once we get some color on the walls these will be amazing! Check out the fabric up close...

Next we were on the hunt for a TV console that didn't look like a TV console. I really wanted something that looked like a quality piece of furniture rather then a dorm room special. And let me tell you this was not easy to do, but finally we found it!

This piece has all the functionality we need and tons of character. It is made from reclaimed wood from a ship. The colors and detail are beautiful...

The final two purchases were a great leather ottoman to go in front of the couch and 3 bar stools for our kitchen counter. The leather ottoman is hopefully the push we need to stop eating dinner in front of the TV and actually make use of the kitchen table. One problem is I still have to refinish the kitchen table I bought on Craig's List...but that is a whole nother post :)

This is my dog Sammy's big debut. She really wanted to be in this picture.

We thought the bar stools blended the kitchen cabinet color and the black furniture we have throughout the room perfectly. We hope you agree!

The Mission Begins

The big move was a success! The weatherman's prediction of snow was wrong. The movers didn't totally ruin the white carpet, as I had stayed up for hours worry about the night before. And the furniture we do have worked better then I thought it would. But there was one casualty.

About a year ago I was at an art & wine festival with a girlfriend and I bought this great hand made, hand painted, one of a kind tissue box sized chicken. Yes, I said chicken. It was adorable, painted in bright colors and it totally made me smile. Now there may have been some wine involved in the purchase but I would never admit that to my husband.

Speaking of my husband, he totally hated the thing. He humored me when I displayed it on the kitchen counter top but he would never miss an opportunity to comment on it. (Mostly sarcastic comments, I should add.) Well, he was downstairs unpacking boxes this afternoon and claims that he found it broken in the box. The poor thing wasn't just slightly broken it was totalled. Now, I have no proof that suspicious activity was involved but I'm just saying I have my doubts about the story. Rest in peace little chicken...you will be missed.

Now, back to business. As soon as we get the boxes unpacked and the house cleaned up (anyone want an Everest sized mountain of paper?)

I will get to work posting pics of the house as it is now. And if you are curious about how it is now, the answer is white. White walls, white carpet...lots of white. Now don't get me wrong, I have lived in this house for 24 hours and already love it! The layout is perfect. The rooms are spacious but cozy. And the natural sunlight during the day is brilliant. We just need to spice it up a little bit, or a lot bit. The plan is to begin with the babies room, so here are a few pics "before" pics to get us started. Wish me luck!