Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Yearning for Spring

When I came across these red porch rockers I fell in love. The exterior of my home is beige with natural stone so these red rockers should really pop. A few plants, some interesting tables or benches and my porch should be an inviting place to sit and sip. The fun part for me will be doing this on a budget. I am going to build (okay, I'm having my husband build) some cute small bench seating chairs like in the picture and I am going Goodwilling for some interesting rockers. Since I plan on painting them anyway they don't have to be in great shape. Some new paint, some pretty cushions and I'll have some great rockers that are rockin red. The key is to discover something that inspires you and go for it. Looking at this porch makes me want to go outside and relax with my kids or watch them play.



I just can't wait until these little beauties are popping up!! Oh, Spring hurry up and come.




Every year about this time I become itchy for Spring and really bored with my home. I start moving accent pieces and artwork around. New pillows for the couch or bedding. I switch out picture frames and make a few design changes to keep things fresh and current. I am a sucker for anything sentimental so if you have visited the http://www.southencharmhomedecor.com/ website you will have noticed many 20x20 painted wood frames with quotes on them. Well, I have a collage of them in a hallway and a couple in the laundry room even. I have been switching those around too. Sometimes you can just move around what you already have and maybe purchase one or two new items each season to keep you home looking great.




I love this seating arrangement! Before my husband was laid off 2 years ago we were getting ready to build a new home that had a stairway a lot like this one except we were planning on building built in bench seating into the stairway. Oh, it was going to be so perfect. But if you have a stairway like this one and many homes do..... this look is totally doable for you. You don't even have to re paint the walls, if you already love your color then make the fabric work around your color.

The seating? Easy. You know your man loves the home improvement store so send him there with a list. These legs can easily be purchased along with the decorative trim details you see along the bottom and then just nailed on to the frame. The frame can very easily be built with a few cuts and a nail gun. When we built our fire place mantle we went to the home improvement store and bought some wood decorative accents, nailed them on and painted away. A high end look for practically pennies. As for the cushion? Well, you can go to the fabric store in my area and they have foam cushions all ready to go. Just place your cushion over a piece of wood and stretch out your fabric and staple gun it on. Paint or stain your wood bench and then place the cushion on it with matching or coordinating pillows. I don't sew but I do staple and glue gun. I also know it's pretty inexpensive to pay a seamstress to sew pillows for me. Get yourself some foliage from a local nursery and you are done. What a great place for the kids to lay and talk on the phone, share a private conversation or just sit back and unwind. Not to mention having a great first impression of your home when guests arrive. Or you could just go to the furniture store and buy one... but you'll pay a whole lot more for it.





David Bromstad (one of my favorite designers!!) says blue grey is just coming into it's own. I love this color paired with chocolate browns too. I think people have been under stress and they are looking for calm when they get home.This color palette is definitely calming. Grey-blue, beige and white is always a winner.



Here's my chocolate brown. A grey-blue bedroom with chocolate and beige. I could do without that picture over the bed though..... we won't discuss that.


Do you ever get the Spring itchies? If so what do you do about it?









5 comments:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Great pictures! I love the blue gray room.

Misti of Studio M Designs said...

Jennifer, I didn't realize that you still had the Southern Charm blog! I thought you only had your personal one. SO sorry, I am back on here as a follower and will make a post about you and your online store very soon! I promised Scottsdale I would post theirs by this weekend. Next week is the Etsy shop opening so I am getting all my ducks in a row.
~Misti

momof3girls said...

I switch my flower arrangements out, and the "stuff" or decor items that I place in my hurricane jars. I also buy candles in "new" scents to match the season.

I love the Rockin Red rocking chairs- pretty porch!!

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Hi, Jennifer, it's so nice to meet you, thank you for stopping by! You are near my old stomping grounds. I was raised in Marietta! Your blog is so pretty & I see you have a shop & are doing some advertising with it. I also have advertising on my blog for home-based businesses, so let me know if you are interested. I also do online consultations too.

I see lots of great ideas here too!

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

Hi - beautiful pictures! I love them all. That blue/gray room is very similar to the color I painted my bedroom - love it!

I get the Spring itch. It makes me want to clean everything out, rearrange my furniture and do tons of little projects to brighten the place up.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Jen