Summer Home Tour at Christy’s New House

Hello, friends, and welcome to my summer home tour! First off, many thanks to our gracious friend Marty at A Stroll Thru Life, who has organized this fun blog hop. With thirty houses to tour over five days, there’s plenty of inspiration to be had! If you’re visiting from Simple Stylings, then welcome to 11 Magnolia Lane!

If you’re new here, then let me give you a quick introduction. We’re two friends, and former college roommates, who have blogged together for almost seven years. Amy lives in Northern Virginia, and I currently live in Southern Pines, North Carolina. We’re a military family and move frequently (Amy’s family isn’t military, but they move often, too), so it’s a good thing that we love to decorate and create a comfortable home on a budget!

Two months ago, our family moved to a quaint little craftsman-style home downtown. We call it the “Mint Chocolate Chip” house, and I’m sure you can see why. It makes me crave ice cream every. single. time!

We downsized from a much larger home in the same area {see it here} because my husband is moving out to Kansas for a two-year assignment–he actually left today :(. The kids and I made the tough decision to stay here so that our son can finish high school instead of moving to his third high school for his senior year. With two rent payments on the balance sheet, we had to be very aware of how we were allocating our housing dollars. This cute 1600 sf cottage is quaint and fun, and so far we’re loving it! {What We Love About the MCC House}

We can walk to all the restaurants and shops, and my kids can even walk to school when it’s in session. Even the flowers are happy!

Our downstairs consists of a living room, dining area, and kitchen, that are all open. My kids’ rooms are downstairs, and they share a bathroom/powder room. Upstairs is the master, sitting area, and a second bath. I’ll be showing you my son’s room as well as the upstairs later, because I’m still working on them, but really, things are coming along nicely at the MCC house given that we’ve only been here two months.

I’m still undecided as to whether or not smaller spaces are easier or harder to decorate. One benefit of downsizing is that I have only my very favorite things in our home now, but one drawback is that it’s easy to clutter up a small space!

Last week, the living room featured my husband’s nailhead tufted recliner, but he’s taking that with him, so stay tuned for an update.

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| Sofa |

Living Room Sources:

The dining room is just the right size for the antique oak pedestal table I found on Craigslist when we were living in Virginia Beach; it’s a dead ringer for one that my grandmother had.

I’ve stored serving pieces and barware in the thrifted china cabinet.

I did change the chandelier and hung one of my own–it’s easy once you have practice, and it makes such a difference in the space!

You can see more of my dining room in this post, and how I made the DIY plantation shutter dog gate here.

Dining Room Sources:

The kitchen is just the right size for essentials, and I’ll admit that I have a lot of stuff stored downstairs in the basement, but it’s easy to keep clean!

I gave one of the walls a coat of my favorite Rust-Oleum chalkboard paint, and now it’s a menu board.

Because we don’t have a pantry, I tend to shop for just a few days at a time now, but that’s OK as we’re eating more fresh foods.

I’ve added a few vertical space savers, like the chip rack on top of the fridge.

And the kitchen cart under the window used to be our “island” in our Savannah house, but it works great for storage and as a coffee station now.

Kitchen Sources:

My thirteen year old daughter has one of my favorite rooms; the color palette is so soothing.

The bookshelves used to be in our living room in Savannah, but every house is different and so we move furniture around without even thinking twice!

The DIY Greek key dresser is one of my favorite projects (the tutorial is here).

She’s got dozens of old pointe shoes, so I have to get creative with them–they look pretty in a big apothecary jar.

I’m still not sure how the antique French loveseat wound up in her room since I originally bought it for my upstairs sitting area, but it fits perfectly down here and is just the right size for her to curl up and read a book.

Annabelle’s Bedroom Sources:

If you want to keep up with our progress in our new (old) house, and follow Amy as she moves to a new home in the next few months, too, then we’d love for you to sign up for our emails {here}.

Next up on the tour is the talented Cristina at Remodelando la Casa–she has great style and is a fearless DIY’er, so you’re going to love a peek at her home!