It’s that time again–today I’m sharing my summer home tour! Thank you to Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for organizing this tour (five days, thirty bloggers, and TONS of decorating inspiration). It’s a lot of work to keep this group on track, but she’s a pro at it!
If you’re visiting from My Sweet Savannah, welcome! Melaine is one of the bloggers that I’ve been following forever–OK, since before we started blogging, eight years ago–and her home is the perfect blend of rustic/farmhouse/industrial/FUN style.
Speaking of which, I’m still not sure how to define my style. It’s a mixture of traditional, eclectic, and preppy, with a whole bunch of thrifted and vintage thrown in there. Also, you can see from the pic below that animals are often used as accessories in my decor, along with their natural companion, pet hair.
I blog with my dear friend, and former college roommate, Amy, and we take turns writing and sharing what’s going on in our lives and around our homes. You can see all of our previous home tours (there are a lot!) HERE.
The kids and I have been in our current house for just over a year now while my better half is stationed at Ft. Riley, KS (for a little more about our story, visit this post).
| Weekend in Savannah (we lived here for two fabulous years |
There are plenty of challenges to temporarily living apart, and downsizing from 4000 sf to 1400 sf was one of them, but we love our rental, the quaint little Mint Chocolate Chip (MCC) House. It’s got all the fun quirks typical of hundred-year-old houses, plus we’re within blocks of downtown and all the best restaurants, shops, and entertainment that our little North Carolina town has to offer.
Spring Home Tour | Holiday Home Tour Part 1 | Holiday Home Tour Part 1 | Summer Home Tour 2017
Our front door opens directly into our living room (rescue kitty Brontë is a professional photobomber; it looks like we have a dozen cats but it’s really her in every picture).
| Squirrel Watching |
We’ve moved a dozen times during my husband’s 25+ years in the military, so nothing in our home is very expensive or fancy. It’s an unwritten rule of moving that all of the nicest things get broken first, so I’ve learned to love the distressed look!
If you’re renting, too, then you might enjoy this post I wrote several years ago for Military.com about how to decorate a rental to make it feel like home. I won’t say I’m perfect at it, but I have definitely had lots of practice!
| Vintage lamp | Bergere chair |
| DIY Embellished Lamp Shade |
You’ve probably noticed that there’s blue and white everywhere; I find that it’s easiest to stick with a color scheme that works throughout the house. The furniture and decorations work differently in every single house we live in, and it’s just flows better when everything mixes and matches.
The living room and dining room are flow together, and then our little kitchen is at the back of the house. I love that it’s a really open floor plan compared to other old houses, but I will say that if we leave things out and about, the house looks cluttered FAST, so I try to stay on top of it.
Not one to let the cat upstage him, rescue pup Harley has decided to situate himself front and center of this photo.
We have a front yard full of magnolias and hydrangeas, and while I frequently find myself thinking bad words about the magnolia leaves that never. stop. falling., I always love hydrangeas. Ours are blooming like crazy this summer, which is one of the reasons that you’re seeing them in every room.
I painted the dining room when we moved in; it was an apple green originally. I painted it Oatlands Subtle Taupe by Valspar to match the living room, and that really made a big difference in how open the two rooms seem.
| Plates | Napkins | Placemats |
We are getting ready to head to Kansas to spend six weeks with my husband (yay!) and quite frankly, there are entire rooms of our house that are a mess right now, so I didn’t take a bunch of new photos of the kitchen. You can see more of it in this post, though, and you can also see a few photos of his little bachelor pad here. It’s kind of like the Island of Misfit Toys, but with furniture, but we still managed to make it pretty cozy.
My kids’ bedrooms are downstairs and they share a bathroom, which is also our powder room for guests.
I know you’re surprised to see more blue and white. 😉
My daughter’s room is always one of my favorites; I love the colors she chose.
| Vintage VOGUE Gallery Wall |
| Cat Nap Artwork |
She recently moved her vintage French settee to the window between the bookshelves because “Brontë prefers it.” Clearly.
| See more of Annabelle’s room here | See her bedroom in our previous house here |
My son’s bedroom is currently condemned–he’s off to college in the fall and there are piles everywhere–but you can see how it would look if it was neat in this post. Yes, I realize it’s a Christmas photo, but that’s the last time his room was clean!!
And now it’s time to head over to Life Love Larson to see Andrea’s summer home tour–I promise you won’t want to miss it and I can virtually guarantee she’s not going to show you photos with Christmas decor in them!
Thanks so much for stopping by, and if you saw something you liked, then we’d love to have you sign up for our email newsletter. Please visit all the other wonderful stops on this week’s home tours; they’re listed here:
2018 Summer Home Tour
Monday – June 11
A Stroll Thru Life – Marty
Pink Peppermint Design – Tammy
Setting For Four – Heather
Nesting With Grace – Brooke
Cuckoo4Design – Julia
Southern Hospitality – Rhoda
Tuesday – June 12
ZDesign At Home – Bree
Inspiration For Moms – Laura
Clean & Scentsible – Jenn
Simple Stylings – Summer
Life On Virginia Street – Sarah
Remodelando La Casa – Cristina
Wednesday – June 13
Our Southern Home – Christy
House By Hoff – April
Our Fifth House – Carmel
Dimples & Tangles – Jennifer
Decor To Adore – Laura
Follow The Yellow Brick Home – Amber
Thursday – June 14
Haneens Haven – Haneen
Monica Wants It – Monica
Duke Manor Farm – Laura
My Sweet Savannah – Melaine
11 Magnolia Lane – Christy
Life Love Larson – Andrea
Friday–June 15
Decorating Delirium – Jennifer
Thistlewood Farm – Karianne
Thrifty & Chic – Alicia
Hymns & Verses – Doreen
Starfish Cottage – Kristy
Far Above Rubies – Anita