Yay–Welcome to the 2018 spring home tour series, hosted by the fabulous Marty at A Stroll Thru Life! This entire week will be full of home decorating inspiration; I look forward to it every year.
If you’re visiting from Bree’s blog, ZDesign At Home, welcome! I absolutely adore her style and the way she mixes pattern and color but still keeps the overall look of her rooms bright and clean. (#goals) Bree is a tough act to follow, especially since we’re currently in a small rental cottage that’s just over a hundred years old. It’s crumbly and creaky, but full of charm and character!
If you’re new to 11 Magnolia Lane, welcome. You can read all about how my blogging partner–and former college roommate–and I got started {here}, and if you like what you read, we’d love to have you subscribe to our emails {here}.
Our family recently downsized from over 4000sf to this quaint little cottage that’s around 1500sf; it was quite a process but we love living in the heart of downtown Southern Pines, North Carolina. We’re a military family and my husband is currently stationed in Kansas by himself (we don’t love that!); you can read all the details {here}. Fortunately, that’s a temporary situation.
We’ve moved so frequently over the years–our high school senior is attending his ninth school, if that tells you anything–that I’ve learned not to spend a fortune on beautiful furniture that the movers will break or ruin {read about our worst move ever here}. Instead, I tend to use a lot of family pieces and thrift store finds, and that way I’m not too heartbroken if something gets destroyed in transit.
It’s been challenging but fun to figure out how to live in a smaller space; not an inch is wasted. My furniture seems to fit well in an older home, too.
| DIY lampshade |
We have two rescue pets who are always right next to me; after all, sometimes I drop food!
The living room opens up into the dining room and kitchen:
You can see more of my Easter table setting in {this} post.
The kids’ rooms and bathroom are through the doorway on the left, but they’ve been on spring break the past few weeks and their rooms are NOT ready to be photographed (but you can see my daughter’s room here and my son’s room here). The door to the basement is to the right of the gold mirror; that’s my “laundry room” these days (it’s more like a dungeon than a laundry room; just saying).
Our kitchen is updated but petite. I don’t have a pantry in this house, so we tend to shop frequently and eat more fresh foods, which is probably a good thing!
Upstairs, tucked under the rafters, is my bedroom, bathroom, and small office area. You can see from the view out of my windows that I’m right in the trees, so there’s lots of natural light and tons of privacy.
This is so random, but I recently got a new mattress and I absolutely love it. If you’re looking for a review of a memory foam mattress, visit {this} post.
The office has gotten a mini-makeover recently, but you can see how it used to look in {this} post. It’s where I fill all the orders for our Etsy shop so it’s never this neat in real life!
| Painted gray chair tutorial |
Next, be sure to hop on over to visit Brooke at Nesting With Grace to check out her home tour–her house is to die for and her blog is full of so many great DIY tips, like this post on how to add a wall sconce to an area using a magic light (i.e. no wiring needed!). She lives in an even smaller space than mine and her creativity is endless!
Here’s the rest of the spring home tour lineup; I’ll be sharing them all on Facebook so be sure to visit us over there.
2018 Spring Home Tour
Monday – March 19
Tuesday – March 20
Wednesday – March 21
Thursday – March 22
Fri –March 23
Far Above Rubies
Love your home Christy and your cute furry faces. Calicos are the best. Happy spring
You have done such an amazing job of making your small rental a home. I love how cozy and inviting it is. Thanks so much for joining the tour, you always inspire me with your chic design talent.
Oh those lemon pillows are adorable! Your bedroom also has me so smitten.What a delightful tour!
Christy, you’ve always managed to make the homes you’ve lived in the most cozy and inviting ones. Your beautiful cottage is no exception, love your bedroom, what a retreat!
Christy, I just love what you’ve done with this beautiful cottage and how you’ve made it a special home for your family while you’re in Limbo!! We are in the exact same situation as we moved to houston last year and are still trying to figure out our living situation here. Downsizing to 1500 sq has been a challenge for us too but you do what you have to do, right! lol! Anyway, your place is cozy and inviting and beautiful and you should be so proud! And the pups are just perfect too:) Happy Spring, my friend!!
Oh Christy, your cottage is just Story-book perfection! I feel like you’ve lived here forever, and I adore all the punches of spring in the entire house! As always, so honored to share this home tour with you ladies, cheers!
Love your beautiful home friend. And yes, it looks like you’ve lived there for years. Oh…FYI, D will be transferring to Ft. Benning soon!
I love the whole cottage. It’s so cozy and beautiful. And those wood floors! They are gorgeous.
Christy- your home is so charming. I can imagine all those moves can be difficult but you have done a great job settling into this one.
Your home is so pretty! I love your spring tablescape, just gorgeous!
I am in love with this quaint cottage! You have done a beautiful job with it Christy! I hear you about movers destroying things! we lost so many of our favorite things in this last move, it was awful!
I adore the charm of your cottage so much Christy! The brick fireplace and all those angles in your home. You have is styled perfectly for spring. Thanks so much for sharing.
I love all the colors and patterns you have sprinkled throughout your home! Gorgeous tour!
I love the pops of color you’ve brought in! That lemon pillow and navy chair are just gorgeous!
Always beautiful and charming! I’m in love with the pretty lavender wreath on your door….is there a source?
Thank you, Susan! That exact wreath is from HomeGoods, so I can’t send you an online link, but I did buy it within the last month or two. You might be able to find one at TJ, Marshall’s, or HomeGoods. Or, this one on Amazon is similar. This one from Balsam Hill looks more like it, but it’s expensive! I think I paid $30 or $40 for mine.
The “Hey Y’all” wood sign is from Etsy (here) and I just attached it to the wreath using clear fishing line.
I hope that helps!