"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Monday, March 13, 2017

Our New Home ~ Thus Far ! ( Before & After )

 Last summer when we began to move into our new home I was content to keep the furniture we had in our home at Cedar Pond. I love blue and white and if furnishing and decorating our home was completely up to me I would probably tend to keep all furnishings and decor in that color scheme , adding color accents according to the seasons. Here is a picture of our new living room last summer shortly after moving in.
 Our new home is less than half the size of our home at Cedar Pond. We sold and gave away many furnishings.( I don't think our grown kids have room for anymore furniture in their homes now !) This is the view of our living room from the very small kitchen.
 Before we moved in we stripped out all the wall to wall beige carpeting and installed a wood laminate floor. We covered up all the mustard and brown walls with white paint in several shades of white. (Excepting the wall with the big windows, that is painted a very dark blue.) I was surprised that a lot of the white paint looked blue when we were finished. Yes, we bought only white paint. ( Do you know how many shades of white there are !?! )
 Here is the current view of our living room from our very small kitchen. You can see the blue and white sofa and loveseat are no longer in our home. That is because my husband who has retired wants to be comfortable too. He used to have a recliner , but his recliner will not fit into this house. We went shopping and finally found a living room set we could both agree on. This set has 4 recliners, is gray , and the size of these sofas is smaller than your average sofa/loveseat set and takes up less space in the living room than the previous loveseat and sofa. Win/win, except it is not white. As far as my husband is concerned that is even better !
 View from the loveseat looking into the kitchen and the bedroom ( left of china cupboard).
 This is one good sized living room with large windows looking out onto our fields and woods, with mountains in the background. We put a small table in front of the windows because we spend a lot of time reading and writing while enjoying the view. Plus, in a small home it is good to have a table to pull out for dining with guests.
 We have a scope at our windows for daily viewing of wild life. We see wild turkeys every day as a flock of between 20 - 40 come and go across our fields and into the woods. We also see pheasants, eagles, turkey vultures, deer, coyotes , and other wild life we've captured on our game-cams in the woods. ( I took this picture today and you can see we still have a lot of snow.)
 The china cupboard fits perfectly on the wall between the living room and bedroom.
 The little side table with the fruit bowl on it is an old typing table with wheels. The sides flip up doubling the top of the little table and this is what we roll to the front of the larger sofa when we desire a 'coffee table'. It fits perfectly in the middle of the large sofa allowing us to recline without obstruction , also giving us a place for our cups of coffee and snacks.
 We need the storage these glass fronted shelves directly behind the sofa offer so we placed them in the middle of the large living room as a room divider. This also allows us room to enter the house from the front door ( at right , not seen) and space to walk through the living room to the back bedrooms and bathroom. The bench and our antique overstuffed chair allow a place to read and visit in front of the woodstove that heats the whole house quickly and efficiently with firewood cut and stacked from our woods.
 View of the living room from the bedroom.
 As I was unpacking our boxes of books and magazines I came across some magazines from the now defunct 'Early American Life' of the 1980's .I kept these magazines because they contain much history I find valuable and as I was thumbing through one of the magazines I came across some pictures of a living room I remember liking.
 I was startled to see this living room looks like an old fashioned version of our current living room !
What do you think ?

We have a lot more we plan to do . We'll be remodeling the kitchen , laundry room, and back porch but that will have to wait until next year. We're getting our outdoor stuff done first and also plan on actually enjoying retirement by getting in some fishing and camping. As things are right now, even if we never get around to remodeling, our new home is very comfortable , easy to maintain, and works quite well for us. We're so blessed and thankful for God's many mercies in our lives. We're loving life here at Laughing Dove Farm.

17 comments:

De said...

Your new home is lovely and you can't beat that view. So glad you are settling in and enjoying retirement.

Anonymous said...

It's a cozy and precious home, Kathy. I love the new furniture and seeing familiar pieces like your hutch. Beautiful window to sit in front of, too. I notice your woven table runner and hand made rug with leaves, too. I am so happy for you guys. xoxo

Cinderella Moments said...

Changing furniture is fun! I love it. It just makes you feel special! You are truly blessed. Enjoy the new living room.
hugs♥,
Caroline
PS thanks so much for the sweet words on my blog! You make my heart smile! :)

ellen b. said...

Looks like a great space to enjoy. Those new couches/recliners look very comfortable! How nice to have that great large window to look out on your land and beyond!

Nib's End said...

You should have a jigsaw puzzle made of the view outside your front window and then put it together on the livingroom table. Your new room looks a cozy place to read.

Deanna said...

Hi Kathy.
LOVELY!
So glad you shared with us your home.
Enjoyed my visit.
I like color a lot, but lately have been leaning toward blue and grey. This may all change in a heart beat because I like color.
Lovely place to call home,
d

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Thank you for sharing your lovely new home here with us. It is comfy, cozy and makes me feel right at home. I love color and I love 'wood'.

What a fantastic view to have in any season. Keep enjoying your new home and surroundings. Enjoy the 'retired' life.

Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady

Sandra said...

Your home is lovely :)

Jean Tuthill said...

Your new home is so inviting and looks so cozy. The best place to be when retired. I like the ease of maintenance and the beautiful scenery you have. Have a wonderful day...

Debbie - Mountain Mama said...

Oh your new home is absolutely charming!! I can just imagine how lovely the view out those front windows is....I would be right at home in that cozy room!

Anonymous said...

Your new house is great! I love that window, and I REALLY love your china cabinet! I have always wanted one. But, maybe when I don't have 4 kids running around...3 who are boisterous boys! ha, ha. You've done a really nice job with your home. :)

Connie said...

I like both the before and after views of your new living room. This home seems to be perfectly suited for you and your husband, Kathy. It is quite lovely.

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Kathy, it looks very warm and cozy! Good taste! And, it's wonderful being able to watch all the wildlife from your windows!
P.S. You are right, the picture in the magazine reminds your room!
Take care and stay warm!

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

I find your new home cozy with everything nicely arranged. I'd be sitting by that big window a lot watching the wildlife. We have still have lots of snow out our windows too, spring is coming....

Stella Jones said...

I think your new room is lovely, very cosy and everything is where you want it. The new look shows warmer tones, which I think you will appreciate more in the colder parts of the year. Your China cupboard shows off your love of white and blue and everything seems to fit perfectly.

Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse said...

This is a lovely home. The huge window gives an amazing view and makes for a very bright and welcoming room.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

Everything looks so lovely and warm and cozy! I noticed your woodstove - it is just like the one we have in our bedroom. Ours is a 'country'. There is nothing like the warmth of a woodstove. You have lovely windows that add so much beautiful light and it is so wonderful to have a view with all the wildlife. I love your hutch with all your blue and white china. Comfort is so important in furniture, I think. There's nothing worse than sitting on an uncomfortable sofa! So happy that you have found your 'forever' home, close to your children and grandchildren and with wide open spaces to enjoy the peace and quiet. xx Karen