common ground

Friday, February 7, 2014

Be Inspired #175

Hey Everyone, and Welcome to Be Inspired!

Are you all still in the deep freeze?

I guess there's no use in complaining...

I'm trying to remember what I love about winter,

but right now that concept is escaping me.

One good thing to do is to link up all your ideas and inspiration from last week,

and come hang out over here for awhile.

Honestly, there have been so many great links.

You all are awe.some!

Here are just a few from last week.

Kim from Tidbits and Twine shared her Guest Room Makeover,

and I'm totally crushing on this wonderful black cabinet!

I was amazed with this Craft Room Reveal and

Chalkboard Entry Wall

from Jeannine at the Concrete Cottage
talk about "Creative"...

Amber from Junkaholics Unanimous

shared her "Winter in the Cottage" Decor,
...love this chair.

Anne from Fiona and Twig photographed a friend's wonderful Cottage.

This over the top gilt French Coat of Arms Sign from Olive Out really rocks!

We've been struggling with coming up with flat screen TV storage.
So check out the fabulous Triple Printer's Drawer TV Console
from Korrie at Red Hen Home.

And I do have to admit, this is one way to have some fun in the snow.

I love this winter picnic in plaid from Jann at Mrs. Olson's.

thanks gals!

Party Guidelines

Please have an individual link back to Common Ground within your post. I'd love to feature you. This is just part of the Party Etiquette.

Please remember to turn off word verification. I've tried leaving comments that didn't go through. I'm sure others have tried also.

Please no direct links to Etsy or Advertising.

Link up to three of your current posts.

Take a minute to visit a few of the other links.

Please be a follower of Common Ground.

Thank you to all of you who come over each week to link up to the party, I may not get to leave a comment, but I try to visit each of your posts. You are a never ending source of inspiration to me and others, so just know how much I appreciate each one of you!

thanks so much for joining in

and making this party so much fun!

If you've missed any posts this week on my decorating the new sitting area,

just click on the photos at the top of this post.

stay warm,

xoxo,

I see InLinkz has been messing with their party button,

so just click on the itsy bitsy "add a link" and you'll get there.

Now I have to figure out something else that's new...

Today's Common Ground Sponsor

Eleanor Brown Boutique

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Chairpads?...Check

There's a lot going on in my new little sitting area in the kitchen, so I'm going to share it in bitesize pieces. Most of the furniture in here you haven't seen before, and that goes for these counter height off-white chairs that match my kitchen table and china cupboard (at the other house) I didn't have a place for them upstairs at the other house, so they were at the bar downstairs, never used.

(pic from last July at the other house,
after I painted the tabletop with ASCP)

The white table has a leaf and extra chairs, 6 in all, is really heavy, and takes up a bunch of space. Space that I wanted for my cupboard and some wicker. Anyway, these two chairs fit perfectly here at the little counter height bar area of the kitchen.

I hadn't bought chair pads since we had moved to the other house 11 years ago, and I needed something new and fresh with a little pizzazz. So when Ballard Designs started their site wide 15% off sale, I jumped at getting new ones. I had to buy a set of 8 in "Medium", but then bought 4 more in "Small", as these little chairs around the round table are more petite in size.

I could have played it safe with a solid color cushion, but I'd seen this adorable toffee check, so I fell in love. I have fun mixing patterns on my wicker settee, so I thought these would go with most of my decor options.

When we knew we were going to lease this little house, I was thrilled with the larger dining area and knew that I wanted to fill it with more than an oversize table. It will more than likely just be hubby and I who will be having breakfast and lunch here, so no need for a big table "eating" up all the space. I've had this little round antique table (it does have a leaf for seating 6) for probably twenty years, but it's been in the basement at the other house. I found these chairs about 15 years ago; just perfect for this smaller size table.

Loving these Ballard chair pads, but measure carefully, they are bigger than you'd think. The "Medium" size was way too big for these chairs. I like the tailored look with the piping. What's great about these, are that you can remove the foam insert pad for cleaning, and they have lots of other colors and patterns for a new look.

Yes, that's the rug I had in the living room.

All this dark wood flooring needed a visual break.

When I found this set of chairs,

they had just been refurbished with repairs and new caned seats.

I'm not sure of the wood, but I love the darker cherry stain.

You can see hints of the other furniture pieces.

I'm enjoying using some things that are different than my usual white.

Lack of storage and cabinet space has had me getting a little creative.

Like many of you all out there, it's snowing this week...

we have it scheduled for every day...

every.

day.

I keep thinking I'll get an outside pic of the house,

but each time I think of it, I'm inside with fuzzy socks,

so I don't want to get out.

...maybe by Spring.

But here are a couple of shots of the houses across the street, so you can at least see a little of what it's like here. Cute subdivision of houses, new, to about 6 years old. It's on the edge of town, with a lot of treed acreage around it so it's not too different from where we just came from. This one is from the front porch.

This is from the kitchen window. Sorry about the blinds, if you kinda squint you can see what I mean. The houses across the street are walk-out basement homes, this one is one level and just a two car garage, but for now it's great. Only problem, the cats and I might put on some pounds cause its' small. I may put them on the treadmill!

Don't start these videos unless you have an empty bladder.

just sayin'.

I'm joining in on these great parties this week:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Inspiration Exchange at City Farmhouse
Treasure Hunt From My Front Porch to Yours
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush
Inspire Me Please at Liz Marie Blog

Oh, and I'm not affiliated with Ballard Designs,

just love these chair pads.

stay warm,

xoxo,

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The Marketplace: Etsy and Boutique Showcase

Hi Everyone, Happy Monday and Welcome to

The Marketplace

Hope you had a great weekend, ours was just the start of many, dedicated to packing and cleaning up the other place. We're "in the groove" and it feels good to be making some progress. When I sat down to choose some links from last week's party, I could hardly stop! There are so many fun Valentine themed goods, as I'm sure there will be today. So, here are a few for you to check out:

Vintage Poppytrail Set of Plates

Gizmo and HooHa

Valentine Candy Cone

Laura Ingalls Gunn

Valentine Clothespin Doll

Cotton Candy Dolls

Vintage Heart Cookie Cutter Set

Mission Jewels

Vintage White Doily Heart

Seaside Rose Creations

Wedgewood Valentine's Day Cherub Plate

Nancy's Daily Dish

Hand Painted Metal Heart

Villabarnes

thanks everyone!

And here's today's Marketplace Sponsor

Sweet Magnolias Farm

Party Link Guidelines:

This is a linky party that is for items that are FOR SALE only. You don't have to have a blog to link up. If you have a blog post about your items that's great too, but they need to be available to purchase. Please try to link to the individual item that you are selling if possible. Please be a follower of Common Ground and if you have a blog it would be so nice for you to grab the image below to share somewhere on your blog. (not mandatory, just nice). Remember the link is up all week, so please stop back by to check out new items being listed.

Have a great week,

Saturday, February 1, 2014

American Farmhouse Style

Last Fall when the editor of Cottages and Bungalows, Malena Jaime, contacted me about their new magazine coming out the first of this year, I had no idea we would be leaving behind my favorite spot, the sunporch. She had seen my post on my "Patriotic Sunporch" from early July and wanted to know if I would be interested in being a part of their first edition of the magazine. What? Who me? well of course!

Between the Holidays and a slew of bad weather, I finally located the magazine at WalMart, and wow, what an amazing honor and surprise!! Dedicated to Farmhouse Style, I wasn't sure how my "80's" sunporch would fit in, but their magazine is all about the style, and how to adapt it to wherever you might live. Tips and ideas I shared go for a new house or an authentic antique farmhouse; wherever you call home.

This magazine is full of wonderful features and beautiful photos from a wide variety of personal homes and spaces. American Farmhouse Style shows that there are many interpretations of "Farmhouse Style"; from rustic to industrial, cottage to romantic, there's something for everyone to enjoy and identify with.