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,

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,

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. 

My little ol' sunporch feels pretty darn special!

I have to admit, 

it's a little bittersweet seeing that special place in the pages of a magazine,

 but I plan on taking a little "farmhouse" with me wherever I go.

Thank you so much, Malena, for including me in your premier issue!

Joining in on these gatherings:

Dwellings

Coastal Charm

A Stroll Thru Life

Stonegable

Cozy Little House

Savvy Southern Style

French Country Cottage

The Charm of Home

Craftberry Bush

Liz Marie Blog

xoxo,

P.S. if you haven't joined in on Be Inspired,

then just click here.

Need a "special something" for a Valentine?

 Elliott-Heath Designs

Be Inspired #174

I felt totally out of the loop being away just one week! I missed seeing all your great ideas and decor from last week, and I'm in real need of some fresh inspiration! We're settling in to the lease house but have a long weekend of packing at the other house ahead of us. blah. But I DO need to find my Valentine goodies so I'll keep on a happy face. It's been so cold, all I want to do is stay home with a fuzzy blanket wrapped around me. OK, no whining...Here are some of the great links from the party two weeks ago.

Melissa from Shabby Love has a wonderful Home Tour, 

that you won't want to miss.

The Making of an Antique Cupboard
Angie from Knick of Time

Mary from Home is Where the Boat Is
shares her Potting Shed with a Bird Themed tablesetting.

Pam from White Ironstone Cottage

gave us some care and handling tips for White Ironstone

Nancy from A Joyful Cottage 

gave us some wonderful farmhouse kitchen inspiration

Jennelise captured some lovely pink vintage items

and Mini Oven Puff Pancakes from Simply Suzanne at Home

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 for joining in!

xoxo,

Today's Sponsor

Marionberry Cottage

My New, Old Cupboard

I still have boxes sitting around, but last weekend I just had to unpack my ironstone and transferware. Each time I'd look at my cupboard in my new little sitting area, it called my name. So, the bathroom and office could wait. I needed to have some fun with dishes.

I debated on using my red transferware in the upper cabinet since it's close to Valentine's Day, but since I'd never styled my brown, the brown won out. As I've mentioned before, I don't have "sets" of any pattern, although the "Old Britain Castle" by Johnson Brothers is probably my favorite. Some of the plates have chips, but that wouldn't keep me from using them for display...just use a well placed sugar bowl or pitcher and no one's the wiser.

The ceilings here are high, so that gives more room for some displayed items on top... yay. One of my antique laundry baskets that received a whitewash last year is holding my boxwood wreath, an ironstone tureen, and some ironstone platters. I'm thinking "Spring" in here, so an old watering can, some clay pots, and a ivy topiary are squeezed in.

You might not be able to see her, 

but a little birdie is nesting in a clay flower pot.

I still have more brown at the other house that needs to be packed, but I only took what I hoped would fit in the cupboard. It's a little jammed in, but I wanted as much to enjoy as possible.

Some barnyard cows are here too, the brown and white one in the back is Meissen, very old, with a faint crossed swords mark and "Germany" engraved on his side. He/she has a horn busted and shows some wear, and I can't remember where I found it, but I knew he was valuable. He only cost a few dollars.

I'm not sure about the all white mamma and baby, but they are also bisque porcelain, although I can't find any markings. I don't know that I'd ever shown these, they were in my powder room at the other house. This is a Cordon Blue creamer, but an older and more detailed one than most.

No markings on this cutie.

I stole  permanently borrowed these cream and marmalade jars from my husband's crockery collection to include in the cupboard. He collects Civil War era pottery, crocks, and bottles, etc. Actually, he was collecting demi johns before they became so trendy. You'll see those too, soon...on the fireplace hearth, I think. 

So here's the bottom part of the cupboard; it's housing my red transferware for now and more misfit ironstone and brown transferware. I have to get the rest of it together and see how much I can fit in without totally breaking those shelves. I still have a load of green and a few pieces of blue. yikes. 

I don't have room to leave the doors open in here, but a few times a day I peek inside, and smile. I've wanted a dish display cupboard for ages. (Ever since I sold my first antique pie safe about 15 years ago.) Who knew moving to a smaller house would get me one?

Things are coming together over here. It's a little frustrating at times since there are some changes that I would like to make if this house was mine, but I'm having to do my best to camouflage them and work around them. 

I thought about starting off this post by saying how dang cold it is, but you all know that. Hope you're staying warm and inside with a fire and some hot tea or cocoa...I know I am.

joining in with these party people:

Savvy Southern Style

City Farmhouse

Timewashed

Mrs. Olson

From My Front Porch to Yours

Jennifer Rizzo

French Country Cottage

Shabby Art Boutique

The Charm of Home

Stone Gable

Cozy Little House

A Stroll Thru Life

Coastal Charm

love ya bunches,

Today's Sponsor

Bel Monili