Loveliness Fairs: The Living (and Family) Rooms

For this week's Loveliness Fair (hosted by Sarah tomorrow) I'm going to show some pictures of our living room and our family room. I'm including both rooms here, simply because they are both places in our home where we gather together with family and friends. :)

When we moved in six years ago, the living room was the only real gathering space. It was next to an eat-in kitchen which led (through an exterior door) into a 3-season sunroom. Now all the walls are gone, the sunroom is now a dining room (better known these days as the learning room) and off that room is our new family room which we added on last year - and which still needs much finish work! (So please excuse the rough edges and distinct lack of moulding!)

I took far more pictures than I thought I would, so my comments will be brief - or somewhat briefer than usual ... ;)

The Living Room

This is our front bay window, underneath which is my hope chest. The boys like to use this area as a window seat. I like the view onto the street below (and the big maple out front). I love using old fashioned glass sheers on this window (just as my mum and grandma always did) as they catch the all day sunlight. It really does need a valance at the top, but I'll wait till we settle on a paint color!

Here are the curtains, opened. Right now the book of choice in this "reading nook" is a rather large dictionary.

This shows the top of one of our homeschool bookcases (and to see more of the living room bookcases you can check out one of my old posts here). The pansy painting was done by my mother. The white vase belonged to my dear husband's grandmother (and was meant to be filled with chrysanthemums, but I see I forgot that simply elegant touch). Note the bird's nest tucked in there among the candles and glass - it was found by my boys' great uncle. We've saved it ever since.

I'm only showing you this wall, as it needs help! It was just recently painted a biscuit color (right over the existing wallpaper). We're not sure what to hang here - plus this wall might be torn down to open the stairwell leading to the den downstairs. In the meantime, this bench serves as a place to sit and take off (or put on) your shoes, drop your purse etc. The open cubbies hold dh's mail basket (top) and newspapers to recycle (beneath).

Here are some close ups of our front door. I have a thing for roosters.

This "code" was written above our front doorway on the Epiphany. Do you know what it means? It gets a lot of comments. :)

The Family Room

When we decided to add on a family room, the two things we knew we wanted were lots of windows and a cathedral ceiling. I just love how airy this room is.

The decor is mostly "piney woods" with lots of natural wood and coffee-colored walls. The carpet is a medley of brown, beige, rose and evergreen (the better to hide all the dirt and crumbs). Above you see an evergreen garland around which have been wound several sets of pincone lights. We just turned them back on after a summer off.

Here are the pinecone lights close up - aren't they cozy?

The other theme of choice would be our Patriots regalia. Dh hung these flags on opening day.

Here is the view from our back windows. We look out at the conservation woods behind our house. (My favorite spot for morning coffee.) Note the leftover 4th of July garland! I tell myself I'm leaving it up for the Patriots (blue and silver are their colors) but really I can't get it down without peeling off tons of paint! I guess it's time I break the news to dear husband ...

Here is our family's patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi. I love this print (which was a special insert in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s lovely book) but especially as it goes so nicely with the nature theme and colors of the room.

 

Below the print is a favorite lamp - it was made by my grandmother years ago. It is a glass lamp that she filled with seashells she collected! (And the doily and table below also came from her.) To the left is our (gas) fireplace, which I posted about a while back. Here is a picture of it in use; it was too balmy today to light it ...

But it is a very welcome sight on cold autumn and winter evenings!

Here is the most comfortable corner of our couch (it's Earlybird's favorite bouncing spot, too). The small pillows above were gifts; the bird pillow matches our Christmas china.

And here is my morning coffee spot up close. I wish I had some really honorable kind of reading material to display, but lately I've just been reading though all my magazines, which have really been piling up ...

I collect a fair few. I've been meaning to write a post in which I review the current issues of several popular magazines (because if it's out there, I read it, LOL), but I haven't found the time to read them lately, let alone "review" them!

And finally, here is the corner where I seem to spend much time these days - the computer desk. The desk itself is actually the bottom part of a kitchen hutch we had in our very first home. The chart in the corner was a Lenten activity - the removal of which poses the same challenge as does the 4th of July garland pictured above. (I know - they make special tape for these things. I've learned my lesson. <big sheepish grin>)

Well, I'd better wrap up; sorry this post is so long! By the time I finished it, and realized just how big it had become, it was too late (at night) to do any clear-headed editing ~ so there you are.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into our family home! And do be sure to stop by Sarah's Plainsong tomorrow for the rest of the Loveliness Fair - where I'm sure everyone else will be much more restrained and elegantly simple. :)