We’ve been living in this house for 6 years (we moved two weeks after our first kid was born and *that* was clearly not the best decision in the world), and we painted not long after we moved in. And then things kinda stagnated; it’s been six years and sometimes I still feel like it’s not exactly home.
I think, partially, it’s that we live several states away from both of our families, and in the back of my head I’ve been plotting how to get closer to them, because I miss my folks and a little help would be nice, especially with the traveling that happens for my fella’s work. Move to Nashville? Move to Ann Arbor? What to do? Because of that, we’ve always had plans, but they never really went anywhere. Why bother, if you might not be here?
Last year, though, Jack started kindergarten and I came to feel as is, perhaps, this was where we are going to be. Without talking about it, we started doing little projects that just didn’t seem to get attention before, and we’ve started moving forward on actually decorating stuff, like coming up with a cohesive plan for how we want things to look, and then moving forward with it. I know, right? It’s almost like we mean to stay.
So now that we’re putting down roots, both with a network of friends for us and the kids, and making our house more of a home, I am finally going to bite the bullet and make curtains. As one does. We painted the living room within the first year, a really lovely blue color by Benjamin Moore called “Deep Ocean”:
Right now, everything in the room is white or taupe or brown (boring, boring, aaaaand boring), and I want COLORFUL and cheerful. Like I said, I love Cottage Living (may it R.I.P), so I am thinking more modern/cottage. To that end, I am thinking of using Art Gallery’s Reminisce line by Bonnie Christine. In particular, I love Sweet Nostalgia Antique, Branchlets Porcelain, Sprouts of Joy, and Wonderment Teaberry.
Now, additionally, we have a somewhat open floor plan, with the kitchen/dining/nook area in a very pale blue called “Salt Glaze” by Martha Stewart (beeyoootiful color, btw–we had it mixed up in Benjamin Moore Aura paint. Looks a little more blue in person than online), so I would want window treatments that work for the other windows, too.
I ask you, what would you do? I’m waffling.
How about an upholstered cornice (modern fabric with modern quilting to be youthful & reflect you) with some insulating blinds in a cool neutral hidden behind them?
The blinds could stay up out of sight most of the time but would be awesome in the cold winters.
Or, you could hang a sheer place of the blinds for filtered light and a nit of privacy all the time.
Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that. I already have a linen curtain on the windows in a white/offwhite (you can see it in the picture) so a cornice would work really well if I took off the curtain rods. Thing the Sweet Nostalgia Antique would work, or would you use a different mod fabric? I wanted a blend of modern prints with cottage-feel, i guess.
Your home is beautiful but I cast a selfish vote: move to California.
And oh, Chels, it has crossed my mind!
I’m a biiiig fan of blue with yellow and large prints, so I would probably go with enamored melon. With all the boring you have going on (unless your next move is to change those too) I would stay away from the ivory prints — they might not have the visual impact you’re looking for, and there’s nothing worse than going through all the work of making curtains and being disappointed.
I’ve been thinking about the cornice idea, and if I did something with folds, I was thinking of using a contrasting fabric, probably in the gold. I love the colors of the enamored melon, but the print is too regular for my tastes. I love the more loose florals. As for the creams, the room doesn’t get much light because of an overhanging porch, so darker colors (we had gold silk currents in there before) really cut off a lot of our available natural light.