Open House Tour - Master Bedroom

We're back! It's home touring time over at 4 Moms 35 Kids, and this week we're showing off bedrooms. I've chosen to show my master bedroom this week and I'll hopefully show the other bedrooms next week. The reason for this is, I already had these pictures from when I got new bedding, and for the most part the bedroom looks the same, so I didn't have to take new pictures. One less thing in my already way too busy day LOL!

The master bedroom is probably my favorite room in the house decor-wise. It's 15X14 so it's a good size room, not too big but big enough for my husband J's favorite part of the room, the king sized bed. For the first 15 years of our marriage we had a full size bed and it worked just fine for us. Then J decided he wanted a bed big enough to fit the entire state of Alaska, even though I was afraid it would be too big. Surprisingly, it fits, along with 2 night stands. I chose the bed because it has wood and wrought iron which is the type of decor I love most. I got the bedding at Kohl's (my new favorite store). It's all reversable so I can have a couple different looks, which is nice since I like to change things up every so often. The curtains I found at Target and they matched the bedding exactly.

The wall unit faces the bed on the opposite wall. This was built by my carpenter brother-in-law along with the nightstands. It started out as a much smaller design, but both my brother-in-law and J kept adding more to it, and before I knew it the wall unit took up almost the entire wall. I was not happy at first, but once it was decorated I slowly came to like it more. It has lots of storage both in drawers and shelves while still looking elegant.

The only thing that is no longer in the room is that television. It was huge, heavy, and the thing just went ZAP one day and decided it didn't want to work anymore. This is one of the "old" style tv's, not a flat screen. It went about 2 feet deep and took 2 men to load into my car so that I could run around town trying to find someone to repair it. Alas, just as I told J, no one was going to fix this because no one makes these kinds of tv's anymore. So it was trashed, and a new flat screen tv took its place, because my hubby can't live without ESPN.

And that's it for my master bedroom. Oh, were you looking for a desk or home office of some sort? Nope, not gonna find it. My bedroom is a place to sleep, enjoy a good movie, cuddling, and reading in bed, not a work space. I aim to keep it that way.

So, would you like to share your home as well? You can visit the 4 Moms here, here, here or here and link your pictures. Have a blessed day everyone!

Open House Tour - Living Rooms

Here finally is the post for this week's tour - the living room. Actually, I had trouble deciding which to post - the living room according to the architectural plans, or the room where we do all our "living". It's like this: we have both a formal living room, and a family room. The family room should really be called the living room, and the living room should be called...

I know, I'll show you one step at a time.

This is the family room. It's directly behind and open to the kitchen. This is where we do most of our living. Take a good look - it's usually not this neat and tidy. I had to chase my kids out just so I could vacuum the rug and clear all the clutter before I took the picture. Typically the coffee table is filled with books, toys, games, snacks, and that's just my son E's stuff. We watch movies here on our enormous 10 year old TV. Back when we purchased it, it was the latest and greatest piece of electronics on the market; today it's just a big white elephant. My husband J wanted to get rid of it and buy a flat screen tv with HD and all the bells and whistles, but I pointed out there's nothing wrong with this set. Yes, it's out of style, but so long as it works I don't see the need to spend money on a new television set. Thankfully he agreed.

This is what you see from the kitchen. I love love love those recliners - they are so comfortable! The sliding glass doors lead to the patio and backyard. The wood floors were put in just this year and I love them because they're so easy to keep clean. What a blessing! I was tired of cleaning tile grout!

This is from behind one of the recliners. It's a straight view to the kitchen, the other part of the house that we mostly live in. I guess it's a good idea to have the family room next to the kitchen instead of the dining room - it keeps me close to the family while I'm cooking or cleaning up.

Now for the room known as the "formal living room." This is the view walking in the front door. I've had these sofas, tables and lamps for 11 1/2 years, and they look like new. That's because this room isn't used for "living" as the name implies. It's used for reading. My oldest son and I especially like to read here, because the room is bright, and since it's separate from the family area it's also pretty quiet. I like sitting or lying down on the large sofa with a cool drink and a good book. It's a much better use of the space if you ask me.

This is the opposite view. See that lovely cross over the front door? I got it at Kohl's for $9. It's wrought iron which I absolutely love. The area rug I got after I'd had the furniture for 6 years. I could never find a rug with the right colors for the furniture. I tried every store I could think of, with no success. Then one day I was at Lowe's buying something else, and I spotted this rug. I couldn't believe it: after so much searching, I found the perfect rug at a home improvement store. Go figure.

My brother in law built this cabinet for us. He's been doing woodwork for as long as I've known him. This is actually covered in formica which was picked to match the dining room furniture (back when light colored wood was in vogue). I keep my favorite books on the bottom shelf. A few of my hubby's work awards are displayed here, along with pictures and items I've had for years. I'm always looking for items that catch my eye to decorate my home with.

Behind the loveseat is my "artwork". Basically it's pictures of my family. They aren't my works of art, they are God's. That's why it brings me such joy to display them.

Thank you for coming to visit my home. It's always a pleasure to have company over!

For more beautiful living areas, visit 4 Moms and 35 Kids here, here, here or here. God bless and have a wonderful evening.

Open House Tour - Kitchen & Dining Room

Due to my having been on vacation last week, I wasn't able to post the open house pictures of my kitchen and dining room, so I thought I'd do that today. I'm sorting the vacation pictures, so don't worry; those will come later.

Let me give a little background on our house first: it's a 1,695 square foot Florida style home. By Florida style, I mean that it's an open concept house that places emphasis on outdoor living. The homes are designed to be comfortable in our warm Florida climate, though with the amount of humidity we have it doesn't always achieve its purpose.

Upon entering the house the first area is the "formal" part of the home, meaning you walk directly into the formal living room and beyond it is the formal dining room. On the right hand side are the bedrooms and bathrooms, and on the left is the "family" area, or the kitchen and family room. Let's focus on the kitchen first:

This is what you see when you turn from the formal part of the house into the kitchen. It's a 10x13 peninsula plan, which is an L-shaped kitchen with a peninsula instead of an island. I like that there's a window above the sink, even if it only looks out onto my neighbor's house. At least it lets in plenty of sunlight, as you may observe.

This is the view from the garage door. This house doesn't have a back door. Instead, entry is from the front door or the garage. It's convenient to have a door from the garage into the kitchen, especially when bringing in groceries. The reason the counter is so clean is because I was getting ready to cook and I absolutely must have the kitchen clean before I begin cooking. It's an obsession of mine. Otherwise the countertop is filled with whatever ingredients are being used for that day's meal.

Here's the view from the sink. That door is the pantry which affords me lots of storage space. See that clock to the left of the pantry door? I made that back when my older kids were little. I enjoyed working with ceramics and that was one of my "masterpieces". I'm surprised it's survived this long; it's probably about 18 years old. Beyond the kitchen, through the archway, is the dining room.

Our formal dining room is more of a family game room. We're a board game lovin' family, though lately our passion is for mexican train dominos. We love playing games, and this table provides plenty of space. It looks very formal, I know, but trust me, it gets alot of use. The flower arrangement on the table is what I put out for spring and summer. It was made by the wife of one of my husband's co-workers. In the fall and winter I trade it in for large candleholders in amber glass and wrought iron. This is the view from the archway in the picture above, and from the living room.

There's another archway from the family room into the dining room. That's the open concept thing going on. On the left hand side of the china cabinet is my scrapbooking station. That's another thing the dining room is used for: my scrapbooking hobby. Come to think of it, the one thing we do the least in this room is eat :D.

And this is the view from the corner of the dining room, by the window. Beyond the archway is the formal living room, but that'll be in my next post.

Again, sorry for getting this in a week late. Hopefully I'll have my next open house pics before the end of the day. Enjoy your time in my home!

To join in the open house tour, you can go here, here, here or here. All four ladies will be hosting. Have a blessed day.

The Open House Tour

4 Moms and 35 Kids is hosting an open house tour this month. You can join in here, here, here or here. For the next few weeks homes will be open for sharing. This week we're looking at the outside of the home, front and back. So here we go, welcome to our home:

I live on the corner of a cul-de-sac, so depending on which side you come down, you might get this view:

Or you might get this one:

Regardless, you're gonna see palm trees. This is South Florida. We're just brimming with all types of palm trees, and I love every one of them. That's my little boy in the picture, by the way. He's such a ham. Ours is a circular driveway, and hubby planted the bushes and of course palm tree in the center.

As you walk up, this is what you see. Notice on the side of the house there are some light patches of paint on the wall. My dearest hubby was touching up some spots, but he didn't notice till after he'd finished painting that he used the trim paint on the main wall. When he went to look for the correct paint, he realized we didn't have any left. Oh well. It'll stay that way till rainy season is over. Which won't be till winter. In the meantime we'll call this "art".

Here's my front door, and on the right is the living room window. The picture isn't the best, because it's very sunny out. This is the Sunshine State, after all. It's always sunny, unless it's raining, which right now is at least half the time. The advantage to that is that I don't have to water any plants, flowers or grass. The disadvantage is that we spend very little time outdoors because everything is soaking wet. Such is life in South Florida.

Here's an older pic of the front yard. I had lots of flowers planted which are gone now, but the plants are still there. The little angel in the center is a Welcome sign, and the rock over on the right says God Bless This Home. It used to glow in the dark, but it's been out there too long in the elements, I guess, and doesn't glow anymore. The sentiment is still true though, and I really love that ole rock.

I recently redecorated the backyard, so I'll just repeat some of the pictures. You can read more and see more pictures here. I'll post these in the spirit of the open house. Notice there isn't much kid stuff? That's because my kids don't like being outdoors. "It's too hot out there," they whine. Having grown up in the city and always wishing to have had a backyard, I just shake my head. At least it's available to the grown-ups to enjoy. When it isn't pouring rain, that is. You might also notice the yard is fairly large, with enough room for a pool. You're absolutely right. And if anyone out there feels called to finance said pool for our family, please let me know. It might be just what these kids of mine need to encourage them to enjoy the outdoors.

Here's the other view. I spend quite a bit of time here tending my plants and flowers. It's good exercise, and looks so nice and tranquil. You can see, of course, that my neighbors aren't too far off. They're very quiet though, so I don't feel like they're on top of me even though they live so close. I hear the kids playing outside, especially the house behind me that has a pool, but other than that we live in a very peaceful town which I'm so thankful for.

Well, that's my home. The outside of it, anyway. I hope it makes everyone feel welcome, which is my goal. Come on over, we'll sit outside with a tall glass of lemonade and enjoy the sunshine. If it's not raining. And if the furniture is dry ;-).