a 'carl' dutch door, a magpie and a kitten

well sweet friends, it has been a while! (insert hands over bashful face;) life has just been, well life. crazy, busy, full and wonderful. and I have gotten used to sharing over on instagram...it is a bit (A LOT;) quicker and easier than blogging. but I have so many cute pictures I want to share...too many for instagram...so dusting off my laptop to share some major cuteness from last summer. and looking through the pictures is making me miss summer! (insert crying face) a magpie in a sweet gingham sundress with her little sun-kissed skin, in front of an amazing coral door, playing with our grayson kitten, surrounded by plants. ahhh, yes summer perfection captured in photos.

I don't want to wish away time, but goodness we are having SO many rainy and gray days, so all of the color in these photos are making me so happy!!!! other than the obvious thing making me happy in these pictures (one super adorable summer magpie;), introducing our new coral dutch door from Simpson door , I have been dreaming of a dutch door in this spot since we started restoring our barn...many YEARS ago. if you've been around a while, you know by now our projects don't move very quickly ;), but it is always worth it when we are done. so this door has been a vision for quite some time, so to see it come to life, well I have one very happy heart. the door is truly the finishing touch on the barn, it is seriously just the cutest...I feel like the pictures don't do it justice! and also to answer some of the most asked questions I get over on instagram when i share this door...the door is from Simpson door and friends it is truly so beautiful! they make SO many beautiful doors, in all shapes and sizes and they were so amazing to work with! and the door is painted a perfect shade of coral, or as James t. farmer says, 'carl". he said that is how his momma always said it, so he now says it, and I now say it! I will never day coral just 'coral' again! it will always be 'carl' from now on (said in my best southern accent;)! I painted a few different samples on the door, paints can change in different lighting, spaces, et., and I thought I would love the one James t. farmer shared, but it didn't work in our space. the winner was Persimmon by Sherwin Williams. I love the way it looks against the green, and the name made me fall in love with it even more! we have a persimmon tree behind our barn..so that makes the color and it's name extra special. and the color on the board and batten on the barn is custom, but SO close to Sherwin Williams Messenger Bag...the color doesn't really look green on the sample, but once you start painting away, it is the perfect 'green but not too in your face green'. and the trim is all painted sherwin William alabaster, the perfect warm white. and the gorgeous porcelain door knob is from Emtek ...it was truly the finishing touch on the door, and just when I didn't think the door could get any prettier...once the beautiful hardware was on...just all the heart eyes friends! so on with lots of pictures of one of our favorite spots...that is currently really making me wish warm and sunny days would hurry up and bless us! oh and i saved the cutest picture for the end! I mean, seriously! could Grayson's face BE any cuter?! he looks like one happy kitten! and now that I've dusted off the laptop friends, I promise to try and post more often...I plan on taking lots of frequently asked questions and answering them here...to try and make it easier to have all of our paint colors and sources in one spot!

black and white and a pool house bath

hi sweet friends! well it has been a bit! (insert me covering my face in embarrassment;) we have just been busy swimming and soaking up every last second of our new pool this summer...it seriously is like you are on vacation. but at home. so the very best of both worlds! so with so much swimming happening, we still haven't totally finished the pool house...we have to cut the faces off of brick we have left over from our home to wrap the foundation, and jeffrey has to build out a large step (design still not decided), but i wanted to go ahead and share inside the pool house bathroom that is pretty much finished. and can i just say having a pool house bathroom was pretty much the best decision EVER. like ever ever. it has been so wonderful to have a bathroom so close, and one with a concrete floor so everyone doesn't even have to dry off...just run right around the corner and then right back to swimming! the design of the bathroom all started with this AMAZING light from barnlightelectric.com....it is so beautiful, the pictures truly do not even do it justice....

it is the ivanhoe union warehouse porcelain pendant in white, and friends, the porcelain finish is SO pretty! we bought our very first porcelain light from barnlightelectric.com over 5 years ago when we started the addition. it is in the half bath and knew i wanted a similar light for the pool house bath. so once i fell in love with the white porcelain barn light, i knew i wanted to keep the bathroom as simple as possible to let the light and the view of the trees outside steal the show! so i painted the walls and ceiling in sherwin williams alabaster, the perfect warm white. jeffrey installed the board batten treatment to add texture and to tie in to the exterior.

how pretty is that light against that gorgeous ceiling made by jeffrey? it is rough sawn pine from the lumber mill that he planned down and then added a tongue and grove edge...i think it turned out so beautiful and i try and remind myself to look up every once and a while to appreciate it:)

the bathroom is kinda small, but we were able to squeeze a shower in also. it will be great if anyone needs to rinse off after swimming, and also for when jeffrey is covered in sawdust from building whatever the current project is in the barn;) i just searched vintage exposed shower head and this one popped up on amazon.com for a great price. i think is was $138, it is not as heavy duty as the one in our master bath (some plastic parts) but i think it will be fine for the pool house.

in keeping with the simple less is more theme, this mirror from shadesoflight.com turned out perfect! i love that it is just the simple metal frame, and the little shelf gives it that little something that makes it special. i started out looking for a vintage mirror, but everything i found was too wide...the sink we had to go with to fit is pretty tiny....i found the wall mount sink at lowe's for a steal of $40, and the sweet faucet with the vintage look porcelain knots is another find from amazon.com.....

i mean how sweet is that little shelf?!

just to the right of the sink is the potty, and i painted the painting for a pop of color in the mostly white room...

it is my emme, my rayley and my magpie, all cannonballing into the water. i was inspired by my dear friend ruthie carlson and her bathing beauties she paints...i am still learning as i paint, but i truly love it. especially when i am painting such cute models;)

this sweet vintage stool is an antique mall find...it is the prefect amount of chippy goodness! the beautiful towels are from bollandbranch.com and the shampoo and conditioner bottle as well as the soap bottle on the sink are all from my dear friend jenny jennysteffens.blogspot.com ...i have them in our bathrooms in our home and i love the simplicity...no more mismatched bottles! (insert praise hands;)

this is the view in front of the potty...jeffrey installed the peg hooks for our guests to have a place to hang their bags and wet swimsuits as they change. i ordered some iron hooks, but the black was just too much in the small space. i painted the peg hooks the same color as the wall and i love that they just blend in and disappear when not in use. and that sweet swimsuit belongs to one magpie and is from thebellabeanshop.com... i mean ticking stripe, ruffles and a monogram?! southern girl swimsuit perfection!

the gorgeous french market tote is from sweet joy, she is at upcountrylivingmarket on instagram, she sells lots of treasures...new and old! and the gorgeous beach towels are also from bollandbranch.com...they are seriously the biggest, softest, most fluffiest (it's a word:) beach towels in the history of ever!

this is the cute teeny tiny door that jeffrey made to match the walls, and we added a peg hook to the back of it for us or our guests to hang their towel on while they shower. and the cute door knob is made by schlage and is also an amazon find....

and here is a peek at the awning just outside the bathroom, jeffrey designed and built every single detail. i sketched up what i wanted the pool house to look like and he just made it happen. and then some. like adding this adorable awning. i promise to share more of the outside once we finish the brick around the foundation and get the step designed and built, but i hope you sweet friends enjoyed this peek into the bathroom! (insert blushing bashful face here, because well, bathroom;)

twinkle lights, cool air and pretty shade from overstock.com

hi sweet friends! i wanted to share a few more fun details happening with the pool slash pool house slash barn porch:) not sure if you can tell in pictures that i have shared (probably not because most are quite cropped in because well, everything is far from finished) that the pool house attaches to the barn, and the pool deck attaches to the barn porch. when the whole pool dream started, at first i was kinda dissapointed that the pool had to be kind of far from the house. this decision was made for us by codes, the pool had to be so many feet from the septic system (country life;)...but now i am actually happy it worked out that way. i love the view of the pool and the view while you are in the pool..just that it is out there on it's own...kinda like a pond, which i love! soooo, all this to get to that i also love that it is by the barn to be able to use the barn porch (that we added on to the 100 year old barn almost 8 years ago). have i lost you yet? so 100 year old barn we restored 10 years ago, attached to 8 year old barn porch attached to new pool house...all connected and all now part of our 'pool party zone'. just another example of how His plan is always so much better than our plan! so since the barn porch is attached to the pool deck (as in a few feet from the chaise lounge chairs), i know it will get lots and lots of use this summer. so i started on the hunt for the perfect fan. to cool down the porch when we are all melting come august. so after lots to time online if found the perfect fan. the look i wanted and great reviews on the function...perfect combination. it is from overstock.com....so you can click HERE to go and check out any of their other great products...they have about a million ;) isn't it pretty? it rotates 360 degrees to get some major air moving...which is what we will need out here. it is the fanimation extroidinaire and you can go and check it out by clicking HERE

it may be bit hard to tell in the photo, but it is one of the largest oscillating ceiling mounted fans i could find. the barn porch ceiling in the peak is 12 feet...so we needed it pretty powerful, and this one does the job (insert thumbs up)! and do you see the pretty string lights? they are also from overstock.com. i had some smaller bulb string lights up before, some had stopped working and they just didn't put off as much light as i wanted, so i had been dreaming of the more industrial lights with the larger bulb for a while. and i am in love with the way they look and the light that they put off!

we put some on the barn porch and then used one strand to the right side of the pool house....the strands are 48 feet long, which is almost twice as long as our old lights.... which i also love!

they look so pretty right at dusk....

twinkle lights=magic

you can find the vintage clear bulb retro light at overstock.com by clicking HERE

and the last of the refresh is our new umbrella from overstock.com....what is it that is so pretty about a white umbrella against a blue sky? just magical i tell you....

i went with the canvas commercial grade 9 foot aluminum umbrella with stand that you can see at overstock.com by clicking HERE. we have had a few umbrellas in the past...that were not the sunbrella fabric and that were not the aluminum poles...and by the end of the season the canvas fabric was covered in mildew and a couple times a good storm broke the wood poles right in half....so i am so excited about the weather resistant fabric and the aluminum pole(insert lady in red dance dancing;). i just wanted an umbrella that was beautiful and worry free...and this one definitely fits the bill!

spring is the perfect time to refresh your outdoor space, and OVERSTOCK.COM has everything you need for warm weather entertaining...and they have HUGE MEMORIAL DAY SALE going on through may 29th! so extra savings, free shipping and their club o rewards program where you can earn 5% in rewards on every purchase that can be saved and used towards later purchases...lots of reasons to get your outdoor spaces ready to enjoy, right? hope you sweet friends enjoyed the update, and can't wait to share more soon! today is the first day all of my girls are home for summer break (insert praise hands) and we can't wait to spend pretty much everyday and night enjoying our time in or near the pool! ******this post was sponsored by OVERSTOCK.COM, but all of the opinions shared are my own. i only pick and share things i truly love for our home and know that you sweet friends would love too!

pool house progress, pillows and teak

hi sweet friends! i can't believe I've been away so long, but we've been busy trying to get a pool and pool house ready! and i can't believe it is already the middle (okay actually kinda middle-ish to end-ish;) of may! we have only three days of school left and only five days until memorial weekend starts...which means non-stop pool time! the pool house is still a work in progress, but i had to share the side that is totally finished, the front! well actually not totally finished...we still have to cut the faces off brick left over from the house to attach to the foundation. and build a brick step. and landscape to the right side. so i guess saying the front is finished may be used a little loosely;)...but it trimmed out and painted and caulked and has doors and door handles and cute lights and beautiful new chairs from joss and main and pretty pillows from dash and albert...so i had to share! i mean...all the heart eyes friends! we wish we had made it a tiny bit bigger (the bathroom is kinda tight) and i wish we had a tiny bit more concrete to walk around the chairs...but we were trying to stay within a budget. and i LOVE they way it turned out! my sweet hubby and i sketched out what i had in mind...i just knew it had to have a cute little two window dormer, to be white board and batten and have a galvanized metal roof. and then he came up with the amazing idea of adding to the breezeway that wraps around which upped the cute factor by like 5 times at least! and i will share more pics of all of that when it is finished and i don't have to crop it out ;) so basically we made up our own plan that ended up being 10' by 12', which is pretty small compared to lots of pool houses out there, but i think it is just the cutest. and while i am painting, i still look at it and out at the pool and can't believe it is actually ours! we have dreamed about it for so long and feel so very blessed that the dream is now real! and on to some of the pretty details that are just enough motivation to keep me caulking and painting! how gorgeous are the new teak chaise lounge chairs?! (and let's just pretend we don't see that ladder on the roof that I'm still using to paint and hated to have jeffrey take it down just for the picture;) they are joss and main, which you can visit by clicking HERE. joss and main has so many gorgeous outdoor furniture options, i knew i wanted the look of wood, and knew i wanted maintenance free. after much research, i knew we needed to go with teak. we have had some wood furniture in the past that wasn't teak, and it had to be oiled every year or it started to look bad. but after reading lots of comments and reviews on teak, you can never do anything and it just turns a gorgeous gray. which i am totally fine with. i think the gray weathered look will be beautiful. and i love love love the idea of not having to oil or wood condition every year. and how pretty is the shape of the chair?! it is the starboard chaise lounge which you can view by clicking HERE and joss and main had the best price! we may eventually do a cushion, but they are so pretty i hate to cover them up! and i kinda like the way the air circulates through the chair...so for now just really pretty throw pillows for your head are working perfectly! oh and LOVE that it has wheels! we had this on our list of things we wanted and can already tell that it is a must if you are going to be moving the chairs around at all...so much easier than trying to drag a chair around or having to get a friend to help you pick it up and move it...so yes to wheels on chaise lounge chairs! (insert thumbs up:) the throw pillows are indoor/outdoor pillows from dash and albert, you can go and check out all of their gorgeous fabric choices by clicking HERE i wanted a pillow that i didn't have to worry about the sun fading it or wet heads laying on it and causing mildew...but was having a hard time finding an outdoor pillow fabric that i loved...until these! they are part of the fresh american line and i went with the crystal denim/white and the lexington white/denim on the lounge chairs. and then mixed in couple more patterns on the sofa and chairs on the porch that i will share soon! i mean how gorgeous is that for an outdoor pillow?! and i love that they are so big! they are 22" square, which was larger than any other outdoor pillows i found while researching...and bigger is always better with a pillow right? so some really zoomed in shots to share progress, but there is still quite a bit to be done. but when i look at pics from a few months ago, it makes me feel really good about how far we have come...as my daddy says, 'how do you eat an elephant? one bite at a time.' so here is to a few more bites to go and to having a really big appetite over the next few weeks to get it done! and then i'll be back to share more progress! thank you sweet friends for being a part of our journey (insert heart here;) pool house color ---sherwin william alabaster teak chaise lounge chair ---starboard chaise lounge from JOSS AND MAIN beautiful indoor/outdoor pillows ----DASH AND ALBERT

playroom slash schoolroom slash art room refresh with bemz slipcovers

hi sweet friends! we've been super busy here trying to get a pool and pool house ready before memorial day...and i will share pics of that soon, but wanted to share the little refresh we gave the girls in 'their space'. for you friends that have been on our journey a while, you may recognize this as the carriage house den/kitchen. it is the space we used everyday for 11 years. and then when we moved into the addition, i knew i had to create the girls a space, a space to be creative and have fun and just be kids. a place where i could let them leave out all of their art mess and not have to clear it off before dinner time....which was the case for 11 years...lots of clearing off the table before each meal;) so i truly appreciate this space...and hopefully they do too! so what started this little refresh was the girls wanting a sofa or beanbags or a place to 'lounge' upstairs. so i started pricing options and the ikea ektorp sofa and chair were a great price. then once i found www.bemz.com and their gorgeous linen slipcovers...(they make slipcovers to fit every make and model of ikea's sofas, armchairs and footstools) well, then i knew the direction we were going. yes to sofa and no to beanbags;) to visit bemz click here this will one day be maggie's living space, so i wanted something that would be comfy for everyone to lounge on, young and old;) i chose the bemz slipovers in the loose fit country...i wanted a bit of a looser fit, kind of a shabby chic look. another thing i love about bemz is that will send you free samples, so i picked several of their neutrals, creams and whites....it is always so helpful to look at the fabrics in your home...colors aren't always what they appear on the computer screen. and my very favorite was the rosendal pure washed linen in unbleached. it goes perfectly with the wall color (the same custom color we have in pretty much every room;), the check drapes from ballard designs, and provides the perfect backdrop for the fun, colorful pillows. i am just in love with the bemz slipcovers and the way they barely puddle and just give it that extra comfy cozy feel. we have all already been enjoying the new space...i do not want to put a tv upstairs...i want to make sure they come downstairs ;)...but jeffrey did put a movie screen and a projector up for now, and we have loved cozying up and having movie nights...and all of the girls have been spending time on their iPads and reading books cuddled up under quilts in the space. the adorable pillows on the ends that have the sweet ties are from tori and www.thelinenrabbit.com, tori has so many gorgeous custom pillows, click HERE to check out all of the pretty! and the other pillows my mom came to the rescue and made them for me out of rifle paper co. fabric...i couldn't find any other pillows that i just loved for the space...that would give it that sweet 'three girls live here and enjoy this space everyday' feel;) the drapes are the taupe check from ballard designs, and the precious stuffed cat is from www.blablakids.com....i sold them at the briar patch, so we have MANY blablas...our magpie LOVES them, they are just so squishy and soft and perfect for her to tote around. rayley beth made this sweet owl in third grade...this entire room is filled with the girls' artwork...it makes it so happy and cheerful and one of my favorite rooms in our home. i feel so very blessed to have such an amazing space to homeschool our magpie... i painted the tree on the wall five years ago this fall...i had found a tree decal with vintage wallpaper for leaves, but it was around $300....so it was out of budget. so i started thinking of how i could do something similar for a lot less money...and another problem...every tree decal was only 8 or 9 feet tall, and i needed it to be 10 feet tall. so of course a diy tree came to mind. i taped off the tree design using painter's tape, and then sketched out a pattern of a leaf on cardboard, and then traced it on to several different scrapbook papers that i picked with a vintage look. the entire thing cost less than $20, and i still love the way it turned out. and just a few more fun pics of their space....the table and art box are made by jeffrey. i wanted something to hold all of the jars of markers, crayons and colored pencils to keep them in one spot...so sketched it out and sweet hubby made it happen. and the little shelves for the books are also made by jeffrey ....using some of our 100 year old barn wood we tore off of our barn when we restored it... and if you don't own any of the pigeon books....i highly recommend them! we have several and they are just the cutest! more of my sweet girls' artwork, the banner we made after i found several fabrics with a vintage look and in colors i imagined for the space, cut our the triangles and my sweet mom stitched them up for me.... the dollhouse is a hobby lobby kit that i made for rayley beth a few years ago for Christmas....it took MANY late nights of painting and staining each tiny shingle and wallpapering teeny tiny rooms and having jeffrey cute teeny tiny trim...it was a labor of love for sure, but i hope it is enjoyed by our girls and then by our grand babies one day... and of course it wouldn't be complete without a couple vintage chairs...perfectly sized for our magpie. i have such a love for vintage children's chair...thinking about all of the tiny tushies that have sat in them throughout the years. i may have almost 20 wee chairs. (insert face gritting teeth in disbelief;) and other than my girls' artwork, one of my very favorite things in the space....this antique newel post that i fount at an antique shop in franklin over 16 years ago....they said it came from an old school house... i love to think of all of the tiny hands that touched it before our girls' tiny hands....(and this is at the top of the 19 steps in the carriage house, the 19 steps we climbed multiple times a day for the 11 years we used this as our den/kitchen...and now use as the playroom/school room/art room...i know it a bit confusing until you see it all in person;) so i hope you all enjoyed the tour...it is still a work in progress...i'm on the hunt for the perfect rug, and we have several things to finish up on the other side of the room that is so cleverly cropped out;)...but i will share the rest of the space once it is finished. hope you sweet friends have a week that is as happy as my girls' artwork!