The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

{house to home} William Morris Project (Vol.5): The Comparison Trap & New Pillows

Finally!  Another installment of the long neglected William Morris Project!  It’s been quiet here on the blog, but I have been working diligently every week to do a little something to make our house a home.  I’ve been hesitant to share because….well, I’m afraid that the comparison trap got me once again.  So many times, I’ve started drafting a post only to delete it.  It’s not “Pinterest worthy” or “pretty enough” or it seems silly to write a whole post about something like organizing the pantry.  I compare myself to the blog superstars and always come out the loser.  

No more.  I’m proud of the home I’m creating!  It may never make the pages of a magazine, but it’s ours and a constant work in progress.  Today, I want to show you my new pillows!

My original plan was to DIY my own, but I seem to have expensive taste in fabric.  Hah!  So I decided to use a Target coupon, along with my 5% off for using my card, to get a pretty great deal instead.  I picked out one pillow for the colors and aesthetic, while the boys in the family chose the other.  I’ll let you guess who picked which one.

The living room is slowly coming together.  The rest of my to-do list:
+ Paint the bottom half of the room the same Manchester Tan as the top half.
+ Purchase curtain rods and curtains.
+ Decide on artwork or photographs above the TV.
+ Start a vintage globe collection to be held on top of both cabinets (and put away the Hungry Hungry Hippo game!) 



What have you been working on to make your house a home?  Any exciting purchases?  Did you organize a drawer or a pantry?  I’d love to hear about it, big or small!

{house to home} William Morris Project (Vol.4): Upstairs Hallway Update

I tend to get the itch to paint on holiday weekends.  Labor Day weekend rolled around and I decided I’d tackle my next project: the upstairs hallway.  The hallway was previously painted the same crazy bright yellow like much of the house.  To each their own, but I’ve hated it since the day we moved in!  

These pictures don’t really do it justice. So, so bright.  I couldn’t wait to paint over it!  I needed one coat of primer and two coats of Benjamin Moore’s Manchester Tan and I had a totally new hallway!  

I am in love with the difference, to the point where I may or may not be finding excuses to run upstairs just to look at it.  🙂


The rest of my to-do list for the hallway:

  • Hang photographs
  • Find artwork
  • Spray paint lamp base
  • Install wooden growth chart
  • Replace light switch covers 
  • Maybe stain the stair railings darker?

{house to home} William Morris Project (Vol.3): Toy Closet Organization

The saying, “everything has a place”, is one lesson that I am trying to adapt in our home.  For whatever reason, I seem to really struggle in this area!  But with four kids and gobs of toys, it’s a necessary step in our house to home process.

So one day during naptime, I grabbed all of the toys strewn in multiple places throughout the first floor and started organizing.    

All of the broken toys went straight to the trash.  I then went through and took out the toys that I thought were never played with.  A tip that worked for me: Take these toys and put them in a box in the garage for a week.  Wait and see if your kids mention any of the toys.  If you get a “Hey Mom, have you seen my black Spiderman figure?”, discreetly pluck it from the box.  If they don’t say anything, they’re none the wiser and send ’em all to Goodwill!


All of the keepers were put in two big baskets that perfectly fit in my coat closet.  One basket holds all of the dress-up stuff: costumes, lightsabers, and Nerf guns.  The other holds miscellaneous toys like Little People toy sets and footballs.  

Feels good to have a hold on the toy situation for now!  How do you deal with your kids’ toys?  Please share your tips and tricks!  

{house to home} William Morris Project (Vol.2): Children’s Artwork Wall

My kids are always creating.  Most of the time they are on their own, drawing in the gobs of composition books scattered around the house.  But sometimes, when I’m feeling brave, I break out the real supplies: construction paper and paint, glue and markers.  While I hate the mess, these projects always become my favorite. So in an effort to personalize our home, I wanted a place to display the kids’ creations.  I knew there had to be a more stylish way than just taping them up to the walls and kitchen cabinets!       

We have a big wall in our kitchen that was the perfect space.  I picked up eight RIBBA frames from IKEA; I love the clean look and you can’t beat the price!  I used the newspaper method for the placement.

And after a morning of work, here is the final result:

I love it.  It adds so much color to the otherwise neutral area.  I love that the boys are so proud to see their pieces on display.  I also like that it will be simple to change out the pieces as they grow.  

What have you done this week to make your house feel more like home?

{house to home} William Morris Project (Vol. 1): An Introduction and a List

We have been in our current house for almost 11 months now.  A little recap for any new readers: Last summer, my husband got a wonderful new job in Northern Virginia.  For the next few months, we lived apart during the week: he stayed in a townhouse with a bunch of commuters and I was home with the kids.  We’d see him Friday night through Sunday afternoon, and then he’d make the two hour trip back.  Did I mention I was pregnant too?  It was a long summer.  

 After crunching our finances, we decided to rent out our current house and buy up north. We were dying to live in the same house again full-time!  The buying experience was a whirlwind, which anyone who has purchased in NoVa knows.  That day consisted of a full day of house hunting and making an offer just hours later.  Crazy!  We moved in two weeks before Sophia was born.

 The first few months were an absolute blur with a colicky baby and adjusting to my husband’s more demanding work schedule.  Home improvement took a back seat to say the least!  As the months went by, I took on small projects but never really took the time to make the house a home.

 Until now.  

 I want to be in love with where I’ve been planted.  I want my house to be a reflection of the six of us who live here.  I want it to be a welcoming destination for both friends and family, a gathering place for conversation and memory-making.  I want to make it feel like home.  


So, inspired by Jules at Pancakes & French Fries, I’m starting a new series here on the blog: the William Morris Project.  My hope is to share with you something I did to create an intentional home every week.  This could range from purchasing a new couch ($$$$) to organizing the kids’ closets (free!), but every week, I aim to do something to reach my goal.  And you can come along!


Another thing to note: My decorating mentality is a mix of both DIY projects on the cheap and saving our pennies to get the more expensive item.  So you’ll see both as the weeks go by.


Want a peek at my gigantic to-do list?  A few of the items to look forward to:
+ Paint the boys’ bedroom
+ Organize the kitchen cabinets and drawers
+ Tile the laundry room floor
+ Art for the dining room…maybe try a blueprint copy?
+ Create a mudroom
+ Gallery wall in nursery
+ New chairs for the kitchen table
+ Artwork for above the master bed
+ Simplify and organize my office
+ Add layers to the living room: pillows, throw, etc.
+ Dining room light fixture
…and so much more! 


See you next week with the first project: a gallery wall of my kids’ artwork!

{30 days of pinspiration} Day 25: Tissue Paper Pom-Poms

Today’s craft was a spontaneous one.  After perusing my Pinterest boards for ideas to finish out the challenge (1 week to go!), I came across the tissue paper pom-pom.  I’m sure I originally pinned them for a party idea, but what the heck!  I made one just because.


Since it was my first time, and I only had one pack of tissue paper on hand, I looked at a few different sources.  This tutorial from Martha and this Youtube video were particularly helpful.  I didn’t have pipe cleaners or floral wire on hand, so I stole the twisty tie off of the bread and it worked just fine.  


The finished product is so cute!  I hung it up in Baby Girl’s nursery, but I think it would definitely look better in a cluster.  A trip to Target for more tissue paper is in order this weekend!  🙂
    

{30 days of pinspiration} Day 24: Our Chalkboard Wall

We made a chalkboard wall.  I know, I know…this project is so 2012.  I’m always late to the party.  But they’re fun for kids and adults alike and we had the perfect spot, so we painted one anyway.  

The inspiration pictures from my Pinterest boards:  
1.  2.  3.

And here is our version, tucked away in a narrow hallway (hence the weird angle of the photographs):

{30 days of pinspiration} Day 19: Laundry Room Roman Shades

I was hoping to be able to show you a finished product today, but I’m stuck.  So instead, I’m going to ask for your opinion!  I have a little window in my laundry room that I thought would be perfect for a roman shade.  I have pinned many tutorials, but once I collected them all together, I couldn’t decide which one would work best!


For a little context, this is the window in the room.  Note that there is not molding surrounding the window…a detail that is really making this decision difficult for me.


Okay, so here are the two types of roman shades I’ve pinned:


Faux Roman Shade from Whitney at the Cerniks
Number one is set inside the window frame and actually uses tension rods to create the folds.  Very easy to do with REALLY simple sewing.  
Number two is actually attached to a 1×2″ piece of wood and mounted high above the window, giving the illusion that the ceilings are higher than they really are.  This one requires more sewing, but nothing too hard.

So, dear readers, please give me your opinion!  Which one would you choose?

{30 days of pinspiration} Day 13: Laundry Room Inspiration Board

I am writing today’s post from the laundry room.  Well not really, but I might as well be.  With four children and an active husband, I seem to be in there on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis.  Oh laundry, you are a chore I am learning to love…
 
Anyway, if I am going to spend so much time in one room, I might as well make it pretty to look out and be in, right?  Painting, organizing and decorating time!  If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this picture:
 
 
This was the moment when inspiration hit!  After I got my thoughts on paper, I checked my Pinterest boards for a few more ideas and this is what I came up with: 
 

I plan on painting the room the same color as the first floor, Benjamin Moore’s Manchester Tan.  I’m just a little bit in love.  Neutral, but not drab.

1.  We currently have wire shelving above our washer and dryer.  They are fine and get the job done, but I hope to eventually replace them with white cabinets and a hanging rod. 
2. I love the vintage look of schoolhouse lights.  I think this one would work (different from the one pictured, since it is semi-flushmount vs. a pendant).
3. This rug from West Elm is beautiful and in the blue/gray palette I’m going for. 
4. I have one small window in the room.  Still undecided, but I’m thinking bamboo blinds (to add a different texture) or possibly roman shades.  This tutorial is for the faux version and no sew! 
5. Since the laundry room also doubles as a makeshift mudroom, we’ve got all kinds of craziness going on.  Shoes are everywhere!  I’m hoping to pick up two of these Ikea shoe cabinets soon to get things under control.
6. My husband frequently wears a shirt and tie for work, so the ironing board actually gets some use!  I’m hoping to find a space to hang ours up like this.

So that’s the plan!  What about you?  What’s your laundry area like?  Seen any great ideas on Pinterest?  Please share!   

{30 days of pinspiration} Day 8: The Beginning of my Home Office

Our home has a small room that is generally used as a formal sitting area.  But with four kids (and three of those being rambunctious boys), there’s nothing “formal” about this house!  So instead, we decided to designate this space as a home office for me.  I am so, so excited!


The requirements for this space were:

  1. A desk for scrapbooking, computer work, etc.
  2. Bookshelves of some sort
  3. Storage!  Kids toys, scrapbooking supplies, and other crafty odds and ends all need a place.

I already had the desk, but needed something that worked for numbers 2 and 3.  After a lot of research, I went with the Ikea Expedit mostly because it was inexpensive, but had plenty of room. I also liked that I could fit baskets along the bottom to corral a bunch of the kids’ toys. Functional and attractive…my favorite combination!

Here is the room so far:


Good thing I like to keep it real.  I still have so much work to do!  Each little section needs simplifying (I just threw a bunch of things in there and have yet to tweak them) and I need a lot of organization.  After a lot of Pinterest perusing, these images really caught my eye:

 


And since I love a list, here’s a bulleted version of what’s left to do in this room:

  • Paint the room to match the rest of the first floor
  • Find something to put up on top of the bookcase (maybe start a vintage globe collection?)
  • Purchase a longer curtain rod and install
  • Hang up window treatments
  • Find an interesting floor lamp for the corner
  • Get a rug to anchor the desk
  • Purchase accessories and storage items to corral scrapbook supplies and odds & ends
  • Clear the clutter!
  • Purchase or DIY a bigger brainstorming bulletin board

{house to home} Home Goals 2013

New year, new home, new goals!  I really enjoyed brainstorming and working on my home goals last year, so this is what 2013 hopefully has in store:


1. Paint, Paint, Paint!
In the past four months, we’ve made a little progress in our Crayola House (that’s my sarcastically affectionate name for the 12+ crazy colors the previous owners painted).  On the list: the rest of the first floor, dining room, both boy rooms, and the basement.  I’m going for a calming, neutral palette with hints of blue/grey.   

2. Finish the nursery.
I’ve made the inspiration board, now to do the work!

1, 2, 3


3. Put some art on the walls.
Because the color was so bad, I have hesitated hanging anything until new paint goes up.  I’m really looking forward to adding more of our personality to each room.  A place for the kids’ art, family pictures, and a gallery wall are all on my to-do list. 

4. Create two bedrooms that my boys will love.  They are requesting Avengers and Batman-themed rooms.  I’m hoping to create a classic room that grows with them, while still honoring thier wishes.  Should be a fun adventure!

What do you have planned for your home in 2013? 

{house to home} A Little Girl’s Nursery Inspiration Board

I was given an amazing gift a few days ago.  Let me start this story by saying that as much as we love our new home, the paint colors chosen by the previous owners are pretty bad.  (Remember my Ronald McDonald kitchen/first floor?)  The master bedroom and the nursery were the worst.  Loud colors and lots and lots of stripes.  Seeing the rooms everyday drove me crazy, but with a brand new baby, the idea of getting it all repainted was just not realistic right now. 
 
My cousins to the rescue!  Giving me the most amazing gift, they offered to fly in for the weekend and paint both rooms!  Can you believe it?  I was so humbled by their generosity. 
 
The nursery was painted Benjamin Moore’s Buxton Blue, which is gorgeous.  Before and after pictures will be coming soon.  And now I’m itching to get this nursery decorated!  A few of my inspiration pictures:     
 
 

Lamp from Urban Outfitters
Frame Display from The Mom Tog Diaries
Pink Gingham Curtains from Castaway to Couture

Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

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