A bit further along...

Our main focus as we got started decorating was the main living area consisting of the front room, the kitchen and the living room. All three rooms are open to one another, so I really wanted our design scheme to be continuous.


We decided the light and creamy paint color you saw in so many of the "before" photos was perfect to keep in the kitchen as long as we brought some color and some darker accents into the other two rooms. It was really exciting to start with such a blank slate and know that I could take it in any direction I chose.

I didn't struggle for long with where to take it, though, because this BEAUTIFUL chair fell into my lap and became the inspiration for the whole house (and yard!). It was a housewarming gift from my kind-as-kind-can-be and generous-as-generous-can-be mother-in-law. It resides in the front room and brings a smile to my face every morning when I come around the corner!

While "the whimsy chair" (as Brian dubbed it) offers a splash of much-needed color in the front room, we went for a super neutral fabric for the new couch so it would hopefully last the test of time and accomodate many paint colors over the years. Here it is in the living toom the day it got delivered:

Once the couch was in the house, I felt better about committing to a paint color for this room. I wanted it to have some color but not be overwhelming. I also knew it needed to be dark because every other thing in the entire room was not. There are a ton of evergreen trees in our yard and in our neighborhood, and I drew some inspiration from the pines when picking out the paint. This isn't the greatest picture of it, but here's the room while the paint is drying. Hi Moose!

I also was eager to get a move on the front yard, because as you saw in the "before" photos, there wasn't a lot going on (unless you count dandelions). We figured that if we could find a way to disguise the well head that was strageically placed smack in the middle of the lawn all by itself, then we would help make the lawn a little prettier. Thus began the largest landscaping project I have ever undertaken on my own.

On day 1, I scribed out the border with a shovel and sprayed gas killer on everything within it. A few days later, much of the grass was gone and I began the horrible task of getting rid of all the sod. That was day 2, and it was a loooong day 2. I was out there sweating from 9:00am to 5:30pm clearing that stuff out. Wwwhhheeeew- makes me tired just thinking about it! Anyway, I stared at the cleared out space for a couple days while I decided what to plant there. I already had a couple of nice plants that I knew I would incorporate (some hostas and irises from the South Haven farmers market!), so I placed them in their pots here and there to help get the creative juices flowing. Here's the plot sometime after day 2 but before day 3.

My parents came to visit right after the weekend of the above mentioned work, so we went to Lowe's together, and they helped me pick out some really good stuff to plant. They also treated us to all the plants as a housewarming gift, so the plot is now affectionately called "The In-Law's Garden." Thanks Mom and Dad!! More to photos to come on this!

I mentioned that we have access to a lake in our neighborhood. Here's an image of the beach - so peaceful since it's a park on three sides.

There's one more GREAT thing I must let you know about our new place. No words necessary.