Harts in Durham

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{Project} Make it Cozy

October 12, 2014

Ok, I’m on a mission. I need to do something to make our house more cozy. More homey. For such a long time, I treated it like an apartment. Somewhere I thought I’d live temporarily and didn’t bother to put a lot of effort into decorating. Now that it seems like we’ll be here longer, I want to make it look like a home. A home that’s lived-in and comfortable. I would like our house to reflect our lifestyle. And I want it to be a place that makes other people feel instantly at ease and comfortable. I want the living room to be inviting, a place that makes guests want to curl up with a cup of coffee and talk all evening.

So here’s what I’m working with. (And yes, that is Friday Night Lights on the TV in.every.shot. Sorry ’bout it. I am completely obsessed.)

These are what I’m calling the before-ish pictures. I’ve already done a few things to make the space look a little more like grown adults inhabit the place. We had the walls painted, and I scored a great deal on a rug with the grays, yellow, and white we are using downstairs.

The other thing we did was hang curtains on every window downstairs. What a huge difference it made! We held off for so long because just wasn’t finding anything I liked. I found these at Home Goods and wasn’t particularly convinced I loved them until we actually got them on the windows. They definitely make the whole room feel softer. And I love that they’re sheer enough to let light through, but there is enough contrast with the gray walls that they stand out.

And now I’m noticing that the blinds are wonky in this picture and it’s driving me nuts. Meh. What are ya gonna do?

So this is where I feel like you can tell things look a little blah. Like just furniture without any real character added to the space. Except for that super cute pup ;).

Aaaand the mantle. It needs help. I think a mantle is one place that can make a room look really great if it’s done well. Mine is not. Note the headphones…case in point.

Moving on.

This little piece of furniture. The shelves just need some love and a more pulled-together look. I would like to do something here that looks a little more personal. Other than pictures of friends. And that poor Christmas cactus. It needs to be in a pot that’s less…Christmas wrapp-y.

My concern with adding more stuff is that in my head there’s a fine line between coziness and clutter. Sometimes too much decor looks kind of busy to me. I’m not a minimalist by any stretch, but at the same time, having multiple things on every single horizontal surface can kind of stress me out. I’d like to strike a balance so that our small-ish space is maximized and remains useful, but has some special touches and a unique style.

So here’s the deal. I’m giving myself a one hundred dollar budget to pull this room together and make it look cozy. That means I’m going to have to really bargain-hunt for things that need purchased and everything else will either be re-purposed or made.

Anyone out there have any favorite decorating tips? Any ideas on how to save some money on decorating? I’m open to any and all suggestions!

 

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  1. Laura says

    October 15, 2014 at 7:25 pm

    I always think that throw pillows and candles make a room feel instantly cozier. Pillows can be expensive, but to save some money, it’s really easy to sew an envelope pillow case out of a yard of fabric. There are tons of tutorials online. Also, throw blankets can add coziness, I keep a basket of blankets on our fireplace hearth, ready and waiting to be used to curl up with on the couch.

    Reply
    • Julie says

      October 16, 2014 at 12:59 pm

      Laura! It’s so good to hear from you!! Throw pillows are on my list! I thought about buying just the inserts and making envelope covers. Any links to some of your favorites? Blankets sitting out are kind of hard with our pup that loves to drag them around the house to snuggle on.

      Reply
    • Anonymous says

      October 16, 2014 at 5:40 pm

      Julie! Try this blog: An Indian Summer. She posts nothing but pictures of rooms….I look at her posts every time I am at work and the day feels discombobulated and wacky…You can get some great inspiration. -Xenia

      Reply
    • Julie says

      October 17, 2014 at 4:03 pm

      I love it, Xenia! I’m totally going to use that for inspiration! What beautiful pictures. And the colors!

      Reply
  2. Julie says

    October 17, 2014 at 4:02 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    Reply

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Every six weeks we take a week completely off of s Every six weeks we take a week completely off of school. Last week was our week. ❤️ And even though I thrive on routine and a schedule, getting up early to leisurely read my Bible for an hour with a latte in hand was the reminder I needed to slow down and listen to what He has to say to me.
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Every six weeks we take a week completely off of s Every six weeks we take a week completely off of school. Last week was our week. ❤️ And even though I thrive on routine and a schedule, getting up early to leisurely read my Bible for an hour with a latte in hand was the reminder I needed to slow down and listen to what He has to say to me.
Home for 5 years today. It seems like yesterday an Home for 5 years today. It seems like yesterday and so long ago all at the same time. I’m thankful for them and thankful for the story God is weaving in our family.cor
I’m pretty sure I had the biggest crush on him w I’m pretty sure I had the biggest crush on him when he snapped this picture. So I did what any reasonable person would do and told him I had no interest in dating him 🙈. To his credit, he just continued to be the very best friend to me. Until I decided enough was enough and told him in a very cryptic and roundabout way that I liked him. He responded by standing up and walking out my back door 😂. Against those odds, we’ve made it all these years. He’s still the funniest, kindest person I’ve ever known. And I still have the biggest crush on him.
We paused our history unit on the US Constitution We paused our history unit on the US Constitution to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. on #mlkday. We watched a read aloud of I Am Martin Luther King and did some writing about his legacy. But we spent most of our time talking. They had lots of really good thoughts and ideas and questions and I sat and listened and answered. What a privilege to not only teach them, but learn alongside them. It was a good day.
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#homeschoollife #homeschoolkids #durhamhomeschool #christianhomeschool #durhamfamily #multiethnicfamily #adoptivefamily #shadesofbrown
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