We slept...
We played (and I got a few grins in the process)...
We had bath time, which went very well. No tears!
And we even sneaked in a little organization and decorating. Rachel and Jordan are currently renting a home and have been living there a little less than a year. Most of the rooms are decorated nicely, but there were a few spaces lacking some function and design.
Having been a renter the first 6 years of my married life, I understand the lack-of-eagerness to put money and time into decorating a space that may not be yours a year from now. But at the same time, you want the space to feel like home while you're there.
So, Rachel and I worked together to add a few odds and ends of things to walls - spending as little as possible - to make the house more like home. We started in the back entryway that leads from the garage to the kitchen. This is the doorway that Jordan and Rachel actually use every day (as opposed to the front foyer) to go in and out of the house. I didn't get a "before" picture, but what I saw was about 10 pairs of shoes laying all over the floor and bare walls.
Between Wal-Mart and Lowe's, Rachel was able to spend under $20 and picked up some hooks and a shoe stand to fill in this nook next to the garage door. We busted out the drill to screw the hooks into the wall. They will be great for hanging jackets, hoodies, and accessories like an umbrella. We decided to stagger the hooks on the wall for interest. We also added some mini hooks so that keys were easy to grab and not easily lost. The whole thing took about 30 minutes to put together.
On an opposite wall closer to the kitchen, we hung a pretty mirror Rachel's mother-in-law had purchased for her. The mirror stands out nicely, even from the kitchen, and it's great for girls who like to do last minute hair and make-up checks before walking out the door.
The next space we tackled was the bare-as-bones dining room. These pictures were actually taken the following morning with my phone (hence the poor quality). We worked on the room between 10-11pm at night. Jordan slept on the couch through all the banging of nails while Olivia laid wide awake nearby listening to us try and get things measured and level.
One of the great things about decorating a dining room is that you can often use what you already own. In this case, we used Rachel's casual china that had been hiding in a hutch that originally sat against the wall below. We moved the hutch and used the length of the wall to spread a platter and different sized plates along it. She may add a few additional plates to the pattern after picking up more plate hangers.
On the opposite wall, we hung 2 ledge shelves that were sitting on the floor in the office and sat some additional china on the shelves. This included layering different sized plates, tea cups, the S&P shakers, and the sugar and creamer bowls (again, sorry for the poor quality of pics). You can also see below that the hutch was moved to the back corner of the room. It made the space feel more open, and it can now be seen when entering the dining room from either the foyer or the kitchen.
The only thing Rachel had to purchase for the dining space were a few plate hangers. So, this project cost around $10 or so and made a big difference.
The last space I wanted to show you is the nursery. We didn't need to do any decorating in this room as Rachel had already decorated it nicely before Olivia was born. The only thing left to be added are a few new pictures in the hanging frames.
The bonnets hanging above the changing table were actually worn by Rachel when she was a baby (our mom preserved items well). So, there are a lot of personal touches in the room.
My favorite thing in the room are the hanging white globes above the crib. These were purchased at Crate and Barrel and take the place of a crib mobile. They are so fun and whimsical. The nursery has a girly sophistication to it, which I like.
I wish I had gotten a close-up shot of the crib bedding because I love it! Rachel used Pottery Barn's Scallop Pique bedding in green. Here's another picture taken from PB's website. It's beautiful, classic bedding, and I love the little bows that form from tying the crib bumper to the crib rails.
So, that about wraps up my vacation experience in Georgia last week. I may sneak in a small photo shoot of Olivia this weekend for those who are interested. Otherwise, I hope to be back next week with a few updates around our homestead.
Happy Weekend-ing!
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