Summer Home Tour: Accessory Free!

Brace yourselves. This home tour is going to be a little different.

I accepted The Nester's challenge to go accessory free for 30 days. I thought I might put a few tchotchkes back for this home tour, but when it came time to do that, I was paralysed. Which ones should I pick? Where should I put them? If I put something here and not there, will it look weird? I was driving myself crazy. I'm just not ready to put anything back.

I am joining the house tour anyway, for a very personal reason.

I'm probably going to over-explain, so feel free to jump down to the pictures. But, please know this. Getting ready for this Home Tour was a fantastic challenge for me--and the reason I did it. This post--and joinng Gina's wonderful tour is my "reward."

When I first found out about Gina's Summer Tour of Homes, I was so excited! I flirted with the idea of getting all my rooms spiffed up and ready for a photo. I was thrilled to think I could join the party on Friday and show off my home.

Then, I got a head cold.

I began thinking that my rooms were too unfinished. I have a million plans for my living room: it will be completely transformed (I hope) by the end of August. My bedroom still has paint splotches waiting for me to figure out what colour I want. (You'll see.) And, sadly, I thought, my home probably wouldn't be "good enough" anyway.

I started looking at the beautiful homes Gina lined up for us Monday through Thursday and instead of feeling envious and defeated--which I had fully expected to feel as I have felt that in the past--I started to "get" the commitment and passion and the love of home expressed by the women behind the cameras. It was wonderful. It was liberating. It was inspiring.

I have the same passion, the same love for my home. I struggle with the consistency which cleaning demands, though. Fortunately, my kids aren't littles anymore, so my home is never a complete disaster everywhere all at once. But rarely is it ever clean and tidy all at once, either. As a result, I have this absurd notion that I cannot have all the spaces in my home clean at the same time.

See the word "therapy" up there in the title of my blog? It is there for a reason! My blog is my accountability place. I find it incredibly motivating to take pictures and write about what I've done. In fact, I just finished a challenge to do one procrastinated project a day for the entire month of May. (I did 24! I'm so pleased.) I decided to participate in the house tour to challenge that nasty, self-defeating thought. I can have all my rooms clean, tidy and ready for company. Of course I can. I just needed to do it.

OK. Enough talking. Thanks for bearing with me.  Hope you enjoy our small home. One other thing: it's been raining for a few days, it will rain, yet, for a few more. The house is darker than usual.

Geesh, you must be thinking, why is she bothering?

Well, it's clean! That's a reason to celebrate!

So..................................

Welcome!

Our family, my husband, myself, our 15 year old son, our 12 (almost 13!) year old daughter and our Beagle live in our home which was built in 1949. War shortages were still in effect. Our house is 1230 square feet (or 114.3 square meters). It has three bedrooms (one on the main floor) and a bath and a half.

We tore out an old overgrown cedar bush and a topped off tree too close to the house a few years ago. I know nothing about gardening so restoring this area has been slow going. This area is also super challenging because it faces north. A few bushes I've tried to plant here have died.

But, hey, come on in.

This is our modest front entry. It's really just a hallway! I used to have a cabinet here, but it ate up too much space. I took it down and after living with nothing, realised I needed something. I just recently put up this little shelf. The bucket below holds our library returns.

This nook used to house the telephone, back in the day.

To the left we have our living room.

I quite like this room all cleaned up!

In case you were wondering why I still have cushions on my couch in an Accessory-Free challenge--

That's why!

Opposite the living room is where I spend most of my time. It is the dining room, but we only eat here on special occasions.

I do a lot of my projects here, work on the computer, plan my menus, work on the budget, and sew. It's a busy room!

Behind it is another busy place: the kitchen! It is small with almost no storage, barely room for the table, and an extremely bad layout. Notice, too, there's no dishwasher.

We all have to traipse through here to go to the basement or to the back yard (door to both is on the right)

Still, it is my favourite room in the house. I love my black and white checkerboard floor and decided to riff with the whole black and white graphic theme with my stencil on that soffit (in the picture above) and the little glass curtains I made.

I love having a big mirror here. It's like having another window and it just magnifies the best thing about this kitchen: all the light! (Sorry you missed it. There was a tornado watch in effect when I took these photos and it was hailing outside.)

Let's head back out of the kitchen to the hallway.

I will paint the back part to match the front, I just haven't done it quite yet!

That's my son's room straight ahead. Out of respect for his privacy (and my pride!) we won't go in there today. To his credit, he does keep it tidy.

This is our scheduling and school paper station.

The bathroom is tiny. The sink is original to the house though and I love it. I believe it is a half moon Crane.

I made the curtains from drop cloth and tea towels.

Let's head upstairs where we have the master bedroom, my daughter's room (not on the tour!), and a half bath tucked under the eaves.

I have a mini-library on the landing.

Here is our master en-suite.

I kid! It's a teeny tiny powder room. It's become another favourite room since I spiffied it up.

The Master Bedroom almost didn't make the tour.

I put those paint splotches on the wall more than a year ago. I have paint, but I have fallen out of love with it and I'm trying to decide whether to be sensible and use it or wait until I find the perfect, affordable duvet cover to coordinate with. I am mighty tired of those splotches, though!

I'm aching to do something with the headboard wall.

You may have noticed the laundry room didn't make the tour. Oh well. Progress, not perfection, right? Click the link if you'd like to see it right after we transformed it.

Thank you so much for coming! It has been an enormous treat to have you. If you have a moment, leave a comment. I'd love to "talk" with you, just as if we were sitting here at my banged up kitchen table.

Care for an orange?

 

See all the fabulous and wonderful inspiring home tours here. I have!