The Finished Product | My Office

I canNOT believe it's been almost a year since our last finished product house update. When we bought this house, I thought we'd have it finished in a year. After all, there wasn't any major remodeling work, just things here and there that we wanted to change, plus lots of decorating to be done. I had absolutely no concept of how long it takes to tweak, decorate and furnish a room. Let me just tell you, when you're on a budget and you only have so much time, it takes awhile. ;) Having said that, you can see why I'm bouncing up and down in my (new) chair, ready to show you my completed office! It's so much more inspiring to work in than those before pictures down there. My goal is to start hosting clients at home and share this cozy space with others.

The before ... we had to move a vent and (my super talented husband) Nathan added wainscoting and lots of fresh paint.

Oh hey, there's Sylvia the sloth down there. Remember her from this post?

And the after! SO much better!

I love those tassels.

I realllly wanted a settee and we had a heck of a time finding one. After not being so sure about it once it arrived, I've come to adore it.

101 in 1001: #101 Decorate our House for Christmas.

Oh hey! Two 101 posts in a row. It feels good to see goals completed. Although this little goal will be recurring every year around this time because I LOVE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS! Honestly, one of the most exciting things about owning our own house is getting to make it all Christmasy. This year, we decided not to spend a lot of money on decorations, but instead see what we could do with what we had. I think it turned out pretty well! Take a look:

You know me, I love the rustic look, but I also wanted to make it look Christmasy. I opted for red and gold instead of the standard red and green.

The wood rounds are from our wedding, as are the jars and bottles and wreath. The only new things are the stockings and stocking holders and the red and gold branches. Plus, I got fresh cranberries for the mason jars. Fill with water and stick a tea light in there and you have a festive votive!

Finding our Christmas tree was not as easy. We really wanted to cut down our own and through our searches found Heritage Farms in Peninsula, which has been in operation for more than 150 years! It was a quaint place with tons of acres of trees. Unfortunately, most of the good trees had already been cut down, so we opted for a pre-cut tree (also offered on the farm). Maybe we'll get to use a saw next year!

They had lots of cute, little trees ... perfect for me! Just not our living room.

We opted for a fraser fir, which has been great so far! Not too sharp, but also not too flimsy.

And then the outside of the house! This year was all about simplicity, although we learned that putting wreaths on every (original) window of a 70-year-old house is NOT simple. We still need a wreath for the front door. What do you think ... something totally different than the others or something similar?

I hope you all are feeling festive and soaking in the season! :D

Sneak Peek | Office Chairs

By the time I have my office finished, I will have shown you most of the room! But I don't care because I looooove the chairs I got for my sitting area. I'm too impatient not to share! I found these refurbished chairs at Bonne Amie in Chagrin Falls. Ohmygoodness, best store ever! If you're in the area and looking for some vintage or whimsical furniture, jewelry, picture frames, lamps, chandeliers, etc., etc., you've got to stop in here. I could browse for hours.

In Progress | My Office

I love that Nathan and I thought we might be done upgrading/painting/decorating our house by the end of the year ... as in 2012. HA! We had absolutely no idea what it means to be homeowners, and we're now realizing that all those lofty plans take a backseat to a leaky chimney or a freezing cold house. But like I said in my last house post, I am appreciating all of this and I think taking it slow helps me enjoy the process. We're currently on our second room—my office, yay!—and Nathan has been amazing taking my grandiose ideas and making them a reality. Seriously, how did I get so lucky?

My office is really cute but really hard to figure out design-wise. It was an add-on room over the garage, and it has a peaked roof, tiny closet doors and an alcove in the middle of a wall. We decided that wainscoting was a good choice on the walls because you can't do much with them otherwise. Plus it fit my whole vintage-but-grown-up theme (I just made that up right now). And can I please tell you that Nathan did ALL the woodwork. He is so talented. Here's his talent in the painting department:

Here's that wainscoting that Nathan built himself. Minus whittling the wood, he did it all.

And below, please don't judge my messy desk. I've been working around all the construction. :)

I'm crossing my fingers and my toes that I will be able to show you the finished product in the next couple months. Can't wait!