guess what

 Guess what WE're up to?!?

Below:  in the painting station my husband rigged up after one coat.

(I'm hoping it appears a little more "blue" than black after the second coat

and when hung in our living room.)

OK.  Finished and rehung.

In certain lights, it's blue.

In other light, it's a shadow and doesn't show the blue as well.

It doesn't "pop" as much as I'd hoped,

but it IS consistent with other blues in the room.

hygge on my mind

A visit to Coffee Tea Books and Me  and a link therein

gave me a new lens through which to view this corner of our bedroom--

a hygge corner to me. 

It also left me wondering what form (if any)

hygge will take this spring...
By the way, without using the word itself,
Abigail Ahern NAILED the essence of hygge here, in my opinion! 
(Let me know YOUR reaction to her post, will you?)

weird, unpractical and stupid

 ... the one thing I really needed to hear again, and to feel in her home: you should not be able to walk in a straight line from one place to another. Sounds weird? Unpractical? Stupid? Well, try it! Don’t be afraid to make a cozy nook a place you would never have thought of, don’t be afraid to put that huge palm where you are suppose to take the easiest walk to the next room. It makes such big exciting changes, like a little jungle of layers and discoveries. And thanks to Abigail‘s reminder I put an old bench in the middle of the tiny kitchen. Where you are suppose to walk straight from the stove to the dishes. And I love it. And my husband loves it too! We sit there with our coffee and lunch, feeling like the house has expanded, even though I’ve just made less floor space! Who would have thought so? 

Abigail Ahern, I knew.
Villa Betula?  I'm just getting acquainted!

The paragraph above was all I needed to place my newly-upholstered old stool

where I did--

Right where you're supposed to walk straight from doorway to stairway

Weird? Unpractical? Stupid? 

Yeah.

Thanks, Maren.

making it happen

My thrift store excursions are much rarer these days.

However, once in awhile, I venture out with a specific goal.

This time it was to find suitable fabric to cover a footstool.

I was thrilled to find a remnant for $.99!

My husband went to work to make it happen,

and I am so pleased with the result!

another barnes and noble afternoon

 More "cottage" magazines than I remember seeing before...

 

So much inspiration...

so little cost.

Eclectic, colorful, full, fun and personal style at its best!

full house

 The view from my new blue chair 

in one corner of our our living room.

(It - the blue chair - joining my husband's huge black recliner

as the only new pieces of furniture we've ever purchased for this room.)

We don't have a separate family room, so this is where we do most of our "living"

except for the kitchen table where we also play games in the evening 

and set up jigsaw puzzles

during the day...

My new blue chair sits in front of the antique wardrobe where the black chair

sits in this photo.

Yes, you could call it a Full House!
Seeing this room through my camera's "eye", I am content.
Our furniture is old; our style dated.
But we lack nothing and are  happy and blessed at the most fundamental level.