Fresh New Year Winter Home Makeover
Hello foxes!! It’s my first official post of the new year and I’m so excited to finally get to share all the results of my flipping and fluffing – I’ve got so much to show you between the living room, dining room & kitchen, and to so much to share with you about how I’ve got the house looking new, without spending a lot!
The biggest change I’ll be sharing is in the living room!
Going into the new year, I wanted a fresh Winter look for my whole home! Coincidentally, my Better Homes & Gardens assignment for January, was “New Year New You” and I couldn’t wait to start fresh with a look and feel that would help set the tone for my whole home, and my new year!
Our Living Room Has A Whole New Look
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I know so many of you loved our big, fat living room furniture… and I did too, but I had been thinking about a serious change in the living room for about two years now, and I finally decided to pull the trigger and make it happen!
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ONE – I listed my big chair and a half & matching ottoman for sale on Facebook marketplace and had it sold the same day. A very nice lady came to pick it up, and Jimmy and I loaded it up for her in our vehicle and helped her get it in her house. There was no way she could get it in her car, or do it alone, so we gave her a hand.
NOTE – I’m saving that money for a future project. But if I wasn’t partnering with Better Homes & Gardens, it would have well covered everything new I’m going to be showing you. Selling things you no longer want or use is a fantastic way to fund the things and projects you do want or need!
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TWO – Next, we gave our family room sofa to someone who needed it, and put the big sofa from the living room in our family room. Still following me? haha. I told you, it was a lot of furniture finagling.
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THREE – The last step was to steal the love seat from The Little Cottage and lovingly place it in it’s new home, in our living room – I’ll show you what’s taking it’s place in The Little Cottage in February!
I am absolutely head over heels in love with the white sofa in our living room! It’s all I’ve wanted for years and years. A bright, white, airy, smaller-scale sofa. While ours was admittedly cozy… I felt like I was suffocating with the size of all the furniture pieces in our little tiny living room. It was bought when we were in a much larger house, and while I was very thankful for it, it never really fit in this home. When I had moved the furniture around previously, and put the big chair in front of the fireplace, I loved how open the living room felt. And I wanted that feeling back. Now, I feel like I can breath. Of course there will always be lots of pillows, and throws. Because I love them so much!!!!
This super fluffy rug was my moms idea! When I was working on the room I texted her a photo and she said “it needs some color” and I said “I think so too, how about a rug”? I unrolled this cutie and we both loved it! It’s super cozy on the toes too, and I always love that! Layering a smaller rug on top of my big sisal rug is an easy way to add a little more color or texture, without spending a lot or committing to something really long term. It’s a great punch, for a lot less than buying another rug the size I would need for this room if it were sitting here alone.
Remember when I said there was a lot of furniture flipping? You do, good! Well the black iron table also got flipped, and it’s so perfect with the black library lights, they really play off each other. The great thing about this table is, that I carried it up from The Little Cottage, and when I want something visually lighter for Summer (because we all know I will) I will carry it out to the shop and store it for a bit.
I kept the decor very simple yet cozy, with battery operated lights, and lots of candles!
Jimmy and I made & mounted another chunky shelf out of vintage reclaimed mouldings (like this one) and I kept the decor Wintry with my bleached trees, vintage spools and the old mirror I had over the mantel at Christmas.
You can never have too many candles on-hand during the Winter months. We inevitably lose power at some point when a big storm blows through. And if they are stacked on some old silver trays. Even better.
It’s pretty apparent I’ve never had these two chairs in the same place at once, because I painted the legs on one white. And now, I don’t know which I like better? So I’m waiting to see. Sometimes, things take me awhile to decide on.
– What do you think?
Light or Dark?
And do you like the new end table?
I just love it! And we had the best day going to pick it up! I got it for twenty bucks from a friend I made when we had a booth at Vintage 101. It’s knocked around, and beat up, and it’s perfect. I could have bought a new end table… but not even kidding, every time I find anything I even remotely like it’s at least $300.00 and that is just not in the budget right now. Twenty felt a lot more doable. LOL
We ran down the coastline to Bandon to go pick it up, and she gave us a tour of the new inn she is going to be opening soon! Maybe when it’s all ready, I’ll get the opportunity to walk thru and share it with you all. It’s the cutest vintage coastal cottage inn you’ve ever seen! The decor is super darling.
I think it’s a great fit for my chalk painted lamp too. I just love these lamps, and that I can switch out the shades and they just fit my style and everything I decorate with so effortlessly.
Now if we turn towards our dining room area… I finally got the chance to use those PINE CONE dishes!!!!
When I said I was going to do a very simple Winter table with them, I wasn’t joking. I wanted easy, and Wintry feeling, and that’s just what I did. I’m not even calling it a tablescape. It’s a… table with dishes on it, and the easiest centerpiece ever! You’re welcome.
Just for fun, I even hung that little snow scene I painted. It kind of feels weird, like I think it’s real art or something… but I had this really neat vintage frame that has managed to avoid being sold in the booth, or at any of our many tag sales, and it was the exact right size, so I figured why not?
I flanked the painting with two of the black iron Better Homes & Gardens lanterns, sans the holiday sprig and bow. I love that we put the two hooks up there at Christmastime. And that I grabbed two of these! The black on black is subtle, and lets the green vintage sign shine.
The dishes have the prettiest whisper of branches and pine cones on them. I ordered them on a whim when I saw them on clearance and I made sure to tell you all about them a few times. I’m really glad I took a chance and ordered them! If you did too, I’d love to see how you styled them!
For the simple centerpiece, I used a DIY Wood Trough Box [tutorial here], 3 candles and copious amounts of Pine Cones.
See how much more open the living room is with this new arrangement? It’s less cramped when coming in the front door, and the traffic flow is so much more open!
I feel so much better walking around my own house.
In addition to all the candles, I’m also in lantern la-la land. They’ve been a decorating staple for… forever. And I love that Better Homes & Gardens has such a wonderful & affordable variety.
Now that all the key furniture pieces in the living & dining room are settled in, we should have some fresh fun in the kitchen!
Last January I worked on cleaning, purging & organizing my entire kitchen. You can see my kitchen organization post [here] and see all the before and afters. I organized every single drawer, cabinet and my pantry, and I utilized some wonderful storage containers. I am happy to report that everything has stayed very organized and my efforts were well rewarded!
This time around, it was all about adding some pretty back in. The first thing I did was go crazy over the new hobnail collection. It’s so lovely and has a modern take with a vintage vibe.
I’ve got the Olive Oil & Vinegar Set and the Butter Dish popped up here on the counter. The little matte gold ring just sets it off the Butter Dish lid beautifully!
The gorgeous beveled mirror comes in a soft, neutral grey, and I just did a little paint dry brushing on mine in a soft Ivory to make it play nice with all the white in my kitchen.
I didn’t come close to capturing how pretty they are, but I also got these gorgeous new wood and marble pieces to show you! The big one is a cook book/tablet holder. And the wee one is trivet.
And while I’ve still got the galvanized metal set…
I could not resist the hobnail canisters. They are just delicious!
I put them in the place of high honor. haha
Canisters are great because they hide all manner of things… are there tiny chocolates inside?
Or 47 chip clips?
Only I know the answer to that.
But I can tell you they have those delicate little matte gold rings, just like the butter dish.
Remember when I showed you on my Instagram stories all the amazing clearance at Walmart, and I showed you the candles that look like heavy cut crystal? These are them! I hope you got some.
The house feels so good now. It feels put together, and calm, and very relaxed, even though so much around me is in disarray with all the construction going on. This was the perfect project to kick off the new year and I am so happy I made the changes I did, and treated my kitchen to some pretty. We will continue on with our kitchen makeover projects (edited due to the repair costs) during the year, and I’ll have more changes to show you soon!
If you look closely at the photo below, you might notice that some of the blinds are missing, and there is only one window left to be installed in this picture. I had a crew of five watching me get everything ready and photograph this post, and let me tell you I got a lot of questions about what I do.
Nan, Odessa, DE says
Love your new look!
Where, OH, where can I find that tooth pick holder?
What do you have in your scale?
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
Hi Nan! That is a tiny little poesy vase I found at a thrift store 🙂
I see them all the time, hopefully you can find one!
Ronnell says
Shannon, Your style is just fabulous! I think I would choose the dark legs for the chairs. I’m loving the black and white buffalo check accessories! Over on Redbird Lane I am still taking Christmas down and organizing. I left it up longer than usual because my sondidn’t get home from college until 12/19 and only went back this week. He, like his mom, loves Christmas and wanted to enjoy it all. So, why not? I love your mug rack too! I’ve not followed blogs in a while, but I’m back!
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
How lovely that you got to have such a nice visit with your son. And exactly! Why not? I’d have left it up too.
Thank you for you leg vote. I only got one for white. 😉
Nancy says
Wow!! So many inspiring, fresh ideas to get me motivated. I also have black and white decor. I like the darker chair legs. You need contrast with the rugs – or maybe legs could be similar to dining chair color. I am going to use at least six of your ideas and purchase some Better Homes and Gardens items. I really like the quality of that brand.
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
Six!? Oh wow, okay I need to see after 😉
Thank you so much! Shannon
Laura Miller says
Oops. I think you meant you’re partnering with BH&G. It reads as parenting now. I’m an editor. You might want to fix that!
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
I ran right over to check, and I looked several times. I’m reading it as partnering?
“This is also my first post of 2019 partnering with Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart.”
And then I found it! Thank you 😉
Melissa Richardson says
Hi Shannon!
Wonderful job…I love everything. I vote for the black legs also.
Did you paint the wooden lamp base white? The link shows a black base. Also where is the wide wide world did you find the adorable black and white lamp shade? I love it!!
Melissa
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
Thank you!!!!
Yes, they need to be black, it’s unanimous 🙂
I did! I used some Magnolia chalk paint on mine.
And I think I got those at HomeGoods, it’s been so long now, it may have been Ross.
They were just a fluke/lucky find. I’ve never seen them again. Ballards has some in a larger check, but they are way more.
Juanita Mille says
I , love the fresh, New Year look of your home…the white, the black accents, the black & white checked-striped-plaid fabrics of pillows, throws, table runners, towels, curtains, and more of what you have used is so charming! I agree that the darker chair legs look better…they seem to blend better with the dark brown of your wood flooring and just looks classier than the white legs. Love what you’ve done with your place! Thanks so much for sharing and inspiring!
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
Thank you Juanita,
The white looked good in the bedroom with the white painted floor… but I agree. They need to go dark 😉
Thank you and Happy New Year!
Juanita Mille says
Loving the fresh look of your home with all the white, black accents, the checked – striped- plaid fabrics on pillows, towels, runners, napkins, throws, curtains, etc. Everything looks great in your new you for the new year! About the white or dark brown chair legs…I like the dark brown legs better as they blend into the dark brown of your floor, but the white is okay too…matching up with the white, light and airy of your wintry, fresh look décor. Thanks for sharing and inspiring!!!
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
Thank you Juanita,
The white looked good in the bedroom with the white painted floor… but I agree. They need to go dark 😉
Thank you and Happy New Year!
Jan Nesbitt says
Shannon, all of the “new” flipping and fluffing” looks great! I don’t need to repeat any of the votes for chair legs as they match mine but I do have a question. I am looking to put something behind my sofa other than a picture (I left my Christmas picture up all year and no one noticed as I have been trying to think of something else!) and I have a chunky shelf but I didn’t make it myself but I too would like to put on my wall behind our sofa. Could you share the dimensions (I know you are going to do a tutorial on making but I’m more interested in the depth from wall). We have 8 foot ceilings. Thanks a million!
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
Hi Jan! The depth is about 9 inches on that shelf. And if you need ideas, share a picture of the space in our private FHC group! You can get lots of advice that way 🙂
Dina says
Hello Shannon , happy new year , love your place you are so true , so real .I have gotten so many ideas from you thank you ?. Keep sending all the wonderful stuff . Dina
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
THANK YOU!
This made me smile so big – Happy New Year to you too 🙂
Ruth says
Lovely! So many fresh ideas. I look at them over and over. You do amazing!
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
Oh that is so sweet, love to know they draw you in 😉
Happy weekend!
Cristina says
You have been a busy bee shuffling stuff all around!! I love how fresh and open your home feels. And I prefer the dark legs on those chairs. ?
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
We have 😉 buzz buzz buzz…
Happy New year!
Terri says
I was so excited to see this post and was virtually clapping for you when I saw the white loveseat & chairs. I love the pinecone plates! What a pretty winter tablescape. The new rug gives the living room a warm and cozy layer. And your painting is perfect! You need to think so too! Looks so pretty on that bi rage frame and you it adds such a personal touch to your winter room. So much to see today and now I’ll be clicking away on those links!!
PS: I like both chair legs but the white is fun and works well with the white chalk painted lamp so I’m going with white!
Terri says
Should have read “vintage frame.” I have no idea what a bi rage frame is ??❤️
Bren says
Wow. Great job. I love it all. Can i ask where you got the accordian type sconces above the couch?
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
Yes! I ordered those from Decor Steals. And them my hubby wired them with clear cords and made them plug in style 🙂
Suzanne says
Very pretty. Wanted to buy the dishes but they are out of stock….every pattern!
Shannon at Fox Hollow Cottage says
Awe. Bummer! I shared those several times when I bought them because I knew I wasn’t using them until after Christmas.