Quest for the Perfect Couch

Why are couches so darn expensive?  That's what I want to know!  $3000 for a couch is definitely out of my budget!  Maybe it's because we don't have any selection up here in the north country.  The furniture stores that we do have have cornered the market and jacked the prices.  Maybe I'm just out of touch with reality...which could very well be the case!

We visited one store yesterday in our search for the perfectly comfortable, cleanable sofa.  I'm on a quest for a white (ish) slip covered couch.  I guess there's no market for white couches in northern New Hampshire...maybe it's because of mud season.  The Mr. thinks I'm a little crazy too, but he's learned that it's best to just go with the flow after all these years.

These are the two sofas that I did find and they're far from slipcovered.  They both had deep seats and both were sectionals and both were expensive.

Not exactly the look that I was going for.  I did pick out some fabric that I though would look nice...the solid color on the left is for the couch and the print is for a chair.

Not white.  More of a linen look, which the Mr. said he could live with.  I really like the option on the top.  What do you think?  You know what?  I did find a slip covered couch at Ikea last week that I loved...it was a sectional, it was comfortable and it was under $1000!  I think it was actually under $900!  I see a road trip in our future!

Sunday Morning

French toast from the Mr. and a little begger waiting to lick the plate.

So our Keurig coffee maker died.  It's not very old..maybe a year and a half.  This is the third one that's kicked the bucket on us!  Needless to say, I'm not very happy.  Mamma needs her coffee!  I emailed Keurig last week to tell them exactly how I felt about their inferior product and today we're going to buy a real coffee maker.  We're going back to Cuisinart and I can't wait for tomorrow morning!

We're also going to look at sofas!!!!  I'm dying for a new, very comfortable, maybe sectional, dare I say white sofa for our living room!  I can train the dogs to stay off of it...right?  I can train the Mr. to not eat chocolate on it...right?  My taste is changing...again!  I love the look of wood and white.  

This is our living at the moment...with the two couch sitters.  As you can see, it's very red.  I do love red, but I think white will really freshen it up and change the look completely.  I can't wait.

Anyone Else Have a Pinterest Addiction?

My name is Hilary and I'm a Pinterest addict.

Follow me at http://www.pinterest.com/hilaryleighb/

I love it...can't get enough of it.  I use to purchase magazines.  Tons of magazines.  I spent a small fortune on decorating magazines.  Not anymore!  Not since I started pinning.  Now I get my pretty house fix right online whenever I want.

Inexpensive Kitchen Re-Do

A few years ago we wanted to give the kitchen a makeover as inexpensively as possible.  I had to get rid of the green!  Here's a photo of the before.

As you can see it was VERY green.  I'm sort of pinterest obsessed and when I looked at all of my kitchen pins I realized that I really liked white, open cabinets.  I really wanted to take all of the upper cabinets off the wall and replace them with open shelves, but we opted to just take off some of the doors instead.  

The lighter color made all of the difference.  It immediately made our small kitchen seem bigger and brighter.  You can see in this photo that our countertops were light in color.  We didn't have the budget to replace them, so instead we decided to use Rustoleum's Countertop Coating in black.

I have to say it was a pain in the neck to apply and smelled horrible, but the result was very pretty for very little money!  We did replace most of our appliances, though we couldn't find a wall oven small enough to fit into the original spot...so we still have the small 30 year old oven.  Good thing "retro" in in!

I have to say that I'm very pleased with the way everything turned out and we didn't have to spend $30,000 to do it.  This should hold me over for a few years until we sell!

New Items!

I actually had some time this morning to add a few new items to my etsy shop!

This home bunting is fun!  You can add any states you like...perfect gift for the bride and groom, husband and wife or someone that owns two homes in two different states.

The Spoon Me spoon makes a great Valentine's Day gift for that special person in your life!

What a cute way for your loved one to serve up their morning jam!

Check out more items at https://www.etsy.com/shop/thirtysixdesign

Looks to Love

A little afternoon inspiration....

The first photo I posted is from The Lettered Cottage (theletteredcottage.net).  I've been following this blog for several years now and always find great inspiration from Layla and her husband, Kevin.  I love the simplicity of their design...the rustic, yet finished look.  It's exactly what I'm going for in my own home.  Layla painted her kitchen cabinets light gray...I painted our kitchen cabinets light gray.  Layla took the doors off her cupboards...I took our doors off our cupboards.  Layla painted a chalkboard wall...I painted a chalkboard wall.  You get the picture!  

I really, REALLY want to incorporate more white upholstery in our home.  I love the way it looks, it's so clean and fresh, but with two dogs that like to be right next to me all the time I don't think it would look clean and fresh for long!  If anyone has any tips and tricks for keeping the look of white furniture pristine without driving yourself crazy I'd love to hear it!

thirtysixdesign.etsy.com

A Place for Everything...Everything in it's Place

It's the new year!  Let's get organized!  I love to be organized...it's a little bit of an obsession.  Just don't look in our basement!  Being organized doesn't mean you have to use those ugly plastic tubs from Walmart.  Baskets, wooden crates, jars, crocks and trays make wonderful receptacles for your bits and pieces.

Using a variety of containers adds interest to your shelf or counter.

Group objects on a pretty tray.

If you a have a home for everything you'll always give the allusion of being organized!

New Website!

So, yesterday morning I sat down to begin working on my new website....and didn't stop until 4pm!  It wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done and it's not perfect, but I'm so proud of myself for attempting it!  I have to say that around 1:00 I was near tears and ready to hire someone to put it all together for me. But I forged ahead and today tweaked it even more.   Eventually, I would like to add a shopping cart so that I can sell my items right from my site, but for now I'll use it to showcase what I sell.

I purchased my domain name from go daddy and am using their website builder to create my Thirty Six Design website.  Their customer service is awesome!  I called them twice yesterday and they fixed my problems right away...and they didn't even laugh at me!  I learned a little bit about coding and how to add links on the site...which took a few tries to get it right.  All in all, I'm very happy with what I've done.  Check it out!

thirtysixdesign.com