home

I want to share a series that focuses on some of the beautiful things about HOME. We had a remodel project done on our house a year and a half ago, so I am eager to post some of the photos of the kitchen I LOVE, and our master bath, etc. But, I also just like to share some of the littler things; the things that comfort, things I love, things that organize or beautify spaces, things that make our home OUR home and are, therefore, special to me. Yes, they are just 'things' and as such, not what I treasure most. What I treasure most about our home is the people who fill it and the moments I share with my family that imprints warm memories in every corner.

Projects, projects, projects...

My mother is a major DIYer, homemaker-crafter-seamstress-reupholsterer-carpenter extraordinaire, who has done many amazing projects with and for me and my two brothers/sisters-in-law to make our houses more stylish and functional. I have been happily surprised over the years to find that, with our design input and now her own studying of home & design magazines, she has not only focused on the latter as she would have when she was a young mom with limited resources, but has really grown an eye for style keeping with our taste and the times. She is still practical, frugal and efficient while I am more, well...not, but we balance each other out. I have learned a lot of reusing, refinishing, repurposing, recycling ideas from her and on my own as I have branched out and tried things on my own over the years. We all enjoy garage sale-ing or sifting through thrift stores, antique and consignment shops and flea markets together on our family camping trips while the guys are out fishing. We have good memories of these shopping experiences and our finds. This is just an intro into my mom and her projects, with much more to show of her creative abilities.

The Entryway Bench

One of the best examples of what she does can be seen at my sister-in-law's blog, where she shows an amazing laundry-mudroom makeover my mom did in their house. Mindi linked to my blog in that post, and here is the bench she referred to. Mom made this bench for me, for my birthday last year, out of an old headboard she bought secondhand. We shopped for fabric together and then she made the cushion with piping and monogrammed pillow for the bench for my birthday this year. We love this bench...I think, for its functionality most. I hadn't realized how useful it is to have a sitting area in the front door entryway. Now that the kids gather there in the morning to watch for the school bus, we use this entryway daily where we hadn't before. They have a place to lay down backpacks while packing them, a place to sit while tying shoes, and a place to 'hang' while waiting.