Robert and I are a dash strange about the way we renovate our house. Most would move in, immediately paint every room a new color and then live happily ever after. This wasn’t really an option for us as most rooms in our 104 year old farm house needed some custom carpentry done or in the case of the bathroom, needed to be totally overhauled up to the shingles and down to the dirt of the foundation.
Ever so slowly, our house has been changing colors over the three years we’ve called it our own! When we first moved in, the previous owners (who were artists, but not artists of color by my judgement) had made it into an ancient and cosy sort of dark, brothel-esque home. The colors were rich, wild and all wrong for the soul of this house. We loved the layout and the spirit of the place and could see potential in it which is why we bought it. It was on the market for one full year and we were the first to look at it in person and make an offer!
At any rate, we’ve been pushing every room into tranquility, slowly, with light, space expanding colors and the slow unification of custom moldings and flooring that match the original moldings and flooring that are in the living room and bedroom.
Up until now, RW has been responsible for doing all of our renovations and painting in his off-season, he likes to have wintertime projects. Before this fire season began, I had asked him to paint the front room of our house which is enclosed original veranda that is now a huge entryway…with very little purpose. He didn’t get to the task before his work season began and yesterday, when I walked through the dim, dank, mocha hue of that room I knew something had to change.
So I went out, bought some paint and slapped it up on the walls.
Now I have what is a beautiful little parlor in the front of my home. I’m even going to call it as such, like so:
Me: Oh hello! Come in! Come in! I just made tea,
it’s on the table in the parlor.
She: Don’t mind if I do! I brought some rhubarb crisp
and beets from the garden.
Me: Thank you! I’m so glad you came, I’ve been meaning to ring you up…
[The beaded moccasins in the bottom right hand corner of this photo were my Baba’s. They were made by a native woman in Fort Chipewyan, Northern Alberta, Canada. This actual moccasin style is called “old timers”. She acquired them when my family was stationed at Wood Buffalo National Park…now they’re mine. When I wear them I feel like a half-Chipewyan, half-Ukrainian beauty.]
It’s a perfect sitting space for tea and reading.
The light is quiet.
The scents of the gardens flow in through the window and front door and the lightweight curtains look beautiful as they’re batted about by the breeze.
I’m so glad I took a couple of days to revamp this space
and really (finally) claim it as my own.
By the way, this is also our guest room, so if you come to stay, it’s all yours: light, magic, birdsong and the blue spruce blowing its perfume through the screen door!
Sources of decor:
hen mirror (antiqued)
blue coffee table (antiqued)
horse painting (antiqued)
gilded frame (thrifted)
family wedding portrait (antiqued)
metal egg basket (antiqued)
futon (gift from my parents)
church pew — not shown here (antiqued)
all bits of natural detritus including bones and fur pelts (found by me or gifted to me by friends)
Come for tea!
We’ll lounge about in
cool, summer spirits…
barefoot and beautiful in this lightweight space.
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