Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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One Little Two Little Three Little Updates

Even though we blog about house stuff every day it’s surprisingly easy to forget to fill you guys in on the little changes that we make… until someone sees a picture and says “wait, you didn’t tell us you did _____!” And sometimes it’s the little things that make you smile when you walk into the same room you’ve been walking into every day for the last 700+ days anyway, if you know what I mean. So since this blog is as much about over-sharing the small stuff as the big stuff, here are three oops-we-forgot-to-show-you updates.

You guys have asked where my little ceramic houses that John got me for Christmas landed, and I’m happy to report that they’ve been living it up on the kitchen mantel for nearly a month:

Mantel1

Aren’t they cute? The imperfectly shaped matte ceramic finish is amazing. I tell John I want to move into them (we’ll take one and maybe the Bowers can move in next door?).

Mantel2

This mantel still feels wintery to me (with the sweater vase, etc) but I can totally see how these little white ceramic houses can be year-round fixtures. Picture them next to a vase full of pink tulips and a few small teal and yellow oil paintings leaning up there around them. Total spring vibe, right?

Mantel3

Okay and the next update is one that folks have been asking for quite regularly since this post. So we’re very sorry it has taken this long for us to share full room shots of our new chandelier.

Dining Room After1

I’m sure some of you might notice that we also added pillows to all of our dining chairs, so let’s dive into that, shall we?

Step one: cut a hole in a box. Just kidding. Step one: put pillows on chairs. Done.

Dining Room After2

I tried a few combinations and ended up liking three different prints (a solid satin-y one, an ikat-y one, and an abstract chevron-ish one). They might seem sort of random in some pics, but in person they actually seem to play really nicely together since they’re all from the same color palette (literally, the same tone of blue is carried across each one, as well as two of them having the same plum and the same white hits of color). They go but don’t match if you know what I mean. Someone else might want all the pillows to match each other, or to keep them solid in color, and that works too – just do whatcha love. Bottom and middle pillow: HomeGoods a while back, top pillow: one I made from on-sale napkins here.

Three Pillows

And since we already owned all of them this was a little free act of pillow madness executed by none other than The Girl With The Pillow Problem herself (yes that’s me). The fun thing is that the curtains are another pattern in the room, but since they also have the same colors, they seem to play just as well as they would with say, a patterned napkin or runner on the table. So if you just think of dining room pillows as 3-D patterned napkins, you’re all set. Also it might feed into your pillow problem. You have been warned.

Mixing Patterns

As for if they get stained by food or if we’re worried about that – we haven’t had an issue with that yet, but none of our pillows are too expensive and precious, so we figure we can just spot clean them, remove their covers and run them through the wash, or even just pull a fast one and flip them over so the stain is on the back if something insane happens that involves a not-coming-off mark. Fastidious Downton Abbey maid, I’m not.

Oh and they tie into the dark-teal color on the back of the built-ins. And the abstract chevron-y one (along with the curtains) also have the same green color that’s on those lime green chairs in the office, so that’s nice too. Even Clara’s little yellow high chair seems to slip in there with a wink and a smile. Oh that coy highchair…

Pillow Details

So there are three little updates that have made a few areas in the house feel a little more “loved.” Plus I knew some of you eagle-eyed readers might notice them in other pics and demand details, so there ya go. Ha! Now if you’ll excuse me we have a little Macklemore Challenge to get ready to post tomorrow. Wooooooooot! $herdog’s so excited and she just can’t hide it.

Comments

  1. Lauren Hooker says

    I stumbled across your blog this morning, and I’m in love! Your house is beautiful, and I love the patterned pillows and colors in your dining room. I’m excited to follow your progress!

    Reply

  6. Mandy DeTurk says

    I love the ceramic houses! Since you guys and the Bowers are moving into the two right next door to each other, can I move into the one just a little further down the way??

    Reply

  7. Dee says

    I love all of the colors & prints! That is probably my biggest struggle in my house. I have a VERY logic/reason-oriented mind so it is nearly impossible for me to execute the “they go together but don’t match” thing. I’ve tried (with pillows even!) but it just looks haphazard instead of cohesive. People like me need a place that sells “sets” of things (pillows/accessories/curtains) that “go together” but aren’t matching!

    Reply

  9. jbhat says

    I would have become sort of physically ill (briefly) if you had revealed that the chair pillows all matched or were all the same. I really would have! Sometimes I react physically when something doesn’t look right to me. Isn’t that weird? So thank you to Sue and Co. for maintaining my regular good health and good spirits. The whole setup looks awesome, and is very inviting. Bonus points for the simple, clean drama of the light cage too. It’s like a vitamin to me. : )

    jbhat

    Reply

  10. Melissa says

    I’m with everyone else cracking up about the JT reference. Man oh man, you guys get so much more awesome every day :)

    Reply

  11. Lisak says

    Very cute. Love the colors. I think you should paint the flying wood duck on the wall. White? Lime green? Yellow? Teal? Hope this is not too bold a suggestion.

    Reply

  14. Carla says

    Are you guys thinking about getting an area rug for the dining room? When I see that room I feel the urge to slide a comfy couch and chairs and a coffee table in there. So I was thinking an area rug would kick up the snuggy factor a notch. I do love how you’re brining more found objects into your home that add warmth and a nice vintage appeal, like the wood goose/duck and the fabulous buffet table on the back wall.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yeah a big rug would be awesome someday. Maybe after Clara’s a less messy eater and she’s over Play-Doh. Otherwise it won’t be very functional for our family. Haha!

      xo,
      s

  15. CammyS says

    Sweater vase? Did I miss a post or something? How long have you had it? By the way, I love the ceramic houses. :)

    Reply

  16. Courtney says

    I love your Justin Timberlake reference with “Step one-cut a hole in the box” Laughed out loud on that one!!

    Reply

  19. Annalea says

    Love the updates. :o) Have you ever noticed how the two snake-y/animal horn white thingies above the doorway to the office makes the doorway look mustachioed? Just thought I’d throw that out there, since ‘staches are so hot right now.

    Have a great day!

    Reply

  20. Team Greene's Jessie says

    Hi there!
    i have been wondering this – ever since Christmas ;) – did you guys have power in the dining room ceiling all along?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We blogged about getting that fixture box added during our kitchen renovation. The electrician was adding can lights in the kitchen so for $80 he tossed one over the table :)

      xo,
      s

  21. Cecilee Echols says

    I love your new light fixture. We are going to need to install lighting over our dining room table soon and have no experience in this area. Well, hubby has switched out a few outlets and changed out light fixtures, but we’ve never installed on from scratch…i.e. cutting a hole in the ceiling, putting a box in, connecting the wires. Any advice on this…or a possible tutorial of how you installed yours?

    Thanks so much..

    Cecilee in Texas

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’ve never done that either! We asked the electrician adding can lights in the kitchen to add one box over the dining table. It was about $80 and the peace of mind that its fine right is awesome. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  22. Felicity says

    I’m thinking about using your dining room chandelier in my foyer. I would be replacing a builder basic flush mount (boob) light with three bulbs. Do you think your chandelier would be bright enough?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The large one takes an 100 watt bulb and that has been great for our whole dining room so I’m sure it’ll work in a foyer. I would love to add a dimmer switch to ours actually, so we can lower it for mood lighting and slide it all the way up for maximum brightness. You can also use a CFL bulb to go even brighter (they use lower wattage so you can get more light out of any fixture by switching over). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  26. karen says

    i know it’s over 300 days away..but next christmas you have to stick a miniature wreath on that middle sized house!!

    Reply

  27. Jas says

    Ahh pillows!! I think I have inherited this ‘disease’ from my mom, she sent me pillow in the mail and when I was visiting last week (express 4-day trip to France), guess what I got in my suitcase? A pillow! And if it’s not pillows, it’s pillow covers… #pillowloveranonymous

    And side note (can’t seem to be able to post my pic on FB), It was great meeting you yesterday!! I promise I can say more than two words in a row to make a fully understandable sentence! #blameitonthewine (But you really did reunite my friend and I, as we moved to separate continents 2 years ago) Enjoy the lemon towel!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks so much Jas! It was great to meet you too! Thanks so much for coming out and making good use of the wine! Haha! And I love the lemon tea towel so so much!

      xo
      s

  29. Katie S. says

    So, I find it weird that Sue has been reduced to “the abstract chevron-ish one.” Poor Sue! It actually dawned on me recently that Sue doesn’t seem to be mentioned much lately. Are you still consulting her for your inspiration, or did you just get stuff so figured out so you don’t need her anymore? Or have you moved on from Sue all together? Poor Sue!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, we still very much love Sue! I am just so used to calling her Sue the Napkin (I think I even called her that during our Christmas dinner post a month ago when she came out) but for some reason the pillow isn’t really Sue the Pillow to me. Haha! I save the names for her napkin friends.

      xo
      s

  30. Randi says

    Hi – do you have any deets on the sweater vase? I love it! and since I knit (inexpertly, it must be said…) it would be fun to make one. Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s from HomeGoods, but I bet if you found a white sweater at Goodwill you could just snip off the sleeve and slide a vase into it like a drink koozie. Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  33. Kaitlin says

    Hi! So I have a question…at either end of your mantel, those cute little twiggy topiaries (sp?), where do you find those? Did you go to a local flower shop? I’ve been searching everywhere and cant find any.

    Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Those are from Crate & Barrel on clearance a while back (John knew I wanted them so his family got them for me for the holidays a few years ago). Hope it helps! Oh and they’re faux!

      xo
      s

  34. Jenny says

    I LOVE your new light fixture (and I want one) so I have a practical question. Since it is only a single bulb fixture and it looks like you only have the one lamp (the one who tragically lost his mate, yes?) do you get enough light in there at night? During the day I’m sure the window keeps things light and bright, but at night when maybe hosting people for dinner, do you need extra lighting?

    Reply

  37. Brandy says

    So I know it’s a little off topic, but since we’re talking about rugs a bit here too…can you tell me, how is the green rug under Karl made? Does it have those little hooks loops that cat claws could pull and the whole thing will unravel or is it individually cut fibers? I want one badly but don’t want the kitty klan to destroy it! Any input on how it’s crafted would be great!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s a flat weave rug, so there aren’t really tufts or loops that a claw could pull (maybe if a cat scratched at it violently it would fray if you know what I mean, but I don’t think an animal walking along it could pull it). Maybe check out some flat weave rugs in person (do they have any at Macy’s or West Elm?) and then see what you think?

      xo
      s

  40. Trude says

    The little houses are so super cute, I’d keep them up all year long too! Really love the mixed patterns, they totally pick up all the colors you’ve got going.

    Reply

  41. Sandra says

    I just saw your little ceramic houses and had the thought that they might be nice with some curly cress growing out of the windows and doors for spring. Sprinkle the soaked seeds on a damp paper towel and place in the sun. You can trim the cress for your salads, and the houses may come alive! :) I would love to know where you got those houses although I plan to fold my own out of paper in the shape of Victorians and I will definitely grow them.
    Love, and good luck on your dreamy home,
    s

    Reply

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