DIY Window Seat/Reading Nook in our Country Cottage Style Master Bedroom

When it come to summer decor, I often crave the addition of more color in our home. I recently switched our bedding back to our patchwork quilt and decided to give our entire room a quick makeover, including adding a light to our DIY window seat/reading nook. I like to play around with switching up my decor but I will always come back to this country cottage look. For me, it just speaks home in a way that no other style does.

I think we all get caught up in trends at times and I certainly never let things stay the same for too long. But I always seem to find myself drawn back to this "homey" style.

When looking through magazines and Instagram, I am always drawn to homes that so obviously represent the people that live in them. I hope my home does that. I am a book lover so these "built-ins" create a reading nook on one wall of our master bedroom. These are actually just old book cases that we connected using an in-stock kitchen cabinet topped with plywood as a bench. 

You can see the entire wall in the picture below. I found the old caged light while spring cleaning one of my closets and thought it would be perfect in my reading nook. I also love all quilted things and found the new navy rosette pillow cover on clearance at Garnet Hill.

I used 2 quilted red and white pillow shams from Pottery Barn to cover the chair. They are simply large euro shams that I placed on the chair and they happen to fit perfectly. This gives the space a temporary new look and I can go back to the yellow fabric that is embroidered with navy blue bees when I tire of the red (which I inevitable will!).

Our front window also has space for a chair and ottoman and is another great place to read. I often escape the chaos of my busy household to read here. :)

Do you also have a personal style that you come back to again and again?

Sources:

Multi Star Patchwork Quilt - Pottery Barn (no longer sold in store but I have seen this sold on eBay)

Small Area Rug by window seat - Target

Blue and white striped throw - Target

Emerson quote pillow - Target

Caged Light - (old) Target

Quilted Rosette Pillow Cover - Garnet Hill

Mountains quote over bed - DIY

DIY Pergola - Adding Shade to a Deck

For at least 5 years, Billy and I have discussed ways to add shade to our back deck. We added the small back deck, just large enough for a grill and a table for our family, many years ago because we enjoy eating outdoors in the summer. We have a covered patio, but we need to go down a level to get to it which isn't ideal when serving a meal. We knew that we would make better use of a deck on the same level as our kitchen. Problem is, we get direct sunlight on this deck right at dinner time. So the deck was seldom used. We added a cheap canopy one year with shower curtains hung from it to block the sun. It wasn't pretty but it got the job of blocking the sun done. Then we started researching pre-made pergolas, but none seemed sturdy enough or were the exact size we needed. Billy kept saying we should just build one but other projects seemed to take priority.

This spring, Billy took it upon himself to finally build us a pergola. I have to give him credit because he completely designed it, shopped for the wood and had it halfway built before I was really even on board with this project. He is very modest and keeps saying there was nothing to it. Thank you, Billy.

He says his plan was to keep it simple. And cheap affordable. He used four 4x6 pressure-treated posts to build the main support and secured those with bolts to the deck from underneath. He then used 2x6's that he notched to create the top of the pergola. Our deck railing is vinyl so we painted the pergola to match the white in order to keep it all uniform. We plan to add another layer of thin strips of 1x3's to the top of the pergola for even more shade in the middle of the day when the sun is high. In the picture below, you can see the pergola from our backyard.

We added outdoor curtains and hung them on an outdoor curtain rod to the side where the sun shines directly on the table in the early evening hours. We use a piece of rope to keep them secured during the day. This has worked beautifully!

The deck is just off the french doors in our kitchen. Adding the pergola really makes it feel like we added an entire new room to our house. The farmhouse style outdoor table, bench and chairs are from Walmart and they were my Mother's Day/Birthday gift from my boys. The outdoor rug, cushions and throw pillow are from Lowes.

This deck also overlooks our pool area - you can see our pool shed and the basketball hoop in the distance in the pictures. Our pool isn't opened for the season yet. That's our next project to tackle this week. Aaahhh the joys of home ownership - seems the work in the yard never ends at this time of year.

My very favorite part of this entire project is those patio lights hanging from the pergola. We have them on a timer and they come on at 7 every night - the time we eat dinner most nights. I can't help but smile when those lights pop on!

I think it's going to be a great summer!

Does Anybody Have a Map?

Billy and I saw the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen a few weeks back and I can't ever remember being touched in quite the same way at a show. At one point, I realized I was sitting on the edge of my seat, completely enthralled in the emotions of the performance. One of the songs is titled, Does Anybody Have a Map? - and that line has been on repeat in my mind since hearing it. It feels like that should be the title of the chapter of life I am currently in.

When big changes are happening in life, I tend to get quiet and focus on family and that is the stage I am at right now. So, as you might have noticed, I have stepped away a bit from this blog. I think it can be important to take a break from things like paint colors and throw pillows from time to time. I hope my love of those things (and the time to dedicate to them) will return sometime soon.

I have been focusing on nature and time with my guys, both equally soothing for me.

We spent a week in the mountains over spring break and that felt so good. We had a couple of big snowstorms (yup, the calendar does indeed say April - I checked a few times!). But there is no denying Mother Nature's beauty, even if we are craving warmer weather.

We also enjoyed a couple of days of brilliant blue sunshine. Days full of hope and promise for a bright future. We took a ride over the bridge into Vermont on one glorious day. We didn't really have a plan, just a desire to see someplace new and take a few pictures. First, we drove through Addison, VT which is just on the other side of Lake Champlain from New York. You can see the snow covered Adirondacks in the picture below just beyond the church.

Our travels took us across the state and through Stowe on this day, a quintessential Vermont village.

We grabbed lunch here and it was even warm enough to walk around the village a bit.

We explored a few back roads.  

And then headed back to NY just as the sun was setting in the Adirondacks.

Back in the frozen tundra of the Adirondacks for the remainder of the week, we took time to explore some new trails and plan some fun adventures for the summer.

And I thought maybe, just maybe, having a map is overrated anyway. Maybe the best parts of the journey are letting go and seeing where the road takes us, even if it is winding.  And snow covered. In Spring :)

Some Spring...Finally

Hello! It has been so difficult to get myself motivated to add any spring touches to our home this month because it has still felt completely like winter. And looked like winter too. But one sunny day last week - following a pretty large snowstorm, I took these pictures to share with you all. Just try not to be too distracted by the snow outside the windows. The good news is it is almost completely melted now. And I can hear the birds chirping as I type this so there is hope for spring in NJ yet.

I added some white touches to the copper pots that hang on our DIY pot rack to lighten things up for spring. I have been having fun styling that pot rack with the seasons.

I picked up the white metal basket at HomeGoods recently that now sits on the center of our island - I think it is perfect for spring, especially with some spring flowers added.

Over the sink, I added a small wreath and a farmer's market dish towel, both from recent finds from HomeGoods. Speaking of HomeGoods, we are finally getting a HomeSense near our house and it is right next door to my other favorite, Trader Joe's. I-Can't-Wait!!

I picked up the "I love you a bushel and a peck" sign at TJ Maxx and now we all walk around the house singing it. Have you seen the State Farm commercial that uses that song - with the young couple fixing up a house while their toddler crawls around the mess? Totally our lives when our boys were younger! Love that commercial!!

Keeper (AKA Sprout-yup, she still has the sprout of fur on top of her head) decided to make a rare appearance for the spring photos. I think she was getting tired of Dax getting all of the attention! She's suddenly had a resurgence of energy lately and we are enjoying it.

It's hard to believe that Easter is already this Sunday. We will be enjoying brunch at my brother's house and then relaxing for the rest of the day. I am looking forward to spending some family time together over our spring break from school next week. We lost one day of break because of all of the snow days this year, but fortunately they have turned that into a virtual day so the kids can work from home (or wherever they may be traveling to for spring break) on their laptops. Aaah, the wonders of modern technology. I hope you have a wonderful Easter!

And finally, it seems to have become somewhat of a tradition for me to end the post with a smile from Dax (along with one from my oldest son too). Happy Spring!