Sunday, December 8, 2013

How I Found my Style Sundays- diy Design Fanatic


Hey everyone, I'm Pam and blog over at diy Design Fanatic. Thank you so much Pamela for asking me to share how I found my style. It's really an honor considering all of the other fabulous bloggers who have been featured on "How I Found My Style Sundays".

My style seems to be changing now and I'm still finding my style. My home is in a state of transition with our oldest having moved out a few years ago and our youngest going away to college next fall. Soon we will be empty nesters in a three story house. 
We're in the process of changing things up a bit, so our home will look totally different in a year or so...
We might even be starting over in a new house with a blank slate....and then....oh the possibilities! 

My Foyer represents my style at the moment...a little vintage, a little classic and not too cluttered. 

Sometimes I'll change up the chairs with new acquisitions. 

My seasons of life have influenced my style:
Before children...
..that was back in the late 80's and early 90's (yep, I'm that old) back when everything was traditional and very formal, we purchased a few nice pieces for our bedroom, dining room and living room.  Everything I picked out was 18th Century Chippendale.
Maybe one of these days I might paint the china cabinet I picked up on Craigslist a few years ago. It's the matching cabinet to the Thomasville dining set I bought way back in the 90's.

Our first sofa before kids was a high end champagne color damask sofa in our formal living room. 
I just heard all of you with young children groan.
You just know what happened to those cushions when we had our first child...
I managed to find a slipcover and we kept it for many years after that.
A few years ago I finally broke down and bought an inexpensive sofa to get us through the teenage years. Maybe someday we'll get a nice sofa again.

Our Family Room is pretty eclectic with our original 18th century Chippendale reproduction coffee table being the only traditional piece in the room. 

Our bedroom is still pretty formal with the classic wood dresser and armoire, but has a vintage teak chest that's a family heirloom, a couple of Craigslist and new finds, as well as Ikea curtains thrown in the mix.  

While our children were young and even into their early teens, my style became a little more practical..
I'm not sure my style changed at all during that time as my attention  turned to one of my loves....digging in the dirt.
I LOVE gardening and spent a lot of time outside with my husband creating a park like yard. We  started with a large, almost acre lot filled with overgrown, vine infested woods and 22 shrubs from the builder.

Here are a few photos of our transformed garden:


My husband installed a cobblestone patio just inside the woods off the path to the creek. This photo was taken several years ago.

Here's the view of the garden from our deck. This picture was taken last March just as the leaves were starting to emerge. We had just put down fresh mulch. 
Oh how I love Spring in the garden.

Back  inside...
My Breakfast Room was one of my least favorite rooms before we made a few changes. A couple of years ago, we lightened up the paint to a more neutral color,  found a great little round table on Craigslist and hung some long white Ikea curtains. 
Now the Breakfast Room is my favorite space to decorate for holidays and set up for parties.

Basic Breakfast Room:

Dressed for Spring:

and my favorite: decorated for Christmas!

Our oldest daughter's room was painted a few months ago to a more neutral color. We retrofitted the armoire for her, which was of course, a Craigslist find.

We love to DIY and one of my favorite diy projects of all time is the bookcase makeover we did for our youngest daughter's room.
I found some really ugly stained pine bookcases on ~ you guessed it...Craigslist and had my husband build up the top and bottom. After making the design changes, we painted the outside a bright white. Our daughter chose the interior color. 

I love it when projects turn out so well. 

 I guess my style is eclectic; traditional lines with some vintage and classic modern additions. Whatever style it is, the most important thing to us is that it's comfortable. A place where family can sit down and relax and put their feet up. 

I hope you'll stop by my blog sometime soon and see the rest of my spaces and diy projects. 
Thanks again to Pamela for having me here!

Pam from diy Design Fanatic.
Oh Pam your home is just lovely! I loved watching you transform your backyard this past summer. It turned out amazing and I know you all must be enjoying it so much. I can not wait to see all the changes you have in store for the new year! Thank you for inviting us into your home today!

12 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful home! I have always loved that breakfast room!
    -Shelley

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pam's home is lovely. It is great to hear how her style developed. Thanks Pamela!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh so nice. Very comfy and homey, while still having touches of glamour and sophistication. :) Our children must be the same age, so I know exactly what you are talking about, how your style has changed with the seasons of life. Take care and thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pamela,
    Great great choice again this week. Pam's home is just beautiful. Ohhhhhh that backyard is just heaven. Gorgeous home Pam and so welcoming and beautiful. Thanks for sharing with all of us.
    Kris

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a lucky home, both inside and out. Thanks ladies for allowing me to peek on.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gorgeous home. I have to come back. Thanks for sharing, I love her home and blog!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You have a beautiful garden! On nice days it must be hard to go inside.
    Don't worry about your children leaving home...they come back and bring people with them..husbands,wives and grandchildren. The best is yet to come!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You have a beautiful home and gardens, Pam! I know well how things can change when your children are living at home {and then when they leave!}. Even though I have a granddaughter that is over quite a bit now, our current style seems to be working out just fine.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Everything is beautiful in Pamela's home and I love her style.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you to both of you for sharing this lovely home. We changed quite a few things when our son left home, too.

    I am starting the holiday tour of our home. I hope you will come by to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Where did you get your breakfast area chairs!? Love them!!

    ReplyDelete

I love when ya stop by so leave me a comment if ya have some time! I always try and respond but sadly enough sometimes I am unable to return the love due to noreply blogger status.