Home Improvements

So, its Sunday night... the house is nice and quiet. The hubster was on a business trip but is back now. Poor man now has a bad head cold so we've had a quiet weekend - which was really, really nice! The one thing we did do before he felt too yucky was hit Ikea (maybe that's why he's tired!?) - but after reading Court's post I was inspired to not be sucked into the Ikea vortex. We went straight to the things we needed and we were out of there in 30 minutes. Woohoo!

What did we get? Well, this rug.



I've liked it for a long time but they stopped carrying it for a while - and when I saw it on their website again I was not going to let it disappear for a second time. I think it looks fabulous in our dining room - its a wool kilim. It feels so good under your feet!



I love how the rug looks with our Tolix chairs and wicker end-chairs. It just finishes off our casual, warm space. Its perfect.



My dining room is almost complete - the only thing left is to replace my cheapie table with a beautiful farm table. All in good time.

I've realized I've never shown you the rest of my dining room. I'm lucky that we live in one of those old Boston houses - we have a gorgeous mantle (you can check it out here), a hutch (as you can see above, just bursting at the seams with my small addiction to ceramics, dishes, teapots, etc) and big windows. On the opposite wall we've made a photo wall of friends and family. I love that we can see them all the time (please excuse my hiking boots - they're great for walking dogs in the slushy weather).



The umbrella stand was something I bought soon after we arrived in Boston - my mom has a beautiful one that I've always loved, so I got my own (and now its filled with Halloween relics - the sword and the hockey stick - and an umbrella from a friend's wedding).

The red cushion is something I made when a friend brought me that beautiful fabric from China. I had to put my stamp on it, so I added the pom pom trim. The seat cushion I made when another friend brought me some modern shwe shwe (I've never seen anything like it!) from South Africa. You can check that out here.

So I've been reading Vintque Object, and An Urban Cottage, and I've tried to put my new found photography knowledge to use - I've tried to capture my shots so that the some pictures are taken straight on (no angles), and that the photo is level with the object. For instance, I went low to photograph the bench. Does it work? I think it works well on this cushion.



I like how this shot turned out (but I should've straightened the photos first!) And its a pity the light wasn't a little brighter.



But anyway, I love how it's all coming together. I'll let you know when the table finishes everything off.