First Look at Our Living Room

Well, I finally have {most} of an entire room of our house to share! The living room and kitchen are the only two rooms that are mostly "done," so today I'm sharing our formal living room. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but I also know this is definitely the "first round" of decorating, and not everything is just how I want it quite yet. A room always evolves over time and I'm sure in a year or two I'll look back at these pictures and think how different or bare or strange it looks. But for only living in our house for a month I think it's pretty good!

The thing that sold us on this house was definitely the space. It is very open and has three large living areas and an extremely spacious kitchen. The area directly behind this couch is the dining room (well, it's all one room but it's where the dining area is). I tried not to get too much of it in the pictures as our dining set is being painted right now so it's empty for the time being.

The decor on the console is definitely not what I have in mind, but I need to purchase several pieces so I used what I had for now.

This room came together about like I had pictured in my head - I had wanted something that felt very sophisticated but still comfortable, and something with a lot of texture and depth but with heavy doses of white. I think I achieved that look pretty well, but you know it's always a work in progress!

Oh built-ins...if you've been reading my blog for a while you know my love/hate relationship with shelving. Everyone always says how much they love built-ins...until you have to style them! It's such a fine balance between too cluttered and too sparse. This isn't too bad for my first go-around but you know they'll change about 383769 more times while we live here : )

I would eventually love to put these scones on either side of the TV, but for now our bus roll art works great! I think the bricklayer coffee table gives the room a sleeker, more industrial vibe, which I love.

Here you can really see how all the textures play well together. The clean lines and wood of the coffee table mix well with the texture of the rug and the trunk, all grounded by the white upholstery and shelving.

I have to tell you I'm very impressed with Ikea's Ektorp sofa. It far surpassed my expectations for both quality and comfort. I think it's very comfortable and the slipcover is heavy and well made. I am glad we chose to save money here and only spend $400 vs. my dream $1,800 Crate and Barrel sofa. It's a great compromise! I also have to tell you I'm very proud of the zinc side table. I have wanted it since before we were married and held off on purchasing it. Then I found it on clearance at World Market right before we moved in and paid a mere $38 for it!

This might be my favorite shot of the room. You can see how far back the room goes and over to the area that leads to our kitchen. You can also see how this paint can read differently depending on the light. I wanted a French gray in here - something that was mostly gray but with a taupe undertone. You can see how gray it looks by the white chair, and how taupe-y/brown it looks if you look in the back far corner. Just what I was going for!

Here you can also see into the "man cave" in the far left corner of this shot. That room probably won't see much action here on the blog, but I will say Matt loves having it and I do too. It's outfitted with an extra-long sofa, pool table, 50" TV and lots of sports memorabilia. It's his dream and it's worked out so well, especially for entertaining. I don't mind because I have two whole other living rooms to decorate/photograph : )

My beloved church pew found a home in the area that leads to the kitchen. I absolutely love how this corner turned out with the salvaged molding and photos above, and the giant antique basket below. This area is actually quite large and so I'm saving and waiting for a buffet for the other side.

Here you can see how it connects into our kitchen..post on that coming soon!

I feel like there is still a lot to do in the house but it's coming together! Once the table is painted, I want to purchase a mirror for the wall behind it, eventually find a buffet for the nook, get new pillows for the couch and install roman shades and curtains across the window. It will all happen in time I'm sure!

I'll leave you with a few detail shots (you know those are my favorite!) Source list is below. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Living Room Sources

Paint Color: Silver Fox by Benjamin Moore in Eggshell

Trim Color: Was already white but we gave the shelves a fresh coat in Simply White by Benjamin Moore (semi-gloss) and it matched, so all touch ups/further paint will be done in that

Couch: Ikea Ektorp

Coffee Table: Home Decorators

End Table: World Market

White Wing Chair: TJ Maxx

Linen Club Chairs: Joss and Main

Console Table: Joss and Main (also available here and here)

Rug: Overstock.com

Arched Mirror: One King's Lane

Any other sources: Just ask!

Bottoms Up Antiques: Prize

Good morning! Today I have more photos from my trip to Bottoms Up. All of the vendors are truly amazing, but my favorite has got to be Prize Antiques. Steve Rogers has the most gorgeous mix of European, industrial and patina-d antiques. I spend quite a bit of time perusing his incredible displays every time I go to Bottoms Up.

Steve was at Round Top when I was there, as were many of the vendors, so I didn't get to talk with him. But I would love to know how he does what he does! I talked to another vendor about him and was very interested to learn that he works full time as a marketing executive for a major company, since I also work in marketing and do antiques on the side (granted I work at a church and I think he's pretty high up in a national company, but still there are similarities : )

{this might be my favorite photo from the day...love the blue Swedish bench paired with the old bookcase and grain sack pillows}

I had always assumed Steve must travel regularly to Europe to get most of his wares, as many of them look European to me, but the other vendor said he doesn't go overseas. He assumes he gets most of his items while on business trips through his company. (Steve, if you ever read this I would love to know how you do what you do! : )

Either way, his wares are amazing and his taste is impeccable!

This collection of antique urns (as well as wire ones on the bottom row) was impressive. And check out that huge corbel on the top shelf! You know I'm a sucker for corbels : )

This harvest table...umm there are not words. It was very, very long, with great distressed white paint and a zinc top. Unbelievably gorgeous, especially paired with the French chairs.

All of the little vignettes throughout the space are perfect. Steve mixes typography (he has incredible signs) with interesting shapes and different textures for perfect layering.

This wall of old suit cases was one of my favorites...so cool.

This hutch was gorgeous on its own, plus it was filled with tons of antique mercury glass (the real stuff, not reproductions). I loved it all!

This sign was probably what I wish I would have taken home most as I have the perfect spot for it.

Collections and groupings were everywhere, like this collection of vintage bottles.

I would drive to KC just to go to Prize, but the rest of Bottoms Up is incredible too! Their next show is this Friday and Saturday, November 1 and 2. I'll share one more post with photos from the entire show before the next event, so stay tuned!

{live beautifully}

Courtney

Mixing Vintage and New {First Peek at Our New House}

Good morning friends! I finally have at least a tiny peek into our new home for you. Things are coming together and constantly evolving, but it's not totally camera-ready yet. As always, you can see behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram.

Today I wanted to show you my gorgeous find from Bottoms Up Antique Market. As you know, I got to be a sneak-peek blogger for them a few weekends back and had such a blast shopping and photographing all the beautiful wares for you. I have lots more pictures to share but first I wanted to show you what I found and how I'm using it in my home.

I scored this gorgeous antique French wicker shipping trunk from White x White, one of my favorite vendors. I absolutely love it! I was hoping to find one of these the day I went to Bottoms Up and was so thrilled they had one (and it was a very reasonable price as well). I knew this was the look I wanted in this little corner of the living room and it came together perfectly. This is such a great example of the kinds of unique pieces you can find at Bottoms Up. I know these shipping trunks are quite rare (and usually very expensive) but their dealers have such a wide variety of items that you really can find more unique pieces.

I'm not exactly sure what the old letters say - my best guess is CH Feltein, but who knows! Either way, the typography is great and makes such a statement. The trunk does lean a bit, but I think I have a few creative ideas on how to level it off. That's just part of the charm!

You all know my obsession with trophies, and this one takes the cake. It's a huge old loving cup from 1925 that I found in Oklahoma for a steal. I spotted several great trophies while I was at Bottoms Up as well. In fact, the two below on the right came from Bottoms Up on another trip. They were imported from Scotland.

The white wing chair came from TJ Maxx, the lamp from JC Penney and the mirror from One King's Lane. So a little new and a little vintage going on in this corner, which really is my favorite way to decorate. The perfect amount of character and charm with some new pieces mixed in. 

The next Bottoms Up market is November 1 and 2 as part of Kansas City's Warehouse Weekends. If you are anywhere near KC, I can't recommend Bottoms Up enough! I'll be sharing more photos from my trip in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

{live beautifully}

Courtney

Winners & Bottoms Up

Hey friends! I thought I would quickly announce the winners of the Inspiration Vintage Magazine giveaway. They are:

Mindy Northrop
Nicki Morrow-Winkles
Bobbi Jo
Pam Ballard

Congratulations ladies! Melinda, the magazine's owner and editor, will be in touch with you soon to get you the link to the magazine. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Also, those of you who follow me on Instagram know that I had a very cool experience last week...I was asked to be a guest blogger for my favorite antiques market, Bottoms Up in Kansas City! My friend Leah and I got to go in the day before they opened to the public and explore to our heart's content. Imagine being the only two shoppers in a four-floor warehouse of the very best antiques. Yeah. Heaven. Needless to say I got tons of great photos and one very incredible find and will be blogging soon about everything Bottoms Up. Their next show is November 1 and 2 and if there's any way you can get yourself to Kansas City, you most definitely should!

Have a great weekend!
{live beautifully}
Courtney

Photo Shoot Leftovers

As I mentioned yesterday, I was blessed to be featured in Inspiration Vintage Magazine's fall issue. I spent hours cleaning, styling and photographing our little house for the feature. Of course, not every photo can be used, so I thought I'd share a few that didn't make the magazine, without spoiling the feature content of course. Enjoy!

There is still time to enter the giveaway to win one of four digital copies! Go here to enter!

{live beautifully}

Courtney

Inspiration Vintage Magazine + Giveaway

Hello friends! Well we are finally in our new house! I'll share more moving details in an upcoming post but here is a little phone pic sneak peek at the kitchen, the only halfway put together room so far. For updates and photos, be sure to follow me on Instagram.

The same day we moved in was also the day that Inspiration Vintage magazine came out. If you've not seen this gorgeous magazine, you are going to love it! I was blessed to have our apartment featured in the fall issue, and it was so humbling to see our first little place in print! All of the contributors did a wonderful job and it's chalk full of gorgeous vintage inspiration.

You can go here to purchase a digital or hard copy of the magazine. And today I'm giving away four digital copies to readers. All you have to do is enter below for your chance to win.

And if you would like even more vintage inspiration, be sure to follow Inspiration Vintage Magazine on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. You won't be disappointed!

I'll be back soon with some new house updates! In the meantime, grab yourself a copy of Inspiration Vintage (or enter to win), snuggle up with a pumpkin spice latte and let the gorgeous autumn images inspire you!

{live beautifully}
Courtney


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