I’m sure you are glad to be back to your old self. Thanks to some much needed tweeting from my good friend, Melissa, I hung your red check mistreatments back up. After a brief email exchange full of laughs and advice seeking, she wisely told me in very firm words to “go put your red drapes up right now”. She knew me and it was so invigorating to hear that. It is good to have a friend who knows my style and quirks in times of design need. And I’m sure you are glad to be cozied up again.
I knew the moment I had the first panel hung that I was glad they were back. I decided that as much as I truly love, LOVE the whole textures, white on white and neutrals thing, and as much as I think it’s timeless {of course this is coming from a person who also believes that toile is timeless} and wonderful and reminiscent of you when our family was young, for me, the way to change is not drastic all at once-I’m-painting-everything-white-today. I think you look lovely and serve our family well just the way you are. You may not get us in the next issue of Southern Living {oh how it pains me to admit it} but you are real, paid for, visually appealing, full of history and even quite functional.
I do have a feeling that over time I may begin to incorporate more neutrals for you but it’s not worth spending precious time and money on for me to change you up every time I lust after a new/old style. I’ve decided instead to embrace my inner color loving, imperfect farmhouse style. It suits us. But I’m glad to say that I’ve worked through it and after a little tweaking I like you even more.
Thank you for putting up with me.
Much better! Was not feeling the bare look.
Oh, Nester, I would have told you the same thing. You NEED color. Yes, the neutral/white thing is beautiful and some bloggers do it so well it almost hurts, but you are a girl of pattern, texture and color. The cozy photo is so much more your style. The neutral looks like you’ve just moved in or are in the process of moving out (again). BTW, I love those two chairs. I’ve seen them all over your house(s) and have severe chair lust for them.
Hey sweet Nester,
I love those chairs too and they kinda look like they’re holding hands if you glance at the photo the right way—-too cute! I absolutely can’t wait to see you next week.
hugs and lots of love,
edie
Love the color and the curtains! You are our mistreatment leader – you can’t take them down.
Yes, much better with the mistreatments. I love them!
Looks great! I also love the arrangement above the chairs. The drapes are gorgeous Nester. Glad your room is smiling again! Best! Van
Dear Nester,
I forgive you.
Love,
Your Family Room
P.S.-we all know that sometimes you have to stick your big toe in the water to realize the grass is NOT greener across the street. Thanks for being true to you and this family I love!
I’m always inspired by your blog and the many gems within! And I LOVE your color…it’s so cozy and inviting!
She looks beautiful. Don’t we all want to be blondes when we are brunettes? It’s the same thing. I believe there was a song written along these lines….”if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.”
Ok, so it’s a little different but you get my point.;)
Have a great day, Nester & stock up before that storm hits.
Yes. That’s it. Looking oh so much better! Your infusion of red, or rather, the staple that it is on your decorating, remains an inspiration for those of us (me) that are a bit afraid of it and unsure just how to use it. I must admit to falling in love with toile in a fresh new way – all thanks to you! :-)
DON”T cave, stay colorful it suits your personnality. You would never be able to be as Spunky in a dull room. Just kidding I am sure that you would make a neutral room all your own and beautiful, just like you. But really, I crave color and that is what draws me back to you and your site time and again. I have found that I am simplifing my decorating items but keeping them colorful, less stuff more saturated color, To try to evolve my colorful farmhouse style. Hope you have a blessed day in your warm and now recozyed family room. Thanks for being you.
Cha Cha
SOOOOO much better!
Neutral is great-if you’re selling your house. But when you’re living in your house, LIVE THERE! Surround yourself with what makes you happy, energized, and upbeat.
However, this may be just a subconscious need for a quiet space for yourself. You can always neutralize a room, or hallway, or corner, or niche, just for you, if it’s something you need. Just because many of your rooms are colorful doesn’t mean that all of them must be, and if you need a space that’s a little more calming, then give that to yourself. It’s your house, make it what YOU need it to be.
You are right–someone else suggested the same thing–I think I’ll work on letting my office be more neutral!
I’m so glad the mistreatments are back! They are one of my favorite parts of your living room.
Welcome back beautiful, red, panels … we missed you !! I, too, love, love, love the shabby chic “cottage-y” look, with whites upon creams upon whites; however, after attempting that look myself, I realized that I just had to have color (at least in my main rooms) … perhaps trying that look in a smaller area. Glad you brought your beautiful panels, back. -Becca
I’m sure your family room is oh so happy to be back to her colorful self! : ) Seriously, I LOVE the style.
Isn’t it grand to love your room again? We LOVE those drapes!
Ahhh, that’s the Nester we know and love! For what it’s worth, I think toile is timeless, too. :D
Okay, thanks for the giggle…I do the same thing. My boys always ask “Mom, what is your favorite color?” I always answer I do not have one….cause in the fall I am drawn to orange, in the spring pastels, winter jewel tones, and yes winter….white:) They think it is funny and odd. I think it may say something rather disturbing about me…I am terribly influenced by my surroundings…Well that may not be sooo bad, as long as I remember to appreciate the “paid for things” and be content. (Dave Ramsey 101)
Thanks again for the smile…BTW I have 3 boys also …it was cute to see your little guys pics…I have mine hung similarly…Pics not sons:)
Welcome back, family room. You were missed.
I like it the way you’ve redone it. It looks warmer, more inviting. The chairs look happy to be together again. :)
I had exactly the same thought as Edie! Those chairs are definitely holding hands!!! Very cozy. I am noticing that I can’t click & enlarge your photos lately… I really wanted to get a closer look at the arrangement above the chairs. It looks great! Maybe your mistreatments are asking for a little more stature, to be hung higher? Yep, sometimes we have to try new things just to know we are ok being content with what we have. Blessings!
I KNOW! Those mistreatments are too low but that’s all the fabric I have and since we move like every 5 days it’s just not worth it to me to add fabric to them or make them longer. If I knew this was our forever house I’d be all over them.
Sometimes you have to live with imperfections. But you are sooo right Terri!
I dig it. I especially love the “plant stuff” on the mantle.
I only wish I had a cool transformation for your eyes to feast on at my blog. No such luck. Just Valentine pics. Not the same. You need to rub off on me. So Badly. :)
Yep those mistreatments are in the perfect place!! :)
welcome back to your beloved red check red toile color loving family room
i love it too
red rocks
& red toile rules!!
xo
Toile is timeless! I love me some toile!
What would we have done without your red plaid….they are “home” to us as well, you know :)
Looks great! I tend to stick to neutrals because they’re easy and I don’t have the knack to do color well. But…oh my goodness….you have the knack. People could hire you to show them how to incorporate colors to pull off a beautiful look. You’ve got it girl. I hope you never go neutral! :)
Dear Nester,
Thank you for sharing this process with us. Somehow it’s good to know that even people who are more designery than me have moments of doubt or try new things just to find that they liked the old thing. I also loved what you said about history. I think that is so important to a home. It’s wonderful to go out and buy all new stuff and try new things, but if that stuff isn’t ME than what does that say to people when they come to MY house? I am learning to be ok with our house telling the story of our family, even if that looks really different. Like having a deer head on the wall. I have one of those. Just in case you were wondering:
http://handmaderecess.blogspot.com/2010/01/looky-loo.html
I LOVE deer heads! Especially when they were gotten {for lack of wanting to say killed} by a man in the fam!
you guys totally just talked about deer head! i was JUST standing in my family room thinking….”HMMMMMM….how can i add stuff around our deer head. Can I even add stuff around my deer head (HUGE 10 pointer “gotten” by hubby!). We have 7.5 ft. ceilings (ick.) he takes up 3 feet. Does he need stuff around him? What would Nester do.?” Really. That was my thought process. And then I pop on here, and there you all are talking about dead animals on the wall! oh, irony. :-)
Love the checked drapes. They look fantastic. And the chairs are beautiful!
Nester, YOU ARE COLOR! And that’s what we like about you. You are not all white and tan and neutral. You have three boys that deserve color in their lives. I have two little guys and everytime I begin to get swept up in grand thoughts of an all linen palette I remind myself that living in an all-neutral world sure wouldn’t be much fun for them. Keep up the great work!
Love how the room came out! You have now inspired me with those three picture frames. I love them. I will use the idea and hang them over our foyer table, which is currently missing somehting!
Thanks!
I’m so glad you’ve decided to stay true to your inner color-loving self! I, too, love the neutral, white on white, texture-filled rooms. But it seems that it’s sooo overused these days! It seems that everyone is doing that. What I love most about your blog is that you find things (and colors) that you love, and work them into your space. I LOVE THAT! And I’m trying so hard to do that in my own house. I want a home that reflects who I am – not who Pottery Barn is. :) Have a great day!!! :)
Whewww!!!!
I’m glad to see the color back as well.
I thought that I was the only one who needed color in their life and believes in the power of toile.
Perhaps we are decorating twins separated at birth??????
“This above all to thine own self be true” – Billy was such a smart fellow – he even knew about decorating!
Doesn’t everyone think toile is timeless????
Sooo much cozier with your drapes back up. I know what you mean about colour … I tried to do a white on white bedroom … got it all done and wasn’t happy with it. I’m a colour person … as soon as I dropped a colourful quilt on the bed it just perked the room up and I was happy again. Yeah colour!
whew! the planets are now back in alignment! I always look to you for courage and inspiration when I feel that maybe I am out of step with the world in my need for color and feel cold in a neutral room! I need you to come to my house when we get to the decorating phase..I am so bad at putting all the little things together! Love that teeny tiny table painted blue between the chairs! I would never see that in a flea market and say…hey that would look great between my two lover chairs! come shopping with me please!!!
I love those red check drapes you have! You can see what a difference they make in the two pictures. I think sometimes, if we see something through someone else’s eyes, we can get a new appreciation of it.
Oh, loverly! It doesn’t look naked anymore. :) yay
Miss Nester…I know you’re a busy gal, but do ya think you could help a girl out with a paint color choice? Check out my blog post if you feel the need to do volunteer work today. :0)
MUCH better! : )
I too, love the neutral decor that’s popular and struggle with it, b/c well, I’m on a “budget” like most folks these days and can’t afford to totally start over.
So, I thought Iwould just take a room and just incorporate the neutral decor in there bit by bit and I am hoping that it’s considered “timeless” b/c goodness knows, how long it will take me to get that room done! ; )
Lovely! I love the cozy, beutiful color too. I placed pics of our b&b on a decorating website and got plenty of critism but in real life I’m flooded with compliments… I trust my gut and go with what I love and it works so well! P.S. I took my profile off of the critical site too! Lol
Nester,
I have been looking at your pictures for weeks trying to figure out how to get some COLOR in my house, some PATTERN, some step out of my everything-needs-to-match- box … and get this house to look like it is lived in. Thanks for the inspiration (and the toile and checkered drapes) it’s so cozy.
It’s lovely – just as it is! I’m a color-lover myself!
Judy@cutest-little-things
One look at your tassels should tell you that you are a woman who embraces color and texture! Perhaps when thinking about re-doing a room, you could look to your tassels for inspiration. “Which tassel best represents what I want from THIS room?” So, if you find that a relatively monochromatic tassel is what you grab for your office, so be it. But, if it’s colorful and bold…well, embrace it, I say!!
Hey we all go through changes! I’m trying to hone in on mine as well, and believe it or not, this city girl wants a little more Farmhouse in her life!
Thank goodness! I’m so glad an intervention wasn’t necessary.:)
I heard the angels in heaven singing the hallelujah chorus when I saw your first picture.
Crisis averted. That is what friends are for.
:-) xo
you soooooooo do not need to focus on neutrals! neutrals are easy, for people that aren’t sure how to use color – that is NOT you! you have a talent for putting together different textures and colors that I really admire! but of course – go with what makes YOU happy…
the family room looks much better with the mistreatments up. i’m glad you’re content and feeling more comfortable =)
Nester,
What I love about your style is the gentle splashes of color mixed in with the neutrals (black, white, creams). I wish to emulate that! Your style is not only cozy and warm but extremely soft. You don’t need to go all white (unless you want to, of course)! I’m glad you got your mojo back!
I’m glad your’e embracing your color-lovin’ self, too, ’cause it inspires and affirms us other color-lovin’ sistas!
Grins!
Pamm
Gorgeous, as usual.
Would you be proud if I told you I’m going to use a luau grass skirt as a window mistreatment for my son’s “surfer” room? I so am.l