Updated Home Tour

 I love looking at homes whether it is through blogs, magazines or even a home tour in person. My home doesn't stay the same for very long since I am always changing things up a bit so I thought I should update this home tour that stays on my sidebar.  Some photos are new and a couple I left that show seasonal changes.  Not all these rooms will stay like this for long. I told you I change things a lot.

Here is a little history about our home. The house is around 4000 square feet of conditioned space and we sit on three acres. Mr. Savvy and I designed and built it in 1995 doing much of the work ourselves while working full time jobs. This was the only way we could afford this house. We lived in our first small ranch style house for twenty years. We moved in this house six months after starting construction. Yes, I said six months. Many things have been changed over the years. The wood flooring was installed several years ago and we had the kitchen updated, too. All the colors in the house and outside have changed of course along with the ever revolving decor. The Tennessee field stone on the outside was added a few years ago. That was a huge change. The roof was a greenish gray when we built, but had to be replaced a couple years ago after having hail damage so I switched to a brown to go better with the colors in the rock. Also the garage doors were a standard white door and we switched to the custom carriage house style doors. A separate garage for hubby's car restoration hobby was added in the back several years ago. I 

summer 2011

Crepe myrtles in bloom in the summer.

Old shot to show garage in the back.

Come on in! As you can see the front door is a different color than two years ago and I am getting ready to update it again.

To the left is the sitting room. I think I will be painting this room a new color soon.

Antique French vaisselier.

Across from the sitting room is the dining room with a mix of French Country furniture and the hutch I painted.

The great room/family room is on the back of the house and is the largest room with a 20 foot ceiling and a wall of windows. We only have woods behind us so it is very private.

winter look

The breakfast room is to the right of the great room. Mr. Savvy added the beadboard wallpaper and trim and I painted it. I love this change.

Now let's visit the heart of our home. This is the view when we come in from our garage.

We had our kitchen updated a few years ago. When we built our house I had a totally white kitchen except the walls were wallpapered. We had white cabinets, white counters and white linoleum flooring. Yes, it was bright and white because our first house had a dark galley style kitchen so I went complete opposite on this one. This island was black and I painted it recently in this green gray and love the change. You can see the tutorial of how I painted them here.

 A few years ago we had new door and drawer fronts made and then painted on site by professionals. We then added giallo ornamental granite and we installed the tumbled marble backsplash ourselves.

You walk through the breakfast room to the sun room that we added on ourselves several years ago. The deck did run across this far, but we couldn't see our pond without going out on the deck and I wanted to enjoy from inside. The walls and ceiling are real tongue and groove bead board that Mr. Savvy installed.

The laundry room was updated last year and it makes it so much nicer to do laundry in. Well, if it still was neat and clean like this it would. :)

Let's venture over to the other side of the first floor to the master bedroom that was just updated with fresh paint, new carpet and drapes.

Master Bath walls were painted last year and then I painted the cabinets.

The powder room which was recently renovated and featured in Cottages and Bungalows magazine is between the sitting room and the master bedroom in a little hallway that runs between the sitting room and great room.

Let's go upstairs to see the guest rooms.

Farmhouse style guest room. This room was another project I did this year. It had a nautical vibe for a few years, but I was ready for brighter fresher room and added touches of farm house decor that I love.

You can see more here and here.

Garden Guest Room

This is the other guest room on the front of the house. I am always changing out the bedding. I just can't help myself when I spy some pretty new bedding like this from the PB outlet

Well, I think that about covers everything except the bonus room/hoarding room which is off limits. It would make your eyes hurt so I won't do that to you.

If you want to see more just type in whatever room you want to look at in the search box on the sidebar and hopefully it will give you a list to choose from.

Shared at the following:

The Shabby Creek Cottage home tour linky party

Junkin Find and a Question

Did y'all have a fabulous weekend and Father's Day? I was gone this weekend on a short road trip. Did you miss me? Probably not since I had posts scheduled for you. If you keep up with me on facebook then you know I had Mr. Savvy stop at an antique mall on the way home. Probably not what he wanted to do on his day, but he loves me. What can we say? I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but came across something in my favorite color right now and in perfect, or should I say imperfect, finish that really can't be created very well without it naturally happening over time.

I'm only giving you a peek right now. Look at that finish. I know some look at that as trash, but not the ones who love vintage and chippy finishes. I should probably coat this with something like a poly coat. What do you furniture gurus think I should use?

Oh, and I picked you a bucket of hydrangeas that were very thirsty, too.

Enjoy your week!

It's A Special Day

To all the Dad's out there have a fabulous day!

On the Front Porch

I was looking out the front door the other day after a rain and noticed how my plants and critters on the front porch were looking nice in the right light so I grabbed my camera. This first shot is from inside the front door.

I planted these petunias less than two weeks ago since I was terribly late planting this year. Mr. Savvy brought this old pot around from the back yard. It has aged well outside over the last few years.

This is the best dog ever. He never barks, never begs and doesn't have to be walked.

I picked this little vintage kitty up last year for $3 at a flea market. I love the patina and wear.

I sure hope these plants survive.

A Kimberly Queen fern is tucked in this planter with a burlap bag wrapped around it to cover the plain black plastic bucket.

Mr. Bunny was out in the plant bed, but I decided to place him on the porch.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and  Happy Father's Day

My Favorite Room.....Dimples and Tangles

Hi there all of you Savvy Southern Style Readers!  My name is Jennifer and I have fun sharing my love of all things home at my blog

I have been a long time fan of Kim's blog, and her fabulous Wow Us Wednesdays link parties.  I know if I'm not here right when it opens then my link  will be WAY down on the list!  I am so honored that she has asked me to share my favorite room with you today.

Solely because it's the most finished, I'd like to show you our "All-Purpose"...Study, Game, Computer, Library, Movie, Music, Craft, Office...Room.  Many homes in our area have an upstairs bonus room, but when we bought this one-level house with a large office full of built-ins, we made it work for our family's bonus room.  I'm a big believer in re-purposing, a treasure hunter at thrift stores, and a fan of making something beautiful out of almost nothing, and I used some of all those tricks in this room.

When updating this room, I went against the norm and decided to leave the stained woodwork-for the most part.  I painted the walls a bright white and also painted over the stained backs of the bookshelves to lighten them up.

I also made some skirting to cover the open lower shelves.  I'm happy with how they helped to streamline the appearance and once again lightened the look.  There's lots of things like stereos and speakers and video games and toys and scrapbook paper and extra books and hard drives and a printer hiding under those skirts.  Thank goodness. 

Perhaps the two most dramatic things I added to the room are the dark smoky blue ceiling and gold trimmed painted accent panel.  The dark ceiling adds some character and depth, and the lattice accent panel grabs your attention upon entering the room. 

This room has it's share of DIY projects, my favorite being the drum shade that I made from scratch to bulk up an antique chandelier that hangs there.  With little more than two wooden embroidery hoops and some tulle you can make one too!

My goal was to make the shelves pretty, but also functional for storage.  I used baskets to add texture and corral children's books, lots of glass canisters and jars to store craft supplies, and was able to add in many special family mementos.

We were able to squeeze the piano into a corner, and it was the perfect space to create a gallery wall above it.  

I hope you enjoyed my Office, and would love for you to come on over and visit sometime at Dimples and Tangles!  Most recently I've spiffed up our Entry and am one project away from completing our Dining Room.  The next big project on the list is my Master Bedroom. 

Thank you so much, Kim, for having me today! 

Thank you, Jennifer for sharing this beautiful room. 

Okay, my readers, it is time for you to get comfy and pop on over to Jennifer's and look around. She has a beautiful home filled with color, which y'all know I love. There is a tab at the top of her blog that says Our Home. Just click on that and take the tour.

Have a super fun filled Father's Day weekend!

All past favorite rooms can be enjoyed here.