Sunday, January 31, 2016

{ Exterior Home Tour Inspiration }

Heyyyy friends!! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! We took care of some business, double dated with my grandma & her new boo for her birthday heheh! I'm serious 80 year olds can still be a riot believe it or not..Saturday we decided to throw some sweats on & cruise around for some home & shop inspiration. Yes, we have a lot of plans in the works .. :)! While on our little mini home tour we came upon the cutest little neighborhood about 8 miles from us!!! So simple &bold with a mix of vintage/ new!! I know doesn't that seem like a dream neighborhood? Well, if I'm being totally honest it seriously is the PERFECT neighborhood even down to the richly decorated children's park ha. It looks like a picture out of "Desperate Housewives " ..Wisteria Lane style haha! I loved all the charm, cozy & different styles & period homes updated with a modern, but still classic look! I tried to get some good pictures, although when you're not planning on blogging anything & then decide to post inspiration, you use what you have! Sorry guys I'm kind of spur of the moment, yet a control freak ha #confusedyet? Anyways, go snuggle up in your comfy place & tour this little exterior home tour with me!

D o o r .


Let me start by saying this is one of my favorite homes! I love the period look, but the updated exterior siding, color & the covered/ angled wooden door is my absolute favorite touch. We drove by this house 3 times.. haha no, we're not stalkers ..but I needed a few pictures of this front porch. I'm not only obsessed with the house itself, but the staging of the porch as well! I even commented to my husband that the staged winter/holiday porch reminded me of a blogger/designer LOL. It's hard to see in the picture, but that large wood door is on a slight angle & just that little touch adds so much charm to the porch alone!

A r c h i t e c t u r e.


This home with the simple neutral green & white compliment the fabulous architecture, charm & appeal of this modern farmhouse home.

 C l a s s i c.


This was my husband's favorite!! It seriously is stunning in all of it's charm. I believe the home is from the late 1800's & it still oozes charm & all around classic character. I love the simple white they kept especially. This home sits on a rounded dead end  side street that is backed up to the town's  river. The porch to the right over-swings around back to view the river & little town via the backyard..How's that for a view??   

R u s t i c.

Something about this house had me right away!! It reminds me of the cabin like  shows on HGTV in Alaska or something. I don't know if it's the color, porch or gorgeous  wood  trim, but it's so rustic!! Little fun fact, I love these two colors on craftsman homes!!

P o r c h.


This beauty speaks for itself! I mean that porch is so stunning. I love how it wraps around , yet still allows plenty of light in { the sun was just going down }! Can you imagine sitting out there with a couple of rockers & some coffee on a fall morning..?

M a t e r i a l s.


This home pretty much has everything a charming & classic home would have! The rounded/extended porch with the an open layout & the stone for extra detail..perfect! I can't decide if I like an open porch like this or one that's enclosed...Which do you prefer?

W i n d o w s.


Okay, we've arrived to my personal favorite. Another little fun fact about me..I LOVE 1800's colonial/ style homes! I love the long narrow windows with the attention to detail from top to bottom!! This home just screams classic English colonial. I guess that's why I'm so attracted to the east coast so much..;). One day Kennebunkport will be our new home haha! 

D e t a i l.


The detail in this home caught my eye! Something about the little bay porch I love! I love they have it so cozy with a fan & natural stained wood door too. This home reminds me of a southern Key West style home for some reason. 

L a y o u t


 Okay, I remember this house as a kid!! I remember driving through this neighborhood going to  our old doctor office & thinking it was the "banana" house!! Now that I'm older I can appreciate the house a bit more!! I adore the yellow "painted lady" look of this Victorian/farmhouse. I especially love the land, large garage/barn & how the home sits on a bit of a hill. It's so grand, spacious & cozy all in one!! 

Thank  you so much for stopping by!!! I really hope you guys liked this little spur of the moment casual exterior home tour with us! I'm curious what your favorite style of home is ? Which one of these was your fav?

Happy & healthy Monday!!

Paige.Rose

Thursday, January 28, 2016

{ Lower Level / Basement Inspiration & mini sofa review.. }

Happy Friday guys! This week has been a busy one getting stuff in order, taking stuff to the shop, some DIY & some future stuff hopefully coming to the shop! I usually blog 3-4 days a week, but sometimes it's 2...this week being one of them!! I wanted to end the week with something we've been talking about for the past few months...our lower level or as us Michiganders say BASEMENT ha! Our basement was fully finished when we purchased the house. We simply had the carpet cleaned & added some two-tone neutral paint. Fast forward 4 years later & it's kinda been blah.. I mean it's still rustic, lodgey/cabin-ish..but needs a little spruce up.  Initially we decorated the basement all moose lodge theme because it was my husband's "man cave"! Since then it's kinda been changed into more of a comfy neutral space to lounge on weekends or when we have company..I still love it but just added a few newer touches. Same color scheme/decor ideas..just a little different. Come gather some basement inspiration..I know they can be difficult to decorate with the lack of light sometimes etc..! 



I thought I'd snap a few pictures of our current decor..It's still cozy & woodsy, but I'm thinking some simple & bold pieces will look nice. We've been wanting to change the carpet out..but are debating with selling! I would also like to switch out the coffee table/end tables & my husband's want aka NEED ... is a distressed deep brown soft leather couch!!! I can't say this isn't my vision either..something so comfy about those deep cozy leather couches! P.S. +PotteryBarn .  has the nicest one!!! 


hahaha see what I mean?..he's in love with it & actually I am too. I think after having this IKEA Ektorp sectional we could never buy another  smaller/ cloth couch/sofa again!! I know everyone rants about them, but honestly it's not worth it. I wanted the cottagey look so we tried it, but it's a lot of maintenance with two dogs & actually just in general { maybe it's just me being OCD }. I always try to give my honest & practical opinion here on TQS & just go with leather haha! You can still get that look with lighter colored leather etc.. Now, the couches downstairs are thrifty finds off of Craigslist & they're just OKAY! We don't hate them, butt they're not very deep etc..They were almost brand new Lane brand sofas for only $130 for both & 1 is a sleeper, so it was a steal.  We'd like to replace them with another sleeper, but deep leather like above.
 

Sorry guys sometimes I don't have time etc.. to get the camera out so I just snapped a few with my phone :/! I'm thinking I want to replace that Lane table with something more sleek & darker. Again, I tried to keep everything flowing nicely from the living room down here into the dining area. I think some simple switches will make it more rich & cozy , and less man cave like.


I hope you guys have enjoyed this little inspiration board. If I'm being honest again this basement of ours has been the hardest space in our little suburban cottage to decorate & the least shared for that reason! I've never been a basement person, but now I'm kinda hooked. Stay tuned to see what happens in this space..How do you guys decorate a basement space? Light , dark, cool or warm?? 

P.S. all of the items in the inspiration board are from Polyvore with prices/location if you're interested. 

Happy weekend!!

Paige.Rose

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

{ Framed Farmhouse Tea Towel Art using Thumb Tacks!! }

Hey guys welcome back & happy Tuesday!!! Yesterday was a day of cleaning & enjoying some company from family we haven't seen since last February!! It was a great time & they brought some much needed donated supplies for the dog rescues we deal with. All in all a great day ..later that night I grabbed some coffee { I can sleep right after coffee..no worries } & headed downstairs to work on a little project that I cooked up in my head last weekend. If you  follow via my social media outlets then you'd know that we went out junkin last Saturday & I picked up the cutest tea towel for $13!! I had no plans for it, but the little stack of different farmhouse/cottagey towels caught my eye & for $13 for a HUGE one..I had to pick one up! On the ride home I got to thinking about framing it, but  I didn't want to have to cut wood, measure etc.. so I thought what about some simple industrial silver tacks to frame it in a glass-less wood frame? Well, after our company left I snagged a frame we had hanging outside our patio door from last summer { I know soo random haha} & surprisingly the huge tea towel fit PERFECTTTTT! I mean, it was meant to be, right?! Come check out this cute & ultra simple project that cost less then $20 TOTAL!!!



- Supplies -

. Tea towel { any size }
. Frame { any size to fit your decorative towel/ tea towel }
. Thumb Tacks
. Hammer


We purchased these tacks in white & silver from +The Home Depot  both for under $5! The tea towel was purchased from --> http://www.thebarnantiques.com/


The frame I used was around 30x24 & a free junkin find.


Stretch the towel out & center it as best as possible. I had to get crafty with this part as the frame I was using was damaged/fragile in some of the corners. I mean the less perfect the better in my book.


Secondly, pin the corners first. I used the white tacks for the corners, because I wanted the corners to be clean with less drama. Once you pin all four corners the canvas or whatever fabric you're using will be easier to work with.  I also suggest placing the tacks through the fabric then into the wood, rather than holding the fabric in place & tacking!


After all the tacks are in place in which ever pattern, spacing etc.. take the hammer & lightly tap each tack completely flat & make sure they're secure. This step might not be needed for your piece, but some of my tacks were not completely flat after pushing them with my thumb & having to space them a little different due to the vintage frame & wear it had. This really is the simplest project & can be modified to your liking etc..


I purposely photographed this side to show that I pulled & tacked the fabric a little tighter then I did the other side. I had to do this on this side of the wood frame because the wood was pulling apart. I'm sure the fabric will settle & I still love it. 


I'm  going to be hanging this in the kitchen or maybe not.. who knows, but I love it styled right here next to the wood ladder & milk sign. The creamy white mason jars are from +Marshalls  on sale a few months ago for $4 . The picnic basket is from my aunt & other stuff just gathered/thrifted over time.


I'm seriously kinda obsessed with this art. So simple/practical & on the cheap , yet adorable. P.S. I've mentioned that white cotton apron before, but it was my great gramps..love displaying it.


Cute & functional..& you all know I'll be referencing this chart hahah! 

***I forgot to mention this above, but I did NOT iron the fabric. I read the tag & it had no indication about ironing, so I went with it & the wrinkled lines completely were gone upon finishing. 



We have a lot of old vintage frames/ windows , but this old white washed authentic weathered & chippy paint frame is my favorite!!!! 



I really hope you all loved this project!! Have a great rest of the week & stay tuned for some news coming about this DIY ART  eeek!!!!! ;)

Paige.Rose

Sunday, January 24, 2016

{ Simple Valentine Decor for the Kitchen! }

Hey guys! I hope you all had a great weekend!!! We had a pretty relaxed weekend { that's rare for us } & it felt pretty good! Though it was super chilly , it was also really sunny & an all round simple/ fun weekend! We tooled around to some local junkin spots, shopped a little & indulged in some sweets! While we were out it got me to thinking that Valentine's Day is only a few weeks away..I can't say I'm not excited for February to get here though haha. February & I have a love/hate relationship if we're keeping it real..It's a great month because It's my lovely husband's birthday, Valentine's day & a short month that sweeps right into March which is vacation month!! It also however is the month we lost our beloved bunny of 8 years last year.. See mixed feelings! If you've been following TQS for sometime now you'd know that I'm not one to decorate for the smaller holidays etc..It's just not my thing & I'm not into having pink & red hearts splattered all over my house eek ha. This year I thought I'd go with something simple in the kitchen opposed to decorating the mantel. I picked up some stuff from the dollar section +Target  & added some simple things  I had around the house. 

I picked up these little rustic paper bags from +IKEA USA  a few months ago. They were only a few bucks for a stack & I loved the look of them, but wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with them... I just rolled the tops down & placed the mini pine trees in them. I added the red heart stickers to the fronts. The stickers are from Dollar Tree I believe?!


** Both towels are from Target!



I mean who doesn't like to wake up to some coffee, chocolate kisses & a little note? :) You guys know I had to add some straws in there too..If you don't know this about me I drink just about everything from a straw! I hate stuff touching my teeth..random I know. I just found out straws are supposed to cause wrinkles...AHH soo wrinkles or stained teeth? Hmmm hahaha 


I had the "love" sign from way back when & thought it was simple & appropriate to use here. The mason jars I had & the  M & P candles are from +Target  long ago!!!
 

I hope you guys enjoyed this little Valentine post! Short , simple & hopefully LOTS of sweets coming your way haha! Happy rest of the week guys! P.S. I'm hoping to finish a project up tomorrow for Tuesday's post..Super cute something I picked up while junkin this weekend!! 
 
 
Paige.Rose

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

{ About Me & TQS }



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Hi, I'm Paige! Thanks for taking the time to pop in for some home inspiration & the occasional recipe! I'll keep this short & sweet..So I fell into the Pinterest mode pretty hard in 2011 & started to try little DIY projects etc..In 2012 we moved from our condo that we had outgrown in terms of personally & decor/diy wise.In 2012 I started browsing blogs etc.. & in 2013 on a whim one night I decided to start a Blogspot & that's where it ALL started!! I come from a long line of decorators, thrifters & pickers ,and everything cottage so this really wasn't a surprise that I was interested in decor.. I have since then branded myself as "practical" for the average person wanting to spruce up their abode!

I believe home is your sanctuary & with some simple & refreshing touches it can become your favorite spot! Although I have two degrees { Criminal Justice & Paralegal } that I do not use, I'm okay with that because I have truly found my passion here on The Quaint Sanctuary Blog! I look forward to sharing our next home { we're searching for a small city farm } & more about Mark { my husband} the rescue pups { Stew, Stinker & our rescue Bunny - Mr. Wibble }. Thank you for giving me this platform to share my content simply & authentically with you all!
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Monday, January 18, 2016

{ Thrifty & Vintage Farmhouse Bathroom Makeover }

Happy Tuesday friendsss! Hope the week is off to a great start thus far for everyone! It's been snowy & cold here..winter eek! Anyways I've been working on this bathroom makeover for the last week & with  previous post leading to this final post reveal..I'm soo ready!! Let me just start by saying our upper level bathroom { my bathroom } is super "quaint" hahah. It's updated with travertine, granite, stainless fixtures & even a "Toto Church " throne LOL..but it all was soo plain! I've done little spruce ups here & there, but nothing like this since we moved in 4 years ago...I had an idea in my head & even blogged what I was going for here --->Bathroom Plans & Inspiration . I wanted a neutral, vintage/saloon/cottage like bath. Somewhere that was charming, but plenty useful. By useful I mean using decor that doubles as charm & can be mostly used. Come see the whole reveal below !!!!

I'm pretty sure that DIY mason jar light is my favorite project yet!! It was so simple & the vintage charm it radiates is amazing. I mean who says custom light fixtures have to be expensive? See the tutorial -->DIY Farmhouse Light


Lets talk about this cabinet..AHH this cabinet, ya not my favorite. It's just a cheapy target bath organizer, but with some Annie Sloan chalk paint in the color "Old Ochre" I gave it a little life. I was thinking about adding some black to it & distressing it..but honestly I ran out of time. I'll be sure to update if I decide give this little cabinet a face lift.




The mirror other then the light fixture were the biggest impact in this space. I knew I wanted to ditch the generic white +Target  mirror, but never would have thought to use this mirror I had laying around. It was given to me by my grandmother a few months back, but never found a spot in our home. As I was  searching for a new mirror I remembered I had this one..& the wood would be perfect for some added charm. I ended up painting the detailing at the top with some black paint  for some added drama. It's a 50 year old mirror, so it's got many imperfections, but for now it'll do.


Like I said above I wanted to use stuff that was usable, so I added some new white washcloths, candle, bath salts & of course some simple vintage bottle decor & wood frame.



You can see the full post on this vintage pottery toothbrush holder --->Cottage Bath Storage






Simple, bright & fresh.


I really hope you guys liked this little bathroom makeover. I'm so pleased at how  it turned out & all with using mostly thrifty goods & a fun DIY project. With all the new items..mirror,light,shower rod, towels, & wall decor we only spent $65!! That alone makes me happy as most of the cottage/farmhouse items out right now are a pretty penny..shop around, thrift etc..& you can achieve any look for your preferred budget. 

Paige.Rose