Cafe Curtains in the Kitchen

Our kitchen windows were the "pane" of my existence for a while . . . get it . . . pane instead of bane.
Nothing like a super corny joke to start off my morning!

I had a really hard time deciding what to do with the kitchen windows. We have a pretty pane detail at the top that I didn't want to cover with blinds. I also wanted to add a 'soft' element. There's only hard edges and stainless steel in the kitchen .
I considered roman blinds but they would block the detail at the top & because our kitchen is east facing blocking out light isn't a concern.
So, taking all of that into consideration we decided that little cafe curtains might work. I wasn't fully convinced but if I had to try an option first I should try the cheapest and cafe curtains are CHEAP!

The rod is a tension mount (no screws or other hardware needed). I used little alligator clips to hold up the curtains (it took two packages from Home Outfitters @ $6.99 ea.). I love using alligator clips, all you have to do is sew a hem around a piece of fabric . . . you could even buy pre-made napkins and just clip them up! 
Including the tension rods the total cost was $34.

Since this was just a test run, I used some old fabric I had lying around from our Library Curtain Project last year (I still love the little brown polka dots).

 I'm kind of LOVING the cafe curtain look!

 What do you think?? I'm still deciding on leaving the brown polka dot fabric or changing it up with a more modern fabric???  Or maybe something more BOLD???

Living Room Reveal!

       No big huge changes, just a small touch here and there, but it's always the small touches that make the difference so I should be saying, BIG HUGE CHANGES IN THE LIVING ROOM!

       Yesterday I shared our new side table between our wing back chairs.
       I should explain what's going on with them. They are the same chairs that we had in the library. When Christmas came we had to clear out the library to fit our HUGE 12 foot Christmas Tree, with the Christmas Tree in the library we noticed how much more time we spent there. While it looked nice (in fact it was my favorite room in the house) we never used it and our house isn't big enough to have pretty rooms we never use! So the two chairs found their way into the living room, and the two slip covered chairs are nervously waiting to find out their fate, they could be re-homed somewhere else in the house or they just might find their way on to Craigslist! (Still waiting to decide the best way to use the library, I'm thinking office. And YES we will definitely keep the bookcases no matter what we use it for!) Maybe a big grand piano . . . although neither of us play piano :S errrr . . . scratch that idea.
       Now that we've got that out of the way, here's the new, more neutral/rustic look of our living room:

On the left of the fireplace is our new blanket rack. I am a HUGE fan of blanket racks (see here), it so much nicer to have a neatly hung blanket, then a crumpled mess on the couch. My other reason for a blanket rack is that, some throw blankets are so lovely they're almost like works of art! The yellow arrow is pointing to the future site of some fabulous artwork (fabulous artwork I have yet to find).

Next I'll talk about the mantel decorations. Since Spring has officially sprung I thought I would add some Forsythia Branches. I LOVE the small pop of yellow they add! Also, I thought what mantle is complete without some candles, I found the small black candle holders at Ikea . . . they were $5 for all three . . . $5!!!!

Then there's the little yellow throw pillow I sewed using my trusty envelope pillow cover technique! You might recognize the yellow fabric, I sewed up a set of napkins in the same fabric in this post!

A perspective shot (you can see our front hall console):

Another perspective shot (you can see my new desk too):

So there it is! Our new, rustic, neutral living room . . .I hope we've convinced you that beige doesn't have to be boring . . . beige with a little yellow that is ;).
One last look:

Side Table Love!

Something always bothered me about the right side of our living room . . . I knew something didn't look 'right' but I wasn't sure what.
I went to Homesense (yes again, don't judge me ;), and I saw a little, square, super rustic, low side table. Here's how the conversation in my head went "That's so cute I wish I had a spot for it" . . . "What?? It's $25??? I'll make a space for it!"
 Driven by pure determination or the fact that it was a clearance priced, none refundable purchase I wracked my brain thinking of a spot to put it! Then I thought of somewhere . . . in the master bedroom beside the chair in the corner! Alas, it was WAY too big, but standing there, staring at the table  I thought "You know what would be perfect??? The two little nesting tables in the living room" . . .
AND BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!!!

The small nesting tables that I LOVE so much, found a spot in our bedroom (more on that in another post) and the new rustic table found a perfect home in our living room between our chairs!
I think it works so much better 1) Because it's larger, which suits the large scale of the two chairs, & 2) It's lower, which definitely suits the low, armlessness of the chairs.

Before:

(Sorry for the fuzzy bad picture! Although it does make for a better before and after ;)

After:

I LOVE IT! I'm always amazed how one small change to a room can make such a HUGE difference. I am so happy to score the perfect side table for the new neutral, rustic direction of the living room!

To top it off, I added one of the glass lamps we already owned (you might recognize them from our Townhouse Master Bedroom, and our old living room set up). I've always liked the contrast between really rustic elements like the table, and really polished elements like the Chrome in the lamp, I think it's that kind of 'tension' that really makes a room! I did do one thing to the lamp, a quick shade change was in order, the last shade had a bit of a taper to it:

A drum shade would definitely update it!

One last look:

I hope you liked the glimpse into how my brain works and our living room!! ;) hehe