What is this {pretty, happy, funny, real} you speak of?
~ {pretty, happy, funny, real} ~
Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Come on in and see a little bit of our home!
The front door of our little Cape Cod-style house opens right into one big room, where we spend the majority of our time at home.
We set up our little oratory right there, so it's just in the center of our home. I do love that we have such a central place for it.
My mom found the cabinet at an antiques mall near her house up in Massachusetts and brought it down when she came to help with Desmond's birth.
I keep all our glasses, jars, and kids' dishes in here, freeing up valuable real estate in the kitchen. (I'd prefer to have the plates and such in here, but they don't fit, so glassware it is.) Freddie can reach his own dishes to set on the table, which he loves.
Down below I keep baby bibs, kitchen linens, and plastic ware–all things that can stand being rifled through or strewn about by rascally little children, not that my children are rascals or in fact anything but angels.
From the front door, turn right and you see the dining room table. This past winter I happened to mention to a friend that we were still using a card table in the dining room, having purged half of our furniture for our Houston move.
Well, I picked the right person to complain to, because she just happened to have a spare table taking up space in her house, her own husband having just made her a new one!
The living room is to the left from the entrance.
(Apparently now it's trendy to have lots of white in your house. Lucky renters we are!)
My next big project is curtains. Curtains are so hard to commit to in any case (why so expensive, window treatments?), but especially for such a big, white area, where they'll stand out so much… I'm having commitment issues.
My ongoing challenge is the front door itself. Keeping it clean and organized while also keeping the our things close at hand is a constant battle.
Our favorite part of living here, though, is the outside. When we want to get out, we just…walk out!
After getting shoes and hats, and maybe clothes and diapers, and grabbing a blanket for the baby to sit on, and gathering the trucks that need to come with us. Then we just walk out.
Not so pretty, but we'll keep at it.
It's all worth it to get to this big backyard, complete with a clothesline so low that, once it's loaded up, the toddler can do his evening chores cleaning up after a windy day.
Jenny says
I can’t wait to come back when I have more time. Things look great!
Shyla says
Your home looks lovely!! Curtains are such a huge investment/commitment! Is that a big garden plot I spy in your back yard?! Just beautiful!
Emily says
It may be too much white for you, but I bought lacy curtains for our playroom from Amazon in December and was really pleased. They are pretty inexpensive, are the 84 inches I was looking for (they have other sizes, too!), and have held up well. While I like the Country Curtains design better (Tree of Life!), I couldn’t justify the cost when we live in a rectory and could be moved to a new parish someday.
Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Lorraine-Home-Fashions-Hopewell-Curtain/dp/B0056O7QBG
And here’s how they look on our playroom: http://www.charmingthebirdsfromthetrees.com/2015/12/all-is-bright.html?m=1
Elizabeth says
For window treatment commitment issues, I highly recommend googling “the nester window mistreatments”. She has lots of great advice on how to treat windows easily, quickly, and without spending a fortune!
Melissa D says
Yes! Her post changed EVERYTHING for me.
Sukie says
Ah yes, I do remember my mom talking about this a while back. I will have to revisit–thanks for the reminder!
Rachel says
such a lovely home! i think its fun coming up with solutions for tricky spots, and much better to live with them “unsolved” for a long time than to rush into any commitments!
Wendy says
Don’t know where you moved to, but you should check for a Habitat for Humanity resale shop of some sort – ours is called renovation station. They sell home repair type things like a thrift store and are a great place to pick up bits and pieces for your home. Ours sell wood blinds very cheep. I mention this because you have such a beach vibe going there a wood blind would look great. Your home is very pretty. Thanks for sharing real pictures with us.
Sukie says
Thanks for the suggestion, Wendy! We do have a ReStore (as it’s called here) nearby and have found several bookcases there, but I didn’t think to look for window treatments!
Nicole says
I totally feel you on window treatment commitment issues. I googled and pinned for eons and despaired about the prices, until we finally just walked into Marshall’s and I found an incredible selection for WAY less than the online places, and their curtain rods were also super cheap! But good quality! Everything’s going strong a year later. Highly recommend!
Denise says
Hee hee…love the laundry chore at the end. Your house is so cute!
My husband gave me the Pentecost icon for Mothers Day…yours looks beautiful in your oratory!! Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real and your Mom’s book have really given me a growing love for icons. You all are lovely!!
Sukie says
Thanks, Denise! My husband gave me the icon for Christmas! We were married on Pentecost, and I’d wanted an icon of the feast for quite a while. I love it.
Lisa G. says
A toddler and his evening chores – ha! So cute! Having a nice yard is everything; and I’m not talking about kids here – I love our yard. 🙂
Jenny says
Your home looks beautiful! Entries and all the stuff are almost always an issue anywhere. I especially like your hutch and oratory. Helpful toddlers are the best. He looks so happy to be helping with the laundry. So cute!!
Mrs. B. says
It is very, very unfair to the Woman of the House to build houses without a proper entryway! I tried the bench with the shoes underneath myself, but then hated seeing tons of shoes all the time, and The Curse of the Horizontal Surface took over, so that the bench was always piled high with all sorts of things – not to mention that when the family is growing there will be more and more shoes, and the shoes will be bigger and bigger! So I opted for the Ikea Hemnes shoe cabinet, the taller one with the drawer on top, and patiently waited for one on Craigslist – I’m impressed by how many shoes I can store there!
I love your house, Sukie, it’s so bright and cheerful – I like the cupboard with the blue and white china very much, and I think it’s very lovely that your Little Oratory reminds you of your wedding!
And those helpful toddlers… what would mothers do without them??!! I would also like to know if your boys are leaving the piano alone… we’re about to get one and I tremble thinking about what our youngest might do to it!
Sukie says
Thanks, Mrs B!
The bench is a much bigger problem during the winter, for sure. We do have a coat closet in the hallway just beyond the arched doorway, and for the most part we manage to get things all the way there (mostly thanks to John, not me, if I’m being honest), but what’s the point of walking straight across the house to take off muddy shoes?! Sigh.
So far Freddie can’t open the piano on his own. It’s the type of cover that you push back into the case, rather than just push up, and he hasn’t figured it out. I do let him play it sometimes, though. I show him how to play with just one finger, and insist that he not bang with his whole hand, for the sake of my eardrums and sanity. But really a piano is a big, durable instrument, and can take a lot of abuse! If it can take somebody pounding away playing Rachmaninoff, it can handle a toddler, however, mischievous. 🙂
Catie H says
Love it, Sukie!!! You’re a wonderful homemaker.
Jessica says
I enjoyed all your photos! It took me forever to commit to curtains for our home too and lately I’ve been wondering if it’s time for a change… Good luck finding the perfect curtains for your lovely home! 🙂
Stephanie in Germany says
Your back yard is a treasure of not yet known possibilities!!! Your children will discover them with you!
You have a lovely home. Cherish this time building it with your dh.
elizabeth k says
I will get the Pentecost icon for my youngest next year when we celebrate his first anniversary of his Holy Communion, which was on Pentecost. Your home is dear, looks so refreshing and peaceful. I love yellow and blues with white – I also love a good Polish curtain – that is lovely, lacey and lets in lots of light but peering eyes out. Have your house blessed.
Susan (DE) says
I have a question. Your house is adorable, and reminds me of our last (though a bit smaller, which is fine, since we had eight (big, some of them) children in that house!). But similar. But what I am wondering is — it looks as if you have a little library just beyond the dining area of your house. Is that…a closet? Part of a garage? A room that is bigger than it looks? I am speaking of the space through the door-with-windows that has BOOKSHELVES.
Sukie says
That’s a funny little room! Definitely not bigger than it looks. It’s an addition on the side of the house, and I guess it was meant to be a sunroom or a three-season porch. There is an exterior door, but it’s about six feet off the ground with no steps! We put a bunch of bookcases in there, as well as a chair and reading lamp and a few bigger toys.
Susan (DE) says
Well, that’s darling. 🙂 About how big is it? Because it LOOKS about, oh, 3 to 4 feet by, oh, 8 feet? Just guessing. It must be bigger than that, from your description.
Anyway, libraries are wonderful. Our last library was in the basement. It was great, except OCCASIONALLY it got a bit damp, in one part, which is BAD. But mostly it was fine.
That’s very funny: the door into the air. As long as it is well-bolted. Speaking as someone with six grandsons, and with four formerly VERY active BOYS. 🙂
Thanks for your answer!
Woman of the House says
Your home looks cozy, comfortable, and welcoming! Your kids are awfully cute too. 🙂
Mrs. Pickles says
Thank you for this lovely glimpse into your home! I’m always inspired by how other people use their space. Hooks on the back of the door! Genius!!