How to buy a new couch    Buying a new couch when you don't have a clear plan or idea of what your needs are, can be a very costly and dangerous game to play.  First let me say I did not stage this living room, it looks good but I do not have children living with me anymore. This is an empty nesters house. So unless we have a party, I am lucky that this usually is as bad as it gets. Since I was 19 I have been moved out from my mothers home and I have come to know what I want when buying certain things. So with respect to buying a couch, I thought you'd feel inspired or like a few tips and tricks I have learned through the years to look for or stay away from. I had already started a list of wants about a month before I actually bought our new couch. It helped me narrow things down when I walked into the furniture stores in my area. Which saved me a lot of indecision and wandering around for hours and hours. I even had a list on my cell phone. There are "note" apps for......

Living Room Design Ideas It's been quite awhile since I shared my Living room in a blog post, so I decided since it just had a major cleaning due to a party we had, now was as good time to let you see the updates I've made. I also want to discuss decor trends and encourage people to make up their own minds when it comes to design trends and what works for them. I don't know about you, but I find difficult sometimes not to fall for the "I have to have this syndrome". Especially with bloggers all showing us the latest and greatest new fad or trend. Looking at a ton of beautiful homes and tablescapes it sometimes is hard not to shop til Greg drops.  Some of the best tips I have ever read, heard or learned the hard way, come from years of decorating rental properties I lived in. Years of decorating and taking advice from my gut. Years of trial and error. Years if beer budgets but champagne tastes. To me it's a learning experience. You have to find what works fo......

You've seen a hundred types of furniture makeovers or maybe even more. But there is nothing like keeping it simple, elegant and no maintenance. Am I right? How about using simple flat black paint, water based polyurethane  and a brush? It won't get much simpler then that! First let me give you a little background on these 2 pieces. I scored these babies at a resale shop for $15 bucks each. Yep. Dirt cheap. The glass was in the doors, some of the hardware was missing and the shelves were gone. But they still came home with me. The upper handles spoke to me for some reason, and I am normally a brass hater. So they got placed in my woman cave and filled up with dishes. And they stayed like this for 3 to 4 years. Until I needed to start working on this room and giving it an update. So I decided it was time for a big purge and a paint job. I also added some new hardware for the bottom and scored some new lighting from Restore. When I say scored I mean I paid $13 for BOTH hanging lig......

Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas Decorating the Christmas Tree to me is one of the best jobs about Christmas Decorating. It's one of my favorite jobs, especially the living room tree. To date I have only put up 3 Christmas trees. I may buy a real one for the master bedroom, but I am still debating. Heads up, this post is heavy on pictures. My Christmas Living Room post is one of my favorites, so I always overdo it with photos. This year I added a few large elements to the tree. A white deer, white lanterns and a white doe sitting down. Plus a large Noel sign I have had for years.  Being an empty-nester, most of my ornaments now, are ones I have been collecting for the past 10 years. If I find a purple one I like I try and buy as many as possible. Let's be honest, I buy the plastic ones too, because they are few and far between. The extra long sofa table is still a favored piece for me to decorate. I don't want to cover it up with my couch. At least not yet. I just added s......