Nesting

When we arrived in Portsmouth last fall, we bought an old New Englander on the edge of downtown.  It was built in the mid 1800's, and is full of character and details that I absolutely love.  The house is a project that will easily last the duration of our 30 year mortgage,  assuming we're here for good.  The wood floors are in good shape, but need to be refinished, everything needs paint, the kitchen needs a new floor and counter eventually, the list goes on and on.  I am taking it slow, trying to be patient and let thoughts come to me about how I think different rooms will work.  Paint colors are the first step-- I have an urge to build a farmers table for the dining area-- and maybe a built in bench for seating on one side...  I am not at a loss for things to do!

One of the features in our house that I really love is the window seat in the front room.  Window seats are on my short list of favorite house details, a front porch holds rank at the top of my list, but not having a porch on our house is easier to take because of it's window seat.  I am so excited for a quiet summer afternoon laying there with a good book and some sun tea.  I really haven't used it much yet as being right up near the windows is chilly when it's in the 20's outside.  But, as the days get longer and grow warmer, I have begun to anticipate that perch.  After finally painting that room and starting to build a picture of what kind of colors will work in there, I ventured to the fabric store this week and bought some fabric to start getting my nook in order.  Sarah has given me a collection of old linen grain and bakery sacks that she had been gathering at flea markets, and I really liked the idea of using them in the space, because they add a vintage feeling without being too formal.  All in all, I am pretty excited about how far it's come along.  I still need to find the right solid for the bench cushion itself, but the pillows mixed with the grain sacks look so inviting.  Yay window box!

SECRET TIP:  I found an assortment of sizes of feather/down pillows by scouring the throw pillow section at the good will and a local thrift store called Savers.  I was able to gather a bunch of really nice heavy pillows for about $3 a piece as opposed to spending $20-$40 for feather/down inserts at a decor shop.  It doesn't matter what the cover looks like, because you are going to re-cover it!  Save the bucks, and then you can splurge at the fabric store!