Hello friends, new and old! And welcome to our home on the banks of the Elkhorn, in the heart of Kentucky. We’re a house full of summer-souls; folks who love sunshine, seek water and operate on a vacation-like sense of time. First, I want to offer special thanks to Lindsay of The White Buffalo Styling Company for all of the hard work she puts into organizing this incredible tour, featuring the homes of more than 30 bloggers! And another thank you for the warm welcome from Aniko at Place of My Taste. Wasn’t her tour amazing? She’s such a talent.
Listen, if I could, I’d greet you with an umbrella drink in hand. I made a dear friend on a road trip once who swore by the healing power of umbrella drinks. Around here, we lean pretty hard on ice cream and its healing power, too.
Our front porch is one of my very favorite places. We made the side-by-side swings out of old kitchen chairs and the vintage metal chairs were an estate sale score. When I was a kid, my great-aunt had a set and I adored them! I knew I needed a pair for this porch as a nod to her and her beautiful belly laugh that I miss so much.
This little guy is my shadow. This is a rare glimpse of him off my hip ;)
I happened upon these old windows a few weeks ago. We were out for an afternoon drive (Eli won’t nap unless he’s in the car) and I spotted them and made my mom go back. A sweet man answered the door and I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon with him and his wife, talking gardening, repurposing and canning veggies. They even came and helped me mow the grass because we were so busy installing our new floors! I’m telling you, friends, pick the garbage for treasures. You’ll almost always end up with a good story!
Speaking of turning trash into treasures, this cabinet door was a dumpster-goody, too. With the addition of a few hooks and a pretty ledge, it makes a perfect drop-center in this small entryway.
As you can see, I have a serious weakness for glass bottles. Several of the bottles in my collection were dug up from underneath my great-grandparents’ house in Oneida, Tennessee.
The kitchen has changed quite a bit over the last few weeks and friends, I am hanging up my tool belt for the summer. Whew! I repainted the kitchen white, stripped and refinished the butcher block from a walnut stain to this lighter limed-oak look and changed the backsplash. The secret to getting a cement tile look for the backsplash was installing this faux-tile wallpaper. It’s a great option if you love pattern but don’t want to commit long-term.
I applied three coats of matte polycrylic over the wallpaper to protect the backsplash from my wild bunch.
When I was working on this painting, Eli stepped in the middle of it and took off. Now we have little, blue footprints all over the art room that I can’t bring myself to wash away.
We’ve been packing a basket with art supplies and carrying it outside a lot these days. The kids love spreading out a drop cloth on the grass and painting sticks, leaves and rocks we find.
I’ve been painting bathing suits with lots of fun pattern. It makes me ridiculously happy.
I also recently painted this piece over our bed. It’s acrylic on wood with lots of pretty water hues. The painting to the left is one I did, too.
My pretty sea glass-hued dresser is a new find from my favorite local picker, Steve of Reclaimology.
The poolside-patio was a labor of love. Seriously, my girlfriends made this happen. My friend, Simone, helped me with the landscaping and Sandy spent an entire week with me (the first trip she’d made without her three babies) to help me finish projects, like the vintage living room set we turned into a patio set. This has been such a great retreat for us. My mom really loves coming out here to swing in the hammocks. I could cry every time I think of the love and hard work that went into finishing this space for her.
I am so glad you stopped by! Come back and see me, okay? For now, I’ve got to get back to make believing with this little one.
There’s more summer goodness though. The next stop is The Chronicles of Home and you are going to savor every little detail!
Happy Summer, Friend!
Here’s the whole tour schedule so you can catch up on yesterday’s beautiful tours:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
13 Responses
amanda, everything is GORGEOUS!!! i love it all! your mantle with all of the bottles is SOOOO pretty! moments like those make me wish mine was white and not black! :) your outdoor areas are so dreamy, and i am in love with your painting of the bathing suit. i wish i could paint like you! i also wish you were my neighbor. because it would be so much fun.
Thank you, Cassie! You have been so supportive and encouraging. I am grateful for you, friend!
Love your home! The perfect mix of old and new!
I love the porch swing and the old window collection on the wall. You have a beautiful home!
Gorgeous tour!!! Love your poufs in the family room. Can’t believe you found yor Moroccan pouf at Homegoods….GESH..I paid mucho MULAHHHH for mine at World Market!!!! PINNING !!!!! Christine from Little Brags. Here is a link to my pouf if you want to see: http://littlebrags.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-new-moroccan-pouf-and-more-fresh-paint.html
Thank you, Christine! Girl, I got it on clearance for $65!!! Thank for stopping by :)
This is my first time viewing your site, thanks for the art print, by the way, so cute! I’m wondering if you could share the source of your kitchen faucet, I’ve never seen one like that, and I just happen to be needing to replace mine.
Thanks, Teresa! So glad you liked the art print :) The faucet is actually from Ikea! I love the look of it but have to tell you, it isn’t very practical. I really wish I had a hose!
Your house is seriously one of my favorites ever! There is so much collected goodness and beautiful handmade touches!
Jenn, thank you so much for the sweet words! I am so glad you came by!
Amanda, Amanda, Amanda! This tour charmed the pants off me! Your house looks like HOME and your photos have so much soul. You are a beautiful story teller in addition to a beautiful decorator, my dear!
Thank you so much, Brittany! I am grinning ear to ear after such a kind compliment. Girl, thank you! I needed that after the wild day I’ve had!
Help! My husband and I are installing that same Ikea Domsjo sink, and we too need an air gap. We’re all set regarding how to drill the hole, but what we can’t figure out is how to get the cap on the air gap piece to sit flush. Won’t the ridges be in the way? Did you have to caulk? We would SO appreciate your thoughts!