window to my heart

One of the favorite features of our home are the floor to ceiling windows.
They are surrounded in charming white woodwork.  With ledges deep & wide.

Our indoor cats love them too.

August Rose in the window.

McCoy in the morning sun.

Living in the country affords us the luxury of windows that do not need to provide privacy.

They provide views...lovely views of fields and the hills that surround us.

It is said that our home was named "Meadowview Farm" because the original owners could view a meadow from every window.  We are greatful to continue that name.

Put your feet up, relax - home tour continues...

When we first climbed the stairs of our house,

walked through our floral sewing room...

and came to what is now our bedroom,

I thought I was in a dance hall --

yes, it is a big room.

Here's a view in:

3 walls are "forget-me-not" blue

-- the wall behind the bed is green.

There are three fabulous windows...

It is just such a sweet sweet room.

It required floral...just did.

To get to this room, you have to go through

the study or the sewing room--

so it feels kind of like a secret.

It needed a special color palette:

with a bit of dark wood to

anchor it...

and a bunny or lilac or two to boot.

It came all together with a quilt over the king size bed.

And here is a "walk around the room"...

door leads to study

big oval rug, yellow painted floor...

door to our sewing room is to the

left of the yellow dresser...

Since there are no closets (because in 1857 those were taxed too)...

we use wardrobes & dressers & trunks for storage.

Now, let's add some "sweet" & "adorable"

Even an original Tracy Porter Collage!

And a "Kari Original Collage" too...framed

foam core covered in vintage lace.

Added all my favorite paper scraps, pins, millinery.

**Hint -- if you ever cross paths with a 3-tier table,

nab it.  This table is perfect for so many uses --

 here holding a sweet array of goodies

-- have also used it on the dining room table.

There it is -- our sweet bedroom....

purely simple & quite precious,

if I might say so myself.

Our Study - home tour continues...

This is the one room where Dave has really made his mark...

with his vintage fishing collection on full display-

and, gasp, even a fish mount or two or three.

This is our study on our second floor
...outfitted with a cozy chair,

a desk, and a wall of shelves.

The desk is a fabulous chippy door topping a table

with a piece of glass over it. 

The drawer unit on top was purchased at auction

and houses everything from tape to note cards.

Above the desk are baskets on a trellis --

This is where bills await (and wait)...

Also above the desk are two bulletin boards made

by covering foam-core with fabric & attaching to a frame.

Storage is found in containers

suitcases

boxes

little drawers

toy wagons

metal tins

and even a dresser or two.

The wool rug was found at auction and stored for many years

until it found the perfect use in this room.

It totally set the dark & cozy color scheme.

Shutters are installed as shelves along the ceiling.

Other details:

The monkey lamp...well, from Tracy Porter's auction...

featured in her books.  Love it.

Not old -- but fabulous!

Find out about Tracy by clicking HERE

Cozy, studious, organized...

that is our study!
It is what we aspire to!



Wash Day - home tour continues...

Come on in & take a look around our

Laundry Room.

This was indeed one of the last rooms we redid --

up until then, we called it the "icky room"...

'cause it was, well, kind of icky.

In our green & blue & yellow color scheme -

we went off the map in this room --

with a big dose of deeper blue & a punch of red.

Gray calms it just a bit.

Now, I can't imagine this room was ever so rudely titled, "icky"...

I would now call it our "work horse",

likely one of the hardest working rooms in our house.

So, let's get down to business with a little tour---

you enter thru the kitchen.

 A quilt hangs in the doorway if need be to close this room off from view.

Or in my Kari world - to just look sweet.

The former Summer Kitchen -

this room has one of our three home entrances.

This one now goes out to our deck & back yard

(called a "door yard" on a farm)-

and clothesline.

Grill on the deck is conveniently located too.

When our house was built in 1857 -
every room was taxed - even closets...

so - this house has just one real closet - in the upstairs landing.

Since this room is a big contender for home storage --
we had to get creative.

We now hang coats, grouped by season,

on a coat rack salvaged from another home.

Below it stands an Amish bench.

Apple crates & a Chimney Cupboard store our everyday supplies:

cat litter, tools, string, glue...

This beauty was purchased at the Columbus Antique Mall

in Columbus, Wisconsin.

Our Washer & Dryer are angled around a green dresser Dave found

along the curb --- the green table to the right was also a roadside find.

This dresser stores all our gift supplies:

tissue, gift bags, gifts-in-waiting...

The table has a sweet tool caddy that

keeps the ribbon, scissors & gift tags organized.

This fun shelf was purchased in Waterloo, Wisconsin -

have to have fun stuff to look at while folding laundry. -

right?

This freestanding wall hides a sink...which is still on our

"to do" list.  For now, we keep our "grab & go" items here.

There is actually one small broom closet in our laundry room -

big enough for a mop bucket, mop...and of course

a broom on the door.

And here is where my collection awaits a trip to the antique mall -

this old bassinet corals it just right.

See this room works as a waiting station & tagging central

for my antique business too.

So -- what pulls it all together?

 -- a table in the center of course.

Might I add, one hard working table.

You might find this holding folded laundry,

set up for gift wrapping,

or

filled to the brim (above & below) with antiques.

The tablecloth provides a bit of

"don't look behind that curtain"

hide & seek magic for antique overflow.

And sweet stuff has to live in this room too.

I have come to absolutely adore

this Laundry Room.

Instead of cringing, as I did in 2006 when I first walked into this room

and wondered what we would ever do to fix it up...

it now makes me smile.

P.S. -- if you click on "Home Tour" under the labels

on the right you will find other rooms of

our 1857 home highlighted.

Addendum...
to see an update to this post click HERE

Cozy up in our Den - home tour continues...

Just beyond our living room is our den.

A snugly place to watch t.v., read the paper
or look out to the bird feeder in the orchard.

To add to the natural warmth, I wallpapered the room in a green leafy print.

The sweet rabbit appears to be "late for an important date"...

actually he is a gift from my very first co-teacher, Nancy

 -- used to live in our classroom.

Come on in...

Our one major change to this room was to

remove a large closet that was not original to this 1857 house -

 it had been built to the right upon entering.

Curtains are from a quilt I split down the middle for the two den windows-

charming floor to ceiling windows -- cats love them so.

(second window that looks out to the apple orchard is to the left)

Couch matches one of the love seats in our living room.

Let me tell you about the wing chair...I was traveling

back from a flea market when I stumbled upon a citywide sale.

My car was already full, but for $35 --- I traveled the rest

of the way home from Minnesota to Wisconsin with this

fabulous wing chair hanging out of my trunk.

Little side table is from my childhood home.

One of our many desks is in the den.

Yes, we may only have one t.v. in this house

 -- but we do have lots of desks

(and lots of cozy chairs to curl up in too).

This desk is "built" from a table gifted to the farm from Sarah.

This is the "need a phone book, antique guide, quick pen & pencil desk".

Our official desk is in the Study upstairs.

The picnic baskets hold our video tapes & DVDs.

Here is a close up of the sweet set of drawers on top...

found at the Kane County Flea Market.

**Hint: I have learned to always ask if display pieces might be for sale at flea markets -

sometimes they are -- I have brought home some pretty cool ones...like this item.

The t.v. cabinet -- Pie Safe is a story onto itself.

Years ago, Dave & I were vacationing in Fish Creek -

in Door County Wisconsin.

A sweet little village with many sweet shops.

In one we found a pie safe -- that I loved, however, it didn't fit

our budget or our car.

One Saturday after that trip, Dave said he had an errand to run...

hours later, he arrived home with the pie safe -- a five hour round trip that

included his brother & his brother's truck.

I had my pie safe...another sweet gift.

It now holds our "vintage t.v." and of course, goodies.

It has punched tin stars on the side...

and the doors close to conceal the t.v.

**Now for some details**

The rug is another charming floral wool rug.

This one was found at auction -- bought two for $5.00.

The other is in our Study.

Love the faded colors -- and so sturdy!

Of course there are sweet vignettes...they always make me smile.

This wonderful sketch was also a flea market find...

tucked under a table.

It is by Carl Larsson, a Swedish artist, 

who was born about the time our home was built. 

A sketch of his family's home resembles our brick house & apple trees.

This is his daughter...

And, I simply adore these floral baskets...have seven in the Den.

When I find them in green, white or blue -- they are mine.

So, that is our cozy den...on the way out, notice the chair to the right...

from my mom.  Smile...

Next stop on the home tour...perhaps the laundry room...

it has a bit more red -- a step away from my beloved greens.