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Joyful Summer Home Tour 2017

I am so happy to be a part of the Joyful Spring Home Tour this week. If you’re coming from Farm House on Boone or My Vintage Porch, welcome!  There are so many talented bloggers that I have teamed up with to bring you this tour. Their homes are gorgeous and you will just love having a peek at how they have styled their homes for the summer. Be sure to follow the schedule at the bottom of this post to see all the homes.

Summer is one of my favorite times of the year. It may sound crazy but I love having my kids home from school! There are no schedules or routines. Just fun days of spontaneous activities that we can do. No alarm clocks or rushing our the door. It is nice to just slow down and enjoy the day or whatever may come our way. We really enjoy spending time at all our local splash pads. The cities around us all have splash pads that the kids can play at for free. We usually take a bunch of snacks, water toys, and blankets or lawn chairs. We can easily spend the entire day camped out there playing.

I feel like this laid back summer vibe crosses over into my decor in my home for the summer. I like to keep it simple and clean (big surprise). My mantel has no garland or banners. When I first took down my Easter decor, it felt a little sparse and naked. I quickly got used to the simplicity and now I love it.  The coffee tables keep that neutral look with a few wood and white elements. I really think having a neutral canvas creates a calm atmosphere for a space. It is fun to add in my pops of color for holidays. However, I still love a simple neutral palette, when all that is gone.

My dining table just has a small centerpiece. A brass bowl with some white hydrangeas. I don’t like to put anything too tall in the center of my table. It just gets in the way at dinner time. It makes it easy for the family to pull out a chair, start eating and share the day. We thought about doing built in shelves next to the fireplace when we moved into the house. I found these Ballard Design shelves instead. They were a great price and it is something we can take with us if we ever move.

My kitchen is easily the room we spend the most time in. After school snacks (now summer snacks), all the meals we cook and just talking. It is the gathering spot in our home. My daughter left her stick horse on the bar stool. I was going to move it out of the picture. I decided to leave it because it reminds me of the sweet moments we share as a family in this room. It was just fitting for this area. It is fun to hear and see them playing while Mr. Whitelane and I cook (mostly Mr. Whitelane). 🙂

Finally, I wanted to show the summer refresh I did in the laundry room. I know, it’s just a laundry room. I feel like I spend the other half of my life in here though. It might as well be cute, right? It is a narrow room making it a little difficult to photograph. I am so glad we put a sink in this laundry room. It has come in handy so many times. We recently switched out the faucet in the kitchen and put it in here. I like this stainless faucet a lot better than the builder basic chrome faucet that was here previously. Mr. Whitelane and I also added the laundry drying pole across the top of the sink. I am a wierdo about drying certain clothes in the dryer. This drying pole has been a life saver. I also found this cute succulent at the Target Dollar Spot. The soap pump was a Home Goods Find from a few years ago. I finished off this little area of the laundry room with a glass jar of clothespins. I just think it’s cute and adds some depth to the space.

I hope you have enjoyed this little summer tour of mine. Be sure to continue the fun over the next few days and check out the other bloggers in the lineup below. Hop on over to Lisa at Farmhouse on Boone and Natalie at My Vintage Porch next to see their tours today!

June 1st- Laura at Meaningful Spaces, Stephanie at Belle Amour Blog, and Marci at Lemons to Lovelys. 

June 2nd- Hayley at A House with Books, Jordan at JorDecor, and Kim at Kim Power Style.

 

 

Easy Framed Printables

I wanted to share a quick and easy decorating tip today. I am always looking for inexpensive ways to decorate and furnish a space. Home Goods, T.J. Maxx, and Target are all great. However, not leaving your home is even better. I love shopping online and finding free items.

One of the simple ways I have found to fill a wall, desk, or space is with framed printables. This can be quotes, art, or pictures. A lot of times you can find free printables that can be printed right off of your home printer. I needed something to fill my laundry room wall. I was able to find these cute prints from The Cottage Market. FREE! There are so many different options she has on her site for these (color, chalkboard, etc.) I already had some IKEA Ribba frames on hand. I was able to print these laundry signs immediately on my printer and put them in frames. It was just what this space needed and it didn’t cost me a dime.

I have also seen Jane, Groupon, and Pinterest have a lot of free and inexpensive options as well. I was able to get a cute saying for my desk on Groupon a few years ago. It was a digital download for only $2. I printed it on my home printer and stuck in another Ribba frame. It added just the right amount of pop to my desk for very little time and cost.

Now, I needed a large print for my bonus room living area. Something that could not be printed at home. I wanted a quote for above the couch that would be simple and clean. Etsy had a ton of options for digital downloads. I bought a 24×36 jpeg digital download quote for only $5. I then uploaded that download to Walgreens photo to be printed as poster size. I picked it up and stuck in a 24×36 white Ribba frame from IKEA. A framed picture/sign of this size would have cost a lot more anywhere else.

All of these printables have saved me a lot of money in the decorating budget. They also look great and fit into my decor seamlessly. Next time you need to fill a space, be sure to check for free or inexpensive printables first!