Summer 2013 Showcase of Homes
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It’s finally here! I feel like a kid in a candy store.
Or like I just got invited to the senior prom.
It’s my birthday home tour day!
All these wonderful bloggers invited ME along for their tour.
I am so honored….
I’d like to thank the academy.
Oops! I got confused there for a minute.
Seriously, though, we have a wonderful group of bloggers who have joined together for the Summer 2013 Showcase of Homes to share our hearts and homes.
I hope you enjoy a little taste of our modest home where my husband and I DIY and honey do from one project to the next.
I thought I’d start with our most recent project, the bathroom!
That’s probably not polite to do in civilized company so I apologize.
But I’m so pleased with our small bathroom remodel and here it is anyway!
I’m just going to whet your appetite with a couple of photos and you can check out all the details if you want to know more. I’ve only just done the reveal so there will be many more tutorials to come from my DIY husband and I.
Yet another use for an old window? You betcha! They’re everywhere!
You can read all about how this shower and tub went from atrocious to spotless.
We do like a good fence board project here at the Walden home, and here’s the latest one: a custom built fence board vanity.
Now that you’ve shared my excitement over the bathroom I’ll welcome you properly.
Our living room is the first room you enter and is fairly long and narrow.
This is a room that is comfortable and without pretense. The bookcases are not styled and the hardwoods are unintentionally “distressed” on their own!
This rocking chair? My favorite place in the house. My children have told me they will fight for this chair because it represents home to them.
It’s where I have taught them for 19 years, read untold books and had uncountable conversations about life and faith.
It’s where I rock and pray and listen to praise music in the wee hours of the morning when I battle insomnia.
The piano is rarely played because it is out of tune and very old, but it’s a reminder of my childhood days tickling the ivories, with a wee bit of protest along the way.
I love the way you can see the pallet shelves and my old map project in this picture. The vintage frames on top of the shelves? My great grandparents at their vintage best.
If you look close enough you can see a basket full of scrapbook mini albums on the chest beside the loveseat. I don’t have much time to scrapbook these days but I’m still working on my yearly Project Life album, although I’m way, way behind. ~sad~
I will have to admit when you walk in the front door of our home you don’t get the best first impression. Just inside (behind this couch, although I cropped it real tight on purpose) and against the outside wall are my husband’s bookshelves and his office work area. We just don’t have an extra bedroom to spare so this works for him.
The couch and love seat? Bartered in exchange for some painting by my husband. The window table was one of the first real Pinterest projects my husband made for me. I still love it!
I have finally found a non-seasonal arrangement that I like on our pretend mantel piano. The two wall sconces were a steal at $1 each, the painted candle holders have been used for both Valentine’s Day and fall decor. Talk about repurposing! The rest of the vignette was from around the house or the attic.
Our kitchen is definitely a room that has developed over the months we’ve worked on it, one project at a time.
It’s the room I’m proudest of and the room that makes me happy every time I walk into it.
From the fence board backsplash
to the Mason Jar Chandelier
and the Chalk Painted Buffet
our kitchen is bright and cheerful and so very happy!
Our den is the room that got the quickest transformation over a year ago with new Pergo flooring, a coat of paint,new and “new to us” furniture.
You can read all about the gallery wall and find out how it helps define our family.
The first real room my husband and I made over was the scrapbook/craft room. My oldest son went to college, my daughter got married and I needed a distraction!
We spent weeks talking about my dreams for the room and how to do it with as little money as possible. Storage was a big consideration and the ribbon organization and paper storage unit were parts of the solution, as well as dollar store baskets and yard sale jars.
I have not shown any pictures of my teenage daughter’s room before, simply because, #1 she’s a teenager, #2 her room is not always “blog worthy” and #3 the day I took pics with my rented lenses it was cloudy all day. But she cleaned and I shot and edited and now you get to see it here first!
The pom poms are from her sister’s wedding, the curtains were made by my husband and the scripture verse on the wall was done by me with my Cricut diecutting machine and vinyl..
As my adopted daughter battles to believe the truth about who she is, I wanted a visual reminder for her to remember she is “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Can you tell this next room has my husband’s creativity all over it? Much like the theater wall, my husband mounted old vinyl albums on the wall and hung his guitar collection. My man now has his man cave studio where he can write or play to his heart’s content.
Are you exhausted from the tour yet? That’s a lot of cleaning and fluffing!
I’m so glad you ventured into my neck of the woods (that’s Southern for a place where people talk funny).
Y’all come back now, ‘ya here?
If you’re visiting Marty’s Musings from The Lily Pad Cottage I thank you for stopping by! Please make yourself at home and enjoy our DIY projects.
Your next stop on our tour is with Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict. I love her unique style and fabulous projects, and I know you will, too!
Check out all the blogs below at our Summer 2013 Showcase of Homes
Monday, July 22
Atta Girl Says
The Happier Homemaker
Rain on a Tin Roof
Better with Age
Top This Top That
Tuesday, July 23
Mom 4 Real
Cedar HIll Ranch
Practically Functional
While Wearing Heels
French Country Cottage
Wednesday, July 24
The Lily Pad Cottage
Marty’s Musings
Confessions of a Plate Addict
Town and Country Living
Adventures in Decorating
Thursday, July 25
Good Life Of Design
A Stroll Thru Life
Worthing Court
Back Porch Musings
The Rustic Pig
Friday, July 26
Our Southern Home
StoneGable
The Everyday Home
Recreate and Decorate
Sophia’s
Vignette Design
I loved the tour Marty, thanks so much for sharing your beautiful and inviting home with us! You have so many creative decorating ideas, the pallet wall shelf is awesome and I adore the bathroom! Have a great weekend!
Hey, Lauren! Thanks for visiting my home tour last week. They were fun to do but a lot of work! Are you going to be at Haven?
Your bathroom shows the genius and creativity you put into making each room functional and fun!
From the house tour…I feel like I know you!! I’m your latest follower.
Welcome, ,Tennell! I’m glad you came to visit for the home tour and will hang around a bit longer! We just have an ordinary home with a lot of love and care poured into it. Have a great weekend!
Marty, your home is so warm and welcoming and happy!!!
Thank you for sharing it with us~ (I love your bathroom by the way!_
xo
Robin
Hi, Robin. I’m glad you found our home welcoming. I hope you will find my blog that way as well and will come back and visit often!
This is my first visit, Marty! Your home is so wonderful and warm and most of all, loved! It shows in all your rooms! I really love your gallery wall (and honestly, I’m not a fan of gallery walls!LOL) but yours is fabulous! Thank you for sharing your precious home and family!~~Angela
Angela, I’m so glad you visited my blog! I hope you’ll come back for more. I share a lot about our family in older posts and more of the DIY now, but I love connecting to my readers! Please come back and visit!
I love your home, Marty…so warm and inviting! I have to say…my favorite…that vessel sink! Fabulous! Thanks so much for taking us on a tour!…hugs…Debbie
Isn’t that vessel sink amazing? I found it on ebay for 1/3 of the price in the store but I had to search for a long while to find it! Thank you, Debbie, for joining us on our home tour.
I’m sure you don’t know this but my son plans on becoming a missionary to France. He’s a rising junior in the seminary so it will be a few more years, but he has felt God calling him there for a while. Hope he can survive learning the language!
So charming and your craft room-so amazing!! Wonderful home and tour!!
Courtney, you are so sweet to join us on our home tour. Your home is beyond stunning, and your heart is amazing. Hope to meet you at Haven!
Marty, I love the stories that are intertwined with your home. How lucky you are to have those portraits of your grandparents. My hubby loves your hubby’s music room! And I’ve seen your mason jar chandelier all over Pinterest! You have a warm and wonderful home.
Hi, Jennifer. That’s hysterical that your husband likes my husband’s music room! It’s suck a man cave isn’t it? The only time I visit is to play keyboards to practice! Thank you for sharing your beautiful home on our tour!
I am loving that vessel sink! I also have a ruffled shower curtain; yours is darling. I also am amazed by the pallet wall shelf, very clever and cool.
Hi, Anita. I love my vessel, my shower curtain and pretty much everything about the bathroom! Tiny is okay when there’s a lot of color and bang for the buck! Thank you for joining us on the home tour!
Your yellow in the kitchen is pretty close to the yellow in mine, the green in the living room is just about what I think our living room will be; hard to be sure when only around the windows is painted :-). Love your taste, LOL
A room for ribbons! Nice! And that mason jar chandelier with the shadows it casts in your pretty kitchen is wonderful. I went and read all the steps your husband did to create this and, wow! My hat’s off to him. I think he must be a keeper! I love that you two work together to create all this. And your daughter’s room is beautiful–cozy but sophisticated and those pompoms are inspired. This tour of homes is so much fun! Thank you.
Marty- thanks so much for having me over today. I feel the warmth and love in each room particularly your living areas. I am so impressed and inspired with 19 years of homeschooling. What an amazing accomplishment. Loving your new bathroom vanity!
This looks like such a happy home. I am in love with your kitchen, and what a fabulous bathroom remodel. That vanity and sink are great! I’d love to have your craft room. You and your husband are obviously very talented. I really enjoyed your home tour. laurie
You have the exact home that I love to visit. Something interesting, creative and beautiful in every corner. Your house is warm and inviting…in fact, I kind of want to come and visit now :). And, I am really envious of your ribbon collection.
There’s so much to love in your home, Marty … your FUN “new” bath … your bell jar chandie … and, your family wall (love the pallet wall shelf, too)! So warm and inviting!
My dear friend – your home just excudes family! It is the perfect example of a home that is filled with a loving family who lives in their home and creates memories. I adore the new bathroom!!!! It is inspiring me b/c our bathroom is a disaster and we have been putting it off for 10 years since we moved in. I need to borrow your Handy-Hubby for a few weekends. 🙂 I so enjoyed seeing your home, and especially seeing your daughter’s room. See you soon. Can’t wait for our road trip and time together! xxoo
This is my first time visiting. I am in luv with your pence board projects!!! The back splash… the coffee table, the bathroom vanity.
Great tour!
Hugs, Gee
Marty, Yes you did do a whole lot of fluffing and getting ready! I think the thing I love most about your home is the way you use rustic boards and items and weave it into your decor. What a warm and inviting look! My favorite room… that sweet bathroom with the amazing fence board vanity!!!! Thanks for letting us in and showing us around!!!!
Lovely lived-in home, from we welcoming outside, through all the rooms. to echo one of the other commenters, it’s nice to see a real home. Your craft room is wonderful!
Your home is lovely, Marty. So many great ideas especially the jar chandy and the fence board backsplash. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for stopping at my home tour. I hope you’ll find other things about my blog to enjoy!
Beautiful home! The fence board backsplash is awesome! Would have never thought of that! Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof
Hey, Jenna. I do love the fence board backsplash. I think that was totally my husband’s idea! Thanks for joining us on our summer tour!
Hi Marty,
Your beautiful home reflects the warmth and love of the family that lives there, from your husband’s man cave (I love his guitar collection), your daughter’s adorable room, your living room with “the rocker” that probably could tell lots of stories! Love your bathroom remodel–so creative and your chandelier is darling! ~Delores
Hi, Delores. Thank you for the sweet comment! Your home is amazing and I enjoyed your post. It’s amazing how different we all are!
Marty,
Definitely a home built from LOVE of Family and God. I don’t think it can get much better than that. Colorful and cozy, you have made a loving home for all who enter. You and your hubby look like you are a great team when it comes to home projects, a live-in handy man is always a plus when doing anything in our homes. Thank you for inviting all of us with your warm welcoming way,
Kathysue
KathySue, I do appreciate my handyman DIY husband! And our home is definitely lived in and well loved! Thanks for joining us on the tour!
Marty I can just feel the love in your home! I love your gallery wall. I am working on one now! What a great tour!
Wanda, you’re so sweet! Our home is just home with a bunch of DIY projects and crazy people! I’d love to see your gallery wall when you’re done. We have loved ours! Thanks for joining us for the tour!
You have such organizational skills! I love your rooms, they are so welcoming… and the chandelier is so cute! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Hi, Shana. Thanks so much for visiting my home. Yes, organizational skills do help! At the most we had 5 kids, 3 dogs and 2 cats crammed in here so I had to be organized. Or crazy!
Marty, I love your beautiful home! Thanks so much for the tour.
I enjoyed visiting yours as well! Thanks for joining us!
Love your home! I really want to try to do the pallet shelf thing, just have to find that “right” pallet. 🙂 Your bathroom remodel is awesome as well, thanks for sharing with all of us. Have a blessed day! 🙂
Thank you, Debra! We find most pallets on the side of the road in front of someone’s house! Good luck!
Love the bathroom makeover, and that chandelier is too fun! Love you home 🙂
Thanks for all the traffic you sent my way, Kelly! I’m so glad we had this tour!
Thank you for a lovely tour of your home. I am sooo jealous of that awesome craft room! I love your daughter’s rooom- the colors are so pretty, and the pom poms are a fun addition. Your gallery wall is probably my favorite thing on the tour, though.
Hi, Sheila! Thank you for all the compliments! I do probably love the gallery wall most of all, though I do adore the kitchen window photo frame 🙂
Oh what a fabulous tour. I love your home, so full of wonderful memories and family. Exactly what a house should be. Hugs, marty
Thanks so much, Marty! Our house is definitely filled with memories after 22 years!
Marty–You know what I love about your house? It’s real. I can tell what you love to do as a family–music, art, and books. I always feel as though my house isn’t “blog-worthy” because I actually LIVE here–and surround myself with things I love, not things that are “photogenic.” I call myself “the keeper of the dead people’s stuff,” but it’s because I know the stories behind the pieces…and I would much rather have pieces with a story than stuff that just looks good. (The other reason my house isn’t blog-worthy is because I’m still working with a point-and-shoot camera and no photoshop…maybe someday. *sigh* That’s what I get for putting those kids through college–broke!!!)
Hi, Kirby. This was the sweetest comment! My kids laughed at your “keeper of the dead people’s stuff!” but it’s really about those things that have meaning to us. I do love the stories! See you at Haven!