How I Plan to Start Bringing some Cottage Style into our Main Living Spaces

Hi friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Ours was actually quite busy around here. On Saturday, we tackled a few projects around the house in the morning and then spent our afternoon and evening enjoying the unseasonably warm weather with some outdoor visits with family & friends. Of course Sunday we woke up to snow (it is Alberta after all). The boys took off to Jasper for a day of skiing and I stuck around here working my way through all sorts of chores and a ton of Spring cleaning. It was a great mix of fun & productivity, which is always my favourite kind of weekend. And best of all, the snow has all melted away and we are back to our warm, sunny Spring weather again.

A few weeks ago, I shared a post about how my home decor style is evolving (you can find it here if you missed it). Though I was feeling a little lost about what exactly my style was changing to, I chatted a lot about how I was feeling and where I thought my style was gravitating towards. The truth is, I’m still not entirely sure where I plan to head with things, but I’m definitely feeling drawn to the cozy, collected feel of styles like “modern cottage“, “California eclectic“, and “cottage core” (I explained them all here). And, instead of waiting around to get it all figured out first, I’ve decided I’m just going to jump right into things, get my toes wet and see where that leads me. I’m hoping that by making a few changes around our main living spaces, it will help make my vision for our home a little clearer and of course, add some cozy character along the way. Today, I thought I’d share a few of the ideas I’ve had to help me start transitioning the decor around our main floor…

SOME OF THE CHANGES I’D LOVE TO MAKE THROUGHOUT OUR MAIN LIVING SPACES:

• Add some sheer curtains to our front window (these would be really useful to provide privacy when we need to have our lights on through cloudier days too)
• Add sheer cafe curtains to our kitchen & dining area (I shared all about my favourite cafe curtains here)
• Add some artwork to our dining area
• Add a plate rack above the board & batten wall in our dining area (I actually mentioned that here)
• Replace the wood signs around our main floor with framed artwork (I plan to relocate my favourite signs to our basement where I think they’ll fit in so perfectly)
• Replace our rustic wood clock with something a bit more traditional (I’ve always wanted a chiming clock like this)
• Add a floor lamp to our living room
• Add a wood coffee table to the living room (I really miss having this round glass one that we moved downstairs, the ottoman just isn’t as useful for us)
• Strip down the paint from the old dresser by our front door to reveal the wood
• Add a cute little lamp to the top of the dresser (something like this would be perfect) and maybe even a little piece of art mounted just above
• Find a kitchen table with warmer toned wood and more classic styling (I’ve been searching for a new one for a few years now, but just can’t seem to find one that I love)

Honestly, there are a zillion other things I can think of to change too (I’d love to change our our chairs beside the fireplace someday too and maybe even add some built in cabinets in behind), but this is a list of all of the things that I’m actively planning and searching out right now. I think, aside from a few new pieces like my lamps and curtains, what I’m really looking to add are vintage items that will bring some warmth and character to the space. Shopping vintage will likely take much longer to collect, but I think tracking down the perfect pieces really is part of the fun! I’m so excited to start bringing some of this cozy, collected style into our home and I can’t wait to see how it transforms the feel throughout.

In fact, I’ve already started making a few small changes – swapping out this vintage artwork for one of our wood signs brings a lovely touch of colour to this little corner of our living room. What do you think? Do you feel your decor style shifting this year too? If so, how are you finding ways to bring it into your current home?

Wishing you SUCH a lovely day my friends! 

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