Welcome {to my} Home.

Hello there!  Happy Thursday.  I am the type of person and designer who wants to get everything perfectly precise before taking pictures of design or decor, but this year I decided that my "to do" list around my home will never be completed all at the same time.  It's like a massive, ongoing project that keeps on evolving, changing, growing, and developing.  And I'm o.k. with that.  I'm not sure how Mr. Perry feels about tackling one project then moving right into a new one, but he knows I love it so he kindly and graciously accepts each new task or challenge.

I had every intention to post this in January, but life gets a little bit crazy sometimes.  I'm starting now because it's better to start late than not to start at all.  So little by little, I'm inviting you into my home to see where we work, play, eat, and sleep.  I am by no means a "homebody," but I love walking into this place every single time I enter.  I've also learned over the course of my life, that a beautiful home without love or unity is not beautiful at all.  So while I strive for excellence and do my best to keep our home looking amazing, I'm more concerned about the "people" who are enclosed within the walls of this home.  With each post I'll tell a little about the furniture, decor, or design principles (and how we maintain or update the look throughout the year).   

I'm starting in the kitchen with the breakfast nook/farm table.  My favorite memories in our home are centered around family meal times.  We eat dinner together 99% of the time right here in this warm and cozy little spot.  We've had several different tables here, but this is by far the best one.  It looks like a bunch of wood that's been pieced together and stained, but it's so much more than that.  When my father passed away about a year and a half ago, there was wood in the "lumber yard" that had been there since he and my grandfather began a construction business back in the 80's.  There was also wood in the storage/garage at my parent's home.  I asked my husband to get any wood that could be salvaged so we could make a farm table with it.  This wood was so beautiful to me because it was already distressed, worn, and aged.  The tops of the benches and the top of the table are constructed with those very pieces of wood.  My kids never knew my grandfather, and my youngest two kids don't have any memories with my father.  I love the fact that they're still connected every time they sit at this table to eat.  I have precious memories from my childhood with my dad from dinner time, family gatherings, and holiday meals so I'm thrilled to be able to pass this gift along to my children.

We have two long benches and one chair for my 11 month old.  Our end goal is to gather a hodge podge of chairs and place one of the benches in another location near the kitchen.  We would love to have more versatility for seating options, and I also hope to add in a few pops of color (maybe some yellows and blues).  Part of me wanted to wait until we had the chairs, but I promise to give an update when they're all set up.  Other than the idea of being connected to the past, my favorite thing about this table is that it can seat 10-12 people easily.  We already have a large family, but with this table (plus our bar-which is nearby and can seat 5 additional people) I feel like we can welcome more friends and family members into our home.  Welcome to our breakfast nook/dinner table.  I hope you can join us for a meal one day soon.  warm hugs and best wishes -Brooke