A tad darker.

Last winter we added the faux board and batten...

Which I LOVE, and because I LOVE it, I wanted it to really look sharp!

This meant going darker in the living room.  I also wanted a hint more gray, while staying blue, but still neutral.

After looking at...ummm...about 7 different colors...I finally narrowed it down to 3.

The winner was...WINTER FLANNEL by Valspar.

It's simply FABULOUS!

 Love how it makes all the white and stairs just POP! :)

 You can see my dresser redo here...

After putting away all the decorations...I still left out my little splurge this year.

The middle pillow is Pottery Barn, and I purchased it off ebay. 

It's just PERFECT!

 The door above the stairs just really catches you eye now...Love all my babies!  :)

I'm so pleased with the new paint color.

It turned out just right!

Blessings,

Our Thrifty Nest of 7

I'm linking up to this FABULOUS party...

Wow Us Wednesday...

Porch Inspiration

I'm so so excited to be in the process of finally planning a front porch for our home.

We've built our home ourselves and for the last two years have focused on finishing things up on the inside.

Now it's time to think about the front of the house.

AND...I'm just giddy!! :)

I know I want a BIG front porch, with square pillars and just lots of room.

We enjoy spending so much time outside, and can't wait to have an actual porch to sit and enjoy the day on.

I've been naturally going through Pinterest to get inspired ideas...

Here's a few pics I'm loving. :)

I like the exposed ceiling and lanterns hanging here.  Cute!

I want it all open...

Our porch will only be one step up, so no rail is needed. 

Love, love, the open feeling.

We'll be painting our front door, and adding shutters too.  AWESOMENESS!  Hahaha

I'm also planning on putting shade curtains up on the porch.

Aren't these great?  ;)

I can't wait to share the building and decorating of it with y'all.

Stay tuned...

Hopefully we'll start sooner than later. haha!

Have a blessed Tuesday,

Our Thrifty Nest of 7

White to Gray...the reveal.

This is a before and after pic of my latest painting project.

My kitchen cabinets went from white to gray.  Well at least the bottom ones did.

I LOVE white, but I'm also tired of cleaning white.  HA! :)

I have 5 children, and with that comes lots of finger prints, dirt, and food on cabinet doors.

My white ones were just not holding up to it, so I decided to paint the bottom ones white.

This is actually a picture of what our kitchen looked like when we moved into the house.

We bought the oak cabinets on Craigslist for $400.00, and bought the sink base separate.

This is what the kitchen looked like after I painted them white.  I did like it, but cleaning them was a daily chore. ;)

A better before pic...We purchased the whole island on Craigslist as well.

It's 5 base cabinets and a countertop for $180.  What a DEAL! ;)  We added the beaded board to the sides of the island.

AND...here...is the kitchen today.

I LOVE how it turned out.

I was so surprised at how much I actually like it!

I used Lowe's Valspar Mountain Smoke.

I'll post later on the curtain.

But the material is fun and the perfect colors to pull it all together.

This china was a Mother's Day gift to me several years ago.

It's Ironstone, has beautiful scalloped edges, and it's YELLOW.  The bottom says...Buttercup Federalist Ironstone.  I fell in love with it the first time I saw it in the antique store.

Was so thrilled to get it as a gift.  There's a story behind them, and I'll post it later. ;)

With painting the cabinets gray, I knew the china would look fabulous!  Cause it's YELLOW! :)

I still need to add hardware to this cabinet...and to the island.  

AND here is my wonderful NEW fridge!!  It's dreamy, no?  haha! :))

Also was able to update my dishwasher this year too...

We're all enjoying the change.  I was so nervous about going this dark, but just went with it. 

I still need to paint the beaded board, and a few touch ups here and there.

But WHAT a difference!

I even think it makes our dark butcher block countertops look better.

This whole project cost me under $50.  :)

Blessings,

Our Thrifty Nest of 7

I'm linking up to these fabulous blogs...

Need Inspiration? Wild Wednesday @

Feathered Nest Friday @

Gallery Wall

This WAS the wall under our stairs... ;)

I had done a gallery wall, and spray painted a Craigslist dresser find. 

I liked it, but had always wanted a wall of just board and batten.

Here's another before pic.

We've done a LOT of work to our living room lately. :)

Here is the wall getting it's new FABULOUS look.

We just trimmed the wall out with 1x4's, caulked, primed, and then painted with a white semi-gloss.

I'm trying to find the Sherwin Williams white I used.  I'm so sorry I can't remember it. :(

You can see in the background more boards being put up to give the whole living room a board and batten look.

AND here is my beautiful wall today!  

LOVE IT!!

The plate was a thrift store find.

I've had the candle holders for almost nine years now.

The picture next to it as well.  It says..."Teach me thy of O' Lord, and lead me in a plain path." Psalm 27:11

I made the runner...Vintage Runner

This dresser I spray painted Krylon's Khaki...

Craigslist for $35.00. :)

I made the A monogram...

Used fabric left over from my living room curtains.

Spray painted a Goodwill picture frame black.

Stenciled the A onto the fabric.

I've had it now for several years, and still love it!

The lamps were a handme down from my Grandmother. 

Lamp shades bought at Wal-Mart.

Fabric I had left over from my blue and white ticking pillows I made. :)

Little sign says.  Home the perfect Nest.

Bought at T.J Max for $5.00

White pitcher came from Target...Sale

I just love how it turned out, and makes a huge difference to our living room.

For the love of Faith, Family, and Home,

Our Thrifty Nest of 7

I'm linking up to these fabulous blogs this week...

White columns

The plan was always to make those blue support beams right there... yeah, you see them, into pretty looking columns. 

And last week we finally did...well I should say my husband did. :)

Another before pic...

And one more before... :)

And finally....after trim, crown molding...

Lots of caulking...haha!

Beginning of column make over. You can read there and see the trim before paint. :)

And some beautiful semi-gloss white paint.

Here they are.  LOVE them!

Sorry for the lighting...I took pictures after I finished them the other night.

We're deciding how we want to trim out under the ledge.

It makes the biggest difference now in our downstairs.

I'm so happy with how they turned out!!

For the Love of Faith, Family, and Home,

Our Thrifty Nest

I'm linking up with these fabulous blogs...

Feathered Nest Friday@