Even though we write about home projects every day, it’s easy to forget to share the small updates until someone spots a photo and asks, “Hey, when did you do that?” Sometimes the little changes are the ones that make you smile when you walk into a familiar room day after day. Since this blog is about both the big projects and the tiny details, here are three small updates we somehow forgot to show you.
First up: those little ceramic houses John gave me for Christmas that you’ve been asking about. They’ve been happily perched on the kitchen mantel for nearly a month:
Aren’t they sweet? The imperfect matte ceramic finish is so charming. I joke with John that I want to move into one. They fit the mantel nicely and feel like they could be year-round pieces. Imagine them beside a vase of pink tulips and a couple of small teal and yellow paintings leaning behind them—instant spring vibe.
The next update is one a lot of you have requested since our holiday hosting post: full-room shots of our new chandelier. Sorry for the delay—here it is in situ:
You may also notice we added pillows to all the dining chairs, so here’s how that came together.
Step one: put pillows on chairs. Step two: enjoy the instant coziness.
I experimented with a few combinations and settled on three prints: a solid satin-like fabric, an ikat-inspired pattern, and an abstract chevron-ish print. They may look somewhat random in photos, but in person they work together because they share the same color palette—the same blue tone appears across each pillow, and two of them share plum and white highlights. They coordinate without being matchy-matchy. If you prefer perfectly matched pillows or a table of solid colors, that’s great too—do what you love. Bottom and middle pillows were from HomeGoods a while back; the top pillow is one I made from on-sale napkins.
This little pillow refresh was an economical one since we already owned the cushions. The curtains in the room introduce another pattern, but because they share the same colors, everything plays nicely together—think of dining chair pillows as three-dimensional patterned napkins. Fair warning: this approach may fuel a pillow collecting habit.
As for spills and stains: we haven’t had problems yet. None of these pillows are particularly precious or expensive, so we plan to spot clean, launder the removable covers when needed, or simply flip a pillow over if a stubborn mark appears. I’m not a meticulous Downton Abbey-style maid, and that’s okay.
The pillows also tie into the darker teal on the backs of the built-ins, and the abstract chevron-ish pattern echoes the green found on the lime green office chairs, which is a happy bit of color continuity. Even Clara’s yellow high chair sneaks into the palette with a wink.
So those are three small updates that have helped a few areas of the house feel more finished and loved. Some of you sharp-eyed readers may have already noticed them in other photos and asked for details—now you’ve got the full scoop. And with that, we’re off to prep a little Macklemore Challenge to post tomorrow. Wooooooooot! $herdog’s so excited and she just can’t hide it.