The floor plan of our ‘cottage’ is as follows:  Enter into a smallish foyer; if you make a hard left you are in the master bedroom (the master bath is at the front of the house).  If you walk a few feet past the master bedroom door you will see our atrium on your left and the dining room on your right.

Our atrium and our cat Maggie.

New dining room, formerly living room.

It wasn’t always that way. When we bought the house the room that is now the dining room was designated as the living room. The original dining room was adjacent to that (the original living room), are you with me?  I will provide a road map below. The problem was that the dining room was much smaller than the living room, which we rarely used, and the room was fairly dark.  While the dining room (original) was sun filled thanks to a large bay window we installed a few years after we moved in.

Sofa table, served the dining room as well as the living room.

We had been living in the house for many years when suddenly, one particularly creative day for me, it struck me that the living room was virtually unused while the dining room was used often and could be a little tight for space when we had more than 6 at the dining table.  I realized that the antique china cupboard my mother had given us would fit on one of the walls in the “living room” and that if I gave our adult son one of the love-seats, the other would fit perfectly in what I would begin calling the library (the room was too small to be considered a living room).

The sofa table (which had resided in the old living room) could stay and still added to the room.  I would later add the antique breakfront you see in this picture.

Library bay window.

The library has become a favorite room of mine.  Its sun filled year round and I love to read or look at magazines in this room.  Since we entertain mostly in the evenings the darker, new dining room works well as we had our chandelier moved by an electrician.  And since we entertain informally (technically speaking) we have our friends and family enjoy pre-dinner conversation and appetizers in the family room.

Single love-seat sofa works well for the size of the room.

A relaxing chair to read in-this used to be the dining room.

My point, and I do have one, is—don’t feel bound by architecture if it doesn’t work for you and your living needs.  Rooms can be transformed with the move of a few pieces of furniture.  It may surprise you to find out how much better you like your home with new space for all to enjoy.

Veranda

Veranda

Veranda

When spring arrives, even if the weather can’t make up its mind, I like to do a few things around our house to lighten the “winter cottage” look that my home normally exhibits.  I often use my nesting magazines to assist me with ideas.  This particular Cape Cod home featured in Veranda inspired me.

No, I won’t be suddenly changing the paint color (we have a red family room) or fabrics but I did add a few more live house plants to brighten the room.  Flowers would do this as well but that can become pricey.  If you have some blooming plants in the yard you can create lovely bouquets using shrub branches and get away with very few flowers.  If that’s too much work, a couple of English ivy will freshen a room.

I take the time to put away my winter throws and change out the coffee table books to reflect the time of year—Charlotte Moss, “Winter House” goes up on the shelf and Carolyn Roehm, “Passion for Parties” comes out to sit on the coffee table.

I have a few metal sparrows that I like to use decoratively this time of year and birds nests truly make me think of spring.

I found an Ivy wreath at a craft store and that has become my spring/summer wreath for my front door.  I keep it simple but you could add some flowers and ribbon to this to wreath for the season.

Ivy Wreath

Making a few changes around the home is just what we all need to get spring in full swing.

What changes around your home do you make seasonally?

Spring is here!