This past month, Nate and I moved into a rental home of our own in Eau Claire. We are both ecstatic because this allows us to grow in our acquired project business and allows us to grow in our relationship.It gives us the chance to be creative and think up new ideas for Up North Projects. I love the feeling of being able to communicate with Nate and organize upcoming projects. We have a lot of work cut out for the summer with this new place. We have a cement patio in the back of the home, which we will be focused on a lot this summer! I want to be able to entertain and for visitors to feel the place has an inviting and homey feel. This is the first step of our lives that we are taking together and everything seems to be falling into place. This is one of the most rewarding feelings a person can feel.
I have already started decorating. I come home in the afternoon and have so much to do, but the decor always distracts me and I cannot keep my hands off of it. Nate and I both say how nights go so fast, because of how much we do every night when we come home. This is now my chance to show you all what I like to do and what my finished products look like when they are designed and put together. You can tell that I like a lot of grays, tans, dark wood and creamy whites. I sometimes like throwing copper and galvanized metal into the mix as well to give a more industrial look. I can't pinpoint what I would call my type of style. I think it would be described best by a mix of a clean farm design with a little of an aged and rustic touch. Our home is filled with LOTS of wood and unfinished metal (I have an obsession).
Dining Area
The dining area I kept clean and simple. I found this roman numeral metal clock at Target in their outdoor living area and I thought what better wall filler. I feel that the clock does justice for the whole wall and gives off a farm and industrial feel. The dining table was in the clearance section of Slumberland Furniture located right here in Eau Claire. It has a couple scrape marks on the table top and a couple wood cracks in the legs that I just painted over with white paint to cover. The chairs were my great grandma's dining chairs that she had in her farmhouse located in Stanley. My mom has had them and used them in her first home as well. I love the chairs. I was so concerned about getting white crossed back dining chairs to give it the modern farm table look, and now I feel that these chairs work and fit my style more than new ones would. The bench I bought from Shopko and it had wooden legs stained a cherry wood color and the padded seat was upholstered with brown leather. I went to Joann's Fabrics and picked up a grey tweed upholster and then painted the legs and base a creamy white to match the table. I love the look of the dining area; it all came together! I love it so much I had to get some fresh flowers to freshen it up even more!
The dining area I kept clean and simple. I found this roman numeral metal clock at Target in their outdoor living area and I thought what better wall filler. I feel that the clock does justice for the whole wall and gives off a farm and industrial feel. The dining table was in the clearance section of Slumberland Furniture located right here in Eau Claire. It has a couple scrape marks on the table top and a couple wood cracks in the legs that I just painted over with white paint to cover. The chairs were my great grandma's dining chairs that she had in her farmhouse located in Stanley. My mom has had them and used them in her first home as well. I love the chairs. I was so concerned about getting white crossed back dining chairs to give it the modern farm table look, and now I feel that these chairs work and fit my style more than new ones would. The bench I bought from Shopko and it had wooden legs stained a cherry wood color and the padded seat was upholstered with brown leather. I went to Joann's Fabrics and picked up a grey tweed upholster and then painted the legs and base a creamy white to match the table. I love the look of the dining area; it all came together! I love it so much I had to get some fresh flowers to freshen it up even more!
Dining Nook
Directly to the left of the table our hallway cuts back, leaving an open cornered nook. I knew I had to do something to fill the corner and make the entire room flow. I actually got the open buffet like table from my mom. I love the character that this piece holds. It has aged grey wood that is encased with rustic metal. I knew it would be the perfect table top space to put my favorite photos of our life on. Above the table, we hung an old window I got at a flee market for around $10! I have a stash of old windows ranging in size but I thought that this one was the perfect fit. My idea is to find a small silk wreath of either magnolia leaves or some other type of greenery to place in the center to really emphasize the wall filler and to have it be a focal point of the area. I think the white wood of the window balances out the metal clock being both so different and pairing so well together. The small items are items that Nate and I have just accumulated. The tractor was a gift he got when he was little from his grandparents and I thought what better place to throw in some color then in the nook. I also had the idea of putting a picture of us both when we were little. Nate chose a picture of him holding his puppy and I chose a picture of me standing by the lake up at my cabin. This little nook is the heart of our home.
What is on the Agenda
We have a lot more projects that we want to accomplish in these coming weeks and this summer. Right now we are working on our back patio area making flower beds that are going to be surrounded by large field rocks. I'll be doing some planting and coordinating a patio table with chairs. We are also going to be trying to grow a garden out of a homemade garden box. Nate is going to try and construct a box and hopefully we are successful with some good veggies.
We have two indoor projects that we are going to have our hands full with to throw in the mix. One project is to paint "Gather" in a casual and cursive font on a piece of weathered and thick barn board and then hang it it the living room behind the couch. I am extremely excited about this project and hopefully I can get to it soon. The other project is creating our own head board out of a wooded shipping crate. The material shipped pottery and the outer shell was perfectly intact.
We are loving coming home and doing new things every day to our very own first place. Nate now realizes how much "junk" and antiques I actually have and how much I accumulate.
Take care and thank you for reading!
Nate and Madalen
Directly to the left of the table our hallway cuts back, leaving an open cornered nook. I knew I had to do something to fill the corner and make the entire room flow. I actually got the open buffet like table from my mom. I love the character that this piece holds. It has aged grey wood that is encased with rustic metal. I knew it would be the perfect table top space to put my favorite photos of our life on. Above the table, we hung an old window I got at a flee market for around $10! I have a stash of old windows ranging in size but I thought that this one was the perfect fit. My idea is to find a small silk wreath of either magnolia leaves or some other type of greenery to place in the center to really emphasize the wall filler and to have it be a focal point of the area. I think the white wood of the window balances out the metal clock being both so different and pairing so well together. The small items are items that Nate and I have just accumulated. The tractor was a gift he got when he was little from his grandparents and I thought what better place to throw in some color then in the nook. I also had the idea of putting a picture of us both when we were little. Nate chose a picture of him holding his puppy and I chose a picture of me standing by the lake up at my cabin. This little nook is the heart of our home.
What is on the Agenda
We have a lot more projects that we want to accomplish in these coming weeks and this summer. Right now we are working on our back patio area making flower beds that are going to be surrounded by large field rocks. I'll be doing some planting and coordinating a patio table with chairs. We are also going to be trying to grow a garden out of a homemade garden box. Nate is going to try and construct a box and hopefully we are successful with some good veggies.
We have two indoor projects that we are going to have our hands full with to throw in the mix. One project is to paint "Gather" in a casual and cursive font on a piece of weathered and thick barn board and then hang it it the living room behind the couch. I am extremely excited about this project and hopefully I can get to it soon. The other project is creating our own head board out of a wooded shipping crate. The material shipped pottery and the outer shell was perfectly intact.
We are loving coming home and doing new things every day to our very own first place. Nate now realizes how much "junk" and antiques I actually have and how much I accumulate.
Take care and thank you for reading!
Nate and Madalen
