Hello Friends,
I've been asking myself, "where has the past year gone?" Are you feeling this way? In my case, I have a feeling that building a new home in Florida, and relocating from Montana, on top of all of the "TO DO LISTS" have caught up with me. Oh, and maybe there's that "COVID THING," too!! UGH!
Today I've got a few easy Fall decor ideas I've been working on, and a partial tour of our new home.
We chose a national builder in a master-planned community. The floor plan we decided on is a 3,221 square ft., one story home. We have 4 bedrooms, a study, 3.5 baths, and a 3 car garage. (Because in Florida there are no basements for storage.)The floorplan fits our needs nicely. We use one of the smaller bedrooms as an office for me and added a daybed for those days our granddaughter needs a nap while visiting.
So....."Come on in for a visit...."
As you take your first step in from the front entrance door you enter into the formal dining room/entry. I purchased a beautiful 5x8 area rug from Pottery Barn (Nolan Persian) with muted tones of blue, beige and gray. I feel like the area rug has muted coastal colors and anchors the entrance/foyer creating an open space that doesn't deliniate a specific room, but melds the two together.
Since I was not ready to part with our dining room furniture yet, my husband was thrilled that we didn't need to buy anything to fill this room! I believe that when buying or building a new home you should fill it with the memories that are important to you and your family. I've had to re-create so many homes for our family through the years, that certain "things" that we move from home to home, bring much comfort to us.
On the right side of the foyer is hubby's office behind a pair of glass paned doors. I would share a photo inside the office, but he's presently on a call.
I like to have a foyer chair to cozy it up if possible. I've had many uses for the chair below in all of our homes, but this is the first time I am using it in the foyer.
Foyer
Dining Room
I pulled out our Wedding china and decided to showcase it in the china cabinet for a bit. We celebrated our "43rd" wedding anniversary on April 16th this year!
Ron and I both loved the rotunda area. It gave just the pop we wanted. Decorating this area seemed a bit daunting at first, and then I found the beautiful painting (below), and we both agreed this gave us the look we were going for. The chandelier was a new choice for me. I didn't want to detract from the picture, so I went quite simple with a bit smaller chandelier in a simple white and gold color family. The bulbs are circular giving it a little more glitz.
ROTUNDA
When walking through the rotunda the large room opens up into the family room, kitchen and casual dining area. The hardest part as far as decorating for me in an open concept home is, #1-Keeping colors cohesive so they flow from space to space #2-Keeping the flooring the same material. I chose wood throughout making exceptions in the bedrooms where we used carpet, and the bathrooms, media room, and laundry room ceramic tile. #3. Kitchen cabinetry light and bright (I chose white perimeter and Tricorn black island and bathrooms.)
FAMILY ROOM
Utilizing our "tried and true" entertainment center worked well in so many of our homes. We purchased this in "2011" while living in Princeton, NJ. She's been our beautiful friend all of these years and I'm not about to give her up!
Arranging furniture was not as challenging as I had expected. Using the sofa as a divider, and adding the foundation of our area rug, I added a cozy area for the family to gather. Something new to our living room is the oversized candle chandilier instead of a ceiling fan.
Above gives you a good visual where all three rooms come together. Using family photos and beautiful scenes from our Montana days, makes our spaces warm and cozy....and of course our first grandchild's photo is displayed along with our precious daughter and son-in-laws wedding/family photos keeps our memories close to our hearts!
KITCHEN AND ISLAND
My kitchen is just perfect! Not too big, not too small just enough area to have a good work space and also not too crowded when the kitchen is full with family.
I did select some new appliances that I am beginning to master. Our subdivision is all electric, no gas, so I went back to the smooth top electric cooktop. I've had these in previous homes and loved the sleek look and fast boil. We also have a new style refrigerator Samsung--with an extra drawer so that our grandaughter is able to reach all of her favorites. I love the double ovens that convert from convection to conventional baking cutting precious time when preparing a meal. And the microwave that does everything! These are all GE Monogram.
My kitchen colors are pretty classic; black and white. The perimeter cabinets are white and island is Tricorn black. The island Serena and Lily chairs are black and white also. The countertops are a Quartz white with gray veining. (which I also carried to the Master Bath). The wood flooring throughout is Mohawk Techwood-Metropolitan City Loft Chic. This is another product that is a new choice for us.
CASUAL FAMILY DINING
A FEW MORE FALL TOUCHES
OUTDOOR SPACE---POOL, LANAI AND PATIO
Our outdoor space was important to us. We love being outside in the lovely winter months in Florida. We have a great covered patio area where we are able to have both a table and chairs and a sitting area that over looks the pool. The view of our surrounding natural habitat makes for such a beautiful backdrop while enjoying our outdoor space.
The photo below of my container flowers/plants I've grouped together to get the greatest impact. I use groups of three with different colors and textures always.
The center Sweet Potato plant is "very special to me!" When we lived in Longwood, FL, I started this plant from a tiny plant I had purchased at a local nursery. When we moved from Longwood in 2011 we took the plant to our vacation home in Fort Myers where she lived until now. She was mostly uncared for, and left out in the elements in her pot.
She now thrives at our new Florida home. A little Miracle Grow and some TLC and we have a beautiful Sweet Potato vine thriving at her final resting place. Just like Ron and me!!
One of the important things for Ron and I was to have stackable sliding glass doors. Letting the outdoors in on a beautiful day is so refreshing! We're from New York originally, and those New York summers were the "best" for us!
A little serene "eye candy" is very relaxing! (Yes, you are catching a glimpse of me taking this photo!)
The waterfall is not only beautiful it also provides some privacy for conversations on the pool deck in the evenings with it's gentle sound.
I hope you have enjoyed a peek into our new home in the
SUNSHINE state! Thanks so much for stopping by. Don't forget to leave a message....I love to hear from all of you!
