Drab2Fab Friday: Down to Earth Style

Welcome to this week's edition of

Introducing Holly from Down to Earth Style

Thank you to Holly at Bella Nest for having me over today.

I am going to show you how I turned my "spec" home in to a "spectacular" home.

My family and I moved here 6 years ago.

When we moved in all the walls in the whole house were painted a creamy white by the builder and although there were some "upgrades" in the home, it still kind of felt like....well, anybody's house.

I love the charming character of homes in Connecticut and I wanted my house to have a bit of that.

So for the last 6 years it's been my decorating "playground". 

Welcome ...

This is our wooden screen door that I paint different colors all the time. I took out the screen and had glass made for it. I added iron accents and chicken wire along with our house number and a grapevine wreath that I found at a tag sale. 

On the inside I took off the 6 panel steel door and found this single french door at a home center for under $200.  I stained it and my husband installed the new hardware. It lets in so much light and I can see the kids outside playing.  Our house sits off the road quite a bit so I don't worry about privacy too much but a sheer curtain would be really pretty, too.

Our staircase is a main focal point in the foyer. I painted the stairs ebony and the railing a distressed black. It was originally white and natural oak.

Last fall I stained a checkerboard pattern on the foyer floor.

I added to the molding above our door for a chunky, more custom look.

A very simple shelf added to the doorway in between the foyer and the great room makes a fun space to display seasonal decor.





I love old doors but I keep the half bath door original. For interest I gave it a little guest hook & moss frame. I also switched out all the shiny brass door knobs to dark bronze.

A distressed chunky frame holds a picture of some very important people.

Large scale family portraits are my favorite.

The foyer leads to a great room. You can see some old building materials and reclaimed elements that I have used in this area.  I replaced the original basement door with an old salvage find.

The kitchen is what really made me love this house. After a couple of years living here I took out the original island and built a simple one of my own. Then I painted the wood floor underneath.

Since I made this island, I don't mind adding simple accents to it.

Across from the kitchen is our family room.  The fireplace is the main focus in there.

The fireplace surround was a red brick that always looked too pink to me.  I ordered these old ceiling tiles on eBay for $7 each and glued them over it. Then I used wood trim and the back side of paneling to cover the rest of the brick then painted it all white.  Later on I added the board and batten molding that goes all the way to the ceiling. A huge improvement...really.

This is the front living room.  One of the best things about our home are the tall ceilings.

To accentuate them I hang the curtains high and wide and top each window with a scroll.

Board and batten wainscoting through out the great room and front living room give the house a casual, cottage feel - even though it's a colonial.

One more room I will share is our master bedroom...

Our house is very comfortable and nothing is too nice or expensive so I don't worry about anything getting ruined ... it's a perfect style for our family.

It's a spectacular, earth friendly home with a bit of old charm...

Bella Nest linked up to these great parties: