It’s finally here! Fall! This is my favorite time of year and I had patiently been waiting for the temperatures to cool off so I could really enjoy this beautiful season. The cool, crisp air, colorful landscape, fragrant orchards and vineyards and local harvest favorites… Ahh, what could be better? As much as I love the outdoors this time of year, I also love making our home feel warm, cozy and inviting. I try to bring the outdoors in while keeping decor simple and a little on the rustic side. Come on in… Welcome!

This year we’ve added a new table to our dining room. This rustic oak dining set was just what I was looking for. As a matter of fact, I’ve had my eye on it for about a year now, but this room just wasn’t quite ready. I love that it extends to 9 feet with both leaves in, providing plenty of space for everyone while being comfortable too.

With walls freshly painted in a neutral color and old furniture removed from the room, I added a modern, durable rug and focused on what was important in this room… a cozy place for family to gather and eat of course!

With four children, I like to keep our “tablescapes” simple. I lined the middle of the table with unique shaped pumpkins as a way to bring a feel of the season right to the table. As a bonus, these are kid friendly and if one happens to roll of the table, it’s okay!

I think I’m going to save the seeds from these and plant them in my garden next year too! What do you think?

For Thanksgiving I always use my good Dinnerware. This cream colored pattern I picked out when I got married almost 15 years ago still goes great with everything. I added a beige and white buffalo checked napkin in between the plates over these whimsical painted patterned pumpkin place mats.

I can’t wait to sit down and have everyone all at one table this Thanksgiving! The lovely bench below is also part of this dining set and can easily be pulled up to the table for such occasions as well. Extra chairs can just be moved down to make room.

A soft cable knit blanket and these throw pillows make this bench a comfy place to sit and watch the fire too if it’s not being used at the table!

When we first moved into our house, this room was our living room. I loved sitting in front of the fire, and now I love how we can eat our meals here. The warm glow and crackling sounds of the fire instantly warm the room and make it feel cozy on a chilly evening. It’s the perfect place to enjoy a homemade bowl of soup this time of year!

Whites and neutrals are in this season, so I started with this buck painting (if you look closely, you can see his eyes- such an interesting piece) and went from there when I was decorating the mantle. This deer makes a huge statement over the fireplace, so I didn’t want to take away from that too much.

Keeping with my “woodsy” but simple theme, I stacked wood in 2 of our built in shelves to give the room a more rustic feel and for convenience! It’s nice to have split, dry wood on hand and ready to go if we decide to have a fire last minute.

I added this beautiful cream colored ceramic pumpkin that lights up in the evenings for an added touch of ambiance, along with twig and wood made pumpkins finished with twine and copper colored wire.

I thought this carved wood pumpkin was really interesting too, so I added it to the mantle with another cream ceramic pumpkin a few small white ones.

This simple grass tied with a burlap bow is perfect for this space because it added height and texture to the slate hearth. Of course, I had to add a pumpkin or 2 here also!

I had to move this beautiful painted chest (which holds specialty coffees, teas, cups and mugs) into this room because it just seemed to now belong in here now.

This room is full of light and since we don’t have close neighbors and a lovely view of Lake Erie on a clear day, I decided against any window panels. For me, simple is always better. My husband also spent a lot of time hand crafting our window trim, so I would hate to cover it up!

After a comforting meal, it’s time to snuggle up on the sofa with some fluffy pillows and a great throw. This sectional is great because everyone can really stretch out and rest their tummies and relax after dinner.

My grandmother stopped over the other day and I showed her my color scheme for our living room this season. She said, “you really can do any color with this sofa, can’t you!” Yes you can!

With pale blue walls that match the sky, I chose to add brown and beige plaid covers to pillows I already had. I also added a pretty pumpkin pillow to the corner, an earthy orange striped rectangular shaped pillow to the center along with textured solid brown throw pillows to pull it all together.

Over on sofa, I carried the same colors over, but added these beautiful paprika colored pillows decorated with twine. Aren’t they pretty?

This accent table already has a lot of character on it’s own, so I added a subtle touch of Autumn with a few pumpkins. Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!

Below, if you look past the kitchen you will notice 2 buck statues on my shelf. Since we have an open floor plan at our house, I thought this was a nice way to pull the deer theme from the dining room all the way through into the living room.

For everyday meals, my family eats right here in the kitchen… at least for breakfast and lunch. I kept things simple with a burlap table runner and freshly picked apples and pears for color on our table.

I think decorating your table with seasonal fruit your family can enjoy is a beautiful and inexpensive way to decorate your home each season. I think it’s so nice they can serve 2 purposes.

I used our everyday french country style white dishes and topped them with fall inspired, plaid cloth napkins with silverware tied with twine.

I really enjoy hosting large gatherings and being able to offer plenty of seating here at our kitchen’s counter height table or in our dining room. I love this open space! We’re just one big happy family!

After cooking, there’s always a little clean up. I added a touch of Fall to my sink area too. It’s nice to look at while I am washing dishes, and well… how cute is this barn door picture frame I found?! I have a feeling that if this was placed in my living room, little hands would constantly be opening and shutting the doors!

Since I work in my home office all week, I decided to add small Fall touches to my desk too. Why not? I again added a few pumpkins, along with a matching floral accent and a cute mug to drink my tea in.

I’m enjoying this space so much, I’ve already begun browsing through the newest edition of Raymour & Flanigan’s Style Catalog for inspiration for next season!

When it comes to decorating your home, often times the bedrooms get overlooked. Don’t overlook them! Bring that comforting and cozy feeling that you’ve created throughout the most loved rooms in your home into the place where you lay your head to rest each night!

Our master bedroom is painted in a very light parchment color and has relaxing turquoise colors throughout. I chose mini white pumpkins to place across the top of our bed and a simple wooden pear on top of a few old bound books for my nightstand.

A pastel colored bouquet of wheat and a wooden mini pumpkin complete the simple Autumn touches on the other side of the bed.

Decorating your home shouldn’t be overwhelming. It should be inspired by what makes you and your family happy. Use things that are readily available from inside your home and out to make your space your own this season! Most of all, don’t forget to sit back and enjoy!

What colors and objects are you planning on using throughout your home this Autumn?

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The post Fall Home Tour appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

Last month when I shared my NEW Outdoor Living Space & Patio, I had all intentions of sitting out here, enjoying the fresh summer like air in June surrounded by green and colorful lush landscaping and a bright new lawn. Well, we planted full green shrubs surrounding the patio, but our lawn is just not quite there yet. We’ve had only a sprinkle of rain this whole month, but I’m optimistic that with a nice day of soaking rain, our lawn will come in nicely. Out in the country here we have a well, so I’ve carefully watered my flowers and the seed. If you look closely, there are a few patches coming in. Yay! For now, I’ve focused on adding color to our space and getting ready for summer with Simple 4th of July Decor!

I’m a huge believer in not going overboard purchasing seasonal items for decor. I think small things can make a huge difference and since I cook and bake a lot, I think food itself can be displayed easily to add a special touch.

My neutral Outdoor Sectional from Raymour & Flanigan is not only a comfortable and inviting place to be on our patio, but it’s very easy to style differently for several different occasions.

Once you have a great piece of furniture, you can even “shop” around your home for items that might pull it together for an event. In this case, I pulled pretty red, white and blue patterned pillows out of my attic to give the sofa a festive look. Once the sun sets, it’s always nice to gather around our fire pit table for some cozy conversation too!

The fragrant smell of my white peonies has been drifting over to our patio the past few days and it’s wonderful! Freshly cut flowers always look nice displayed in a vase indoors or out. I wasn’t ready to start cutting my flowers just yet though, so I once again made a trip up to my attic and pulled out 2 lovely faux peony arrangements and added several mini flags to them.

These mini flags can be found at practically any store and they are really inexpensive too. I think if you add them to a vase of flowers, a pot of flowers of even in an ice bucket along with old fashioned bottles of root beer, they are the perfect subtle touch to your 4th of July Patio Party!

Now- lets not forget that food I was talking about. When we have a family get together, especially on the 4th of July, I like to make sure that the menu includes a lot of things that people can just grab and go. There’s visiting to do, games to play and simplifying dessert with items like cupcakes and M&M’s is not only convenient, but also makes for an easy cleanup later.

Homemade or store bought cupcakes with colorful patriotic sprinkles and red, white and blue candy filled mason jars add just enough color to your space without putting it over the top. I even found this pillow on clearance after Memorial Day and I thought it would be perfect for the Fourth!

After a few weeks of enjoying our new space, I decided that our pergola needed a little something extra. Hanging baskets!

I wanted something that would look nice for the 4th of July, but that would still blend well with the other patio decor for the rest of the season. I chose these simple delicate and beautiful baskets of small blueish flowers.

These look so nice along with the outdoor pendent lights over our dining set. I’m so happy I moved the furniture around, because I’m, really enjoying our table over here.

Someone else is really enjoying our sectional in it’s new place too! He’s all ready to start celebrating the 4th of July!

What simple ways do you decorate your outdoor space for the 4th of July?

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If any of you have lived in a home while it’s being remodeled or while you are adding on an addition- you know that it can get really messy. For us, it was great to add more room for everyone to the inside of our home, but for the past 4 years, the outside has been surrounded by dirt and dust. These things just take time, and over the past few years we enjoyed our front yard and a floating deck my husband put together in an afternoon so the kids and I had a “not dirty” place to play in the sandbox and cookout on those hot summer days.

This Spring, I was really ready for our patio though. When we poured the patio earlier this month… it felt almost too good to be true!

No more dirt! I could walk right out from our living room to this amazing NEW Outdoor Space! Finally….

Let me show you around…

I wanted to create an outdoor space that was multi functional. We work hard during the week and at the end of the day, we want to retreat and relax here, just as we would on vacation. A comfortable lounge area, casual dining and room for the whole family to unwind while still being a space that can be special for just 2 as well.

Size was the most important factor here for us. We are a family 6 and like to entertain for birthday parties and holidays, so we wanted to make sure there was room out there for everyone on those occasions.

We decided that the half of the patio you walk directly out onto would be used for cooking and be home to our grill and patio set. The children’s picnic table fits here nicely as well.

When forming up the patio, we decided that like our living room inside, a step down onto a more casual outdoor seating area would look nice and be inviting.

It was like being inside- but only outside! I absolutely am loving it!

I chose a weatherproof faux wicker sectional for comfortable seating and to help define the space.

Instead of a coffee table in the middle, I decided to use the outdoor fire pit/table that I purchased last Fall.

I LOVE this table because it’s so versatile. We use it in the mornings to enjoy our coffee and in the evenings we start the fire with just a turn of a dial for a little ambiance so my husband and I can enjoy a glass of wine together.

It’s really nice to have the ability to get cozy by the fire on a chilly night, even spur of the moment and not have to worry about gathering wood or waiting for the fire to die down before going to bed. Just turn the dial and it’s out! No more smelling like smoke either. So convenient!

Because my husband is just the best- he decided to build me a beautiful wooden pergola to go over the lounging area.

We painted it white to match the house and added an outdoor floor lamp and these really great casual, summer type feel pendant lights. He was ready to hard wire these into the top of the pergola, but as I carefully took them out of the box, I noticed they just plugged in! BONUS!

My husband really loved this feature. It’s hard to find such a well made outdoor pendant light that you don’t have to permanently install. These lights go on and off with the ease of pulling a chain too.

I also added this soft Maya Outdoor Rug for a pop of color and comfort as you kick of your flip flops and sit back on the comfy cushions to relax. I think this is the perfect place to take a nap on Sunday afternoons don’t you?

The day after we installed the lights, it rained. After having snow on the ground less than a month ago, we’ve had a full week of that hot and muggy 85 degree weather that almost always comes with those afternoon storms.

I will admit, I was a little nervous about how everything would hold up. After all, this furniture looks like it could easily be indoors.

A few hours later, with the help of the hot sun, everything was dry! I couldn’t believe it! The water almost beaded up on the cushions and although they were slightly wet directly after the storm, I was able to sit down and enjoy the rest of the evening on dry furniture! Even the rug was left just slightly damp and by the next morning completely dry too.

My husband’s been busy hauling in more topsoil for the new lawn (Yay! A green background instead of brown) and we’ve started to landscape. Now we need more rain so things can grow, grow, grow!

I couldn’t resist these beautiful deep coral colored hibiscus trees and several other colorful flowers in planters to place around the patio. It takes away from any brown around the patio while we wait for fresh grass to grow in.

Our golden retriever loves to keeping an eye on all of the new outdoor action when he’s not napping by the patio door, especially when we get the sprinkler out for a little summer fun too!

Whatever your dream outdoor space looks like, you can make it happen this year. Sit down and do a little brainstorming.

What is it that you enjoy most when you are on vacation? Is it a cozy fire on the beach? Or a private grilled meal for 2?

Take the things you love most and bring them home. Enjoy a vacation in your own backyard this summer… every single night.

Even one piece of furniture, one landscaping element or a new dining set can easily help to transform an underused outdoor space into an oasis that you can’t wait to get to at the end of day, right in your very own backyard.

Stay tuned this month for more patio ideas, the addition of outdoor curtains to the pergola and a more colorful & green landscape!

So, are you ready to get started on your own patio?

What pieces do you need to complete your outdoor space this season?

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The post Our NEW Outdoor Living Space & Patio appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

Easter is this Sunday and I had been putting off Spring Decor because the weather has been so chilly. It’s hard to get into a Springy mindset when there are snowflakes flying in the air! Despite the chilliness, I picked up some last minute Easter Basket Gifts and colorful flowers at the store this past weekend to inspire me to freshen up around our home. Tulips are my absolute favorite flowers and seeing those beautiful blooms on my window sill sure did get me in the mood to think Spring! Here’s a few Simple Spring Home Decor Tips you can use this week to get your home ready for Easter!

One of the first things I do when decorating our mantle in our dining room is to use a mirror. I have this up all year round because it helps open up the space by making it look brighter. The neutral lantern and candles I have here are the same ones I had displayed for Christmas, but they are arranged differently. I love using the same pieces in different ways. It’s inexpensive too! This cute burlap rabbit was a new purchase this season, but is a piece I will be using for years to come.

Tulips. The perfect inexpensive Spring Home Decor accent piece you can have! They not only add beautiful pops of color to any room, but they are inexpensive and you can plant the bulbs in your yard for fresh blooms next Spring, so there is never any waste. The wrapping around these tulips was kind of cute, so I kept it on, but if the wrap your flowers comes in isn’t so appealing to the eye you can always make it pretty by covering it with burlap, a delicate vintage fabric and a pastel ribbon!

This Faux Boxwood Wreath adds a nice freshness to the mantle. This is a piece that can be used throughout the summer months too. I added this cute glass bunny and this small Easter Egg Hunt sign for a festive touch. Those pretty pastel painted Easter eggs… those are salt & pepper shakers!

I just couldn’t resist this Bunny & Egg burlap and fabric banner. It really pulled the whole mantle together. My children really, really liked this! I also placed matching plastic eggs as a finishing touch to pull everything together.

Overall this Spring Mantle took very little time (and money) to put together and it’s a lovely focal point in this room. Pull out your Spring and Easter decor and see what you can come up with with the items you already have!

I use to spend a lot of time focusing on the dining room table decor. After all, it’s where everyone spends most of their time together on Easter enjoying delicious home cooked dishes.

I like to keep it simple though, because you have to have room to eat too… especially when you have children. If you have too much decor, it usually gets moved off of the table to make room for the food. I love my casual two-toned dining set in my kitchen because it really doesn’t need a runner or a tablecloth and it can be styled many different ways easily.

I let my kiddos help set out my cream colored china which looks nice against the dark walnut table, and I add a few accents like this antique ceramic Easter Bunny, some colored & speckled eggs and of course more fresh flowers. Easy peasy!

I usually use white napkins on Easter because it symbolizes the purity of Jesus and on Easter we are joyously celebrating him. If you have blessed palms from church (my son made ours into a cross), add that to your table or mantle. It’s important to decorate your table and home with items that have significance to your family. It doesn’t have to be fancy to be meaningful.

Happy Easter!

*Linking up at Savvy Southern Style

The post Simple Spring Home Decor appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

Last week I shared how I Created An Organized & Practical Office for my husband. Organization can make a huge difference in a room, but it can be a task that’s not always fun. After all of the sorting, filing and cleaning is out of the way, add a few finishing touches to make your space your own. I’m going to show you how you can easily Create a Stylish & Personalized Home Office for yourself this Spring!

Because an office is a place that work needs to get done, it’s important that it be made not only functional by adding the correct furniture like we did with our Bristol Court Bookcase, but it needs to be comfortable and most importantly… it needs to inspire you to keep doing the work you are doing when you are in there!

When I saw this beautiful framed Sailboat Art online at Raymour & Flanigan, I knew it had to go in my husband’s office. When we were on a family vacation in Florida a few years ago, we were browsing around one of the local shops and found a little sign that had Jonathan Winters’ quote, “If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it.” painted on it. It has been one of our favorite quotes for a long time and it’s a nice reminder that YOU are in control of your own fate and to work hard for the things you want in life.

We never purchased that little sign in Florida because it didn’t match any of our current decor. This large painting however, was full of beautiful colors and was a huge symbol for what we both believe in. There’s nothing like a little inspiration in your work space!

This painting also was what I based the rest of my husband’s office decor on. It’s always important to have a single piece with color that you can coordinate and use as a reference for your other decor pieces.

A clock is a must have in any office space. Of course you can always check the time on your computer or phone, but looking up to tell the time gives your eyes a break from your computer screen. I also like the tic toc sound of a clock in a quiet office.

This 32″ Brass Works Clock (sold in showrooms) caught my eye because it had gears in the middle of it and the bronze elements gave it a rustic touch. Even though this clock is a large piece, it doesn’t take away from the other pieces in the room because it’s colors blend nicely with the overall neutral palate of the office.

When I was at Raymour & Flanigan picking out our cabinet last month, I also picked up this neat grass piece on clearance. The green brought a brightness into the office and will look great all year round.

Because Raymour & Flanigan is constantly getting great new home decor pieces into their showrooms, you may be able to find that perfect piece you’ve been looking for at a discounted price, just by stopping in and browsing around!

I picked up these Ship Wheel Bookends when I was in the store last year while shopping for my own office! I kept these wrapped (yes- they bubble wrap and secure everything so nice for you) and in it’s bag knowing they would be a great addition to this space when the time came. We’ve kept these displayed on his desk to hold current bills neatly, conveniently giving him access to them quickly too.

*Tip: When picking out decor for your home, make sure you love it and can envision those pieces in your space. Great pieces should be able to styled different ways or in different rooms.

Because my husband is stepping into the house quick and heading right into his office, he had a tendency to just throw his coat or sweatshirt on the back of his chair. It looked messy, sloppy, and you guessed it… unorganized!

This cherry Noelle Coat Rack matched the hardwood floors and other furniture in this room and now keeps the office neat and tidy!

Last but not least, I was on a mission to find a pillow for his leather chair. It’s always nice and comfy to have a pillow in your office to prop behind your back or neck if you are working long hours. It’s also another great opportunity to bring more colors or patterns into your space.

Before I went shopping, I took a peak online at the pillows available. I purchased this pillow because the cream color looked great against the dark furniture and the navy pattern pulled the colors from the painting throughout the room well.

Because the Bookcase is the focal point of this office, I wanted a bold, but simple piece that could be placed on top of it to bring your eyes all the way up to the crown moulding when you walked into the room.

This Armillary was it! This unique and beautiful piece absolutely completes this space and adds a lot of character as well.

You may have noticed that I chose not to add any panels to the windows. As much as I love that look, this room has great lighting in the morning as the sun comes up, but the windows are smaller and I did not want to block any more natural light.

My husband and guests we’ve had over just can’t get over the new look of this space. It’s not only a functional and stylish place to work in now, but it’s a place that my husband can call his own!

What Home Decor Pieces do you have that make your house a home? 

Thank you Raymour & Flanigan for partnering with me for this project!

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The post How To Create a Stylish & Personalized Home Office appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

It’s that time of year again. Tax Season! Are you ready for it? At our house that usually means there a few extra piles of paper and receipts piled here and there in our offices. For the most part we are fairly organized, but we’ve never really set out to make my husband’s office the organized work space that it should be. This room easily had the tendency to look messy.

My husband kept things tidy on his desk but there were books, extra packages of computer paper and envelope boxes neatly stacked on the floor. No matter how “neat” things were stacked, it still got in the way and gave us that unorganized feeling.

Last year I partnered with Raymour & Flanigan to makeover my office, so this year I thought my husband deserved some attention in his since he spends a lot of time working in there for our family. Today I am going to show you how you too can easily Create an Organized & Practical Home Office!

I’m a true believer that everything should have a place. The computer has it’s place on the desk, the printer on a separate table, and pens and pencils in a holder. Most of our papers are filled in the desk and our books should be on a shelf that is practical and easily accessible.

Since my husband already had a large desk that organizes most of those things, we thought long and hard about what we really needed to make this office space more organized. We planned a mid week lunch date when the weather was cold and snowy and then headed over to our local Raymour & Flanigan Showroom (I shared a shopping pic over on Twitter) to browse around. We were thrilled to find a few really nice home office pieces that we loved.

If you’re looking around your office and feel overwhelmed or unorganized, just one piece of furniture can make all of the difference in your space. Sometimes buying all new furniture isn’t in the budget, but purchasing just 1 key, well needed, practical piece and adding to an existing space can make all of the difference. Don’t know if a certain piece will fit in your space? Use this cool Room Planner Tool!

For us, this piece was the Bristol Court Bookcase. It features a cognac cherry finish with a classic style that adds character to the whole room. It’s adjustable shelves are perfect for storing books and the and beautiful glass pained sliding doors subtly display accent pieces.

This bookcase also features deep built in drawers that we found especially convenient for our extra office supplies we had previously been storing in a pile on the hardwood floor. They open and close smoothly and quietly which is very nice too.

The hardware on the bookcase doors and the drawers are sturdy and the detailed lines and curves of this style bookcase are simply stunning.

Even in a room with a large executive desk, this bookcase is definitely the focal point!

We’re so impressed with this piece.  It not only has ample room for all of the books we had laying around, but there’s still space left over allowing us to display some of our other accent and decorative pieces as well.

If you can’t seem to get situated in your office, consider adding just one piece- the right piece. You’ll then be on your way to creating a practical, organized and functional space that can make your everyday office tasks that much easier and maybe even enjoyable!

With the task of organizing out of the way, I did purchase a few unique Home Decor pieces to really personalize this office for my husband. After all, any room that you are going to be spending a lot of time in should be made comfortable and stylish.

Stay tuned NEXT WEEK when I’ll share all of the accent pieces 

I purchased for this space along with a little story about why I chose them!

 Are you longing for a more organized office space?

What one piece do you think would make the biggest difference in your room?

A very special thanks to Raymour & Flanigan for partnering with me to create a beautiful room in my home!

The post How To Create an Organized & Practical Home Office appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

I am so excited to celebrate the Holidays with you all! I’ve been busy getting my home cozy and festive to share with guests this season, so I wanted to share my home with you as well! This year I partnered with Raymour & Flanigan to furnish our home. I feel blessed to have been able to work with such a great group of people who helped me make my house feel more like a home in the process. In the spirit of giving, Raymour & Flanigan has decided to continue their generosity and giveaway a $500 Gift Card to one lucky Cozy Country Living reader this Holiday! So cozy up with warm blanket and a hot cup of coffee, take a look around and ENTER yourself for a chance to WIN this amazing Giveaway!

Welcome!

Our Dining Room use to be our old living room. I absolutely loved it this time of year because there’s nothing like warming up by the fire and getting cozy under a soft blanket. This year, we will still be enjoying crackling fires as we eat our holiday meals.

For the dining room Christmas tree I chose to use this lovely pinecone garland. It adds a rustic touch to the tree and in keeping with that theme, I placed pine cones all around the room, in glass candle holders, my Pears in a Basket and on my bookshelves. Poinsettias added beautiful red color all around the room along with my favorite teapot lantern for a simple holiday look.

I also fell in love with these cute reindeer napkin holders! They dress up the table without much effort at all. This table is all about family. It’s casual and cozy but no frills here!

This room is even more beautiful when night falls the warm white lights make the whole room glow!

Even the dog loves it!

As you walk through my dining room to my kitchen there’s an area next to my pantry door that I purchased this chest for. This holiday, I’m using this unique and pretty chest as a coffee station!

It’s nice to have a designated area for hot drinks that’s not on the kitchen counter. This frees up my counter space for kitchen prep when we have family get togethers and it’s convenient to have all of the different flavor options in one place.

I added a small wreath to my coffee mug holder for a festive touch and I like to serve Christmas cookies here too! They go great with coffee!

I take full advantage of this chest’s drawers and use them for storing extra coffee, tea and of course extra cups.

Everything you need for a cozy cup of your favorite hot drink is right here! Yum!

Because I have 4 children, I do like to keep table decor simple. This goes for the kitchen table in our home as well.

I added a pretty runner to our counter height kitchen table and a simple berry garnished center piece which holds candles which is nice for a little added ambiance.

I like to use battery operated candles with timers… they go on by themselves every night at the same time for 4-6 hours and then shut off on their own.  I love them!

This year I decided to go with a light color scheme for our Christmas decor in our living room. I wanted to use the pale blue color of the walls as inspiration for an icy, simple type of look with a hint of warmth from red berries that I added to the tree and hints of red in my cozy throws.

The neutral color of our microfiber sofa is perfect for changing pillows and blankets each season, allowing me to give the room a completely different look and feel.

Even though the Christmas tree in this room is adorned plenty of sparkle and silver, it also features burlap and twine wrapped balls, sprigs of red berries and is topped with a large burlap bow to bring that khaki color from the sofas all the way up through the tree.

No fireplace in your living room? No problem! Just turn on the Yule Log and listen to some of the season’s best music on your television.

I added two beautiful flower, greenery and berry bouquets on both sides of my rustic console to dress it up a bit too.

One thing I never try to overlook is our guest bedroom. I want our guests to feel right at home when they turn in for the night.

After a comfortable mattress, I always make sure there is a are fluffy pillows, warm flannel sheets and a touch of Christmas decor in here as well. Sometimes I even leave chocolates on the pillow!

I added greenery around the headboard, a poinsettia to the antique dresser in this room and a simple but festive vase of greenery with berries to the accent table beside the bed.

I love the detail and character that this table brings to the room and it has a bottom shelf that’s perfect for storing a few good books.

Speaking of books, upstairs we have little reading room. It’s a small room, but it sure is cozy! My younger children and I love to snuggle up and read our favorite books in here before bed each night. I pulled out some of our favorite Christmastime books, added a candle and a beautiful old fashioned looking Santa to this room to give it a holiday touch.

After a long day, there’s nothing like soaking in a warm bath. I wanted to carry the cozy elements of my Christmas decor into our master bathroom as well. I hung small wreaths with burlap ribbon to each window and added freshly cut pine garland to the large sill.

I like to use seasonal scented soaps like peppermint, cherry almond and pomegranate during the holidays in all of our bathrooms too. They’re fun, festive and of course smell simply wonderful!

I hope you had fun visiting and hopefully you’ve found a little holiday inspiration touring my home today!

Please don’t forget to head over to Christina’s Adventures, Meme Hill Studio, Pieces Of A Mom & Thoughts From Alice for even more Holiday Home Tours and Decorating Ideas! These ladies are extremely talented and want to share their Holiday Homes with you too! Thanks so much for stopping by, I truly appreciate it! Now that our home is all ready for the Holidays, I’ve got my fingers crossed for a sparkly white blanket of snow for Christmas!

The post Christmas Home Tour appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

If you aren’t a regular here at Cozy Country Living, let me start by saying Hello and letting you know that Fall is my absolute favorite time of year! We live in this wonderful area in Western New York complete with beautiful Fall foliage, miles of vineyards overlooking Lake Erie and hills and fields of countryside to enjoy on foot or for a long Sunday drive. We live in a farming community which offers the the freshest Apples, Concord grapes, Pumpkins and Fresh Apple Cider that you can get right from the farm this time of year too! My family and I try to spend as much time as possible outdoors enjoying this special season because when you live right outside of Buffalo, you know the snow is coming soon! My Fall Decor is simple, but I like it that way. I like to take outdoor items and bring them in and showcase them throughout my home so they accent the amazing colorful landscape we see out each and every one of our windows. So welcome! Come inside and let me show you around!

Earlier this year I shared our New Living Room with you all. I chose neutral colored furniture and carpeting along with a pale blue paint color on the walls to make my seasonal decorating easy. Because I just love getting things cozy around here, I couldn’t wait for Fall to arrive so I could add those wonderful colors and textures to our home’s busiest room!

I just love my neutral colored Sectional Sofa because I am a huge pillow person. This sofa came with plenty of matching pillows which was great because when I add several different textures like the maroon knit pillow and the embroidered home pillow, everything blends so well.

Blankets, blankets, blankets! I am always on the lookout for the perfect one. I loved the colors in this plaid blanket and the houndstooth pattern on the underside of it. I added a wooden stick made pumpkin complete with burlap ribbon to the ottoman as well for a rustic touch.

Since our Living Room is large, I like to use the same accent colors and pull them throughout the whole room. I added a rustic woven buttoned pillow, and plush brown blanket to our other sofa. I also added a nice round real pumpkin to the coffee table along with this cute fabric pumpkin and floral & leaf arrangement I had.

Our Kitchen is another busy room in our home, so I wanted to make sure there were some Fall touches in here too. I love using items that we have on hand that are real and fresh for decorating. In our kitchen this time of year, we always have apples…and lots of them! I’m always baking something yummy with apples in the Fall like my Grandpa’s Apple Crisp or these delicious Spiced Applesauce Bars and my kiddos love snacking on them. I found this cute green basket at an estate sale and thought some fresh Cortland Apples would look pretty displayed in them centered on our table. Practical, simple and pretty! It was a win-win!

After a long day of Fall work or play, it’s always nice to take a relaxing, warm bath. Our master bathroom tub has large windows above it that overlook our big red barn surrounded by tall trees changing color. I decided to add a few real pumpkins in here too. It’s a subtle touch, but it’s a bathroom after all and I didn’t want anything too over the top. Real pumpkins are great to decorate with indoors because they are inexpensive (especially if you grow your own) and you can use those same pumpkins to roast pumpkin seeds for a snack or carve them for Halloween if you like.

I decided to keep the fun theme of pumpkins going by setting small gourd like pumpkins on top of the door trims going into everyone’s bedrooms. This is my children’s favorite way to display pumpkins because it makes them feel like their rooms are very special and decorated for the season too! I love all of the different fun shapes, sizes and colors pumpkins come in, don’t you?!

If you didn’t catch my Colorful & Cozy Home Office post last week, I also added a few pretty Autumn touches in here too. The pretty orange and yellow flowers and the white pumpkin add a little character to my tall office cabinet, while this cute wooden green pumpkin adds a touch of color to my shelving along with a cozy rustic lantern.

If you’re looking for an easy way to decorate for Fall this year, try adding just a few simple pumpkins or apples to a shelf,  or an end table. You could even display some in a pretty large bowl where your family eats dinner. You never know… those simple things may inspire you or your family to get even more creative with your home decor!

Do you have your home decorated for Fall?

Show off your hard work & join me on 10/15 from 1-2pm EST with Raymour & Flanigan for a #RFfallstyle Twitter Party! Just use the #RFfallstyle hashtag to share your photos, join the discussion and follow along! You could WIN some really great prizes too! I hope to see you there! Happy Fall!

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The post Fall Decor Around My Home appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

Last month I talked about my plans to makeover my existing office space. It had been just kind of put together without a lot of thought and I was feeling like my work place needed some organization and a good flow to it. With all of my children in school for at least half of the day, I finally have some quiet time in the morning where I can really be productive. I am in love with my new space and I can’t wait to share it with you all! I hope you like it!

First thing’s first. My desk. I needed a desk that would provide me with a lot of writing space and that wouldn’t take up the whole room.

I like to spread my planner out on the desk along with my notebooks and such. With my old desk I couldn’t do this and I felt like I was constantly moving things around.

This 4 Piece Office Set fit so perfectly into my office! I love that the window is right above it so I can glance outside and even open the window to get a nice breeze while I am working. It’s refreshing!

I can put my computer on either side, as there are two fold down drawers to store the keyboard and mouse. When I’m not working, I can shut the drawer and leave everything looking neat and tidy. There are also 2 large shelves for a printer and paper if I need and an extra large filing cabinet drawer.

Extra binders, folders and books can be stored neatly in the slats available in the hutch too. The corner piece allows for a seamless, flowing look of the desk, while providing a great spot for my office lamp and decorative clock.

I chose a dark wooden swivel office chair to bring up the color of the hardwood floor beneath my colorful rug. The cushioned, neutral colored seat is comfortable and makes moving from one spot in my office to the next smooth. Speaking of color, I’m usually a neutral type of gal. I fell in love with this rug last year when I worked on my Cozy Kitchen Nook Makeover and after our home addition, had moved it into my office. For the decorative and cozy aspects of this office makeover, I wanted to use this rug as inspiration.

I touched up the paint on my walls with the same neutral Behr Toasted Cashew color that was previously applied, so that didn’t offer any more color into the space. I was looking for that one piece that would sort of pull everything together, and then I found this Cow Canvas Painting. I just fell in love with it! I really love cows and being that this is my office for Cozy Country Living, I thought it was very fitting. I also wanted something that would make me smile every morning when I walked into my office. Something that would kind of jump out at me and make me happy even if I was tired or feeling a little unmotivated. This definitely was it!

I worked off of the rug and painting colors choosing a few subtle color coordinated accent pillows to place on an older chair which is perfect for my kiddos or my husband to comfortably sit on if they need to talk to me quickly while I am finishing up some work that gives this office a cozy, warm and inviting feel to it.

I added a few flowers, old books, a vintage style lantern and a few pumpkins to the space to make it feel like home. I spend a lot of time in here so I wanted it to be a place that I wanted to be in, and it is!

My husband installed white wooden blinds to the windows along with linen curtain panels which not only look nice, but really pull the whole space together. With bursts of color here and there, but the main components remaining neutral, I’m pretty confident that I created a space that I will not only love for years to come, but that can easily be tailored to my tastes with different accents every season.

So…What do you think? 

A very special thanks to Raymour and Flanigan for partnering with me for my office makeover. 

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*Linking up at Skip To My Lou

The post Colorful & Cozy Home Office appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

Back to School time is right around the corner and this year all of my 4 kiddos will be in school! It makes me feel really sad in a way. They grow up so fast! Knowing that I will have some quiet time during the week to get more work done on Cozy Country Living is exciting though. I’ve got so use to creatively scheduling my “work time” at home that I think I will need time to adjust a bit. The first step in making sure that my work days are as productive as possible once school starts is getting my office ready! It’s Time To Give My Office a Makeover!

I’m thrilled to be partnering with Raymour & Flanigan on my office project this Fall. They’ve helped me create a wonderful Living Room for my family earlier this year and I’m excited to turn my office into a comfortable place to work and get creative that is all my own.

Last Fall we finished the addition to our home. When we moved into our new bedrooms, I turned the smallest downstairs bedroom into my office. I moved in a roll top desk, a filing cabinet, and a shelf (all mismatched) into the room and set things up the best I could. I was happy because up until this point, I was working at a desk under the stairs in our basement off of the family room- AKA my children’s room full of toys!

I couldn’t wait to set my computer on the desk, plug it in and get blogging. One problem…it didn’t fit! The roll top part was in the way. I set the computer on the very top of the desk for a few weeks, but looking that far up started to strain my neck and it just wasn’t comfortable. I didn’t even want to work in there. I moved in a lovely antique, rustic table my husband and I refinished a few years earlier and decided to use that as my desk.

It worked, but I felt like nothing really had a place. My office fills up with school papers along with regular mail and mail and boxes for Cozy Country Living. Sitting down and planning an organized space for me is just what I need! I not only want to create a space that is functional and neat, but I want this new space to be cozy. I do spend a lot of time in here!

First thing’s first…Paint! We painted over the paneling in this room when we moved in, but my youngest daughter picked and peeled at it in places. I love the Behr Toasted Cashew Color because it isn’t too dark and it goes with everything. It gives me the option to change colors and accents around the room on a whim. Should I change the color? I’ve been looking at Raymour & Flanigan’s Design Center for tips on using different colors and it’s been really helpful. Maybe I should go with a color that’s little different but still neutral? What do you think?

I am also keeping the rug that I have in here that was previously in my Kitchen Nook. I love that this rug lightens up the dark hardwood floors and it gives this space nice, subtle, bright bursts of color. It’s also nice and soft too!

I would love to purchase a desk that I can place under the window so that I can look right outside. My office does have beautiful, natural light which is nice if I am working first thing in the morning! It helps wake me up! I would also like to add window treatments and a nicer chair. This one has definitely seen better days!

What are your “Must-Have” Items you can’t be without in your office? Have you recently purchased office furniture from Raymour & Flanigan?

 I would love some input! Leave me a message in the comments & stay tuned next month for My Home Office Reveal! 

*Linking up at Home Stories A to Z

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