I’ve lived in this house for 8 years, but since I was a kid I’ve had a knack for arranging my space in an appealing and artful, yet useful, way. That has carried into my adulthood where I have managed to create a welcoming, yet organized mudroom.

A very cute, definitely a bit of country, but very clean and white and full of sunlight kitchen. I did the tile counters myself. I also made the little shelfs next to my dishwasher, and I cut down a bookcase to make a shelf on top  of my dishwasher to hold a variety of items including my large pot and crock pot. I filled an awkward space next to the fridge with shelves, but the shelves open onto the kitchen on the short end, rather than the length of them to fit the deep fridge space. It’s become a great storage space for things like the kids’ lunch boxes and my griddle and dehydrator. They are in easy reach but you don’t see them all the time.

This quilt was made by my husband’s grandmother. I pulled colors from the quilt to design a very comfortable matching master bedroom. I used three shades of green paint and painted the walls, trim and most of the furniture to match.

I have been creative. For instance, I bought on clearance this ship-shaped shelf from Meijers with four basket drawers. The baskets had horribly ugly shells wired and glued onto them. But I ripped those off and replaced them with various jewelry that has a Noah’s ark theme. The baskets, by the way, are wonderful for organizing my girls’ hair things, and other items like nail clippers and nail files and all that little bathroom stuff. I filled my small bathroom with more Noah-themed items until finally I came up with a space. Although I now have so much Noah-related items they have overflowed a bit into the kitchen, my office and even my living room. The rest of the bathroom was filled out with a variety of Noah’s ark items that I collected over the years. A number of the pieces, including some wood arks and prints were purchased on eBay. Others were picked up as gifts or in stores. It’s a very long, narrow room and I really like this shade of blue.

I turned a formal entry into a very workable (although small) office. Where the coat closet used to be (pictured) made a wonderful desk area. Kitchen cabinets and counters help provide a lot of storage space. Behind me, as I sit at the desk, is an entire wall of bookshelfs. This is where the entry door used to be. The wall area was only about 15-inches deep and the only furniture that would fit on that side was a wall of bookcases. So it was good use of the space. It is definitely just a one-person office, but it is packed with storage and very organized (most of the time). Another eBay find (the advertisement for the pens hanging on the wall) help decorate the area. Chalkboard paint and cork board make the wall behind the desk useful too. I especially like that my desk is two-tiered. It makes a great work space.

My house definitely has a country feel. I like it because it’s comfortable and not too formal. It also allows for great re-uses and you can find thrifty items that are very cool. Although not as country, the kids’ rooms also seem to be pulled together well.

But then I have my living room. And frankly, I don’t know what to do in my living room. It’s big – 20×20. And there is a large opening to the kitchen, a doorway to the hall, a doorway to my office, a big bay window, two large windows and a smaller window. I also have to include hubby’s NASCARs into the decoration. As well as our black wide-screen TV. These things, in case you didn’t notice, aren’t country-themed. 

And so when it comes to my living room, the room where we spend a majority of our time, I’m at a loss on how to decorate it. When I try to layout the furniture, things don’t balance. For instance, the bay window is perfectly balanced when you are outside of the house and looking in. But inside the house, the bay window is to the right side of the wall. So furniture placement along that wall becomes awkward. I also have to be aware of things like cold-air returns and heater vents.

Although the room has a lot of furniture (two couches, two chairs, four end tables, a VCR cabinet, a lateral file, two bookcases and the TV), there is still a lot of space. Eventually I’d like to add a wall full of bookcases and cabinets. That would go along a wall by the main thoroughfare in the room.

I’m just having trouble coming up with a furniture arrangment that is warm and welcoming and makes sene without blocking something important. If I put the couches out in the room, it really closes the space in, but if I leave them against the wall, it seems way too much space. It’s driving me nuts. Plus I haven’t figured out what color to paint the walls. I have time to decide. But this is so unlike me. I have no inspiration and I really don’t know how to fit that NASCAR stuff and TV(a must stay) into the rest of the room/house design.

For some reason, I’m not finding a solution in my addiction to design magazines.