Wow! A Reveal!

Two weeks ago, hubby and I took a trip to ikea. We (though it was mostly me) decided that in order for me to keep my sanity and money in our pockets, we needed to rethink our furniture set up. You see, I am in love with white slipcovers. I have been for YEARS. But, I have three children and two dogs. It is easy to keep them clean because they are machine washable. Yes indeed. However, after less than three years of washing and heavy use, our Pottery Barn Charleston sofa in the white denim started to give out. It frayed and then frayed some more. It wasn't a good look for our home. Nope, not good. After pricing out a new white slipcover for the PB charleston ($800 + yikes!) We decided to move the charleston to the soon-to-be remodeled media room in our basement where it would receive less abuse from children. We opted to change it up. We took a day to head to Chicago and purchase an Ektorp sofa and chair from Ikea. I had to have the white slipcovers, of course. My reasoning behind this sorta kinda splurge is that I can replace the chair cover for $29 and the sofa for $49. I have spares for when I have company (you know, the I-knew-you-were-coming-so-I-put-the-good-slipcovers-on-the-furniture kind of company). In other words, the momma can relax when the kids and the dogs want to eat, drink, and be merry! It was a good choice.

Theres the pb sofa waiting for quieter days. Mr. LOH begins putting the new furniture together...with a few helpers, naturally.

The guts of the ektorp chair. That is a Pottery Barn Basic chair next to it. They are remarkably the same in appearance, but that's where it stops. Our pb chair will find itself moving to the future library of our home.

Gotta love free help!

Our dining room became our tv room for the kids. Sofa is Ikea Ektorp. Ottoman is Pottery Barn Basic in white denim. Area rug and green nesting tables are also Pottery Barn.

I know the walls are empty. I was so happy to get this done, the pics and accessories had to wait.

I will post when I have added them.

Ikea Ektorp chair with white slipcover.

I had this little sweater pillow from last year. It actually goes on our bed, but after all of the work, I felt like I should throw in some winter cheer!

Our dining table was pushed over. It was in the room that is now the kids' tv room. That is the chandelier sitting on top of it. It is now next to the kitchen. I admit that it wasn't used at all in the other room. Outta sight = outta mind.

Our empty front room now. It still kinda looks this way! That is our black front door near the fireplace. This room is looooong and narrow. I have big plans, baby! Come back soon!

Thanks for stopping!

~Emily

I tried something different and I love it!

I am in love with Mrs. Meyers laundry detergent! I decided to try it even though it goes over my budget...a teeny bit. I bought the basil scent and find it wonderful. I have to get used to the smell. Everytime I move, I get a whiff of that sweet basil and wonder why oh why didn't I make the switch before? A friend gave me a recipe to make my own laundry detergent. I can add essential oils for a scent. I plan to do that and I will let you know which one I prefer. This recipe is for 5 (five!) gallons of detergent at 60 cents a gallon. Not bad on the budget if you know what I mean. I was totally outta detergent so that is why I bought the Mrs. Meyers. I have to order the ingredients for making my own. Will get back to you on that! For now, I must get back to rolling in the scent of sweet basil!

Smiles,
Emily

Big Ben's room!

I think I mentioned before that Ben's room is the previous master bedroom. This last photo is of the former master closet. We plan to remove the wall between the two rooms and make it a huge room for the boys. My oldest son, Isaiah also sleeps here.

~Emily

My daughter's nursery

My daughter will be three in September. I have only just started to think about her BIG GIRL room. She loves pink so the walls will probably remain the same but I plan to paint the trim and the planks on the wall. See that little lamp on the table. I made that myself!
Thanks for stopping!
~Emily

Wow! We are busy bees!

I thought I would get a chance to photograph our kitchen and dining area for you today. But, we chose to swim in the pool, walk the dogs, and mow the lawn instead. It was a beautiful day, and I decided to spend it with friends and my children. Good times! So...today, we will head upstairs to view the master bedroom and bathroom. Enjoy!

This is the view from entering our front door and looking up. There was once a log rail and this was previously an open loft. The previous owner worked from home and he used the loft as his office space. Wonderful, no doubt. Except there were only two real bedrooms and one bathroom for the entire sleeping floor. After consulting with our builder, we decided that we could put an addition over the formal dining room thus adding on a master bath and walk-in closet. Awesome! House sold! I didn't want to have one solid wall smacking me in the face everytime I looked up or walked in my front door. I decided that it would be best to add some windows -and natural light- to the master bedroom and still enjoy my view of the stars at night through the skylights. The windows are lined up with the skylights and couldn't be more perfect. My father-in-law, also known as Papa Joe in these parts, built the wall and made the windows to match the others in the home. I think Papa Joe did a bang up job!

This is what it looked like before the wall went up. My hubs and I decided that it wasn't (ahem) private enough. 

I have plans, baby. Big plans. Just you wait and see!

The master bath addition was completed before we moved in. Thank my lucky stars!

Two views of the master bath. Do you see that little lonely can in the corner? I am wondering why I left him there for the photo. Note to self: remove little lonely g-can when shooting a pic of the loo.

Thank you so very much for checking this out. I am so excited to be blogging about our home and everything to come. I am so pleased that you stopped by!

~Emily

Let us start with the first room you see as you enter our home!

The black door is our main entrance. Big change coming for that door!

I struggle with corner fireplaces. I find them difficult to design around. Particularly when they are immediately next to the front door and located in a long and narrow room. Can you say challenge? Bring it on!

These stairs go up to the sleeping level and down to our finished basement. I don't love much of the log in our home, but I love the stairs. They are beautiful in the morning sunlight.

These skylights were once located in our master bedroom. We added a master bath and walk-in closet addition to the office/loft area and walled it in. (More photos of that project later.) The skylights had to be moved because of the new roofline. They now wash the hearthroom with natural sunlight. I am thankful for that. This is a photo taken from the loft before we closed it up.

My hubs and I are about to "repurpose" this space in an entirely different way. I am very excited about it. The logs are what sold this home to my hubs. I don't love them. I am a traditional farmhouse, white everything (including walls!) kinda girl. We are compromising and although, these logs and tongue-n-groove will remain, The rest of the home will be transformed with paint, money, paint, time, and more paint! Thank you so much for stopping by!

--Oh, and I am going camera shopping this weekend! Can I get a whoot!whoot!

Here is the tour...of the exterior and gardens!

I do not have any before photos of the home and the work that was done before we moved in. The most important thing we did was make it into a four bedroom home. It was a two bedroom with a loft. Not good selling features in today's market. Fortunately for us, it sat on the market for almost two years. We got it just in time and we were able to look past the "negatives" to begin to develop a great vision for what this large and lovely home could become for our family. Don't get me wrong, it had fantastic bones and character right from the get-go. But, as my hubs has learned, I can't leave a single room untouched. Nope! Can't do it! So, I am taking this house to another level. I will do my best to explain as I go. Please keep in mind that I am only beginning my journey as a blogger, but have lived in our home for over two years now.

The gardens and landscaping also came with a great foundation and design. I love flowers and the veggies in the gardens were mostly evergreens of some sort. I spent all of last summer digging, moving, ripping, shoveling, etc. There is still a lot of work out there!
Lets start with the exterior and some of my favorite things...flowers!

My very first blog post...EVER!

Here it is! I am so excited about this. I've been contemplating starting my own blog for over a year now. After spending hours and hours researching just about every blog I could find -many of them multiple times- I decided it was time. I am what some would call a procrastinating-nervous-nelly-perfectionist. I've been told this is an attribute. I do my research. I have answers before I move forward. I am PREPARED! However, I also tend to wait for the "right time" or even worse, perfection. Both of which, as you probably know, never happen. My dreams and visions rarely came to fruition and I found myself focusing on regrets and unfinished projects. NO MORE! This blog is the beginning of life changes for me. The pursuit of happiness and good times are finally on my radar. Perfection is boring and seeking perfection caused my life to become stagnant, null and imperfect. Ironic, indeed.

I love my life. Please believe that. Those who know me might balk at my feelings of nullity. I have a handsome and loving husband. He is a fantastic father. My three children are beautiful and gorgeous, not to mention smart! We are happy, healthy, successful, in love, and together. All major accomplishments for many families in today's society. I am surrounded by friends and family who love me and adore my family. I shouldn't ask for more, right? Right. At least not from them. I am asking more of myself. Much more! I deserve to live up to my potential. It may take me the rest of my life, but I will do it!

I would like to welcome you to Left on Highland. Please be patient with me as I experiment and grow.  Embark on this journey of love, laughter, design and dogs with me!