Making a house a home

I've been eager to get the last touches done in my new room so it really feels complete. I spent a good chunk of the day today on some muslin curtains- I didn't even have to buy the material. My mother bequeathed a huge plastic tub of fabric from her basement to me a couple of months ago, so when I decided I wanted muslin curtains I went digging through the tub in case there was something in there that would work. Lo and behold, there was! just enough nice white muslin to complete the curtains. They were a little smaller than I would have liked and I'm still contemplating if I want to add a nice blue strip near the bottom or not, but I was very pleased by what the curtains did for the ambiance of the room. My predecessor, Meagan, is a nurse who sometimes works nights and sleeps all day, so there were thick black curtains covering the windows when I moved in. I rather like the white muslin better, methinks.

Here's a taste of what my almost completed room looks like. The only thing missing is a very long bed ruffle to cover the boxes under my bed, but I didn't have enough muslin for that and I didn't feel like using any of the crazy floral prints in the tub o' fabric. I'm rather pleased with the general effect- it feels nice and open and friendly and it feels like it fits my personality, too:






Outside of my cozy room, my favorite feature of the house is the built-in planter boxes, which are currently holding some of my paperwhite flowers. I just planted some wild tulip bulbs in there today, so hopefully the timing will work out nicely and the tulips will be looking good when the paperwhites are done blooming:



These things just started blooming today and it's been an excellent mid-winter pick-me-up for all of us already.



I also like how my bookcase looks nestled in the upstairs living room next to the fireplace.



We are very much an open-door kind of place- you should stop by!