Guests and The Big Green Monster

There was a time when I used to have 10+ people staying in my home overnight for Christmas. Back when the kids were small and their cousins would all sleep over....there were makeshift beds everywhere! 

But kids grow up and have their own lives and families get busier and traditions change. 

I still host my family for Christmas dinner but don't have as many overnight guests any more. 

Mom and Dad don't come back from Florida for the holidays. 

My sister and her family, with her grown kids, tend to travel back home after dinner. 

My other sister may or may not stay for Christmas night with her two boys. We'll see. 

Times change. 

Either way, there's room for everyone in my new house. We can have a big old fashioned sleepover if the cards fall that way. 

I never did share my guest room with you. Do you wonder why?

Because it's naked. 

Who wants to see a naked guest room? 

Well today's the day. Naked or not. Here it is. 

See what I mean? There is NOTHING hanging on the walls. At all. Completely naked. 

I wasn't going to show it to you at all except the sun was shining so beautifully through the windows this morning and I had to grab the camera and start snapping. 

Also, my all time favorite EVER piece of furniture is in the guest room. 

And about a billion plants that I moved out of the living room to make room for Christmas decorations. 

Did I mention I love plants? They make me happy. 

This piece of furniture has been in my last 4 homes. 

It was in my yoga room when I was married. It held my yoga DVD's and workout equipment. 

It had a spot of honor in my living room when I got separated - it held dishes since my itty bitty kitchen had no storage. 

And it was in my kitchen in my last rental. It held dishes and glasses. 

When I bought my house I stressed and stressed over where this piece was going to live. 

Because no matter what, I had to find a home for this baby. 

Do you have a piece like that? I call this one the Big Green Monster. 

I hoped I could use it in my dining room but it just didn't work. Too huge. 

I thought I could use it in my lower level but it didn't work. Too tall. 

But you know what? It works perfectly in my guest room. 

It stores my guest towels and sheets perfectly behind the glass doors. 

Lavender sachets make it smell so lovely when you open the doors to take out a set of clean sheets!

The lower doors hold some other bulkier bedding as well as a few misc items that don't have a home yet. 

It fit just perfectly on this wall next to the window. Don't you just love it?

And you know what? I get more comments on this piece than any other piece of furniture I own. 

Do you know how much I paid for it?

Nothing. It was free. Someone was throwing it out. 

Can you believe that? 

I really need to find something to hang on the walls in here, though. 

Nothing has jumped out at me. 

It will happen in time....you can't rush these things. The layers take time. 

Meanwhile, it's a sunny, happy room and I love having a dedicated guest room. 

When you look out the window you have a view of the horses in their paddock and their little barn. What's better than that?

When you come out of the guest room you meet my little happy fiber optic snowman (thanks, Mom!) and a couple of other little holiday items. 

And the guest bath is right across the hall. 

It's a sunny, happy room also with that skylight above the shower. 

I didn't have to do a thing but paint in this room - the previous homeowners had already renovated it fairly recently. 

Wait, I lied - I changed out the sink and toilet. 

Even the guest bath has some artwork on the wall yet there are many walls in my house that are just crying out for artwork. 

What's wrong with me? I have a hard time committing to hammering that nail into the wall!

So....welcome to my guest space. 

Let me know when you're coming and I'll turn the bed down for you. 

Slip Covered Sofa Review

When I was buying my house I spent ages researching sofas - I had an idea of what I wanted but kept rethinking it and driving myself crazy. 

No surprise there. 

The problem is that the living room is such a weird shape - it's narrow and kind of long with access to the hallway as well as the front door and dining room. Walkways need to be left clear. 

Initially I thought I would get a sectional. But the more I thought about it, the more it bugged me that I felt it wouldn't be flexible enough for the space. I needed to be able to move things around until they felt right. 

The only thing I was very sure about was that I wanted a sofa with a machine washable slip-cover. In a light, neutral color. 

I read every review I could find online. I obsessed over it. I had three sofas to buy for my house (one upstairs and two downstairs) and I knew I was only going to do this once. 

These sofas better last me a long, LONG time. I'm not doing this again. 

Therefore, they needed to be very classic - simple, clean lines. Timeless. Nothing trendy. Neutral color - again, timeless and classic.  

I ended up choosing a sofa from Ethan Allen for the living room - I didn't need a sofa bed in there and I knew that sofa would get the most use - that was always going to be the one I spent the most money on. 

For the lower level I chose two of the same exact slip-covered sofa bed from Klaussner  - they were sold locally and I fell in love with how comfortable they were when I sat in them in the store. 

They look very similar to the Ethan Allen sofa but the price was far less, which was perfect for the lower level. 

It took quite a while for the sofas to arrive and I was so happy when they finally got delivered. I felt like a college kid prior to that - such a mish-mash of furniture stuck here and there!

Fast forward 6 months and I wanted to let you know what I think of having a slip-covered sofa. 

This weekend when I was puttering I decided it was time to wash the cushion covers on the living room sofa. 

I woke up with this thought and straight away I stripped the sofa until my living room looked like this. 

The first cushion was a little tough to strip but once I got the hang of it the rest of them went rather quickly. 

I put them right in the machine - all the covers fit along with the throw pillow covers, with room to spare. I washed them with Tide Ultra on a regular wash, and dried them on the delicate cycle until they were just slightly damp. 

Back onto the cushions they went - all the reviews I read said to put them back on when they are still slightly damp to  make it a little easier. 

I have to admit I was a little worried they would shrink and wouldn't be easy to put back on. 

But it was so simple - no problem at all, took me less then 10 minutes to do them all!!

They came out lovely and soft, and of course my whole living room smells like fresh laundry now so that's a big plus!

Prior to this washing, I was spot cleaning the cushions as needed. Which worked really well but it was time for a full cleaning. 

Because of this. 

Yup - you got it - these little punks are pretty convinced that they own this house and can hang out anywhere they want to. 

Another reason I chose sofas with slipcovers! I wish the chairs had slipcovers also, believe me!

All of my throw pillows are from Pottery Barn - I buy the inserts and different pillow covers that I can swap out when I get tired of looking at them....or the seasons change....or they need to be washed. Let's face it, pillow covers are a heck of a lot easier to store than a bunch of random throw pillows!

I love that I can change up the look any time I feel like it. I can bring in a ton of color or back it down to neutral again. 

Whatever floats my boat. 

Now that I know how easy it is to wash the covers it's time to tackle the lower level sofas. 

I think I'll have the girls take care of that project. After all, it's their space. 

Mommy has other things to do. 

Like hang curtains in the garden cottage. 

Priorities, right?