Merry Christmas to Us!



We just recently finished painting our living room and dining room, laying hardwood, and flipping our living and dining rooms around. It feels like a whole new house. It was a happy, happy day when we tore out the carpet that came with this place. The dining room reveal will come in the New Year...


BEFORE: Mr. CF and Macy Dancing with the Stars and AFTER: our new un-dining room.
I couldn't find any old pictures of this room without people in it. Our 1965 split level has a 12 foot addition on the south side of the house which makes the living room 24 feet long. The piano stayed in it's usual spot and now we can actually SEE that we have a fireplace. Refacing it with river rock is next on the agenda. After new baseboards that is. Those will come between Christmas and New Year's a la the Baseboard Fairies (us).



This was our fourth large hardwood project together. We have a great system and we do work well together. It is our 50 year old bodies that don't work as well as they used to. This floor is birch; we've installed oak, maple, and ash before. Our first house had a light floor like this and we liked it. It's a nice contrast with our darker wood -- and the dust doesn't show like it does on dark floors. Not that I let any accumulate, of course. ;)


These are our wall colours.



The view from the dining room entrance. I haven't hung any pictures yet and will wait until after Christmas. I need to figure out where they'll go and can't do that and bake at the same time.



I'm loving how bright and fresh the house feels. Macy put up the tree as soon as the floor was finished. We have a secret to fast and easy tree storage...


We fold up the branches (leaving the lights on) and wrap it with industrial plastic wrap (it's a two person job). You can stand it up or lay it down for the next 11 months. All you do next year is remove the wrap, fluff up the branches, plug it in, and decorate!



I made a new sign for the mantle on the weekend and have decided on skimpy simple decor. After recovering from the floor work I don't have the desire to haul out more decorations just so they can be put away in two weeks. I used a few boards from my stash of Herman's old fence boards for the sign and the green is our dining room wall paint. The fonts I used are Lemondrop and Pacifico (I use the old print it out on the computer and transfer letters to the wood method).



Our sweet robin friend is ready for any Christmas party in her wine bottle cozy. I picked that up on clearance last year for less than a dollar. The nesting snowmen and nutcracker belong to Miss Macy. They were a gift from her great aunt Marlene -- the source for many a good story and photo. Apparently for nesting cuties too.



I was so happy to finally find a white moose this fall. I've been wanting one for my Canada Day decor for ages. He is quite happy to come out for the holidays in his freshly crocheted scarf. Macy thought he needed antler cozies too. I'll hold off on those for a while.



Will photo bombs one of my most favourite holiday decorations. This light-up airstream is one of four that myself and three dear e-friends each light up every Christmas. 



When at my parent's place rummaging for red fabric for Wilhelmina's turban I spied this interesting jar on the mason jar shelf. I instantly knew it had a more exciting life in store if it came to live at our place. Mom tells me that this is what she used to sterilize the bottle nipples in when I was a baby. The vintage chenille Santa was given to me in the 60's by an elderly lady who's orchard we visited near Creston, BC. I couldn't have been more than six and I remember the gifting of the Santa vividly. I love how the light peeks through the holes in the lid.



I also moved around the holiday trailer. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier, but there is a hole in the bottom for a Christmas light, so now the trailer is lit from within. That tire still hasn't gotten fixed. I imagine it will take some time to get a 1940's part when all of the elves are still busy making toys.




I hope that you have time to enjoy this last week of holiday preparations for you and your family. Thank you so much for visiting!

Linking up to:


Rooted In Thyme
Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special

12 comments

  1. Tracy, I had to go back and take a second look, and will go for another round of peaks. Your makeover is fantastic. The colors you chose are so fresh-and the floor-WOW. I also love the little lamps over the fireplace-perfect. I love it all. Your little trailer decs are too cute. Now take it easy-you guys did a great job!

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  2. Wow! Just WOW! What a beautiful room you've created. Tracy the floors, the walls, the rearrangement, the tree and that amazing sign on the mantel make your room just the kind of place I'd love to hang out. (I'm not gonna lie, I'm probably going to copy your sign idea. The colors on your sign are perfect for the room and the simple decorations are just the thing. The vintage trailers are the coolest. Where did you find them? I hope you make many wonderful memories in your newly revamped rooms and I hope you have a great time getting ready for Christmas!
    Liz

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    1. Thanks Liz! I picked up the light up trailers on Ebay seven years ago... did a quick search and didn't see them on there now. I'll have to photograph the back of it too... it is darn cute. :)

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  3. Wunderbar! You are certainly on the Nice list as far as Santa is concerned, just look at the new goodies of room transformations.

    Bliss

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  4. It's beautiful! I love all the colors you chose and your decorations. It all feels so bright and cheerful - and soooo YOU!

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  5. The floors look beautiful, Tracy. I like your paint colors and the white woodwork too. I have a dining table at one end of my 24' long living room too.

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  6. Tracy,
    I completely missed this post!!! (The thumbnail picture on my blog is still showing up as your previous post and this one hasn't shown up on my blogroll.) A mystery.

    Anywho, your house looks AMAZING! You 3 are like the Tazmanian Devil working at lightening speed to get this transformation done. I love it all! The sconces, the sign, your tree...it's so cozy and inviting. And if the chenille Santa goes missing I can't help it. I trained Will before I sent him off, and he knows how to send small boxes through the mail. :@

    Your trailers are a fun personal collection that I don't see everywhere...except on our daughter's Christmas card. And the robin wearing a wine bottle cozy could only be dreamed up by you! Mr. Moose looks mighty handsome with his scarf wrapped around his neck, too.

    It's been fun getting to know you these past months and I'm looking forward to more of the same in the upcoming year!

    Merry Christmas to you and your family in your fabulous "new" house!

    xxoo, Vickie

    *Stork report: no news yet.

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  7. H Tracy,
    Your home is beautiful! I love the colors you chose, so inviting. Your right about the dust showing on darker wood floors! (Mine are cherry). Oh well, I keep saying we live in the woods, so don't have to be so worried about them! Thank you for leaving me your lovely comment and have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
    Nancy

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  8. What a great transformation. Love the new look! Great flooring and paint colors. It really did brighten up the place. Good job! I know exactly what you mean about your 50 year old bodies. Hubby is 61 and I'm pushing 60. We put beadboard on our living room ceiling last year and it about did both of us in. lol! Darn, we're not getting any younger.
    Hugs,
    Jann

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  9. What a beautiful change! I'm just now getting back to checking out my favorite blogs--have spent much time here this morning! So inspiring. . .
    Farmhouse Blessings for the New Year!
    Dru

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  10. I am just this a.m. finding time to catch up with some of my favorite blogs - and look, you have installed new floors! We are in the midst of a similar project in our house built in 1988 (by us). We have hardwood flooring stored in the garage and intended to remove the old, old carpet after the holidays. We had a bit of a snafu the week before Christmas and ended up with major soot damage from the woodstove! So instead of having the carpet cleaned, we tore it out. Two days before Christmas we were still pulling up staples but managed to get the wood furniture and Christmas decorations back in place. The upholstered furniture was hauled away for special cleaning. We probably will remember the Christmas when we sat on dining room chairs around the tree. Anyway, the paint colors and flooring look great!! I am inspired.

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  11. I can picture your family opening Christmas gifts in your cozy new room. It's beautiful! I love the light floors and wall colors; everything looks so fresh and contemporary and comfortable. Your wonderfully whimsical holiday decorations and displays and the pops of color are so uniquely you; I could see them anywhere and recognize them instantly as Crow's Feet Chic. I hope you had plenty of time to sit in your lovely new room and enjoy the satisfying fruits of your labors during the holidays. Happy New Year!

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I really appreciate your visit and comments! :)