Hello! And happy December! I hope you all had a wonderful Fall break and happy start to the holiday season. We headed up North to Ohio and enjoyed a jam packed 3 day weekend with family and friends. The weather was absolutely perfect and cooperated the entire time we were there allowing for riverfront walks, downtown exploring and hikes in the woods. We ate like kings, saw a broadway show and even went to my high school reunion - what more can a girl ask for!?!

A full schedule to come home to? Lucky me, I have one - so thankful! So, today, I thought I'd share a recent one day project I completed for a new client here in Charlotte.

This particular client reached out to me in search of a fresh pair of eyes to evaluate her space and work with her existing furniture. Her main problem areas were her dining room, breakfast room and family room.

This is her dining room, which looks quite lovely and quaint in this image pulled from a previous listing brochure. But, in reality, it was a seldom used space for dining - it mostly sat full of clutter and her son's toys. Clutter and toys happen, especially when you have kids, but having it take over the house is less than ideal. And often keeps from making your home feel like the sanctuary we all really want it to be.

So we pulled a leaf from the dining table and moved the table and buffet into the breakfast nook.

The larger table replaced a smaller round table that didn't really fit the space. We pulled the rug from her porch, the lamps from upstairs and the tray from her family room. The round table will eventually make its way to the playroom to offer yet another surface for crafting...afterall, kids love a good surface.

Normally, I'm not a fan of the "formal living room", but in this case and in this house - it works. She needed a space of her own, without toys and clutter - somewhere to just be. So we created this lovely little room with some of her existing items. The loveseat and ottoman/coffee table came from upstairs, while the chairs came from the family room. We pulled tables from the office, her son's room and the family room. Art and accessories came from just about everywhere around the house. Now she has a space to enjoy, just inside her front door that really showcases her style. I'm not opposed to adding a tv to this space, we discussed layouts for that should they decide to go down that road at some point. After all, we want this to be a functional space, not just a pretty one.

In case you were worried, I didn't leave her family room in a state of disrepair - they have a couch and two chairs and now a lot more space for the kids to take over! In just two hours, we transformed her space without purchasing a thing. Now that's good value!

Special thanks to Cindy for inviting me into her home and giving me free rein to do what I do best. I hope you enjoy it!