I grew up in a very rural area of northern New Jersey where there is gorgeous farmland, mountains and a 45 minute drive to the nearest mall. Imagine that! It’s the part of New Jersey that I wish more people knew about because it was such a beautiful place to live – we even had a ski resort in my hometown. Since New Jersey gets generalized for places like Newark Airport, the jersey shore and anything you see in an episode of the Sopranos, most people don’t even know places like this exist.

Around this time last year, Frank and I returned to my hometown as we had done many times before, but this time was different. We were there to help my parents pack up what was left of my childhood home and get the house ready for their closing date. Ugh, it was so sad! Aside from saying goodbye to the home I grew up in, it was even harder because my dad built our home from the ground up. Every single 2×4, shingle, piece of siding, tile….everything was put into place by his hands. He even built some of the furniture in it! Frank was quite the trooper as I was balling my eyes out when we pulled out of the driveway for the last time. It literally took me a good 20 minutes to pull myself together as we drove out of town!

I will forever be grateful for the house my dad built and the home my mom made and will cherish the many memories I have from over the years.

Fast forward one year later and this Jersey girl has found a new home in Maryland. Over the last few months we’ve been busy making our house feel more like a home. We’ve been tirelessly working to renovate and decorate one room at a time. And while the house was already built when we bought it, my dad has been here helping to put his personal touches on everything; making it all that more special.

Today, we would like to give you a glimpse into our home and the progress we’ve made with one of our guest rooms. We lovingly refer to this room as “the green room”. When we moved in, the room was painted a bright green so that was the best way we knew how to differentiate between the second story rooms – “the guest room” and “the green room”. Then by the time it came to paint the room, it didn’t seem right to paint it any other color than green! I love this room because the furniture you see was my great-grandmother’s bedroom furniture and was also the furniture in my bedroom growing up. I LOVE being able to bring furniture with family history into our home!

Below you will find my inspiration for this room along with some before and after photos. The before photos are from our iPhones, so please excuse the image quality! I hope you enjoy this glimpse into our happy little home.

INSPIRATION BOARD

Sources (clockwise from upper left): Pinterest; HGTV Fixer Upper; Apartment Therapy; Benjamin Moore

 

BEFORE & PROGRESS IMAGES  (iPhone only)

AFTER IMAGES

Furniture Set – Antique; Brooklyn, NY (early 1940’s)

Picture Frames – Hobby Lobby, Home Goods & Michael’s

Bed Spread & Pillow Set – Overstock.com

Paint – Vale Mist by Benjamin Moore

Linen Pillow & Vase – Home Goods

Flowers – Magnolia Market

Mirrors – Target

Curtains – Kohls

And there you have it, friends! A little glimpse into our home. We plan on sharing some more of our renovations in future blog posts, so if you liked this one we would love for you to follow along.

Now tell me….how many of you have a favorite piece of furniture or home decor item that you loved from your childhood home? I want to hear all about it! Comment below on what it is and how you’ve incorporated it into your home today.