Sunny Day Nest

I've been thinking that although my "About Me" space over there on the right states that part of the slant of this blog is about me trying to nest with style, I've actually had very few posts devoted to the subject. Back in October, there was this post, after I entered Apartment Therapy's Fall Color Contest, but that's been about it.

Unless, of course, you count my disastrous recent riff on puffy couches. (And I don't.) But, happy news on that front: we ordered a couch this weekend. It'll be here a week from now. No picture yet, but I will say one word, which is a bit of a surprise: sectional.

Anyway, despite the lack of posts, we've been adding a few new items, including the sunburst mirror above my fireplace. I love it, and love how it opens up and changes the whole feel of the room, especially compared to the the big, oblong wood-framed mirror it replaced. I know that it's placed a bit high right now in relation to the fireplace, but we plan to add a floating shelf/mantle soon, and that will fix the problem. (I'd show you the entire fireplace area for context, but then you'd see the collection of 3 large plastic fire trucks that were parked in front.)

Also, we finally replaced my awful oval, country-style kitchen table. You know those kind that have the white tile squares on top? That was mine. And I was so happy when I first bought it, because back then, it replaced the truly heinous dark faux-wood table with steel legs, circa 1978, that my husband owned when we got married. But my country table with its country chairs no longer fit the space or my vision at all...especially with all that horrible rubber grout that was impossible to clean.

Here's my new table. It's big. It opens up with a leaf and gets even bigger. Sorry for the bad picture -- I took it late in the afternoon and the light in the room was awful. Finally, here's my new old Belmont radio that my dad gave us the last time we visited. It's occupying a proud place on the living room bookshelf, and despite some dings and having survived from at least the middle of the last century, it still works, just needs a new cord, so that my house won't burn down if we leave it plugged in. But what I love most is that the channel-changer things display the call letters of some of the old radio stations here in the Southern California area, like KHJ, KNX, and KFI. You push the buttons, and the dial goes to that station's frequency.

Pretty high-tech, huh?

As far as the AT Fall Color contest went, I didn't even place, but did make it onto their site, which was honor enough. I sent in my entry just hours before the deadline, as did many, many people that day, and only a very few of us procrastinators made the cut. Unfortunately, I really wasn't thrilled with their First Prize winner. It's so....studied and careful for me, and has that very chilly space-pod look that many people associate with modern design. Is it me, or does it remind you of a very flavorless watermelon? But that's subjective taste for you, as many, many people loved the winning entry. And there were so many wonderful, creative entries overall, beyond even just the other runner ups.

So, there's my nesting update for you. We have many plans in the works for this year, including, of course, incorporating the new modern sectional into the great room, turning our sadly un-visited and largely wasted guest room into a playroom, and even (gulp) an Ikea-flavored kitchen redo. Fun, fun, so stay tuned.