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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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August 1, 2011

Design Challenge presented by Common Ground!


A Design Challenge. Now who among us doesn’t have one of these on a regular basis? You know that corner of your bedroom you just can’t figure out how to decorate. Or, whether you should paint your fireplace or rearrange the mantel. Should you paint some of your traditional cherry furniture white or leave it alone?  Or, you could be like me and have a WHOLE ROOM that is a design challenge!
That is why we were so excited when Debra from Common Ground introduced her Design Challenge Series…
Common Ground
where blogland can come to the rescue of the “design challenged”! Every week Debra will be showcasing a different challenge and we bloggers (and non-bloggers for that matter. grin.) can help solve the challenge submitted.  Isn’t that awesome?! Do you know how much people PAY for design advise, and now we have an opportunity to receive it for free!
So…not only did Debra invite us gals At The Picket Fence, along with several other fabulous bloggers, to be sponsors of Design Challenge…but gasp! I get to BE the first challenge! Yikes! Exciting and scary all at the same time!
As most of you know, I have s.l.o.w.l.y. been working on a DIY kitchen remodel. So, of course once you start on one room all the others start looking a little…well..in need of an update…to put it nicely.  Enter..my formal dining room.
dining-room-entry
It is the first room you see when you walk in my home. 
dining-room-kitchen-view
and it also looks straight into my (in the process of being) remodeled kitchen.
I would love to have it blend better with the Vintage Formal Farmhouse feel I’m going for. Is that even a design style, or did I just make that up? grin. And, I am hoping YOU will be able to help me!

So, how can you help my ho-hum dining room you ask? You did ask right? grin. WELL… you can visit Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday this week, where Debra will be sharing my dining room as the inaugural Design Challenge and offer your suggestions and ideas….did I already say, “Yikes!”?
I thought it would be fun to give you some idea of the look I’m going for to get your creative juices flowing. You can visit my Pinterest Dining Room Board to see some of my inspiration! If you can’t see it, just click to follow us on Pinterest!
So, be sure to join us over at Common Ground this Friday..where you can tear apart gently offer suggestions for my dining room makeover and then I will reveal my newly redesigned room in the next month…or so! Smile 
We would love it if you’d help promote Design Challenge by placing the Design Challenge button in your sidebar!


Thanks for joining me today at the picket fence and we look forward to seeing you at the Design Challenge at Common Ground!  And don’t forget about our $100 e-shopping spree giveaway from Joss & Main going on all week here at the fence!!
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This post is partying at:

DIY by Design: Sizzle Into Summer
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays

21 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Design Challenge, Good Ideas

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Becca says

    August 2, 2011 at 9:09 PM

    What a fun series! I’m sure you’ll receive fun suggestions for your already beautiful dining room!

    Reply
  2. Kim @ Savvy Southern Style says

    August 2, 2011 at 9:19 PM

    I looked at your board and obviously you want wainscotting. I say get to work.

    Reply
  3. Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says

    August 2, 2011 at 9:32 PM

    Ooooh, exciting Heather! I’ve already got ideas just from looking at your room that involves moving stuff around a little. I’m heading off to study your pinterest board! I have a feeling you are going to get so many ideas you won’t know where to start! : )

    Reply
  4. Judy says

    August 2, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    What a great idea. I looked at your board and love all of the inspiration photos.

    Reply
  5. Debra @ Common Ground says

    August 2, 2011 at 10:19 PM

    Thankyou thankyou! This is going to be so much fun…can’t wait!!! I’m heading off to your Pinterest board!
    xoxo Debra

    Reply
  6. pamq says

    August 2, 2011 at 11:22 PM

    Very cool idea!

    Should be very interesting to see/hear all the thoughts of bloggers and then to see what you do with them!

    Always fun to find out how differently everyone sees the same thing…….

    Love all the ruffled skirts on the chairs on your Pinterest board!

    Reply
  7. Shannon Jacobyansky says

    August 2, 2011 at 11:25 PM

    Hmmmm…you’ve got my creative juices flowing. This is my second time to your blog and I LOVE IT!!! Please visit me at my new blog…a work in progress…only a few days old at…

    http://www.grapevinewreath.wordpress.com

    I’ll be back!!!

    Reply
  8. Anonymous says

    August 3, 2011 at 7:30 AM

    wood floors and wainscotting

    Reply
  9. Debbie says

    August 3, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    This sounds so fun! Of course, I can’t offer suggestions since I’m so remedial. I sure would love to have the help for one of my design space nightmares, though.

    Reply
  10. Paula Jo @ Home and Garden Decor says

    August 3, 2011 at 6:17 PM

    Gosh, this sounds like fun, but interesting. I’m anxious to hear what people suggest.

    Reply
  11. Lazenby Family News says

    August 4, 2011 at 1:48 AM

    Oh, this just became my fav blog. Happy, happy…joy joy! I LOVE everything!

    Reply
  12. Ivy and Elephants says

    August 4, 2011 at 2:09 AM

    Wood floors and crown moulding are a must. Wow this is going to be so much fun.

    Paula

    Reply
  13. Shannon Jacobyansky says

    August 4, 2011 at 2:11 AM

    Hey just wanted you to know that I posted your blog on my blog today and wrote a brief article about Heather’s dining room dilema…lol…hope it sends some traffic your way! Thanks for visiting my blog!

    Reply
  14. At The Picket Fence says

    August 4, 2011 at 2:21 AM

    Hi Shannon! I hope you see this. 🙂 Can you post or email me your blog name? I would love to read what you wrote about the design challenge and share it on our facebook page. I tried to email you but your profile is set to no-reply. I think you might have left your blog name for us before and I am so sorry that I can’t find it. Looking forward to seeing what you wrote!

    Heather

    Reply
  15. At The Picket Fence says

    August 4, 2011 at 2:43 AM

    Found you Shannon! Ignore the post above. 🙂 Heather

    Reply
  16. Michele Smith says

    August 4, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    How exciting! What a great series. I’m looking forward to popping in over there on Friday and reading all the suggestions…hopefully I’ll have some for you myself LOL

    I also want to thank you for your sweet comment and keeping me in your prayers. You are one of the sweetest women I have met here in the blogging community.
    Michele

    Reply
  17. Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking says

    August 4, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    This sounds like a lot of fun! Such a great series!

    Reply
  18. Kim @ Savvy Southern Style says

    August 4, 2011 at 9:25 PM

    Thanks for hosting girls. Great features.

    Reply
  19. Anonymous says

    August 4, 2011 at 11:13 PM

    woodfloors,wainscotting,crown molding,paint a light blue

    Reply
  20. Sue says

    August 5, 2011 at 8:02 AM

    Your pinterest has some beautiful ideas. Your kitchen looks GREAT!

    Reply
  21. Natasha in Oz says

    August 8, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    I can’t wait to see what you come up with. What fun!

    If you have 5 minutes to spare please drop by and check out my latest post. I have started a new Weekend linky party where you can link up posts about your favourite songs or your your favourite Pinterest Pins, or even both! This post would be so great to link up!

    Best wishes and happy weekend,
    Natasha.

    Reply

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I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

What have you baked so far during this time of social distancing? I’d love some new ideas!
There are a LOT of people out walking in our neigh There are a LOT of people out walking in our neighborhood right now (but still social distancing!) and she decided that she wanted to bring them some joy and put a smile on their face when they pass by our house. Also, the square with ‘say no to coronavirus’ is priceless. 😂 I just love her so much!
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