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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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January 24, 2015

Modern Country Cottage Home Tour

Happy, happy Saturday! We are so excited to show you another amazing home today in our ongoing Parade of Homes Series!

This week we are welcoming the incredibly talented Shannon from AKA Designs who also happens to be one of our newest sponsors here At the Picket Fence. We know you will love her home as much as we do so let’s get to the tour, shall we?

modern country cottage home tour from aka designs

Hi there At the Picket Fence readers! Shannon here! I’m a Canadian writer, interior designer and homeschooling momma of three. I am the writer and half of the creative team (the other half is my handy hubby, Dean) behind the lifestyle blog, AKA Design. I am also the author of Bloggers & Brands, the blogger’s guide to pitching and working with brands.

I’m so excited to be here to share our house tour with you!

Come on in…

landscape progerss

We moved into this house in December 2012 – just 10 short days before hosting family for Christmas. Home ownership has been such an adventure. But now that we’re settled into our house I love spending time changing the decor with the seasons.

THE LIVING ROOM

We adore that this house has both a living room and a family room – something we’ve never had before. The upstairs living room has thus far progressed from not enough seating to ample seating for at least six. We built the Barn Door, Mantel and Coffee Table ourselves. I love cozy spaces so I always keep plenty of throw pillows and blankets around for cool nights!

AKA DESIGN LIVING ROOM

RUSTIC CREAM LIVING ROOM

AKA DESIGN LIVING ROOM INDUSTRIAL SHELVES

LOG SLICE CHALKBOARD

More of Our Living Room

DINING ROOM

We sold our old dining table, chairs and hutch to the buyer of our last house. They were totally suited to the space. Which gave us a blank slate to decorate again. Dean built the farmhouse table and I finished it. We also DIY’d most of the other accessories in the room.

chalkboard wall

HUTCH WALL DINING ROOM

COTTAGE FARMHOUSE DINING ROOM HUTCH

More of Our Dining Room

KITCHEN

Our kitchen’s realtor photo threw me for a real loop when we were first looking at houses. I just couldn’t imagine such a tiny kitchen for a family of five. What didn’t show up was that there was a good 8 feet between the fridge and the closest wall! We are finally just about finished making it over…although we’re just about to start tiling the wall behind the floating shelves with counter-to-ceiling white subway tile!

kitchen progress fridge

kitchen progress

kitchen open shelves

breakfast bar

kitchen from side door

More of Our Kitchen

BATHROOM

Last spring we were chosen to participate in Creating with the Stars. Although we didn’t win, we did make it to the final round in which we redid our main bathroom. Who am I kidding? It’s our only bathroom! I have rather a black thumb so faux plants and flowers brighten up the space and will change with the seasons.

aka design bathroom wall

AKA Design bathroom detail shelf

vintage industrial bathroom vanity makeover

MASTER BEDROOM

Our master bedroom is the room that was most finished first. It is usually the last room most people work on, but with the kids getting older and taking over more of the rest of the house, it was important to me to have our bedroom looking great! We stenciled a feature wall, created the reclaimed wood look headboard and whipped up some easy envelope pillows to pull it altogether.

rustic chic master bedroom

aka design master bedroom

tallboy dresser

More of Our Master Bedroom

Aside from our family room and kids rooms, which are currently a mess, that’s our house!

Thank you so much for having me, Heather and Vanessa!

Be sure to pay Shannon a visit at AKA Design for more ideas and inspiration!

6 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Home Tour, Parade of Homes Tagged With: parade of homes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shelley @ Calypso in the Country says

    January 24, 2015 at 6:08 AM

    Beautiful home! I love the colors and the overall welcoming feel!
    Shelley

    Reply
  2. barb. says

    January 24, 2015 at 1:42 PM

    Is it awful not to be able to pick a favorite space? I know that if I were invited to your home you’d think a cat had got my tongue because I would just spend the whole time wandering around and loving what I saw. My total admiration for all that you do and that you have such a pulled-together, gorgeous home – all blessings to you and your family in it.

    Reply
  3. Jane @ Cottage at the Crossroads says

    January 24, 2015 at 1:48 PM

    Loved seeing more of Shannon’s home. It all looks very warm and cozy, and I especially like the continuity of colors used throughout the home.

    Reply
  4. Rose L. says

    January 24, 2015 at 2:56 PM

    LOVE the kitchen cabinets!!! Now want to do that look!

    Reply
  5. Caroline @ Shutters and Sunflowers says

    January 26, 2015 at 4:57 PM

    Looks so cosy and stylish, loved seeing all your great ideas! Caroline

    Reply
  6. Chrissy says

    February 1, 2015 at 11:26 AM

    Wow…love ShAannons style!! So much to inspire! Great blog…all the best,Chrissy

    Reply

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Front door wreath….✔️ The very last Christmas dec Front door wreath….✔️

The very last Christmas decorating to be completed and one of the most important since there’s nothing I love more than welcoming people into our home this season.

I bought the wreath for $15 from a wonderful local vendor, reused my favorite bells and added a velvet bow in the color I’m carrying throughout the house this year.

Do you buy a fresh wreath each year or do you use a faux wreath on your front door? 

#frontdoorwreath #christmaswreath #christmasporch
The first day of December and the first Sunday of The first day of December and the first Sunday of advent. As we enter into a month that can be filled with stress, anxiety, worry and even sadness, let us turn our hearts towards the ONE who came as the ultimate, undeserved gift. Because it’s all about Him. 

“Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.” (Corrie Ten Boom)
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” ~ G.K. Chesterton

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours dear friends! 🍂
Its that time of year again. I share this recipe e Its that time of year again. I share this recipe every November because it’s JUST.THAT.GOOD! 

And I have a confession ...I’d rather have cranberry sauce smothering the turkey on my plate than gravy any day!! And this, this right here? Well it’s the best (and easiest!) cranberry sauce ever!! I eat on crackers and sandwiches and sometimes just by the spoonful. It’s so yummy! And I’m just so very thankful for all of you that I’m going to leave the recipe right here instead of making you go to the blog to get it. I promise you won’t regret having this on your Thanksgiving menu but be warned...you may find yourself up in the middle of the night sneaking some helpings of this deliciousness. Or maybe that’s just me!

Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh or frozen cranberries
2 oranges
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup white wine.

Instructions:
Wash and pick over berries, removing any that are soft. Peel and dice oranges removing any seeds. Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a full boil. Reduce heat and continue cooking until cranberries pop open and mixture is thickening.
For best flavor, prepare and let stand for several days before using.

Gobble, gobble!! 🦃
It’s that time of year again!! Chex Mix will be ma It’s that time of year again!! Chex Mix will be made on repeat for the next month and I’ve figured out the secret to getting the BEST flavor.

Want to know what it is? It’s all about being EXTRA! 

Take the base recipe up a notch by using a full stick of butter, extra tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and an extra 1/2 tablespoon of Lawry’s seasoning salt.

I guarantee you’ll never go back!

You’re welcome. 😉🎄

#chexmix #chexmixupgrade
Happy Friday!! I limped my way to the end of the w Happy Friday!! I limped my way to the end of the week and I’m feeling especially grateful for the twinkling lights around my home which give me so much joy.

The great debate on social media over whether or not Christmas decorations should appear before Thanksgiving is one I just let roll on past me. Because I am so unbelievably thankful for this life, my family, my friends, this country, this home and most of all my Savior. 

Having my home all ready to welcome the next sacred season doesn’t take away one iota from my ability to express gratitude on the official day set aside each year where we do that collectively.

And when the last slice of turkey has been eaten and all of the leftovers put away, I’ll be over here ready to be fully present in the month of December and soak up every bit of it! 🦃🎄
IKEA vs Heirlooms: Why we need family treasures “ IKEA vs Heirlooms: Why we need family treasures

“My children have grown up seeing antique books on a coffee table, vintage toys in their bedrooms and even pieces of furniture that were all passed down from one generation to the next. But as my nest gets closer and closer to being empty, I’m keenly aware of the fact that many of these cherished items might not be as welcome in the homes of future generations.”

*Read the rest over at @cleartruthmedia*
All of my CTM articles are saved in my highlights
Not too long ago, someone told me that they liked Not too long ago, someone told me that they liked it better when I just talked about decorating and didn’t mention anything else. This person preferred me to keep any opinions or convictions to myself and just focus only on content about home decor, crafts and recipes. Aside from the fact that I’m always astonished that people feel so free to say things like that, I do agree that it would be a lot easier and more palatable if I didn’t talk about things like a Biblical Worldview, apologetics and the nature of reality itself. For one thing, Instagram wouldn’t throttle my account with its algorithms that are skewed to diminish voices like mine. It would be much easier to be so tethered to this app that I change everything I post to fit into its preferred framework. I would be asked to be part of influencer groups and activities like I was years ago. But I’m not that person anymore. Yes, the core of this community will always be an emphasis on homemaking which will include decorating and recipes but I can’t separate that from the core of who I am as a follower of Jesus Christ.

It would be so much easier for me to just show you the latest Amazon products I’ve bought and tell you to “comment” to get the links. But I’m not called to take the easy path. Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”

I truly believe that so many have been lulled into thinking that the narrow gate wasn’t really all that narrow. But, it’s never been more obvious that it really is. And every day I seek to stay on that very narrow way.  More than ever before, I believe that our world needs to know that there is objective truth and a solid foundation to stand upon as we navigate our lives. My role as a homemaker is predicated on that foundation and everything else flows out of it. Talking about these things isn’t going to get me lots of views here. 

But I live for an audience of ONE.
The first time we hosted my in-laws for a meal was The first time we hosted my in-laws for a meal was in 1998. I was a new bride and eager to impress them. It did not go well. Let’s just say there was a bit of a garbage disposal mishap. 

It’s been over 25 years since then and I’ve learned so much about what really matters when it comes to hosting and caring for my family well during the holiday season. 

The peace we long for in our home begins with our hearts. If you want your home to feel more peaceful during the upcoming holiday season, I have five things to consider that will make that not only possible but predictable.

✨ Read the full article over at @club31women ✨

#club31women #wearethehomemakers
Here, in my little corner of social media, you won Here, in my little corner of social media, you won’t find a lot of unboxing of brand new items for Christmas. 

What I’m unboxing are the decorations in the attic that  I’ve had for years and figuring out how to give them a fresh look. I added new lights to an old pre-lit tree that no longer worked because I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. I’m putting out a different set of mugs at the hot cocoa station and the advent candles are arranged with greenery from outside.

As our feeds are filled with so.much.stuff, I want to offer you a reprieve. A place where you will find less emphasis on what’s happening in our homes and more on what’s happening in our hearts.

More than ever before, I can see just how much people are needing the hope found in Christ and that will always be the focus here. 

So, while you may not see me unpacking a massive, new tree or telling you to “comment for the link”, what you will see is encouragement to turn our hearts to what matters the most and let that reflect in every corner of our homes this season and all year long. 🌲

#wearethehomemakers #homemaking #homemakerschristmas #club31women
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