House Tour: House Snooping At It All Started With Paint

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Happy Friday!  Are you feeling Fall where you live yet?  We’ve certainly been feeling it here in central North Carolina.  I don’t think that I’ve had my air conditioner running all week.  It has been wonderful to throw open the windows and let the fresh air in!

For today’s house tour, we’re going to snoop around Linda’s house in Chicagoland.  I first met sweet Linda at the Southern Bloggers Conference last year, but only had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with her and forge a friendship with her this Summer at Haven.  And I’m sooo glad that happened!  If you were there, you may have seen us holding down one of the tables in the lobby every night.  Wonderful memories…

It All Started With Paint

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Enjoy!

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I want to start with a huge, enormous, ginormous thank you to Suzy for inviting me to be a part of her amazing House Snoopers series! I’m honored …

and humbled.

Seriously. I mean, you all know the caliber of homes she shares here on her blog. I can only hope to hold a candle next to them.

The lighted part of the candle will need to wait and be seen …

As an introduction, my name is Linda and I blog at It All Started with Paint …

 

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I’m a born and bred Jersey girl who moved to Chicago twenty years ago to follow my heart …

 well, more like to be with the man who held my heart.

 In 1995 we bought our starter home. Just one mile west of Wrigley Field.

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And we never left.

Oh, and lest you lose sight of the fact that we actually live in the city of Chicago, here’s a reminder that our neighbors are just an arm’s length away …

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from either side.

It’s a good thing we like them!

I love to dress up the front porch for Halloween. And, no, I haven’t jumped the gun. This is last year’s design … and it features my favorite decoration. The bats flying across the door …

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When you climb the steps, you’ll be greeted by my painted-on porch rug. This project and tutorial was one of my very first blog posts …

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Once inside, you’ll be greeted by my board and batten entry. For too many more years than I’d like to admit, this was a sad space. A poor first impression. And a wasted use of space.

But now it’s not only pretty … but functional too. A place to corral all the kids coats and shoes and backpacks …

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After my husband (and my heart) Mike and I installed the faux board and batten wall treatment in our entry – using only hammers, nails, and lots and lots of hard-earned sweat equity – I decided that I needed it EVERYWHERE!

So I ran out and bought a brad nail gun and compressor.

I kid you not.

I’ve gone a bit batty for board and batten. It just seems to suit our 100+ year old home. So I installed it in our recently remodeled living room …

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I just love how the navy pops against the crisp white board and batten. This room makes me smile each and every morning when I come downstairs …

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And I installed it in our recently remodeled dining room …

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A remodel that was inspired by my amazing navy and white striped rug …

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When you turn around, you’ll see that I haven’t yet installed board and batten in our kitchen …

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The kitchen.

*Sigh*

Where it all started. And where the blog name came from. My “honey, I think I’m going to paint the walls in the kitchen” steamrolled into a new quartz counter top and new glass tile back splash and new sink and faucet and ripping out and replacing the rotted out sink basin and me painting the builder-grade oak cabinets …

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Funny thing … I’m gearing up to give the kitchen a second makeover. Tee hee. Don’t tell my husband. 😉

I see chunkier top molding. I see a lighter cabinet color palette. I see a chalkboard wall. I see exposed shelving. I see making more functional use of that load-bearing wall that separates the kitchen from the dining room …

It’s on the ever-expanding to do list.

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 Can I sigh again?

Then there’s the teeny, tiny first floor powder room.

It got in on the board and batten action as well …

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 But it’s probably best know for my painted bathroom sink …

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 That’s right. I actually painted the sink …

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Yeah. I’m crazy like that!

The upstairs bedrooms and baths are still in the planning stages, with the exception of my teen son’s room. Once he hit high school, it was time to grow things up. His only request was orange walls …

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The drop cloth drapes were my favorite project … and my favorite post. It’s a homage to my amazing, beautiful, creative, and talented sister who lost her battle with breast cancer seven years ago …

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 I’ll end this house snoop out back. On the screen porch …

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 A refuge for us Chicago dwellers. A place we dream about for nine {and some years ten} months out of the year …

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 Even Ernie the beagle likes to get in on the action …

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 Thank you Suzy for snooping my home!

And on a personal note, I had the great pleasure of spending time with Suzy at a blogger’s conference this past summer. She’s just as beautiful and gracious and kind and authentic in person as she is on her blog! SmilePin

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Thank you so much, Linda, for allowing us to snoop inside your awesome home.  Your whole house is just wonderful and I adore your newly remodeled living room and dining room.   And btw – your sweet words brought tears to my eyes.  🙂

Feel free to grab the Featured On House Snoopers button for your blog.

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4 Comments

  1. Suzy – thank you so much for featuring my home!!!! Meeting you and the “southern bloggers” and hanging in the lobby was the highlight of Haven for me! 🙂 Linda

  2. kirby carespodi says:

    I just LOVE Linda…and her house. She is one of my oldest (not age-wise, but otherwise) friends in the bloggy world!

  3. Very nice… luv the pop of blue off the white 🙂
    Thanks for letting coffee and I walk through. ”
    Happy Friday!

  4. I just LOVE Linda’s house! Thanks so much for sharing it Suzy! I especially love the way Linda uses color! The orange, navy and white running throughout is so fresh and classic!