Mission Home

I've decided to finally undertake a big project. The gradual redecorating of my home in a way that really suits me. Yes, ME. Not that I've been a paragon of sacrifice over the years so much as I'm ready to really insist on what I want instead of taking the cheaper or easier route. I'm ready to work some extra hours and wait a little longer to get it just right. I'm even willing to pull the much-hated overtime to hire the work out if necessary.
The Mr. doesn't exactly love the style that I love most. He's trendier. He has definite opinions that I tend to negotiate with to try to make him happy too. But you know what? I am emotionally tied to my home. I need it to soothe me in ways he does not. It can lift my spirit or wear me down. My home really is my everything other than the people I love. I actually long for it when I'm at work or away. I love home.
The home I want is decorated in the Arts & Crafts style. If you aren't sure what that is; check out the pic above. Or Wikepedia. Or think of mission style, Stickley & Frank Lloyd Wright. And be assured, it is NOT about making arts & crafts. Heaven forbid.
Something about this style just speaks home to me. It won't earn me lots of compliments I'm sure. It's not much except plain old homey. Warm, worn and sentimental. As I move along I'll post pictures and you'll wonder just how this place means so much to me. Rest assured it does.
I live in a 60+ year old bungalow in a less than charming neighborhood but it will accommodate my plans nicely. The interior will get its due over the winter and I'm hoping to do some landscaping in the spring. I've waited long enough to create a nest for my heart.
The kitchen is first on the list. We've installed new oak cabinets in a honey warm stain. Black counter tops flecked with brown and gold. We've replaced our appliance with stainless. The dining set is mission style and matches the cabinets. My mom made me these awesome curtains out of a vintage-looking fabric with lemons on them. I always say they are my "I Love Lucy" Connecticut house curtains. This makes sense to me, don't ask me why. Anyway, they look like they might've graced the windows of a bungalow or farmhouse in the forties or fifties and around them my kitchen is taking shape. We're having some friends put in ceramic tile around the sink and stove walls to add some depth and texture and then we'll paint the walls a warm golden beige. It's not at all matchy matchy...that's precisely the point. An old painting of lemons found in my Gramma's basement will hang on the wall as will a painting she did of The Farm. It won't look exactly (at all)like the pic here but there's the general feel of it.
When it's done, maybe I'll share the results with you. I used to hope for a bigger house but I'm settled in to my little bungalow now. Finally I know what I need to make it not bigger, but truly mine.