A Few New Home Purchases
We’ve been making a few changes to our home–some small and some larger–and it’s been fun to see how even minor things can make a big impact in our day-to-day life. During the pandemic, we made a few major changes: we refinished the floors, repainted some of the main rooms in the house, and reorganized our space. There are still a few things we need to work on, but I’m a firm believer in taking our time to do things right the first time. As my preschooler grows up, there are some things that we already own–a silk loveseat, antique end tables–that we can start beginning to cycle in… or at least think about cycling in! In the meantime, I’m willing to wait.
However, there are a few things that we have added that work well now and will work in the future too. Here’s what we’ve recently added.
Our new rug
Our old living room rug was significantly damaged when we refinished our floors last summer, so we were on the hunt for a new rug for a long time. We finally found this rug* on Etsy and it is absolutely perfect! (You can see a few snaps here.) Most of the rugs are made to order (the shop has a few ready-to-ship options, but be sure to message the shop owner to ensure yours is ready to go if you need it immediately) and we received photo updates as our rug was being handknotted for us. The quality is incredible and this is truly a piece we’ll be able to pass down to our child. It’s thick enough to play on the rug without the wood floor beneath being noticeable, and it’s already been cleaned easily by the next item on my list.
New drinking glasses
Now that we’re hosting a number of playdates at home, I wanted to buy more child-friendly (aka shatterproof) glassware. I had these Duralex glasses* growing up, so it was fun to bring a piece of my childhood into my present day! They have a great weight and heft to them; they are substantial in a very nice way, and it makes the act of drinking a pleasure.
Candles
I love to light candles (definitely an influence from 2010s blogging culture!) and now that we’re more in a regular bedtime routine with my preschooler, it’s pleasant to light a candle in the evenings and enjoy time with my husband! Nothing groundbreaking or original here, but it’s really nice to remind myself of this little ritual and make the time to enjoy it. I’m still a die-hard Diptyque* fan (this is the one early 2010s trend that apparently stuck!) and I also adore Cire Trudon* candles. I try to always get new scents in small sizes for stocking stuffers, and it’s a great way to test out a new scent before committing to a large candle, especially if it’s inconvenient to go to the store in person. I also still love Capri Blue* for a more reasonably-priced everyday candle.
New art
My husband has a great eye for art and an eclectic and interesting collection filled with antique oils, pieces from artist friends, and more. While all his pieces are interesting, none of them was quite right for our living room. We spent a lot of time searching 1stDibs*, Chairish, and Etsy*, as well as our local antique shops and galleries, for pieces and finally stumbled across the one pictured here. I love it!
New linens
We updated a utility table in our kitchen with a new tablecloth from Julia Amory and it’s made a big difference! For those of you with sewing skills, my friend Paris from With Love by Bug shared her tips for making new table linens in the first-ever Fewer & Better blog takeover, linked here! It’s a great way to breathe new life into a space, and creating your own means you can choose exactly the fabric you want.
