Refresh of my Mom’s Kitchen and Sitting Room; Before & After

Maria Killam and Mom Hellen (Junttila)

When I originally helped Mom decorate the first floor of her carriage house (built six years ago) we had found this area rug (below) as the inspiration starting point because she loves turquoise.

Then, we painted her upstairs living room coral and in the end, she much preferred the warmer colour.

This was the room she spent most of her time in, every time she went upstairs into her pink living room it felt so much warmer and happier to her.  As I said in my previous post, Mom could not be convinced to get a recliner that didn’t look like a recliner. She wanted comfort and that is what she got.

Before

We had bought the new, colourful (below) round area rug almost a year ago,  then I had the drapery and the coordinating coral gingham for the valances custom made. I reapeated the gingham as banding in the drapery panels (below).

The round area rug worked much better for this small space than the former rectangular shaped rug. The old rug was too small, and one size up would have been too big.

But we still needed to paint the walls, so one weekend in early Spring, I said “Mom, let’s just do it”.

After

Also, Mom needed a third comfortable chair in here. I’d come over for coffee in the wee hours of the morning and then my sister Elizabeth would traipse through the wet grass through the backyard to join us (Mom’s carriage house is on the same property).

What kind of a chair do you buy that would look good with a brown recliner? A faux cowhide barrel chair! It is light, easy to move around (which was important here) and animal prints go with everything.

Mom had my sister Lea’s dog over for a visit and she posed beautifully for us that day (above).

Before

 After (I found a vintage fishing basket for Mom’s knitting)

 

Before

Mom had a gorgeous basket of hanging pink geraniums outside, so I brought over some small vases. I’ve never had enough geraniums to fill any size of vase so I wondered if they’d die immediately but they lasted over a week! So pretty!

She already had the tulip art, we just moved it from her living room upstairs.

 

Mom and Dad’s wedding photo.

Mom does massage, and this is where my turquoise art ended up (below). The only colour left in this painting besides turquoise was purple which matched her lavender massage room.  These are the old drapes from her sitting room.

Mom’s massage room

Before

Mom decided she wanted white subway tile in her white kitchen (I know shocker). We repeated the boxed pleat valance above her window which was a nice way to bring the coral to the other side of the room.

She has pale grey laminate countertops which look quite white in these pictures.

Photography by Barry Calhoun

 

Mom often calls me over to have a glass of green juice from her abundant garden! Every summer her garden seems to get bigger and bigger. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up but my Mom knew how to spread the food budget so we always had plenty.

I think she got so used to cooking for a family of six, she still does that. She’ll make a huge stew or pot of soup and then tell us to drop by for lunch when we’re hungry.

Mom’s are the best!

Before

This dining set (above), she inherited from her late brother who passed away eight years ago, so it has lots of sentimental value. She loved how comfortable the chairs were but the oval table was way too big for the space.

So we found this pretty round oak table (below) from Craigslist the same weekend I painted the walls. It also came with a leaf, so she didn’t have to give up the possibility of accommodated a bigger group of friends.

And she was happy when I said it would work with her existing chairs.

Mother is a truly nurturing soul! During the years before I discovered what my creative career, or purpose in life was, I suffered badly in corporate jobs. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been fired many times, not because I didn’t do the job well, but because I was never good at the politics that always seem to be a part of working for someone else.

Mom always took my calls in the middle of the night when I was upset about something and couldn’t wait until the morning to call her (not that I did that very often). Not only is she my Mom but I’m lucky to call her my best friend.

If I had known I had an entrepreneur personality back then, I would have felt so much better about myself.

Most of us learn our craft by working for other people. Even back then, when I turned 30 and decided I had to be creative or die, I still spent almost 10 more years working in different retail positions, building my experience.

It was tough being 35 years old and making a low hourly wage in a retail job selling furniture, and then later selling paint. But that’s what you’d have to do without education or a system. And then 10,000 hours later, I had created a system that I sure wish I knew back then.

Maria Killam and Hellen Junttila (Mother and Daughter Photography by Sarah St. Pierre)

I love you Mom, you are the best Mom in the world!

Related posts:

My Mom’s Sooo Easy, Famous Corn Salad

My Mom’s Fresh Carriage House

Three Things I Learned about Design while Decorating for my Mother

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave