We recently updated our master bedroom and bathroom with a beautiful French Country look... but we did it on a budget. We put up gorgeous toile wallpaper in the bedroom and added some paint to the bathroom for dramatic results.



Let's look at the before picture of our bedroom.



The walls were painted a light moss color and there was no character in the room. The shutters and view are beautiful, but the space needed some color.



The wallpaper we used is Ashford House Champagne Toile. It is a beautiful traditional toile in French blue that depicts idyllic scenes of 18th century country life. The beautiful blue colors makes us feel like we are in a cloud. It is very romantic and pleasing to the eye.



When I walk into the room, I feel like I'm entering a charming bed and breakfast in the French countryside.

We will eventually put paintings on the walls, but this will take some time. For now, we're enjoying the wonderful change!

The sheets are by American Blossom Linens* (Jennifer20 for 20% off), the silk pillowcases* are by Lilysilk (Daily12 for 12% off), and the linen ruffle bedspread sits at the foot of the bed.

Let's have a look at the bathroom. Here is the before...





Our bathroom was quite dated and had a lot of clashing dark colors that fought with the lavender walls.



Because we could not afford to renovate the bathroom with new floors, countertops, and vanities, we simply had the cabinets painted (Crème by Sherwin Williams), added handles, changed the light fixture, and painted the walls. These small changes made a big impact and the bathroom looks so lovely and serene now. The wall color is Navajo White by Sherwin Williams.


We replaced the old and dated theatre strip lighting with a more modern lighting fixture.


The towel set is a gorgeous basketweave Turkish towel* set by Riverbend Home. The pretty shell bath rugs* are also from Riverbend Home.

Also featured in the video:
Bend Soap Co.* natural bath products DC10 for 10% off
Cellar Door Candles* Oregon Lavender & White Verbena
My earrings are the Genevieve pearl earrings by SKYE* code Jennifer20 for 20% off

I hope you enjoy today's video.

News
📍I am a guest on the Homemaker Chic Podcast with Angela Reed and Shaye Elliott. Have a listen to our lively conversation in their season premiere episode.

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On Instagram
The Madame Chic books on Instagram...

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Hello everyone! There are so many issues with our world right now. Even so we must work to find the good in every day. So I wanted to share some really great books I read a few months ago. Have you heard of the Madame Chic books? They are written by @dailyconnoisseur I really enjoyed every single one of them. Plus she has a great YouTube channel. She is very inspiring. Her books are available on Audible and Kindle as well. Happy June💗 #winonacottage #bookstagram #homemaking #thedailyconnoisseur #jenniferlscott #pinkofcoursedarling #vintagelifstyle

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Comment of the Week
Dr. Kathleen T. Ruddy writes, "Jennifer, even though I do not home school (my children are 50 and 48!), I found this information very interesting, especially #10, which reminded me of a lesson that I learned one day during my surgical internship. I was assisting Dr. Levinstone (an attending surgeon) during an abdominal operation in which the patient had had prior surgery and, as a consequence, had internal scars and 'sticky' places (called adhesions) that were slowing me down during the dissection. Being inexperienced and unsure of myself, I soon got bogged down in one spot and was struggling - clearly struggling. Dr. Levinstone put his gloved hand on top of my gloved hand to stop me for a moment and said, "Kathleen, when you get into difficulty during an operation stop and go somewhere else. (Obviously, you don't do this if a patient were bleeding to death in front of you: you press on.) Stopping at a difficult spot and moving somewhere else for a moment will give you a chance to recover from the frustration, will continue to advance the operation (i.e., you're not wasting time), and will allow you to return to the difficult place with a refreshed and more confident frame of mind." I remember looking at Dr. Levenstone with such a grateful heart, knowing that I had just been gifted with a jewel of a pearl - which I've used on more than one occasion over the past 30 years! Oh, and I immediately took his advice, and it worked. Oh, and I joined Skillshare. Thanks so much for broadening my horizons yet again and allowing me to share a distant, fond memory and relevant story with you. Kathleen"


I loved your comment, Dr. Ruddy. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

Thank you for watching our video. I would love to know what you think of our French Country budget makeover. Have you ever decorated with toile? Let us know and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on The Daily Connoisseur.



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When we bought our house nearly two years ago we knew we would have to ultimately redo the kitchen. Several appliances were malfunctioning, a few drawers were broken, and we were not happy with the decor... at all. When the most recent appliance broke (the stove), we decided it was time to redo the kitchen.



It took three weeks and what resulted is the most dramatic renovation Ben and I have ever done!

Here are a few shots of the kitchen before the remodel.


We are very grateful to have such a large kitchen. We did not like the darkness of the granite and the darker cabinets, however. We also had another conundrum... the seating in the kitchen was a major problem for us.



Ben, the girls, and I found ourselves sitting at the barstools to have our meals... we would usually be facing a sink of dishes. Meanwhile, the boys, would be in the high chair and another chair closer to the ground. We were all scattered, yet we didn't want to put a table next to the barstools because it would be too cluttered. With the really little kids we do not dine in our formal dining room everyday. With the upholstered chairs and carpet, it's just not practical. You will see our solution a few pictures down from here...



And here is the "after"


Ben and I were interested in grey cabinets. My mother-in-law recently renovated a flat in England (more on that later) with grey cabinets and she did such a beautiful job, it inspired us to do the same with our kitchen here. Funny enough, though we intended to have grey, the color really turned out to be blue. We love the shade and feel that is very unique. It is a custom mix so I do not have a name for this paint. Ben calls it "duck egg blue".



Here you can see the solution to our dining conundrum. We had our contractor create a built-in bench in the island where the barstools sat previously. Then we added a farmhouse table and bench on the other side (these are from Living Spaces). My friend, Lisa, gave me this idea after hearing about our seating problem. Thank you, Lisa, for this wonderful idea!



The countertops are white quartz and the backsplash is white subway tile. The grout we chose is rolling fog. I picked brass knobs and pulls after having a discussion with my lovely friend, Hilary from Old World Home. Hilary has excellent interior design sense and she thought brass would look smashing with the grey/blue cabinets. She was right!



The appliances are Kitchen Aid and the sink is cast iron Kohler. We were able to say on budget by keeping our cabinets and just replacing the doors. We are thrilled with our new kitchen and have been enjoying it immensely. I hope you enjoy today's video. I would love to hear your thoughts on our dramatic kitchen transformation!

News
📍The Chic Assignment for June was announced this weekend. I hope you'll join us!

📍Join me for the Mapp & Lucia book club's final installment, which will take place this summer. You can read my book club announcement here.

📍Check out my affordable eCourses: The Ten-Item Wardrobe, Chic Financial Principles for Debt-Free Living, and How to be Efficient at Home.

On Instagram
Madame Chic and a beautiful latte...

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• Reading + Coffee + Flowers = Therapy ♡ •

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Comment of the Week
Ashlyn writes, "I am a new follower of your blog--I began following you last month. I just want to say that I love the Chic Assignments! The one for May was my first, and I loved doing everything. I could not wait to wake up today and see this month's. I can't wait to begin! Thank you so much for what you do!"

Ashlyn, thank you for taking part in The Chic Assignment and welcome to the blog! I am always excited when new people join us because it means our community is growing. Thank you!

I hope you enjoyed today's kitchen transformation. I'll see you soon!



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