House Peeping (House Tour): My Sister’s ‘Tuscan Style’ Home

I thought it might be fun to start the week off with a chance to be a (House) Peeping Tom.  Everyone like a good house peep, right? Who’s with me?!?  My sister’s tuscan style, rural home in Nova Scotia (pssst…international readers, NS is a province of Canada) is so lovely that I was sure you’d like to see it too!  I’m just back from a weekend trip there.

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The style of my sister’s home sways a more formal and traditional than mine.  The builder designed the home using Tuscan style architectural elements like arched doorways and large columns, which you’ll see throughout.

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The exterior of her home has signature Tuscan style trim and wooden shutters which you can get a sense of in this shot of our kids building a snowman for St. Paddy’s Day during a spring storm.

Even though my style is quite a bit more casual, we tend to like a lot of the same kinds of things.  But there’s one big difference in our homes.  Most of the time, my house looks, well, messy ‘lived in’. Her’s, on the other hand, always looks like it is staged for magazine photos.  Seriously.  If you were to pop in on her any day of the week, I swear her house will look just like these pictures I’m about to show you.

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Case in point: she had no idea that I wanted to take pictures of her house on this trip.  Yet, it looked exactly like this.To be honest, I didn’t plan to, but I couldn’t resist.

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I know, I know…both sickening and admirable all at the same time.  I did manage to convince her to let me show you some of the photos.

{Sisters always have good blackmailing material, lol.}

Isn’t her kitchen beautiful?  I love the bright pops of red against the neutral backdrop.

 She’s always loved to decorate with fresh flowers, and tulips are her favorites.  Doesn’t this look like it was staged for a photo shoot?  But no, people, I swear to you, it was not!  This really is the way her house looks on any given day. { Insert name-calling here.}

I’m absolutely in love with the color scheme in her family room: red, creamy taupe and apple green….

I’m not one for plaid in my own home, but it works perfectly in hers.  The drapes make the room feel so inviting.  Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she has a garden to die for through that window.

She decorated her mantel for Easter for the first time this year, which I like to think was partly due to my mantel addiction influence, lol.  Again, note the fresh tulips…so pretty.

Her piano room has the same, very timeless style.

Haha, did you believe me?!?

No, THAT’s not her piano room, lol.

(It’s actually the stage at the local university where my niece was rehearsing for a music festival!  Just thought I’d slip it in there to ensure you were still following along attentively with my text and not just admiring the pretty pictures!)

THIS is her piano room.  No red curtains.  But lovely just the same!

My niece’s room is so pretty.

It’s decorated in purples, muted lilac and pear green with a gorgeous hand-painted mural on the wall …

My sister painted this antique chair and had the seat reupholstered in green gingham.

My Dad (who you met in this post) painted my sister’s childhood desk white and added the glass knobs.  Now it’s a perfect nook for my niece to do her homework.

And check out this fab lamp that a very special auntie found for her room a few years ago…

My sister is in the process of converting my nephew’s room to a bigger boy room.

We took on ‘part one ‘of that ongoing makeover project on my last trip there.

It is gradually becoming ‘all boy’, with hockey memorabilia and favorite lego creations, but still feels bright and cheery with pops of red against a blue backdrop…and hits of masculine black here and there.

Just a few of his prized Lego creations…

They also have a great play space in the loft above their garage.

But, since I’ve already shown you way more than I planned, here’s one final picture! (If you can believe it, these only scratch the surface of other amazing spaces in her home!)

Aren’t those chairs fab?  A good friend of mine passed them on to me years ago. (Do you recognize them, DAS?) Well, my sister managed to convince me to lend them to her until my kids were old enough to use them.  Well, now that they are, my sister lives a flight ride away from me, so I guess she’s claiming squatters’ rights (literally), lol.  Funny how sisters can persuade you of those kinds of things, isn’t it?

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Hope you enjoyed my sister’s home as much I do!

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A big thanks to her for allowing me to feature it here. (Hugs)

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Do you have a space you’d like us all to have a peep at?  I’d love to make this a series if I can collect enough material.  If so, please send me an e-mail, along with a few sample pics, to kerri@apopofpretty.com.

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Until next time, enjoy house peeping!

Kerri