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Garden, Home & Party

~ My love of gardening, making home comfortable and entertaining friends and family.

Garden, Home & Party

Category Archives: Decorating

{Home} Be careful what you wish for…refinishing wood floors

26 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, House and Home, Kitchen

≈ 42 Comments

Tags

hardwood floors

As a homeowner, I have always kept a ‘to do’ list of projects that require attention. About the time you feel like you’ve got everything in order, something will pop up that needs to be repaired or replaced.  I know you know this if you’re a homeowner.

Garden, Home and Party: Wood floor refinishing

On that list, for the past few years, refinishing our wood floors has been right at the top.  The wood floors are in every room of the house except the bedrooms. Fortunately, our house is small.

A week before Thanksgiving we noticed that the floors in the kitchen, going out to the side yard, were buckling slightly.  Long story short, we discovered our ice maker had developed a pin hole in the line running to the ice maker. Who knows how long it had been spewing this tiny spray of water?!

With “the holidays” around the corner we got our bids and told Cooper Floors we’d be ready to start the renovation by mid-January.  I’m thrilled with the result, and thanks to our sweet friend’s, Gretchen and Stu, we were able to stay with them the 4 days during the work of sanding, staining and sealing, making the experience pretty painless {thank you, Gretchen and Stu}.

The kitchen floors had to be replaced but our floor guy made sure it was interwoven with the existing floors so the new wood, compared to the old wood, isn’t noticeable.  All of the floors were sanded down to bare wood and stained and sealed in the end, giving us essentially new floors everywhere.

Garden, Home and Party: Wood floors refinished

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared pictures of our house so I thought I’d share the kitchen, where just a couple of months ago, there was chaos and construction, at least where the floors are concerned.

{I hope to get pictures of each room to share with you this year.  It requires some planning to dress each room for a photo op.  This may take more time than one might imagine}

As you can see, our kitchen is fairly compact but it works well for us.  We remodeled it 10 years ago…I still can’t believe it’s been that long.

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

Essentially a galley kitchen, it’s easy to maneuver when cooking.  It is a one-man kitchen, extra bodies tend to bump into one another.

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

My nod to spring (below).  I collect bird’s nests once the owners vacate the premises (when I can find them).  The quail eggs are real but store bought.  The Halcyon Days enamel egg is the first Easter egg I bought when I began collecting these boxes…that year Mr. B and I had gone up in a hot air balloon…this egg will be a reminder of that fabulous adventure.

Garden, Home and Party: wood florrs 2014

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

The nest in my antique French scale is not real, but the little wren keeping watch over the eggs was hand carved by my dear friend’s dad {Linda (Bainbridge Island) and Gretchen (Irvine)}  Linda and Gretchen are sisters and they have adopted me as a sister, which is special since I’m an only child. 🙂

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

Confession:  Since our kitchen is short on counter top space I’m hoping that somewhere down the line I can get the new Nespresso Vertuoline, which would streamline our coffee counter.  We’re big fans of coffee…so we have a drip coffee maker and a Breville espresso maker.  The Nespresso Vertuoline does both all in the compact confines of a beautiful machine.  I only wish this was a paid advertisement for Nespresso!

Garden, Home and Party: wood floor 2014

I must say, the best thing in my kitchen is the Viking Stove. I honestly didn’t realize there was any difference between one stove or another until we bought this hard- working lovely.

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

The black piece at the end of the kitchen is our pantry.  The woman who helped with the design of our kitchen recommended creating a pantry that looked like a piece of furniture.

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014

Here’s a close up of the floors, our large dog has broken them in getting up to chase something outside…we need to buy her some booties.

Garden, Home and Party: wood floors 2014Do you have any major projects on your list for this year?   I hope to take pictures of some of the other rooms in our home and share them with you this year.

{Home} Rustic, the new elegance?

19 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

rustic

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

I have zeroed in on my personal style preferences where home design is concerned.  Still, I can be stopped in my tracks when I spot a room, or the details therein,  that I love.  Recently, I stumbled across a series of rustic images on Pinterest.  I had fun searching out additional images for this post.

rus•tic  adjective  1. of or relating to the countryside; rural.  2. constructed or made in a plain and simple fashion, in particular.  synonyms: plain, simple, homely, unsophisticated

This cabin might be an example of crossing the line between rustic and primitive…

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

{via}

This one?  Maybe, but I sure love the setting.  You know how I love tree houses.

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

{via}

There is something so striking about a lot of what would be called RUSTIC style.  Sometimes there’s a fine line between rustic and primitive and maybe I’m not so enamored of the primitive side of design, but plain and simple can often lure me in. More often than not, I find rustic furniture and small architectural details left in a rustic state a look I could not only live with, but be quite content.

There’s a rustic look to the wood on the walls in this space.  The simplicity of the table and chairs, the bell jar lighting and the open-air feel are inviting.

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

{via}

Talk about kicking ‘it’ up a notch with the rustic look…I love this metal(?) vintage door used for the closet.  There’s got to be an interesting story behind this selection.

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

{unknown}

I can imagine a wooden tub in a cabin or second home somewhere…a back to nature getaway.

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

{pinterest}

True confession, the image below, while it has a chippy armoire, the only truly rustic piece is the coffee table.  I love the fireplace and charcoal gray velvet sofa so I had to include this room.

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic{pinterest}

This tub might be more comfortable, the sides have been adorned with reclaimed wood but the tub is a either porcelain over cast iron or acrylic-like.

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

{via}

The floors are very rustic in the bedroom below, too rustic?

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic

{pinterest}

Garden, Home and Party: Rustic{pinterest}

Thoughts?  Am I taking the year’s personal goal of “simplicity” too far?  

~Spring is only two days away!~

{Home} Television, then and now

05 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, House and Home

≈ 29 Comments

Tags

home theater, television

Hi Everyone!  Happy Wednesday.  Since I love the cooler months of the year, and since one of the many reasons for that is the excuse to watch more TV,  I thought it might be a good time to talk television…then and now.

Garden, Home and Party 10.2.13

I pretty much like to think of myself as a ‘live in the moment’ kind of gal.  I plan ahead, but I truly do try to avoid looking back too much…there are some pretty nasty pot holes that plague me (why didn’t I save 10% out of every paycheck from my first job at Judy’s boutique and all subsequent jobs, why didn’t I become a dental hygienist, and why, oh why didn’t I wear sunscreen when I was a teen?!).

Garden, Home and Party, Television, then and now

More than that, I swore to myself I wouldn’t be the kind of “older” person who declared, “In my day we _______”.  That kind of looking back bothered me when I was younger and still bothers me today.

But…and you knew this was coming…when did television sets become the size of the screen at the local theater?  I know technology has made great strides in the size of the overall piece, no more large tubes that create the equivalency in weight of an over-sized box filled with boulders.  The weight of most television sets is now very manageable, unlike a large set we once owned that took 3 very strong men to move.  But *we have definitely decided somewhere along the way that we have/need to have life sized images staring at us when they speak their lines that broadcast in surround sound.

*we – read people in general

As winter sets in I’m certain there will be more indoor time, which might lead to more television viewing so here you go…

Garden, Home and Party 8.25.13 television in the home

Garden, Home and Party, television then and now

{Better Home and Garden}

I’ve covered the topic of how to hide a TV in a room but I thought this might help with those of us who have thrown in the towel and now have Daniel Craig in HD, a TV picture that shows every eyelash surrounding those dreamy blue eyes, not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Garden, Home and Party: TV then and now

{Jennifer Brouwer Design via Home Bunch}

And for those that enjoy keeping up with sports while watching a movie…

Garden, Home and Party, television then and now

{source}

Garden, Home and Party, television then and now

{source}

Garden, Home and Party, television then and now{source}

Garden, Home and Party, television then and now

{source}

Garden, Home and Party, home theater{source}

Garden, Home and Party, television in design

{source}

Weigh in, do any of these speak to you?  They aren’t me, even though I love to watch movies and television.  I’d love to hear how you’ve solved this design dilemma…in my humble opinion, television is a necessary evil. And I’d love to know if you have a new favorite TV show from the fall line-up.

Garden, Home and Party, television in design

{source}

{Home} An honest reflection, mirrors; and a giveaway

22 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, House and Home

≈ 56 Comments

Tags

mirrors

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors, II

This isn’t my first post about mirrors, I really like the beauty they add to a room, large or small, mirrors and the frames around them are always lovely.  In many instances they do double duty with the size enhancing of a room they offer.

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II

{unknown}

But it wasn’t until I read my blog friend, Victoria’s {Restoring our 1890 Victorian} post about her “kingdom” mirror that I saw the impressive benefit a really big mirror adds to a room.  This post is for you, Victoria.  Just look at these mirrors, aren’t they fabulous?

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II

{Restoring our 1890 Victorian ~ Kingdom Mirror}

A trumeau mirror is the ideal combination of art and reflection…here’s a DIY if you’re crafty and would like to try your hand at making your own.  I would love to find an antique but I hear they are cost prohibitive.  {Maybe Victoria can find one for me on Craigslist}  Since it’s the search that I love I will continue to see if I can stumble upon a steal someplace.

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II

A shelf with a mirror behind doubles your collections, right?

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II

{New England Home}

Is this a great mirror? I love the black paint on the wall, contrasting with a white framed mirror, tub and walls.

Garden Home and Party: Mirrors II

{Roses and Rust}

I am especially drawn to mirrors that have lost some of their reflection by aging.  There’s something almost magical for me in mirrors that have aged this way.

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II

{via}

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II{via}

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II{via}

Garden Home and Party: Mirrors II

{via}

This room is so light-filled and simple…the mirror adds light and the feeling of space, don’t you think?  The clock is a favorite too.

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II{via}

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II

Ah, the patina of the mirrors and candle sticks…yes, please.

This vanity mirror is being put to good use…it looks so nice with the mirrored vanity and trash container (under the vanity).  In the reflection of the mirror you can see a diverging mirror.

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors II

{tumblr}

The mirror below was once a door…I think this is such a great idea.

Garden Home and Party: Mirrors II

{via}

This looks like something out of Versailles.

Garden, Home and Party: Mirror II

Do you have a favorite mirror?  So on to the fun part, a present to one lucky reader…

My birthday is January 27th and  I want to host my first giveaway.  I’ve thought long and hard about just what I’d like to give to one lucky reader.

I lean toward English country / traditional design, but there’s always been a hint of French country influence in my decorating.  Charles Faudree, who lost his battle with cancer this past November, was master of combining the two seamlessly.

A few years ago I was introduced to Carolyn Westbrook, “The French Inspired Home” through a blog site that loves all things French.  {This is where I would install a link if I could remember which blog site it was…apologies}.  So when I learned, a little late, of Westbrook’s newest book, Through the French Door:  Romantic Interiors Inspired by Classic French Style,  I thought it would be fun to offer a giveaway to my readers who may not know of her talents and would love to be inspired by her work.

Garden, Home and Party: Mirrors and a giveway

To enter, simply leave a comment.  I will randomly select a winner and announce it in my post on Wednesday, January 29th.

Happy Wednesday.  I hope your week is going well.

{Home} Rooms that enjoy a neutral palette

04 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Collections & Accessories, Decorating, Designer

≈ 26 Comments

Tags

Henhurst Interiors, neutral rooms, Tone on Tone Antiques

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

John Saladino ~ Pinterest

Since we’re traveling high speed towards Christmas, where more of everything is the norm, I thought I’d provide some calming images of rooms that are spectacular in their neutral color palette and prove less (color), is more.

I think I’ve mentioned in previous posts that sometimes the beauty that tempts most of us online can cause me us to loose focus on my our personal style preference.  I save images that, in my opinion, have the ‘wow-factor’ and I’ll occasionally go through these files to tidy up a bit.

What struck me during this most recent housekeeping session was the preponderance of rooms that have a neutral color palette.  Small touches of color seem to stand out when you have the calm of neutral walls and upholstered pieces. I clearly adore these rooms, maybe in part because my own home isn’t dressed that way.  I found so many striking examples I decided I needed wanted to do a post on the topic.

There are examples every where you look, simple rooms, often adorned only in natural woods, shades of cream or white paint and perhaps an accessory or two that beautifully completes the room.  No fuss, no muss.

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

South Shore Decorating Blog

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

South Shore Decorating Blog

Garden, Home and Party

South Shore Decorating Blog

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

South Shore Decorating Blog

I regularly visit 2 blogs that have mastered this style of design.  Loi of Tone on Tone shares the most amazing rooms with his readers. Sometimes its his home, sometimes he features rooms he’s designed for clients.  The talented styling doesn’t stop with his residence.  He owns an antiques store that displays the European furniture found on his buying trips.   I love the styling and the furnishings and wish he would sign a book deal so I could enjoy studying the details of each and every space he’s created.  Rizzoli, are you listening?

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Tone on Tone

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Tone on Tone

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Tone on Tone

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Tone on Tone

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Tone on Tone

The other blog site I find a generous helping of neutral in is Henhurst Interiors.  As a designer, Phyllis’ blog regularly features homes that exemplify the Swedish style.  She has a talent for streamlining the design aesthetic of a room while still making it so inviting and welcoming.  Her own home is one of my favorites.

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Henhurst Interiors

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral Rooms

Henhurst Interiors

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Henhurst Interiors

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Henhurst Interiors

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Henhurst Interiors

One of my close friends, Glenys, has recently moved into a beautiful home she and her husband built.  The interior of her spacious home is a wonderful example of the ideal:  Neutral colors and plenty of warmth.  I always marvel at how she manages to provide such inviting rooms without over saturation of any color.  It’s the perfect calm for this busy world.

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

A home featured over at Joni’s fabulous site Cote de Texas also reminded me of the beauty of neutrality.  This home is amazing, if you have time you might want to hit the link and check it out.  Ginger Barber did the interior design work of what  Joni calls, An American Farmhouse.

Garden, Home and Party: neutral rooms

Cote de Texas

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

Cote de Texas

I’ve always admired the living room of Randy Weeks, of Aidan Gray Home.

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

I’m not going to ask you to choose, I love both neutrals and some amount of color, but it is something to think about…could you live with less color/more color?

Garden, Home and Party: Neutral rooms

There’s no right or wrong answer, its your style preference, what feels like home to you personally, but it is fun to find myself drawn to both almost equally.

{Home} Rx for holiday stress, a long, hot bath

13 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Architects & Builders, Architectural elements, Bathroom, Decorating, House and Home

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

bath

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress

{Velvet & Linen}

As we’re on that fast moving train towards the holidays, I thought I’d offer one of my personal remedies for stress removal (even if temporary).  It’s not going to be news to anyone, but more a reminder that we all need me-time now and then.  Especially when there’s a ‘to do’ list a mile long and only 24 hours in a day, 8 of which are designated sleep hours, if we know what’s good for us.

So to encourage you all, and me, lets fantasize about luxuriating in a whirlpool shower baths at BC from time to time, here are some bathrooms that I dream about…

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath

{Inspired Design}

I used to take a bath every evening.  Sometime between the birth of our second child and moving into a house with a bathtub in the guest bathroom exclusively, not the master (who plans these tract houses?), the heavenly practice was nipped in the bud, rarely to be picked up again.  I have time for that delightful hour today, but somehow haven’t resumed the practice in earnest.  This time of year I’m reminded that it used to be the calming influence in a busy schedule.

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath

{House Beautiful}

Not a very good picture…when we renovated our guest bath we installed a tub about 6″ taller than the standard.  It makes a good soak a little better.  There’s a shower curtain for now, until Olivia (granddaughter + any other possible grand babies) grow, its easier to bathe them.

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath.

Isn’t this a glorious bathroom (below), light filled, lots of room.  I think I could definitely relax in this room.

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath

{unknown source}

Beautifully detailed stone-surround bath with mirror.  This is the definition of luxury, right?

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stres

{The Enchanted Home}

I’m beginning to notice a recurring bathtub style in my file.  I love the freestanding tubs…

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath

{Home Bunch}

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath{Ferguson & Shamamian via Design Chic}

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath

{for the love of a house}

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath

{Mary Watkins via T&G Interiors}

And for the showstopper favorite, in my humble opinion, a bath designed by the talented Gil Shafer…the wood and beamed ceiling offers warmth to the room and yet there’s plenty of natural light.  A bath in this room has the potential to lower one’s blood pressure!

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath

{Gil Shafer via Design Chic}

To maximize a bath’s full effectiveness we must have some wonderful smelling bath products…here are a few of my favorites…

I love the smell of pomegranate and the Crabtree & Evelyn line feel heavenly on your skin

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath

~or~

If you’ve never tried any of the Jo Malone products let me just say, they are so incredible, stop by the Jo Malone counter or visit their store, they are always helpful and generous with their time and test sprays.  I like the more natural scent of most of their products and while I’ve never bought the bath oil, the pump hand soap and the Lavender Amber cologne is a favorite.  The pump soap in the guest bath always draws comments.

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, Bath

~or~

Let’s face it, some of us L  O  V  E this season so why not bathe in the scent of the season with this Homemade Pumpkin Pie bubble bath by Philosophy?

Garden, Home and Party: Rx for holiday stress, bath

So tell me, do you already indulge in this simple stress reducer?  I do have a few good friends that wouldn’t think of skipping their evenings in the bath, some with a good book!  Don’t you just love this time of year?

I’m linking to Stone Gable: Tutorials & Tidbits & Southern Savvy Style: Wow us Wednesday

{Garden} Backyard birding and decor decisions

23 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, House and Home, Paint Color, Renovating

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

Master Bedroom

Backyard birding, renovating our bedroom

{via}

I’ve wanted to paint our master bedroom since the first of the year. Selecting a wall color is always a challenge for me and I lean on my friends for votes when it comes to the finalists once the samples are in place on the wall.  I’m really skilled when it comes to second guessing my own decisions.  So after discussing dark paint vs. light with nearly everyone, I decided to go with a darker paint and that resulted in narrowing it down to 3 colors that I really liked, but which one would win the beauty contest?  After discussion and a visual assessment, my friend Carla voted for the color I thought I liked best.  Confirmation with Mr. B and we now have Benjamin Moore’s Alexandria Beige on our walls, and most importantly, we love it.

Before…the room was painted a Martha Stewart/Green Tea color…you can see the botanic pics above the headboard.  They were a little tired and faded.

before picture, master bedroom

Inspiration…

master bedroom inspiration

{Atlanta Home [left] ~ House Beautiful [right]}

After deciding on a paint color for the walls I felt it was important to think about replacing the botanic prints that had been hanging above the bed for the past 20 years.

Sidebar:  I bought Mr. B a bird feeder for Father’s Day.  I know that sounds like it might be an odd choice but we love watching their antics, they’ve been very entertaining.  Since birds have become such a delightful pastime for us, I decided to search for some antique bird prints for the existing frames.  Not like we spend hours watching them but it is fun to go to the kitchen sink for a glass of water and see them carrying on.

backyard birding-Garden, Home and Party

backyard birding, Garden, Home and Party

backyard birding, Garden, Home and Party

…and Squirrel Nutkin visits regularly…

backyard birding, squirrel

Back to replacing the botanic prints above the bed {focus, Karen}…I lucked out, an online store I had purchased my guest bathroom botanic plates from sent me an email indicating they were having a sale and I was able to buy 4 Dresser, hand colored plates of beautiful birds of Europe.  Trillium Antique Prints offers a wide variety of antique plates from historic books.  In the case of my birds, when I received the bird prints, they had included the description pages from the book that they were taken from.

painting depicting woman with bird cage

{tumblr – Persephone’s Box}

Here’s the room with the new paint color and the bird-plates.  I’m still working on finding pillow shams and a quilt to use at the base of the bed.  The blue and white came from storage.  We had purchased the Pottery Barn shams and quilt when he was working in Northern California.  The jury is out on whether this is the best look for the room.

Garden, Home and Party: Birding and a new bedroom redo

Garden, Home and Party: New paint color and bird plates, MB

I apologize for the darkness of the photograph.  It’s not the brightest of rooms in the house and my new white shades seem to throw a bit of glare in the picture.  You get the jest of it though, right?

Garden, Home and Party: Birding and a New color for the bedroom

Garden, Home and Party: Master Bedroom, paint color

The bergere chair is covered in a bee fabric, I hope to find a pillow for that chair.

Garden, Home and Party: Birding and a new bedroom color

The lamp shades for our swing arm lamps are from Target.  They are part of the Threshold line and very affordable.  The shade is a white linen-look and I really like them.

Thanks for stopping by.  The room is a work in progress, but then isn’t that the way with a home?  

We leave for Austin tomorrow morning to babysit Olivia!  I’ll be back in time for a post next week.  Enjoy the rest of your week and have a wonderful fall weekend. ♥ Karen

{GHP} Happy Bastille Day

10 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Antiques, Bastille Day, Decorating, House and Home

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Bastille Day - July 14

Power and Style p. 149 Jacques Louis David, Emperor Napoleon in His Study 1812{Painting ~ Jacques Louis David, 1812}

I realize I’m taking liberties here, Napoleon may have been inspired by the storming of the Bastille, but he wasn’t exactly involved, but this painting is so fabulous and it certainly says “French” like little else.  Besides I’m using this historic French holiday to share totally frivolous images of beautiful French rooms, gardens and anything else that strikes my fancy.

Bastille Day, the French national holiday, commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which took place on 14 July 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the absolute and arbitrary power of Louis the 16th’s Ancient Regime. By capturing this symbol, the people signaled that the king’s power was no longer absolute: power should be based on the Nation and be limited by a separation of powers.”
http://french.about.com/od/culture/a/bastille-day.htm

There are so many things about French culture that hold appeal.  But for me, none quite like the influence on home decor.  Since that is a favorite topic of mine, I’m here to share with you some images I’ve found that, for me, are symbolic of the ultimate French comfort and style.

One of my favorite French-inspired contributions is toile…

Garden, Home and PartyGarden, Home and Party{Charles Faudree}

Garden, Home and Party{Jane Moore}

Garden, Home and Party{Home Bunch}

Atelier de CampagneGarden, Home and Party{Country Living}

Aiden Gray, below, incorporates a couple design styles but the room has the relaxed comfort of a French country home.

Garden, Home and PartyGarden, Home and Party{Jane Moore}

Garden, Home and Party{Jane Moore}

Garden, Home and Party{Splendid Sass}

Garden, Home and Party{Vintage by Nina Uslow}

Garden, Home and Party{Susanne Kasler}

Sprinkle a little French goodness in your day.

For all of my non-Francophile friends, July 14th is Bastille Day.

I’m home from Austin.  I hope to have some pictures for you of the new house our son and family are tackling.  It was built in 1971 (Barton Hills) and they will have work ahead of them, but it holds promise and has a killer view of Austin.

{Home} Furnishing a home over time

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, House and Home

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

furnishing

“I believe in living in a house and letting it give you answers.  You don’t have to put it all together at once.

Warning:  Keep this post out of the hands of husbands who might use it to detain  your progress with the decorating of your home.

Garden Home and Party: Furnishing over timeWhen Mr. B and I bought our first house I wanted it furnished with what I thought, at the time, was our style.  I wanted every room to be pretty and furnished.  So, we searched and purchased, as our budget would allow, and had each of the 3 bedrooms and living areas “decorated” for living.  Or so we thought.  As time went by we realized we should have bought a single larger sofa since the two love seats didn’t really work with our family and entertaining needs.  They took up space that could have offered additional seating beyond a two-person sofa.  I settled for stuff I later regretted purchasing.  Some of this was the inexperience of my 23 years and some was trying to blend our newlywed tastes.  Note: Mr. B, a long time ago, decided to leave most of the design decisions to me.  He’s such a wise man!

Anyway, I learned the hard way how to go about furnishing a home, which seems to have been my MO for many years.  Once I figured out that when you move into a home, it’s advisable to let the house give you its clues about what you and the house need to do to create the comfort and livability that we all long for.  It took me a couple of houses to realize that by holding off on purchasing ANYTHING that was a make-do piece, and that by saving my money and waiting for what my heart desired, was so much better.

So, I’m sharing rooms from my home and those that I drew inspiration from in decorating our house.

the foyer:

GHP: Furnishing your home over timeGHP: Furnishing your home over timeGHP: Furnishing your home over timeOur foyer isn’t large but the wall you see here separates it from the long entry hall.

the master bedroom:

GHP: Furnishing over timeGHP: Furnishing over timeGHP: Furnishing over timeThe wall color will be changed this summer, should I go with a light color or the darker walls in the first bedroom above?  Our bed is only about 8 years old, when we bought a new mattress and box spring we decided to switch to a queen from a king.  I like the fact that the bed has side rails and doesn’t require a dust ruffle, which when we had a dust ruffle on our old bed,  attracted dust bunnies and doggie hair.  [This is a true confession moment]

the dining room:

GHP: Furnishing over timeGHP: Furnishing over timeGHP: Furnishing over timeThe dining room in our home used to be the living room, for that story visit HERE.  The dining room table is the very first dining room table we purchased in 1980.  We had it refinished last year, but I still love the overall design.  the Windsor chairs were bought 25 years ago from an antique store that imported them from Ipswich…I love that story being an Anglophile!

the guest room:

GHP: Furnishing over timeGHP: Furnishing over timeGHP: Furnishing a home over timeGHP: Furnishing a home over timeThe story of how I finally got my blue and white guest room is HERE.  This picture was taken before the small pillows had been changed to a RL blue and white stripe.  The furnishings in this room have traveled with us for years.  The nightstand on the right is an antique, the nightstand on the left (which I realize isn’t very visible) was from a consignment store.

the family room:

GHP: Furnishing a home over timeGHP: Furnishing a home over timeThe Carol Glasser room [above our family room image] was the inspiration for the red and cream checked sofa.  Our walls were red when I made this upholstery decision and now I would like a solid fabric sofa…I can be patient, that’s the point of this post.

the reading room:

GHP: furnishing a home over timeGHP: furnishing a home over timeThe loveseat is one of the pair we first purchased.  It’s been recovered and restyled but it’s a well-made sofa and has served us well.  The other one was given to our oldest son for his first apartment, I believe he sold it on craigslist when he married.  So that’s the tour, we haven’t purchased a piece of furniture in years, the decisions we made early on taught us to buy what we love…not an original idea but on that works.

Tell me, did you have a similar experience in furnishing your home or did you know immediately what you wanted/needed and voila!? 

{Garden, Home and Party} Celebrating the season with a party!

15 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by Karen B. in Decorating, Entertaining, Flowers, House and Home

≈ 23 Comments

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Spring

Garden:  Spring is truly magical, with the seemingly overnight transformation of our outdoor surroundings from austere to vibrant.  I marvel at how quickly the yard can burst with color, including large doses of every shade of green.  I’ve shared with you how work in my garden always makes me happy.  I understand not everyone shares my enthusiasm, but those of you that delight in planting summer flowers or bulbs, understand the joy the warmer, longer days can bring the avid gardener.

Garden, Home and Party linky partyBethany HouseI planted hydrangea in the urn to the left of the door, it’s the softest pink.  Most of the flowers in the front yard are white or blue.  Pink was my nod to the fresh innocence of spring.  I’m such a dare devil with color, lol.

Garden, Home and PartyWhen the warm weather visits we spend a lot of time in our backyard. {Sorry about the glare on this image below, even though it was overcast, it was still very bright, one of the things I like best about spring}.

Garden, Home and Party - llnky partyI know this spring has had issues…like snow in late April in some parts of the U.S., but when it’s  perfect weather-wise, do you enjoy the great outdoors?

Home: Some of the steps I take around the house to seasonalize for spring:This time of year, with the addition of a few extra hours of daylight, the windows are open more often, the woolen throws are carefully stored and I put out some birds nests I’ve collected over the years.  {I only take the ones that are vacated by the family of wren, sparrows and hummingbirds}.  I’ve found most of them in our yard, and I love the intricate construction of each one.

Garden, Home and PartyGarden, Home and Party, nestI have a lot of roses in my garden, but surprisingly the ones that provide a constant source of flowers for cutting are the hardy, shrub Iceberg roses and my Eden climbing rose.  I love bringing fresh flowers into our home all spring and summer.

Eden rose, mantleorchid, spring linky partyI love the color of these orchids (above), a gift from a friend.  They look like spring to me, along with the twig planter, it almost reminds me of a nest.

Fresh fruit is another way to give a room a touch of spring.

limes

iceberg rose bouquet, spring linky party…and finally, I bring out my little bronze birds to remind me spring is in the air.

bronze birdsIMG_0054Party:  I like to cook, I find it to be a creative outlet.  Mr. B and I don’t usually eat large meals during the week.  My work schedule facilitates simple menus for the weekday meal.  By entertaining friends and family, I’m able to try new recipes with the added bonus of trying out new table settings (another passion).  Spring swings the door wide open with possibilities and options for mixing things up in the table setting department.

violet chinaviolet table settingblue and white tableblue and white table settingwild strawberry chinaout door planterI use this white planter (which you can barely see in this picture) outdoors when it’s not providing me with plenty of maiden- hair fern and ivy for a table arrangement.  I buy small pots of seasonal flowers and plug them in where needed.  It’s an inexpensive way to dress the table with natures best work.

So are you ready?  Share some of your favorite ways to enjoy the season…

Peter Rabbit for springI’ll be eager to see what you’ve been up to.

Note:  Due to my blog being hosted by WordPress.com, Inlinkz has you click on the icon below to insert your link.  Sorry for the extra step.  ~and~  a huge thank you to my friend Victoria “Restoring our 1890 Victorian” for helping me with this.

I’ll be linking up with Tracie at a Fishtail Cottage, stop by and say hi.

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