Sanctuary

It's a long story about how we found the house we live in now. It was right after my heart bypass surgery six years ago. We knew we were going to be moving. (anyone else get these gut feelings?) And we had been looking at houses for a year. We were waiting for God's perfect timing but I was worn out with it. Then the heart attacks happened and at the most "unlikely" time in my life I was faced with a monumental move.

I couldn't lift boxes. Had been in the hospital for a week with pericarditis, an inflammation of the lining of the heart pericardium. Generally speaking I was like, "God, you have to be kidding!" But no, He wasn't. Everything happened, and my husband and  I felt like we were on a "ride". It was going to happen no matter what.

Our Living Room really is just called "the Sanctuary", because it is a place that you can really feel the Presence of God. I try to keep it a place to come and rest and read. Because of that, whatever I do in here needs to be glorifying to Him. Lee left me a wonderful compliment on my last post. And it is true, He is honored in this place.

This clock and chair were an anniversary gift

from my husband right before we moved.

This is an old armoire that we had stripped and I refinished. We bought it the third year of our marriage. It's like a Chinese puzzle box, It breaks down into about 10 pieces. It holds a small television and a CD player and stereo. I love to listen to music in here, and because it is central to the house you can hear it in every room.

The above photo is a more true idea of the color of the walls. In some photos they look gold, but they are a custom khaki color, my favorite, by Benjamin Moore.

I love this pair of jacquard sofas. They are so comfortable you could sit there for hours. The shape and layout of this room calls for symmetry and balance. It has windows on three sides with an entrance to the sunroom and kitchen.

Photos of the girls and their weddings.

As you can see, I like to "layer" things,

To me it adds depth, richness, and personality.

This Christmas I did something totally different. I used browns, creams, silver and gold. The faux hydrangeas are found in several places here, and in the Entry and Dining Room.

I had decorated everything when I found this vintage "foil" portrait of Jesus. It truly was a "gift" this year, as it personified exactly what I was doing.

Below is our 2009 Christmas Card.

Our Christmas tree in the daylight...

And at night.

I put it in my black goat cart to give it more height.

Bar area where I keep a lot of my vintage silver.

View to the Entry

Metal Crucifix that I found this last summer

 at the flea market.

Back to the Entry. The Dining Room is on the left.

I've had several people ask to show

complete views of the rooms.

(Anne, the vacuum shot is coming.)

Sometimes I forget that I concentrate mostly on vignettes. Hope you enjoyed the visit to my house, I'd love to have you all here in person!

I still have a few more areas

to share downstairs.

Hope you are having a wonderful week

in preparation for Christmas Day.

Blessings from my home to yours,

Debra