common ground : lantern

Showing posts with label lantern. Show all posts

Saturday, December 21, 2024

Merry and Bright in the Christmas Dining Room

This seems to be my favorite look for the Dining Room and easy to put together, since I've done some variation of this over the last 5 years that we've been at this house. It has my go-to elements like my Christmas plaid and burlap holly tablerunner combo, one of my lanterns, and my tried and true holly topiaries.

French Country Lantern Centerpiece

Welcome to the Christmas Dining Room, friends. This last several years I've been pushing myself a bit to come up with new ways to decorate this room. I have relied heavily on Tartan Plaid in my Dining Rooms for years, but recently I've tried to move toward a more French Country look that relies more on neutral, natural garden elements.

Patriotic Tabletop Vignette

My Dining Room table hasn't changed since early June and the Summer Home Tour, so I thought I'd do a quick change up for the July 4th Holiday. All the elements were within easy reach, and I still have my indigo ticking table runner here, so I grabbed my vintage flags and some red transfer ware.

Christmas Dining Room

I love this time of year,

but getting dark around 4:30 can be frustrating,

especially when you're editing photos and realize

that you need just one extra shot.

I tried to make use of the lower light

and just add a little twinkle.

So, let's take a peek at the Dining Room,

all dressed up for Christmas.

On the Mantel with Pears and Pumpkins

So, I had to look back through my list of posts to see exactly when I had last shared what was happening on the mantel. Last Christmas? you're kidding me? Basically, I've left the main elements the same and have just changed up a few things in the center. I have to drag out a step stool and climb around to work on this monster, so it's just been easier to ignore it.

Contemplating a New Fall Centerpiece...

That's what is going on...

I'm thinking about a new centerpiece display for the Dining Room Table. I haven't really made a commitment yet, because I'm not ready to start bringing the turkeys out. But since October is flying by, I'm putting together some ideas. It's a work in progress...

New Lighting for the Entry

One of the first things I noticed about our new house when it was on the market, was the lighting. How about you, do you look twice at the light fixtures? Beautiful and functional lighting fixtures are like "house jewelry"; they add pizazz and set the mood for the spaces they're in. You can take a plain box of a room, and give it character and direction for decor with a chandelier, sconces, a pendant, and even table lamps. They can literally "light up" your rooms!

This was the Entry (below) when we first bought the house. The light fixtures, especially the one here in the Entry, were pretty much "Plain Jane". Nothing wrong with it, but it just wasn't memorable. The Entry is our chance to make a statement, and this one really didn't have much to say.

I had packed up my chandelier from our previous Dining Room, and had found a small Frenchy chandy for the kitchen, but what I really needed for this house, was Entry Lighting. I had my heart set on a lantern, but it needed to be in a dark bronze finish to match the rest of the metal accents. So I started searching the Internet to see what was available. About that time, Lamps.Com contacted me about checking out their lighting. I was thrilled because they graciously sent me this wonderful lantern, the Larkin Three Light Pendant Lantern by Kichler that made my Entry go from blah to beautiful!

(I love the illumintation shadow on the ceiling!)

Just take a look at some of the wonderful Entry Pendants and Chandeliers that are available from Lamps.Com. On trend and beautiful... and they won't break your budget! This first one is my Entry Lantern, only in brushed nickel.

Here are more great Entry Pendants and Chandeliers from Lamps.Com that are available. These are some of my favorites and most are under $300.00.

As you can see, they have so many wonderful pieces;

something for every decor style and budget.
Here's a direct link to the Kichler Lighting page.

If you've been thinking of updating your lighting, or just want something more functional or eye catching, check out Lamps.Com. Be sure and check out the new links for Furniture and Home Decor that Lamps.Com also has for you. I have a link on my sidebar to get you there.

Stay tuned for more on my new lantern when I decorate the Entry!

Joining in at these parties:

The Scoop at Worthing Court
Show and Share at Coastal Charm
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Inspire Me at A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

( I was compensated for this blog post, but all the opinions are my own.)

Have you entered yet?
Then CLICK HERE

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Finally...September

The weather might not have realized that it's the start of all things Fall,

but the calender says it's September, so it's good enough for me!

Last January and February when I was packing up all my boxes of faux flowers and Holiday decor to take to the storage units, I tried to grab a few Fall things and keep them separated to bring to the lease house. Back then I had no idea where we would be this Fall. Fall was about as far from my mind as it could get, but I'm so glad I had a little forethought to do it.

I have tons of Fall stuff over at the storage units that I might not find or unpack till months down the road, so these few little things will have to do for now. Decorating here at the lease house is slim pickins, as we will probably be moving by the end of the month. This little house is filled with boxes and odds and ends from the "clean out" of our old house, so just a taste of Fall will have to do.

This little paper mache squirrel was a gift from my younger daughter several years ago, and he always has a place of importance. This year he took up residence in one of my Pottery Barn lanterns here on the old trunk, that we've been using as a coffee table.

The base "tree trunk" is really a little box and the squirrel is the lid.

This is one of my wonderful Pumpkins that I bought from Becky at Timewashed, last year. She's in full Fall mode, so check out all her creations HERE. If you want something special, just let her know. She sells out before she can get them listed.

I made these late summer sunflower bouquets a few years ago for my antique mall space, and saved a few for myself. The urn is from Pottery Barn a few years ago, and it's one of my favorite decor pieces. This was last year...

Here it is from a few years ago...

...and my favorite version from 2012.

No dried hydrangeas or pumpkins yet,

just a scraggly ivy that's managed to hang on.

I'll check back with you on a house update. I've been tearing my hair out over the right paint color. Seems that Ben Moore Smokey Taupe changes throughout the day due to lighting. The old paint that was pinky/sandy/fleshy/salmon has been driving me crazy cause it reflects on my new paint. I cannot get that suff covered up fast enough! It's taken a few sessions of my husband talking me down from the ledge to finally get it settled. See that sofa in the background? Somehow it wants to read as dark khaki/green at the new place...just a few of the issues with paint.

more to come, soon.

the new house saga continues...

joining in at these parties:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Shabbilicious Friday at Shabby Art Boutique

xoxo,

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Spring in the Entry

I haven't shown this little spot in my Entry Hall for awhile, because actually I have two "Entry" areas, and this one often feels like Cinderella to the Stepsisters. The light can be tricky here, but today with a little sunshine and a new Spring-y vignette it got a little attention.

I had it in my head for white tulips this year,

so they're filling a basket along with a twiggy wreath.

My sis made me this wonderful moss covered "O" for Christmas,

and I loved the black ticking stripe ribbon she chose.

Two of my lambies are grazing in the lantern.

I think they look like they're in church with all the Gothic arches.

I always love tulips for Spring.

This little Eastlake dresser was black for many years, but a couple of years ago in my crazy "paint everything in the house" mode, it got the "white" treatment.

Gray washed French Laundry Basket underneath for extra cold weather gear.

Here's a shot from a little further out from the Dining Room...

...and this from the Living Room.

I have a larger header I need to get painted for over the door.

This looks a little too small, now that I'm looking at it.

It's the width of the door, but with windows on each side,

it needs something chunkier.

OK, where's my can of white paint?

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've shown my twin boxwood topiaries for ages. I bought these ten years ago before The Bombay Company went out of business. An expensive purchase at the time, but they were for our younger daughter's wedding, and I never regretted it.

Here tied with a French Script wired ribbon.

I realized when painting this petite little dresser

that there are reasons some things are painted black...

It had large gaps between the wood pieces on the side which I had to fill with wood putty before the second coat of paint. Totally hidden by the black color, they were glaring when the white paint went on. It's still a little rough, but I love the size and this is where gloves and scarves are kept.