Welcome to Fall: The Kitchen Niche

As you all probably know, I have this smallish niche in the kitchen that we inherited from the previous owner's kitchen renovation. It housed their big screen tv and a sound system, but didn't fit our needs. Trying to match cabinets was vetoed, so I have used it for a display area for seasonal décor.

Heavenly Holiday Entry

I've realized at Christmas I lean toward a white and ethereal look on the entry console; white lights and white and neutral colors with a light and bright look. For Christmas this year I've tried to bring out a few pieces that are some of my early Christmas décor that I haven't shared for years. 

Layering Elements for a Summer to Fall Entry

This time of year; late August to early September, I'm about easing into the Fall season. Since it's still really hot outside I'm not quite ready for a lot of dark colors, leaves and bright orange pumpkins. I still want to keep it light and bright, but have a subtle change in color to the warmer hues of autumn.

Birds in the Late Spring Holiday Cupboard

May has always been Bird Month for me. Around here we have nest building, new babies, and new faces at the feeders. I've collected a bit of bird themed vintage items during my time as a vintage market dealer, picking up figurines, tins, illustrations and ephemera during the years. It's a perfect themed match for my other favorite vintage theme which is old garden goods.

Farm Animals in French Country Decor

Somewhere deep in my DNA I have the Farmer/Shepherd gene that has been dormant for many years. When I was growing up my dad always kept a few beef cattle at the farmhouse, but we weren't allowed to name them or pet them because well, you know why...  So, next best thing is to just collect cows and sheep to decorate with in my vintage Cottage, Farmhouse, and French Country decor.

Mid Summer Formal Living Room; Yes I Have One

Hi Friends, I've been wanting to share our formal living room for a bit, since it's been a while. I don't usually tend to do a lot of seasonal decorating in there. (Many of you may not know this room even exists) Things don't seem to change too much, probably because we use this room so much. The coffee table is right in my husband's sight line to the TV, so whatever I decorate with there has to be compact and not distracting. He tends to keep some of his "stuff" out on the end table along with the remotes so it's always a bit of a pain challenge to clear off his personal area in order to take current pics. Since it looks just like it did several years ago, I just thought I'd "re-share" those photos which were actually taken this time of the year. 

Early Summer Entry with Bovine Beauties

Despite the gray, rainy weather (and poor light) I wanted to share my late Spring/early Summer entry. Late May is the perfect time to decorate using lovely lush pastel Hydrangeas with a hint of summer that's on the way. 

Vintage Cottage Weekend: Mother's Day Blessings

Hello dear Friends, I know you all have a busy day today for Mother's Day, so I just wanted to drop by and share a few quick pics from previous Mother's Day posts. I want to wish you all a beautiful day filled with love and family and joyous memories of Mother's Day past and precious hopes for the future.

Spring Themed Prints in the Hearth Room

I gave my hearth room a mini refresh for spring this last week with a couple of spring themed prints, and moved a few pieces around on the mantel. I usually keep one of my lamb canvas prints on the mantel but thought I'd try out this framed bird poster as something a bit different.

The Snowy Day

When we bought this house three years ago we got an added bonus with a finished basement. It's a 1964 brick rancher that had all we needed on one level, which was the requirement. So the basement became my husband's domain with his office, a storage room for him and one for me. It also has a large living space for a big screen TV and fireplace, bath and exercise area. The stairs are easy to navigate, unlike what we had before which were terribly steep and daunting. I was thrilled to have a lower level and the storage; even better because I didn't have to visit it each and every day. 

Fall Sideboard and a trip to The Vintage Peddler

Hello Friends, and Happy Weekend!!!

The Holiday Cupboard is for the Birds

Hello there, Friends! I hope you're having a wonderful week and that you're enjoying warm pleasant late spring weather. We all seem to have some outdoor projects we're trying to get to, but golly, it's been chilly and rainy around here... again. I'm not sure why this surprises me because it's often cool and rainy in early to mid May, but I'm sorta over it.  You can remind me of this when I'm complaining in September that it's too hot and dry. I've been wanting to get my outside containers put together and it's been too cool to get out and do much. I did finally get to the nursery over Mother's Day weekend to pick out some flowers so maybe I can get those finished up by this weekend.

Welcoming Easter Entry with Paperwhites

Sometimes when pieces just "work" for a spot or space I leave them alone. That's what has happened in the Entry here at this house. I changed things up more at the previous house, but this entry is so light and bright it calls for like-minded pieces. It seems that whatever I place here tends to be a neutral color or something that doesn't overpower the basic feel of the space.

Using Vintage Frames for a Thanksgiving Mantel

Hello everyone! Hallelujah, it's November and so close to Thanksgiving! And we're all looking forward to celebrating, then moving in to the long awaited Christmas Season. Today I'm joining in with a great group of vintage-loving friends who are sharing some ideas and inspiration on how we use Vintage Frames in our home and seasonal decor.  Since it's mid-November I'm going to share my Thanksgiving mantel and show how I've used vintage frames for a fun seasonal mantel.

Oh the little junky vintage frame... 

how many ways to use and love you?

Early Summer Light and Bright Entry

Hi Everyone, time for an Early Summer update here on the console in the Entry. The last time I shared this spot was before Easter, so I thought it was time to bring it into Summer before it started sprouting the flags and Patriotic red/white/blue.

Vintage Etagere in the Garden Room

I've been feeling the need to putter a bit, so I turned my attention to the vintage plant stand in the Garden Room. I bought this metal etagere when we first got married, so it definitely qualifies as "vintage". (better described as a piece of vintage "junk".) It's had many lives, the last one being outside on the covered back porch here at the new house.

January Cupboard in Candlelight

For me, January is a month for settling in for Winter. Here in the lower Midwest we do have a few beautiful warmer days during Winter, but for the most part the days are gray and cold and spitting something wet. In January I'm all about staying warm and cozy indoors. To combat the short dreary days I like to have some spaces in the house that evoke a feeling of warmth and comfort.

Light and Bright Fall Entry

I'm really loving this Entry Hall at the new house. It's light and bright and traditional with just a hint of pattern in the wallpaper. It's so easy to decorate and fun to try out new elements. This Entry Hall is always flooded with light no matter the weather, so for early October I've wanted to keep that lighter look. As we head into later October and November I'll bring out the deeper colors and prints, but for now I found a couple of British vintage prints with a lighter palette that had been in my bathroom at our previous house.

An Early Fall Entry

This space in the Entry has gone thru multiple renditions this last month. From late August to now in "almost" Mid September, my Frenchy console has had a few different looks. I thought I'd better share this current look from this week before it accidentally gets changed up once again.   

Botanical Prints in the Hearth Room

Hi Friends, I hope you're having a good weekend, I just wanted to share a quick post about some little vintage Botanical prints I just got around to hanging this week. I've been thinking about what to do with them for months. I finally decided I could make a commitment, so I jumped on in and had Hubby grab the hammer.