Easy Winter Table

I hate to admit it, but my dining room table typically functions as a dumping ground... for school projects in process, gifts that need wrapping and/or mailing, items that need a landing strip before being put away. I know-- not very stylish or organized! But several times a year, I get the urge to make my dining room look like... well, a dining room. A clean, quiet, decorated dining room.

I was thrilled when my new mercury glass candleholders from Pottery Barn arrived last week, as they were the last pieces to a very simple puzzle for my winter dining room table.

I think they're the perfect partners for my Willow House Royal Street Urn. I added a bed of moss and a creamy pillar candle on each. The pillars would be simple to dress up with bands of ribbon, too. For the twig arrangement in my Royal Street Urn, I filled the urn with scrunched up packing paper and inserted several simple twigs and a few I spray painted gold for the holidays...just the right amount of glitz. Then I packed pine cones around the twig arrangement for added support. One of my silver trays anchors the arrangement along with some scattered pine cones. I could add fruit or fresh flowers to the tray for added color and interest if I wanted to dress it up.

For now, I'm enjoying the simplicity... and having a clean dining room table. :)

How about you? Does your dining room table stay pristine or become a staging area for your busy household?

The Royal Street Urn is available through my website. Click HERE for ordering information.

Hello, Lover...

I know many of you already have your eye toward spring and all the new trends out there, but I am still enjoying winter and some winter touches in my decor. UPS arrived today with something I've been waiting for since the post-Christmas sales...

My mercury glass candle holders are in the building! I know mercury glass has been around for a few years in decor, but I love the reflective quality it has without being too sleek. Sleek is not me. These are me. These are perfect to complete my winter tablescape, which I'll share next week. Best part? I got them for a steal. Next best part? I'll have them for holiday decorating next year.

What do you think of mercury glass pieces? Love it or over it?


Happy Decorating!

Valentine's Day Vignette

So you know that I am not the kind of girl that decorates for every holiday, right?  I am a seasonal decor gal-- much simpler that way!  All over the blogosphere, uber-talented home bloggers have been posting Valentine's Day crafts and decor...I admit:  I've enjoyed looking.  But I will do no more than my perfunctory nod to the day, so I thought I'd share some tips on keeping it simple for yourselves.

Add a few touches of pink or red... and I do mean a few, especially if these are not the colors in your home.  I'm thinking pillar candles or even simply a glass bowl full of Red Hots.  See what I mean?  Here I have a berry colored votive candle nestled in white Northern beans in a square glass vase. 

Flowers-- the easiest way to infuse romance.  *Confession: I'm a Walmart $5 bouquet junkie.  Recognize this Hawthorne Hurricane from my giveaway last month?  Bring out your simple glass vases and hit Walmart or your supermarket for inexpensive flowers. Instant ambience for any room in your home.

Write a love note-- it's FREE!  If you have a family message center or bulletin board, pen a sweet note to your crew (Love Bugs, All You Need is Love, Be Sweet... you get the idea!) or print out one from your computer in a fun font.  This little beauty here is courtesy of Barnowl Primitives over on Jen's cool and crafty blog TaterTots and Jello.  Go browse her projects and giveaways and download your Valentine subway art now!  I simply matted it on some decorative paper I already had, added the "XO" in the corner and popped it into a black frame. 

This vignette?  Less than $10.  I do like it... and that's about as far as I'll go with Valentine's decorating. :)  See how simple?



Taking a Shine to Silver

A couple of weeks ago, inspired by Joan over at For the Love of a House, I pulled out several of my silver pieces and polished them up, ready to display them around my house.  All in the name of lightening and brightening.  I couldn't for the life of me remember why I'd had them stashed away in drawers and cabinets for so long, especially when I saw the impact they made as decorative accessories.

You've already spied a few of them on my bookcase makeover:



But I found some fabulous homes for a few other pieces, too...

Favorite silver tray on my coffee table...

Silver tea box on family room console table...

 Remember this flea market find?  On my antique desk that does double duty as a sofa end table...

Favorite pitcher and another small tray in my foyer.  The book on the tray is the history of Lakemont, Georgia and Lake Rabun where my husband and I got married.  Painting is by my great-grandmother.

If you've not already checked out Joan's blog on her restoration of a New Hampshire farmhouse, you are missing out!  Head over there and let her know I sent you...she's got fabulous posts on her collection of hotel silver, too.

So how about you?  Any silver pieces lurking around that you can polish up and display? 

Sofa Re-Do: Lightening Up

This update has made such a difference in brightening up my family room!  And it was simple and inexpensive to do.

Here was my sofa this fall and over the holidays:

You can see-- it's a lovely chocolate suede but... it's A LOT of BROWN.

So I went on a mission for lighter and brighter pillows and throws-- on a budget of course!  And here is the after:

Here's what I did-- swapped out the largest dark brown throw pillows that came with the sofa for these two large (24" x 24") celery green pillows I found at Old Time Pottery.  They are extremely pale-- almost more cream-- and only $9 each!  The pillows from One Kings Lane were $49 for the two of them.  And the lumbar pillow is our Embroidered Scrollwork Pillow from Willow House.  You can purchase this on my website for only $39.96.  {I got it for less as a Design Consultant-- you could, too!}.  The pale green throw is from Target and was only $9.99.

Now, the two smaller dark brown pillows, I ended up swapping out with the khaki ones you see in the Before photo to brighten it up even more.  I bought them at Target a few years back and they've held up well considering the use my sofa gets (think teenagers/young adults).   I'm thrilled with this lighter and brighter look!

What do you think?  What part of your decor would you like to lighten and brighten?

Flea Market Finds... and Other Fun Stuff :)

Last Friday I stepped into the Classy Flea here in Marietta for the first time in a couple of years.  I have never walked out of there empty-handed in the past and Friday was no exception.  Lots of pieces with potential and personality to be found... unfortunately, I walked in without my camera or iPhone (can you believe it?), so I'll just show you what I ended up bringing home.  Hey... it's better than nothing!  I was on a mission for a small piece or two to complete my family room bookcase do-over and I hit the jackpot at the Classy Flea!

The first piece I found is this blue ceramic liquor decanter!  I loved the size of it, the shape, and the bright pop of color.  $4.99, ladies.

Then I found this precious silver plate planter.  Perfect size for my English Ivy plant.  You'll see her again in my post about decorating with your silver pieces later this week. :)  Originally $9.99, marked down to $7.99.
I was feeling like a real bargain-hunter and having fun doing it!

In other exciting news, my pillows arrived from One Kings Lane over the weekend!  They are perfect on my chocolate brown sofa... more details about the other pillows coming soon.  But these Liora Manne pillows are my new loves. :)

Aren't they yummy??

And finally, I wanted to share a really fabulous giveaway over at Tatertots and Jello.  Jen has hooked up with Barn Owl Primitives (check out their Etsy shop!) and two lucky readers will win $50 gift certificates to their Etsy shop!  Fun, fun, fun... visit Jen's blog for details to enter (and while you're there, poke around for some really clever ideas!).  I'm totally in for this one. :)

Check out the entire sofa re-do tomorrow!

Happy Decorating!

Wake Up Your Winter Decor

I've given some tidbits of my family room refresh lately, so I thought I'd close out the week with a few thoughts on winter decor.  I'm not one that decorates for every holiday.  Honestly, it's too much trouble and too time-consuming. I may give a nod to Halloween or Valentine's Day in little touches, but I mostly decorate by season.  This way I feel like I'm getting a "new" look on a regular basis, even if it's simply changing out my vase fillers and rearranging the family photos.

This winter I undertook a little something bigger in my family room.  For some reason, it's just never felt "finished" to me.  When I'm super busy, it doesn't really bother me.  But when life has slowed a bit, it starts to work on me!  My vision actually germinated even before Christmas.  I'm just now fleshing it out, bit by bit, working with a tight budget to freshen up my decor.  Here's a few tips that I've found are working for me.

Expand your space.  Mirrors are a great way to open up your space and reflect more light into your space. 

Chancellor Mirror from Willow House

Add in some metallic accessories.  Silver balls, a pewter pitcher or picture frame, or mercury glass pieces keep the light moving throughout your space.  Shop around your home and in your kitchen cabinets to see what you already have.

Ballard's Designs Silver candlsticks

Keep it light.  Don't forget about glass to keep accessories light and bright.  Pull out your simple glass vases or hurricanes, fill with coffee beans or split peas and a pillar candle or a simple vase filler.  These pieces are easy to refresh for a holiday like Valentine's Day or Easter.

Pottery Barn's Recycled Glass Collection

Swap out pillows and throws for lighter colors.  Even lighter shades of your furniture's colors makes a huge difference.  You can't go wrong with white, cream, or taupe, but don't be afraid to experiment with brighter colors and fresh patterns. 

Ballards Designs Le Poeme pillow

Add some green-- plants!  Pick up a couple of inexpensive low-maintenance plants like a pothos or English ivy.  Pull out your soup tureen or a favorite serving bowl for an interesting container.  Even your silver champagne bucket makes a striking home for some fresh greenery.  If all else fails, invest in a topiary or two or some silk ivy from your local craft store. 

Pier 1's Boxwood Topiaries

Remember to shop in your own home first! You'll be happiest with your refresh project if you spend as little as possible to make it happen.

Coming soon: Family room bookcase makeover.

The Chancellor Mirror is available through me by clicking HERE to shop my e-store.
Happy Decorating!

Color it Winter!

Settling into our winter decorating mode got me thinking about color-- the muted, peaceful colors of winter.  Hgtv.com has highlighted some of color trends for this winter and I agree!  How fresh are these?

Charcoal and aubergine

Gold and celadon

Eggplant and gray

Gold

Icy Blue and white

Metallics

Neutrals

Olive

White

These are only some of the cool winter color schemes they feature at hgtv.com.  Check the rest of them out and then come back and let me know your favorite.

Inspired yet?

all photos via hgtv.com