Early March Mantel

I have a confession... 

I struggle with mantels. 

Do I use more, or less?

Decorating the Sideboard for Christmas

This week I've been sharing Christmas in the Hearth Room, so next I wanted to show you the rest of the room and the antique sideboard. I've always loved the little curved shelf above the mirror, but this is my first time actually decorating it for the Christmas Holiday. A few little British crocks, some white reindeer, and bottle brush trees keep it light, bright and lots of fun.

Christmas Mantel in the Hearth Room

It's my first Christmas here at our new-to-us cottage, and I finally have the fireplace and mantel I have hoped for. I had a few criteria that were on my wish list in a new home: an actual hearth room that had either a wood burning fireplace or a gas fireplace that didn't make me nauseous from gas fumes, a lower mantel that I could actually reach to decorate, and that it would be white. Is that too much to ask for? I didn't think so.

Christmas in the Cookbook Nook

Say Hello to my newest Christmas friend, courtesy of my sister as an early Christmas present. He's so adorable and woodsy I just needed to show him off. I'd been looking for a reindeer for awhile, thinking twiggy or mossy, but this guy is perfect. His grassy covering looks like real reindeer fur. He's a cutie.

Woodland Creatures and the Late October Hearth Room

As October heads into it's last weeks, I'm tweaking a few things around the house. I'm bringing in a few darker colors now that the heat wave is over, and some heavier textures. Two old friends are joining me on the mantel to add a little woodsy charm in the Hearth Room.

Fall Sideboard and a few "Technical" Difficulties

This is one of those posts when I feel like starting out with a big "So..." which is always a telltale sign of frustration. This has been a few weeks of computer/blogging frustrations for me. We all use different computers and different software etc. I happen to like a desktop computer that has a big capability to house tons of photos and programs etc. But my tech skills are not particularly whippy. I freely admit it. I depend on my husband for his technical and computer expertise, so it's a PC not a Mac which I would be on my own with.

Transitioning from Summer-to-Fall

Hi Friends, I've been a little all over the place as I've started to decorate for Fall around here. Maybe it's because I'm trying to locate florals, decor and vintage pieces that have been packed away. Maybe it's because I have more space to work with and I'm just disorganized! I've needed a focus to get started so this Blog Hop is helping me get my act together. Thankyou Amber for hosting this fun Hop for Early Fall. If you're coming from visiting Marty at A Stroll Thru Life Welcome, so glad you're here!

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.

August Mantel and Hearth Room

Hello Friends and Welcome to August!

I've mentioned before that August used to be my least favorite month of the year. Oooh, I felt bad that I gave it such a bad rap, especially since ALL my husband's family had birthdays in August. (strange...) It's just that I really get tired of the hot weather by now, which is usually dry and oppressive, and the older I've gotten the less able I am to handle hot weather. But a couple of years ago I had a change of heart in my attitude.

New Kilim Pillows in the Hearth Room

Having an off -white slipcovered sofa, chair and ottoman has really enabled me to be more creative in my Hearth Room decor. I'd been obsessed with white slipcovered furniture for years, but I'd never had the right space to put them in. Now that I am livin' my "white sofa dream", I'm going a little crazy with monthly change-ups. A quilt and pillow stash and a "no-stepladder-needed" mantel have made it much easier to change things up.

Stars and Stripes in the Hearth Room

Hello Friends, Hope you're having a wonderful

 Independence Day Weekend!

It only took 5 years...

I'm usually pretty diligent on getting a task or a job done. I can make excuses with the best of them, but when it's something I actually want to do I get it accomplished quickly. But, it's been 5 years since my mom moved and didn't have a place for this wonderful old porch column and it's been sitting in my sister's garage waiting for me to pick it up. 

Vintage Market Finds and the Copper Stash

Hi Friends, I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend. It was a "working" weekend for us, as we concentrated on getting the basement cleaned up and put together. We got tons of boxes emptied, the family room usable, and my husband's office pretty much up and running. The basement has been a convenient catch all since we still had both storage areas to finish organizing and lots of books and decor to decide on. So now it's a great place to go and relax, without feeling like you're in a storage unit. It's really good to finally have this done. Pics coming soon.

Late Spring Change-up on the Mantel

The move brought to the surface so many things that had been misplaced and displaced, and I want to share one more of those items that has been buried for the last almost 6 years. 

An Easter Mantel in the Hearth Room

I haven't gone all out for Spring and Easter decor this year because I really don't have a lot of my dishes and seasonal pottery unpacked. Back in August when I started packing up all the seasonal dishes and decor I had no concept that we wouldn't be fully moved in until Spring. It's probably a good thing that I was ignorant, otherwise I've had been even more stressed out about the whole process. 

Stacking Painted Baskets

I'm very fortunate to have a long wall in the Hearth Room that can handle multiple pieces of furniture, and I've made use of it to bring back two vintage pieces I've had for years. I didn't know how they would look together, but I realized I'd need something of a different size and texture to go between the two. 

Layering Decor in the Hearth Room

We are getting furniture in place and unpacking "decor" throughout the new place, so I've been trying out ideas and moving pieces around. One of the house projects that made a big difference in looks and functionality in the Hearth Room was a beef-up of the concrete mantel. Not sure why it would have been made of concrete, but the big problem was that it was a very narrow ledge and wasn't proportionate to the size of the fireplace. You can read about that project here. The update is a huge improvement.

New House Journal: First Look at the Sunroom and Armoire

I know to some of you our "move" seems unconventional to put it mildly. Even my husband commented last night that the way we've handled this renovation and the moving process "has been weird". The reno part took far longer than we had ever considered, since we ended up having to do much more work to get things ready to move in.

(I'm laughing when I see in this photo that the little white decorative piece on top of the cupboard had fallen over. It was almost dark when I took this, and I didn't realize it until we'd already left the house, so no time to go back and redo this shot.) 

Warning: Phone Pics Ahead

Antique Sideboard Buffet Makes a Comeback

Hi Friends! Well, we're in the stage right now where we have most of the furniture at the new house, but also a lot of boxes starting to mount up. It's exciting being this close, especially when we see rooms coming together with our favorite pieces.

Here it is with a fresh new look.

New House Journal: Hearth Room, Wood Blinds, and a Dated Master Bath

Hi Everyone, I thought I'd check in and let you know what we've been up to this last week or so. We had a great Christmas, but I've just been "off kilter" with this long drawn out mini renovation and move. Since we've only been able to work at the house on weekends, it's taken us since the end of September to get where we are today. We started the Big Clean and moved a few odds and ends this last weekend. Thank Goodness, we're almost there.

(the wires are the cable tv box, and I'm hoping my big armoire will fit there

to house the tv and storage. That wall looks pretty bare right now.)