Grey velvet curtains, gilded cornices and Piper

 Velvet draperies are so luxurious.  Hard to tell from this shot, but the velvet

warms up the room, making it nice and cozy for the cold weather months.

I found these 96" lined velvet pinch pleated panels at HomeGoods, in case

you are searching for some at a reasonable price.  Their drapery department has

been pretty impressive lately, as I also found Belgian linen panels earlier this year.

I have had white smocked curtain panels from Pottery Barn hanging in this room

for years now, underneath white metal cornices that I made from vintage cornices

I found at an antique shop in New Hampshire.  They were stamped brass metal, in an

old gold color.  Hmmmm, I kind of wish they were the brass finish now.  At any rate,

I didn't like the look of the grey velvet under the white cornices so I painted them with 

Paris Grey Chalk Paint by you know who.  

 After painting them, I outlined the top with some gilding wax in gold.  Its a quick project

that I was able to do in an hour.  Getting ready for the holidays around here now, so I am envisioning a very Versailles Christmas in my mind's eye.  That means gold and gilding and velvet and of

course that wonderful blue color that Marie Antoinette loved so much.  Its much the same as my wall color in the living room, Woodlawn Blue by Benjamin Moore.  Imagine a white christmas tree with blue and gold....maybe some velvet ribbon.  Yummy!  In the latest Horchow Collection catalogue they have a Versailles Christmas ornament and ribbon collection!  I almost fell out of my french chair.  The only thing I didn't care for was that they added red to the blue and gold collection, which will never happen on my tree.  And thats the awesome thing about Christmas decorating, or any kind of decorating....you get to put your own stamp of personal style and vision together.  And each year its always a bit different, and that makes it fun for me.

So forgive me if Christmas decorating starts making an early appearance on my blog, but I am more than excited this year to get my trees up!  I think Reeve will love seeing the twinkle and the sparkle and the wonder of it all.  I am hoping little Piper can keep her composure around the trees and not make a mess of it.

She's pretty curious about just about everything.