New Year Decorating Inspiration

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Its the last day of 2013! 

When a new year comes along I find it brings a unique energy. 

One of all things new, a brand new start, and a time for reinventing. 

 Naturally I think of my home decor and now that includes the store decor.

Even if just a little bit or a whole lot, everything is 

open to renewing and review.

So with that we have been working on our shop during

our closed Christmas holiday to do a little bit of tweaking,

some redesigning and remodeling.

Together with my sons, we hatched a plan to create a little

more ambience in the Maison Decor shop.

It was a basic box with 4 walls, which doesn't give us 

the interior display space, nor does it give our shoppers the

experience we want them to find when they visit.

And so a wall. 

Yes, my guys built us a wall in one day. 

Justin used previous builder's experience and together with Colin they

had this amazing L shaped wall constructed in short order.

What a difference it is going to make!

I was so surprised at their skill in getting it up

and so excited to think of the fabulous things to come.

Funny how a simple thing can be so powerful in design.

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The fun part comes next with using the wall for a backdrop of

placement for furniture and home decor accents.

So look for some changes in our shop and I will 

be sure to share it online here of course.

The guys and I have business meetings where we discuss purely

esthetics and our design vision for Maison Decor.

We are excited to execute our vision in 2014.

Justin and I will head to Atlanta in a few weeks

 to the big Home Decor & Gift Market

in search of things to bring back for our shoppers,

all selected with the Maison Decor esthetic in mind.

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Our esthetic is going to be a mix of my true love 

of Rustic French style mixed 

with a bit of Shabby Chic along with Justin's preference 

of Rustic American Classic Farmhouse style.

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This wonderful eating area is a good example of the mix of styles

we will be focusing on for the shop.

Rustic with classic elements that have 

a European antiquity about them.

Lanterns and chandeliers with tons of neutrals in 

greys, black, ivory, white and beige.

Metals, both rusty and gilded, will mix freely side by side.

Its so invigorating to think of decor plans,

whether its for a home or for a retail location.

Maybe you are thinking of switching things up a bit too?

Perhaps start an inspiration board, whether its on Pinterest

or created in reality on your dining room table.

via House Beautiful

An inspiration board will pull all your thoughts together

and keep you focused on what you really like.

I am working on a giant inspiration board for

the shop called Maison Decor Style.

One look at the board will tell our shoppers

 what our design esthetic is all about.

Finding inspiration comes from so many different places,

from fabric patterns, magazine images, paint colors etc.

My newest source of inspiration came from a long awaited book

I purchased for both the store and myself.

by Rachel Ashwell, the Shabby Chic maven and legend,

it is her latest book Couture Prairie.

It is a pictorial compilation of the ranch in Texas 

that she purchased and operates as a B&B.

It is a fabulous book filled with gorgeous photos

and a mix of design styles that I am captivated by.

 I have a copy in the shop opened to a page showing a big ranch hall

that has the most wonderful mix.

I posted this photo on my instagram telling my followers that

Rachel's book is now on the shelves at Maison Decor.

And just look who wrote me back....

Rachel left a comment: "Glad to be on your shelves"

It was the second time she left me a personal comment,

the first was on Christmas day when I instagrammed a pic

showing her book in my home and how I had caved in and couldn't

wait for Christmas morning to open the book and start turning the pages.

She wished me a Merry Christmas too.

She has inspired me through the years, not only in her decorating

style but also her being a small independent business woman.

So much fun on Christmas morning to get a message from one of 

my decorating icons! Thank you Rachel!

I look forward to being creative and having more

decorating opportunities in the new year.

More home decorating blogging and doing,

more exciting things for our store and working together

side by side with my sons Colin and Justin as well

as having Justin's fiance, Madison join the team on a regular basis.

All these things are on our horizon as the clock

dial turns and we head into the year 2014!

via Eloquence

Happy New Year to you all!

Inspired to do just that!

Christmas Roundup

The table was set for our Christmas Eve dinner.

 Greens were hung from the blue opaline chandelier and sconces!

 A taffeta plaid table cloth made out of a few yards of decorator fabric 

set the festive and joyous mood.  English Crackers are a must 

for the festivities every year! It makes for a fun night of paper crown wearing 

and silly joke telling during dinner.  This year's jokes were particularly funny!

 Sharing a few candids from our family Christmas~mom and dad, these are for you!

As most parties, we started off hanging out in the kitchen....

my boy's dad, Barry, joins us for Christmas Eve with his GF as

does my sister Ellen and her hubby Mike.

Me and Mr. Maison Decor love hosting our family on Christmas Eve!

 Our Christmas tree was looking splendid, here with brother in law, Mike.  Years and years of ornaments adorn this tree.  Many passed down from generations, and a few boxes I purchased from vintage vendors to add to our collection. I love the look of older ornaments on a tree.

Dinner was ready~so I poured some red wine and Colin lit the candles. 

I didn't think I got any photos of us all at the dinner table 

because we were busy eating and laughing and telling jokes 

but Justin got a few on his iPhone while we were eating.

 After dinner, many kept their paper crowns on during kitchen clean up.

My sister and mother in law, to name a few of the party revelers!

Another fun shot of Cracker Crown wearing family members!

The boys love their auntie El.

Cheese cake anyone?

Deserts and a few gifts were in order~

there is my hubby back at the desert table in the background!

Those Swedes love their sweets!

See that blue opaline glass on the table to the right?

Its my special glass that I use only for special occasions.

I am scared I will break it and so I only use it at Christmas and Easter.

I have a set of six that I got when I bought the opaline chandy and sconces.

A delightful little snowman/snowglobe that lights up from Barry made us all smile.

We save most of our gift opening for Christmas morning, 

but we do open some with the family members that come to the 

Christmas Eve dinner and won't be sticking around til morning. 

 Justin looked handsome in his Christmas tie. 

When the boys were young I started giving them ties to wear on Christmas Eve.

 They were coordinated ties, not matching ones. 

This years ties were black, white and red or some variation of the three colors. 

Mr. Maison Decor gets one too.

Tiny little wreaths in green with red bows sit on a black tie. 

I am a big fan of plaid too~so the boys ties were just that.

Before we knew it the night had come to an end and our guests had departed.

Now we would just wait for one more to arrive....

and come he did!!

 Justin was the last to get up and join the gang around the Christmas tree.

 Colin and Dillon

 Dillon gets a bone from his mommy!

Lots of laughs and gifts and that good family stuff....

goofing off and feeling grateful to be together. 

So from our family to yours, we hope you had a joyous Christmas!

 We look forward to bringing in the New Year, 

with more to share on home decorating, and our adventures growing 

our business and all that comes with that.  

Justin and I will be headed to Atlanta in January to the big gift market 

to hunt down things for our store while Colin holds

 down the fort along with Madison,  Justin's fiance. 

She will be getting more involved with our family business 

letting me have some more time to be at home and 

get back to decorating and blogging and all that good stuff! 

Antique Chandeliers, Moras, Holiday Hours

 Holidays are fast upon us and our brick and mortar shop in Reading Mass 

has been pretty slow.  So that gives us a chance to catch up on other stuff,

like custom work and painting Mora clocks and revamping the shop.

Today we will be getting in a collection of old chandeliers from a Boston home

in the Back Bay.  You might know I have a weakness for old light fixtures,

and really think they can transform a room! This is one of the lovely fixtures

that will soon be in our shop.  I am not sure we will offer these online as they are 

so delicate and shipping can be rough on anything breakable.

We have worked hard these past few months, opening and closing shops

and trying to get our Reading store and our online shop up and running

the way we want it....so with slower sales predicted for the coming week

we will be closing the Reading store and taking a well deserved break. 

Closed December 22-January 2

Online open at www.shopmaisondecor.com

 Our Holiday Hour notice~

we have posted on facebook and twitter and instagram and now, the blog.

Hopefully no one makes the trek out to the shop next week, as we won't be here.  Hoping to spend some quality time together and doing what families do over the holidays. We have had great customers in our new location and know that they are busy putting the finishing touches on their plans as well.

 But we will back in January all fired up and ready to rock and roll! One idea we are hoping to develop is a Curated Vintage Collection.  That means being picky about the vintage and antiques we find that have the qualities we think embody the Maison Decor style.  Like these chandeliers that are simply gorgeous! Colin will be bringing them into the shop today and I can't wait to unpack them and check them out!! Not everyone is a vintage lover, but we think there are enough like minded folks out there who will appreciated us having a well curated vintage collection of home decor items.

Of course the coming year will include more blog posts about

 the how tos of decorative furniture finishes, 

like this example of using Foils for an easy gilded look.

Our Deluxe Mora Clock proved to be more popular than we imagined!

We set a record in the past four weeks and are proud to have gotten 

these wonderful reproduction clocks out to our

 shoppers by their Christmas deadlines.

Julie, this one is for you and you can expect it Christmas Eve!

(Note: Julie wanted her clock with a very light antique glaze, so this is a 

lighter finish than what we usually offer.)

So Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! 

Wishing you all a Happy New Year from 

me and the guys, Justin and Colin. 

(You think I might need to get a more recent pic of us three?!!)

Gift Guide for Guys

Baby its cold outside! 

Christmas is on its way and it will be here next week.

Our dog Dillon will be getting a new bone, but what do you

get for the man on your list?  Dogs and kids are easy~

men are the toughest to buy for, don't you agree?

Forget the ties, the dress shirts and the new slippers.

Check out these suggestions from our online store

www.shopmaisondecor.com

If you order by Wednesday we will have it shipped out and 

on its way to you so you can get it wrapped and put under your

tree before Santa comes!

We just got an order in the shop and hope to close a few sales

before the holiday arrives.  But if you are one of our readers

who lives far away, this post is for you!

 Justin and I just unpacked these great architectural prints.

 They have an antiqued creamy ivory background with a slightly distressed black frame.

 These would give any wall that coveted library look, so appealing to men.

 Just get ready to break out the cigars after you hang them up.

 Miniature antique brass measuring tapes would be fun to add to his stocking....

 Miniature magnifiers in antique brass fold into a covered pouch.

 So easy to carry in his pocket, they'll make it easy on his eyes

when reading that lunch menu with tiny script in the club.

 Twine on a carved wooden spool!  This sits neatly on a desk top

or kitchen countertop and looks as handsome as it is functional.

 Accessories for the family room~

these candle holders definately have a masculine feel.

 Dogs! Men love dogs!! We have three different dog statues in a stone like resin.

Pale grey and charcoal tones.  Bulldog (not shown here), a lab and a great dane.

These dogs make great room accessories too.

 A table clock in black and gold has that "born to the manor" masculine feel.

Long rustic branch hooks are perfect for holding many things including hats.

Have you ever tried to hang a cowboy hat off a short hook?

These are cast iron and heavy hooks with a green wash over dark brown finish.

Get a few and hang a series in a row.  These are very cool!

A tall wooden architectural finial holds a round 

school house style clock from an iron hook.

Back by popular demand, this clock can easily be moved around.

Great on a desk, a foyer table, or as part of 

any tabletop decor, this clock is a winner!

We enjoyed our family Christmas movie last week, and here is 

a quick collage photo of some of our moments.

Take time to make some Christmas memories for you and yours,

and don't let the gift shopping stress you out too much.

And as always, we want to thank you for 

reading and shopping at Maison Decor!

SHOP MAISON DECOR HERE