A Gilded Pink Toile Christmas Table

Its all about Holiday Entertaining in today's posts (and all week long)

as part of Designthusiasm's Set + Style blog hop.

A special welcome to those who have just arrived from

my friend Courtney's ever gorgeous French Country Cottage!

But before we begin...

Can I just tell you all that I got my copy of this magazine

yesterday in my mailbox?! That is my living room on the cover!!

The COVER!! (Yes I am yelling.)

Ok, ok.... Just had to share.  I am over it. (Not)

Now back to our gorgeous table features.

Pink and Gilded and Toile for Christmas?

Yes. Yes. And Yes!

Why not use one's favorite things at Christmas?!

 Christmas means its the perfect time for fantasy and fairytale decor.

 Small twinkling trees are the perfect way to set the mood.

Layer in some of your favorite things with a bit of whimsy for good measure,

like these tiny white angel wings that I found at Joann's fabrics.

They came in pink too, and would have been so pretty....

But I wasn't sure then how I was going to use the little white wings when I bought them.

(The point being:  if you see something that captures you, buy it.

You will find a way to use it, I guarantee it.)

 Gold always elevates the mood, doesn't it?

 These striped gold and white candles 

(a knockoff of the high priced lovely Ana Candles that I have in my sconces) 

were a happy find at Marshalls~a box of six for the same price. 

Gold lusterware salad plates set atop gold rimmed dinner plates,

all vintage finds from various New England shops. 

Pink and celery green toile placemats were a set I made years ago

when I couldn't find what I wanted. They add a feminine French touch.

Repousse candlesticks in silverplate are new additions from a charming 

vintage shop in Dover, New Hampshire, called Just The Thing.

 A pair of grocery store topiaries were transplanted to some self-watering

 cache pots for a finished look. Rosy red cranberries were sprinkled about on the table,

inside the vase, and on top of the topiaries potting soil.

Grocery stores have so much goodness for decorating these days!!

And if pink isn't your thing....

think how easy it would be to change out the pink elements for red or white

if you wanted a more traditional Christmas look. 

Happy Holidays to you all, now let the parties begin!

Head on over to the wonderful blog of Sand and Sisal who is next up

on the tour.  Then check out the rest of my design blogger friends 

to see their special Christmas tables, it will certainly put you in the mood!

++++++++++++++

Shabbyfufu

 

CitrineLiving

French Country Cottage

Maison Decor

Sand and Sisal

 

Town and Country Living

 

If you missed Monday's posts:

Designthusiasm | Decor Gold Designs | My Soulful Home Kelley Nan | Driven by Decor | The Enchanted Home

Coming Wednesday

Bless'er House | Cedar Hill Farmhouse | Design, Dining and Diapers Maison de Pax | So Much Better With Age | Zevy Joy

Coming Thursday

Ella Claire | On Sutton Place | Randi Garrett Design Savvy Southern Style | Stone Gable | Zdesigns at Home

Coming Friday

Buckets of Burlap | Finding Home Farms | Life On Virginia Street Setting for Four | Sunny Side Up | The Wood Grain Cottage

Read more »

If you don't have a Christmas tree....

 Its the holiday season, and for me that means decorating.

I love to change the look of our home to reflect the Christmas season.

That means garlands and ornaments and trees!

Frosted trees are a favorite and I found a cute little one at Hobby Lobby.

Just this small version of a Christmas tree added instant cheer to the room.

Even before Thanksgiving I started with one full size tree, then I added one more.

I get a lot of enjoyment out of our trees~I think they bring a room to life 

at Christmas time.  But I was thinking that maybe many of you don't have

the time, the money or the energy to put up a tree.  So the next best thing is

to take an everyday object in your room, and decorate it!

Lamps and chandeliers are great places to add swags of garland,

bits of greenery and ornaments.  

This large cherub lamp is festooned in blues and greens.

Old fashioned mercury glass style beads and tiny ornaments 

drip from the five arms of this gilded light fixture.

On the other end of the piano is a gold lantern that wears a small frosted

wreath with a few baubles and a skinny velvet ribbon.

 Sticking with my theme of blue and green and natural greens,

this lantern is decked out for the holidays. At night the candles

are turned on to add more ambience to the room.

So don't fret if you don't have a tree...

create a little magic with your everyday things.

You will be relaxing in no time...just like my little grand-dog Sylvia,

I am babysitting her all week long and I think she is fine with it.

I will be back a few more times this week with more Christmas posts

and that Perfect Rug I was telling you about a few weeks ago. 

It arrived, and it looks beautiful.  I can't wait to share!!

Read more »

Thanksgiving Success

 This year's Thanksgiving was at our house.  It was a more moderate 

affair, as we didn't have all the "kids" around the table. But we did have my

parents, both who were ready to fly to Florida the next day, being the snow birds they are.

A 15 pounder was prepped, and into the oven it went.  Then mom and sister Ellen arrived

and us girls took over the kitchen and whipped up the fixings for the dinner.

It was such fun, and I count my blessings to spend it with them.

 A tidy group of 8, we all sat around one table and enjoyed the meal 

after Dad said grace.  The day was a success, from the food to the company.

Not one I will soon forget...

 The following day my attention shifted to Christmas decorating, as I don't go 

out into the Friday shopping madness that seem to attract many.

And I might mention that I am thankful that I don't personally have the burden

anymore of worrying about Small Business Saturday. 

 Those were stressful times, being a shop keeper. 

 I am a true crusader of buying from the independents.

However I feel that Christmas is more about setting a mood with 

the holiday decorations,  hosting little get togethers and parties 

and creating moments like sharing holiday movies and 

wearing matching PJs, not about gifts and more stuff.

Our living room tree is just about done, and it looks beautiful.

This year we are having two trees, one with a traditional color scheme

and this one, which is a softer palette that goes with our living room.

Both of my trees are Snap Trees from Tree Classics, and they are 

fantastic pre lit fakes.  I can enjoy the season for many extra weeks!

I will be sharing more as the days go on...but for now I am 

thankful for a wonderful Thanksgiving with my healthy mom and dad,

and my awesome sweet husband and kids.  Missing son Justin and wife Madison

who are with Taylor celebrating her one year anniversary with her new heart.

And that is the best!! 

Although....next year I hope I can stuff everybody around our table!

Read more »

Pretty Swedish Style Wallpaper for my Staircase

I am excited to share my recent wallpaper project.

The layout of  our house has the entryway and staircase

practically in our living room.  Its always been a design challenge,

how to separate but not ignore the staircase.

 Adding a pretty wallpaper to the stair wall that faces the living room made a 

world of difference. It goes to show that these often overlooked spaces

really can add instead of detract from the overall decor of a room.

 Inches away from the bland and boring stair case,

 our living room is a pretty mix of blue, grey and white.

A sheer curtain helps to create a privacy shield.  

And as soon as the paper went up, I felt like why had I waited so long?

I selected a paper that had a Swedish Country look, and has my favorite colors. 

The paper is made by Wallpops.  NuWallpaper is the type that is peel and stick.

 It is self adhesive and can be repositioned, making it practically foolproof. 

 The Wallpops people sent me three rolls of the pattern I selected, Mirable Medallion.

A tool kit for cutting and smoothing, also from Wallpops, 

was one of the only tools I needed,

besides a level and a tape measure and a pair of scissors. 

Even though I have had experience putting up wallpaper, 

I can tell you that this is so much easier and no mess.

I got started right away, using my dining room table 

to roll out the paper and cut the first piece.

 Working left to right you must make sure your first strip is put on straight.

Make a pencil line on the wall using a level, so when you hang the first piece,

the right hand edge of the paper butts up to the pencil line.  Smooth it into position.

Then trim off the edges with the razor knife.  That is it. Super easy. Super fast.

After the first strip is in position, you can do the next strips by lining them 

up to the edge of the first strip, matching the pattern.

If you mismatch, just peel it away and try again. 

As many times as you need to...

This paper is great for people in apartments that aren't allowed to do things to their walls.

And its great for serial decorators like me, that like to change things more often than not.

Because when you are done, you simply peel it off, without damaging the walls.

Feature walls, backs of bookcases and hutches and stair risers are some other ideas that you

can tackle with NuWallpaper by Wallpops.  

My friend Cheryl used it for the interior of a china cabinet. 

 Isn't that a pretty idea?

This is a fast and fairly easy DIY project. 

I started after lunch on a rainy day, and finished the next morning.

(Its best to wallpaper in bright natural lighting so you can see if 

any air bubbles need to be smoothed out with the wide smoother thingy.)

I chose to do only the wall that faces the living room, and it took

a bit less than the three rolls.  I also liked that the repeat of the pattern 

in this paper was about 5" which means there was not much waste 

when matching the pattern.  

It has added so much appeal to our entry space.

The view from the living room shows how it has finished off the space.

Its all in the details, as they say!  

Note:  This is a sponsored post.

Wallpops provided the product, but all opinions are my own. 

I loved this paper so much, I am already looking around for another place

to freshen up with another pretty pattern from NuWallpaper. 

To view more beautiful wallpaper patterns visit Wallpops.com here 

Read more »

Rushing the holiday season

 Not too long ago I was in the camp of people that would never decorate

before Thanksgiving.  But then I opened a little store selling home decor

items including Christmas.  But I held fast to my rule of "not before Thanksgiving".

Major boo-boo in the world of retail, and I found out the hard way.

I waited too long and got stuck with a lot of inventory.  It seems

shoppers may wait to decorate, but they start buying early to get the best

stuff.  So the next year I put it out early, and my sales were great.

 That softened up my hardened stance...and it went hand in hand with being

a blogger.  People are looking for inspiration for how they want to decorate 

for the holidays.  Back in the good ol days it was more a matter of take out

the Christmas boxes from the attic and put up what you had in your stash of

years of collecting and passed down treasures.  Now its a designer world

in Christmas land.  And trees are done in themes, not family heirloom style.

My idea is that the tree is going to stay naked.

For a few weeks, until Thanksgiving.  

And that way its more of a wintery woodland type of decoration. 

 Hahha. Okay, well I can call it that, right?

I have to say I love seeing a twinkling tree in my living room!

So much so, that this year I decided to put it in a better spot, and that meant

rearranging the furniture and shoving the baby grand across the room.

Thankfully it rolls pretty easily on its castors, and my son helped me for

the better part of the day.  

 Colby was put in his kennel while the furniture moved and tree went up,

and when he emerged, he was as good as he was last year about ignoring the tree.

A few blue glass balls are spread across the leaf garland...

And a large silver tray holds pumpkins and blue glass ornaments

on the top of the white piano.

 Its been kind of a surprise how much I am enjoying the mixing 

of decorative elements of the two holidays.

So thats how its unfolding over here...and one more plus is that having

our tree set up, albeit naked, its going to be a great backdrop for our

family Christmas card this year!

 However I completely get it if you are in Thanksgiving mode and

that is the only thing on your radar.  I used to be just like that myself.

 This year I am hosting dinner, and I just hope everyone enjoys the twinkle

of the tree in the other room....

Read more »