Courtyard Planters and French Daybed

Sprucing up the courtyard after the long winter has been underway for several weeks.

 A fresh coat of black paint was needed for a few scuff marks on the French doors,

and I decided to paint the iron urns, as they have been in their original rust

form ever since I got them.

 One on the left just painted, the one on the right still in ancient rust finish.

I was loving the look of the fresh black paint!

Valspar Duramax in Kettle Black was what I used for both the wooden doors and the iron urns. 

It is made for the outdoors and it was really nice to work with. (Not a sponsored post)

Look at how nice everything looked with a fresh coat of paint!

Pretty Piper and Sylvia posed for my Memorial Day flag Instagram post here.

 After trying to install a greenhouse in the courtyard and enduring an epic fail,

I was left with the wood landscape timber platform that was supposed to be the 

base for the greenhouse.  

The platform built for the briefly existing greenhouse....

Because it was chintzy and the wind took it away!!
Anyway,  instead of ripping it apart and removing all the stone,

the solution was to turn it into a destination spot~

 a raised platform for the French daybed and a pair of bistro chairs.

In the meantime the vegetable garden is underway up above in front of

the garden shed and I have to figure out how to get the water up there

in a more attractive manner.  In the meantime the new courtyard layout

is actually pretty nice, and we can have a number of people and still 

be able to practice social distancing easily!

The daybed  is decorated in a French bohemian style.

A mosaic birdhouse in pink adorns the ironwork.

We really enjoy gathering outdoors, and the weather has finally turned for 

the better.  This courtyard is really an entertaining solution right now

during this Covid 19 pandemic.  It hasn't been easy to isolate,

and we are looking forward to seeing loved ones in a safe way out here

during the summer months ahead.

Country House Door Baskets

 There is nothing prettier on a door than a basket of flowers!

It is the epitome of a Country Style welcome.

While I often put baskets on my doors, the one who does it

best is Nora Murphy, my friend who wrote her best seller 

"Nora Murphy's Country House Style".

Nora uses baskets with flat backs for charming door arrangements.

 A big basket of white petunias stands out against her black door.

One little story about my photo shoot for Nora's book is that when we

went outside to shoot the exterior of my house, I had a door basket with fake flowers.

Not a fan of faux, Nora asked how about switching it out with a potted flower

I had in my courtyard....so that is just what we did.

It probably could have used a bigger pot of flowers hah!

I love black doors on white houses and I love baskets brimming with fresh flowers

for elegant country style, like this scene from Nora's Connecticut farmhouse.

For the fourth of July Nora dressed up her white petunias with tiny flags.

I did the same with my front door basket.

Because we get full sun beating on the door I must use faux flowers in

the basket, but real geraniums in my garden planters and beds.

Look at this huge door basket made from willow branches.

Nora is stuffing it with all kinds of garden annuals

and it looks stunning.

  I was really taken with this oversized monster basket!

Lucky me!!

While checking out the offerings on Nora's online shop, 

I spotted this willow wall/door basket  and ordered it straight away.

 I can imagine it at the lake house

for a heavy dose of Country House Style a la Nora!!

I grabbed my bunch of faux hydrangeas and got to stuffing the basket.

For now the big willow basket will hang from one of  

our door's at our " Country House in the City", which is what Nora herself

 named our home in her book. I tried it out on one of the French doors

in the back, but I would need two and  thats a bit much.

 Its a tad large on the shed door but I have to say I really loved it here!

The perfect spot is the front door, the scale is just right!

Stuffed with the faux hydrangeas in green and purple it looked beautiful.

By the way, Nora sold her country house and bought a smaller country house

for her next chapter in life which is what I am about to do myself.

She shared a picture of the new old house recently and wouldn't you know...

it had a pretty door basket!

To visit Nora Murphy's online shop, click here

She's always restocking one of a kind vintage home and garden accessories

so be a frequent visitor and browse to your heart's content till you find 

what you love! 

To purchase an autographed copy

 of Nora Murphy Country House Style book, click here

Follow Nora Murphy on Instagram here

Garden Obsessions of Tuteurs and Peacock Chairs

 This may be the longest break I have taken in blogging since I had my shops.

Just hard to get motivated to put a post together during this Coronavirus thing.

Hope you and yours are safe and well, but the numbers are so alarming its impossible

to feel very safe these days. And it kind of seems silly to blog about decorating...

I haven't been in the decorating mood since this virus hit. 

Its not important.

But one thing I did feel like doing was to get a garden started to have fresh produce,

and so I tried building a greenhouse from a kit, which

failed miserably. Thankfully they refunded my money after the thing blew to bits

in a windstorm. Never the less, I had started seeds for a vegetable garden.

  I am  excited to get my garden going as the weather has 

just started turning for the better here in the Boston area.  

 Mothers day is this Sunday and with that, I took my first  trip for "frivolous" matters to a

garden nursery and picked up some outdoor flowering plants, including a pink geranium for

my 90 yr old mother in law, who lives next door to us.  I also sold my Peacock wire set and it 

was picked up yesterday by some movers to bring to a woman in Virginia who is obsessed with Peacock furniture!  She is lining a path to a reservoir bordering her woodland property with these chairs and has collected about a dozen so far!! I loved hearing that story, as I love imagining her fulfilling her vision as she walks to the water past these fanciful chairs set up in little seating groups. 

 Tutuers are what I have been obsessed by for years....I love them!

And I always figured I would make one or two or three for my own garden.  

These obelisk garden structures can be anything from traditional to fanciful. 

At the nursery getting flowers with my son Colin, I spotted a nice tuteur.  

I realized this thing wasn't going to get made by me this year, so onto the cart it went.

At home, I lugged it up near the garden shed, next to one of the garden boxes that 

has yet to be filled with material.   I can imagine it all painted up and standing over the herbs and vegetables this summer! White paint to go with the fencing and the shed.

 Everything outside needs to be spruced up and sorted out. 

 That is the fun of surviving our long winters as is buying some flowers and a new garden ornament. 

 With the stay at home advisory in play, having an outdoor space or garden to focus on has been good for me. I know lots of people who have started vegetable gardens this year.

My lettuce and tomatoes and other things are doing well and many will be getting into the 

garden bed in a week or two.

 The dogs love accompanying me outdoor for garden chores. 

This winter was kind to the roses on our property, 

with no winter kill and lots of new growth.

 My parents usually come back to the Boston area after wintering over in Florida.

However this year they are staying put until later on, due to the virus.

So I sent my mom a linen cocktail napkin that will be a souvenir of this strange and scary time,

making the most of what we can do during quarantine and not being together.

 My son Brandon and wife Mimi dropped off three dozen pink roses on my doorstep today

to wish me a happy mothers day. I was thrilled, as  I haven't had any cut flowers for three months!

I have been busy working on the lake house floor plan and have a scale version set up on the table so I can add cutouts of furniture to try to visualize how we will use the space.  Its been really helpful to do this, and I can see what will come and what needs to be sold or donated.

Last but not least, is my little farmer girl Reeve. 

I miss her terribly and wish I could spend overnights at the farm in Maine.

But we will have to wait until the threat of the virus passes.

In the meantime Justin sends me lots of snapchats to see her, 

and she is a pro at carrying the chickens around!

She's almost three, and we have our visits via FaceTime these days,

where I can see her personality and sense of humor developing. 

All of this time of separation will pass, and brighter times are ahead.

For now I am planning my garden and lake house.

Hope you are doing some future dreaming and planning too....

even if it means just going out to eat! 

Wouldn't that be nice?