Around The Cottage

Things are always changing just slightly around here. I am moving things around, I think I might be obsessed with accessorizing. Seriously! I think it is because we have had most of our furniture forever, so my way of getting a new or fresher look is in shuffling and adding and rearranging the accessories! So here are a few additions and fun things going on around here since Christmas.

The third Friday for the month is one of my favorite days. After our Friday morning friends' meeting, Maureen and I make our monthly pilgrimage to Room with A Past. A I have mentioned many times, I have found so many incredibly fun things in that monthly warehouse sale. Maureen has too.

She and I think (in our humble way) we have the coolest little touches in our homes and so many of them come from this place. One thing I truly love is the prices are so reasonable. Let's just say this treasure hunting is a form of recreation for us...it is pretty cheap, really and truly. We really enjoy it, it keeps us out of trouble and I'd much rather spend a few dollars here than at Target. You can find such unique things.

I adore the lace trim on this lamp shade!

I saw this darling little lamp about two nano seconds after we walked in this morning. I love accent lamps and this one is a treasure. $19.00 and it is looks fantastic on the hearth near the fireplace. Jim paid me the highest complement when I showed it to him. "Hasn't that always been there? It should have been, if it wasn't!" Woohoo...score! Hubbies like this are a rare find too!

I couldn't get the best photo of it because the light is bright but you can get the idea of where I put it anyway. It really adds a point of interest there and makes the room look so cozy~exactly what accent lamps are designed for in the first place. I brought my sunflowers out a little early I know...wishful thinking!


I haven't put my few Valentine's Day things away yet because I pretty much skip St. Patrick's Day and it is a little too soon for Easter. Besides Maureen made me this gorgeous paper Valentine garland for our dining room fireplace and I am enjoying it so much. All these beautiful hearts draping across and just under the mantel looks so pretty. Don't you just love it when a sweet friend gives you something like this? What a treasure!



I finally hung up the sign that Laura made for the bathroom. (Was held up by trying to figure out how to hang it without damaging the front.) I know you cannot really see the sign in this photo but wanted to show its proximity to the fresco. There is a good one below. I had intended to put it over the towel bar near the tub but I wanted to be able to see it easily so put it here in the little alcove for the loo. It is now lightly coated with a dusting of glitter and looks so beautiful with all the fun Italian things in the bathroom. So I pronounce the bathroom 100% done now, at last.

"We Enjoy The Sweet Life"

We loved the white towels in the bathroom during the holidays so I kept them up and just added orange hand towels for a little warmth and color. Here is Angelo my funny little angel with the glass eyes that really feel like they are looking at you! He came from the Hen House in Lafayette.


This angel that does not have a name yet, now hovers over the other glass towel bar near the tub. He reminds me of the Celine Dion recording of Sleep Tight where she sings...Sleep tight, May angels hover over you and spread their wings to keep you safe and warm." Hazie loves that song and likes me to sing it to her. Maybe his name should be Dion!

Call me crazy but...I love stuff like this!

One thing I have been working on is replacing some of the little things I have on my dresser top. Last month I showed you the funky, little decorated bottle I got at Room With a Past, today I picked up these fun hair clips for the mirror on my dresser as well. Mind you, they will never see the light of day in my hair actually, but they are so pretty! The stones are my favorite color and look heavenly on the dresser.

The little three-dimensional, sculpted, white wedding cake is something I will probably not replace because I love it. My sister-in-law, Marilyn and my brother, Gary gave it to us many years ago for an anniversary and the little wedding cake is just beautiful. It is a little reminder to keep the newness of romance alive!

In the same vein of keeping the romance alive
here is a sweet, heart-shaped, embellished wall hanging.
I have it hanging on our bedroom door knob.

I picked up this little candle cup today for a song.
Maybe $5.00. It is mercury glass and apple green
and I got it for this spot in our dining room.

It looks very pretty in the sunlight
and also lit at night.
The tall green decanter is also from
Room With A Past from days gone by.

I really like this lady's art work!
Maureen and I run for this booth
every month now to see what is new.

I showed you this last month and it has finally come to rest in our hall way next to the door to the brick patio. Perfect little spot for it. It proves my point that if you love something and it speaks to you, you will find a spot for it, even in a cottage. You just have to take something else down maybe, but if you love it, it can resurface later and be just as much fun the 2nd time around.

Surrounding yourself with people and things you love in your home just makes life so much more enjoyable. And it truly does motivate you to keep things maintained and tidy if you care for what you have and find your own, unique kind of beauty in it. What does you house say about you? It should be a window to your heart and your soul.

Whimsical Tablescape

A corner of our family room

I took these photos not long ago to show how I like to do some whimsical things in my home decor. I had this primitive black cat carved out of wood and this cute bird cage. I didn't want to get rid of my primitive cat as it has sentimental value to me but I don't do primitive either. So, what to do???

Recently I closed down the staging aspect of my business. In the process I sold or donated all of my household items and accessories. The little black cat had been sitting down in my warehouse but I just had to hang on to her. But my space is so limited. I also had the little green bird with the upturned tail. I grouped them together in this way with the cat inside the cage and the bird on the outside looking it. It is just a fun way to create a little point of interest in an area with a whimsical tablescape. The non-observant will walk right by but it does put a smile on the face of some, including me.


Accessorizing is so much fun and really sets the tone of the room. If you like a comfy, less formal look try a little whimsy~it works. A little surprise now and then creates fun and an opportunity to take yourself and life a little less seriously.

I Am IN LOVE With This

I'm sorry...This is Flat Out Gorgeous! Woohoo!

I participated in this new meme today and discovered this wonderfully talented lady that made this and explained how she did it here. I love the metallic look, the gems, the rustic embellishments, the glitz...in short everything about it! I love that it is not practical...it is simply beautiful! This is bedazzling at it's finest!

I am on it, thus begins my new sparkly button collection! Stop over and meet Ann. And check out the meme called WooHoo Wednesday! I can see it is going to be a FUN way to celebrate your gratitude!

Empty Spaces

On October 25th I posted my first in a series of Decorating Ideas. I want to elaborate on each one in future posts. Today I am talking about~

2. The space you leave empty is as important as the spaces you fill. Your eyes need resting places in a decorated space.

Over the years we all collect things we love and want to display in our homes. However, when we put up too much is becomes just that...too much! Too much stimulus is not at all restful or inviting. Not every square inch of floor, wall, and table tops need to be filled.

Here is an example of a home we were hired to stage for sale several years ago. This home was owned by a beautiful, very artistic lady and she loved a lot of everything in her home. For living there it was fine and really brought out her personality. Of course for staging a lot of it had to go.

The point of this is to show you that too much stuff creates too much visual confusion for most of us. Take a look...

Double Click for a Larger View

By adding so many pictures and accessories nothing stands out. The wall opposite the sofa was a series of bookcases with so much stuff you would not have believed it. By removing about 2/3 of the things in this room it looked so much better and the house sold rather quickly.

This client was so charming but her threshold for a lot of visual stimulation was higher than for most of us. Be selective about the things you want to surround yourself with in each room. It is great to rotate things and that way you can use all the things you love, just not all at the same time. The trend in the 80's and 90's was a lot of little groupings. The trend now is more towards larger pieces and less accessorizing.

This is another client's home and where a similar problem had to be addressed. The two photos that follow are the same room!

Before

After

These are just a few suggestions to update your look, declutter, and simplify your environment.

You will notice that in a lot of our staged houses we use a lot of pillows on the sofa and chairs. That is to keep people walking through from having a seat and messing things up! It is great that they feel "welcomed in" but we do not want them to sit down and relax while they tour the homes. It would be fine if they put things back as they found them, but....you know how that goes.