NESTING
"Mother Nature's palette is a rich resource of inspiration for decorating your home. By bringing the seasons indoors with inexpensive personal flourishes, you will rarely grow tired of where you live." Sarah Ban Breathnach, from Simple Abundance
Have you ever wished that you owned more than one house? Wouldn't it be fun to spend summer at your beach house, and winter at your mountain lodge? Or maybe you'd be content if you could just totally refurnish the house you have periodically. Well, I've found something that's almost as satisfying, but not nearly as expensive. What is that? Seasonality, of course!
Let's start by setting up some guidelines. Over the years I've established a few basic rules that help guide me whenever I do any sort of decorating, whether indoors or out:
1) Always remember, the purpose is pleasure, not perfection. Don't strive to be an immaculate house-keeper. Be a great home-maker.
2) Think in terms of pyramids and layers. Whether you are setting up a buffet for a party, arranging a grouping of candles on the mantel, or planting a container to go by the front door, you will get much more impact and interest if you have a variety of heights and layers. For a no-fail grouping, arrange items in a pyramid shape.
3) No confetti allowed. If you have too many little things, in too many colors, scattered all over your house or garden, the eye has nowhere to pause and focus, so it just skitters across without really seeing anything. Give them something to focus on.
4) Get the most bang for your buck - concentrate your efforts where it really counts, and don't try to decorate every single surface in your home.
5) Surround yourself with that which you truly love, and get rid of everything else that is cluttering up your home and your life.
Now, let's get down to business. I have a few areas in my house that I change out seasonally. It takes me an hour or two at most, but it completely transforms the atmosphere of the house. First I rearrange the open shelves of my hutch, which faces the front entry. In winter I might hang a berry swag at the top, and display my white ironstone collection. In spring it could be a garland of tulips and daffodils, my wedding china with the pastel flower border, and an assortment of bunnies, chicks and eggs. Next I change out my table decorations. In summer it might be a country French print cloth and an old red sap bucket filled with sunflowers. In autumn it would probably be my harvest-print linens with my collection of Bakelite-handled flatware in luscious shades of red, rust, green and gold. Nothing I use is valuable - most of it was picked up at flea markets and such. My goal is to never buy anything that would break my heart, or bank-book, if it were lost or broken, but never settle for "I suppose it will do". I only buy something if it will put a smile on my face each time I see it.
(To be continued....)
"Mother Nature's palette is a rich resource of inspiration for decorating your home. By bringing the seasons indoors with inexpensive personal flourishes, you will rarely grow tired of where you live." Sarah Ban Breathnach, from Simple Abundance
Have you ever wished that you owned more than one house? Wouldn't it be fun to spend summer at your beach house, and winter at your mountain lodge? Or maybe you'd be content if you could just totally refurnish the house you have periodically. Well, I've found something that's almost as satisfying, but not nearly as expensive. What is that? Seasonality, of course!
Let's start by setting up some guidelines. Over the years I've established a few basic rules that help guide me whenever I do any sort of decorating, whether indoors or out:
1) Always remember, the purpose is pleasure, not perfection. Don't strive to be an immaculate house-keeper. Be a great home-maker.
2) Think in terms of pyramids and layers. Whether you are setting up a buffet for a party, arranging a grouping of candles on the mantel, or planting a container to go by the front door, you will get much more impact and interest if you have a variety of heights and layers. For a no-fail grouping, arrange items in a pyramid shape.
3) No confetti allowed. If you have too many little things, in too many colors, scattered all over your house or garden, the eye has nowhere to pause and focus, so it just skitters across without really seeing anything. Give them something to focus on.
4) Get the most bang for your buck - concentrate your efforts where it really counts, and don't try to decorate every single surface in your home.
5) Surround yourself with that which you truly love, and get rid of everything else that is cluttering up your home and your life.
Now, let's get down to business. I have a few areas in my house that I change out seasonally. It takes me an hour or two at most, but it completely transforms the atmosphere of the house. First I rearrange the open shelves of my hutch, which faces the front entry. In winter I might hang a berry swag at the top, and display my white ironstone collection. In spring it could be a garland of tulips and daffodils, my wedding china with the pastel flower border, and an assortment of bunnies, chicks and eggs. Next I change out my table decorations. In summer it might be a country French print cloth and an old red sap bucket filled with sunflowers. In autumn it would probably be my harvest-print linens with my collection of Bakelite-handled flatware in luscious shades of red, rust, green and gold. Nothing I use is valuable - most of it was picked up at flea markets and such. My goal is to never buy anything that would break my heart, or bank-book, if it were lost or broken, but never settle for "I suppose it will do". I only buy something if it will put a smile on my face each time I see it.
(To be continued....)
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