A Little Bit of Christmas Everywhere

As promised here's a few more pictures of my Christmas decorations.

My little Christmas village.... Ignore the wrinkled curtains - apparently I forgot to iron them. =0





Here's the centerpiece on my coffee table (aqua wicker trunk). I took a few items that I've had around the house - nothing was bought new - and made a sparkly centerpiece. This is just a round tray filled with a few glass marbles and then topped off with a glass mosaic bowl filled with some scented red bark, red Christmas balls, and a white pillar candle.


My sofa table is simply decorated in red, white, and silver.



My baker's rake in the kitchen get's festive with some colored lights.


The centerpiece on my kitchen island was also put together using things I had - a small, square, white dish, a silver reindeer, a few pine cones, and some dinner candles.



The centerpiece on my dinning table is yet another mishmash of stuff. This is an old silver plated tray that I got years ago at a yard sale, filled it with fake snow (I could have also used Epsom salt or white candle shavings for snow), pine cones, moss, candles for sparkle, and 2 mercury glass Christmas trees.





Of course I couldn't ignore the light fixture over the dinning table so I put some Christmas balls on that too.



I took a few more pictures that I'll post later this week. Nothing like overdoing it for Christmas. :)

Cozying up for Autumn

Edited - Hooked on Houses is having a fall tour so I thought I'd link up. Please visit Julia and her fabulous blog to see more wonderful homes.


As gardening becomes more fall cleanup than anything else my thoughts turn towards making the inside of our home as cozy and comfy as possible. I decorate for just about every holiday and season. I get bored easily so it's a good thing that I have a white sofa and chair so I can switch out colors as often as I like. Most of my accessories I've collected over the years come from flea markets,thrift shops, yard sales, and dollar stores. I don't spend a lot of money on my holiday decorations and will often buy something at season's end and put it away for next year just so I can take advantage of a clearance sale.

For example, this lighted pumpkin I got at a dollar store many years back. Every night I look at him he makes me smile and the kids love him when they come trick or treating.



The mantel is the most fun to spruce up each season. The only downside is that huge 42" flat screen TV, but it keeps hubby happy so I decorate around it. If you look here, you can see what the mantel looked like for summer.


After I took the picture above I noticed that the hearth area looked a little bare. So I added 2 small pumpkins and a pick of leaves I had in my basement to the candle holders.

Here is close up of the lighted nook.




Even the top of the bookcases in our great room get the autumn treatment. A few pumpkins, some soft lights, and a several sprigs of leaf garland is all this area needs.


You've seen this sofa table before here. I still want to paint it and I'm leaning towards painting it a distressed black (with red underneath). In the meantime it gets freshened up too with some mercury glass and a jar filled with gourds.




I'm a pillow addict. I have tons of them and switch them out all the time. Here's a new addition to my pillow collection that I picked up at Home Goods. I would have loved an orange throw but I can't seem to find one that is reasonably priced so I'll keep looking.

Here's a peek into the kitchen. I have many built-ins all over my kitchen so I've got lots of areas to display things.



This arrangement is simply some fake leaves, pine cones, and a candle on a black wire pedestal.


More built-ins...







The kitchen window gets spruced up as well.


Decorating can be as simple as a jar filled with some shredded paper from the dollar store.


The baker's rack where I store cook books gets made spooky too.

The dinning room gets some black accessories for Halloween.

Usually this hutch has blue willow plates. I switched those out for black and white plates and then added some small pumpkins for a punch of color.


In one corner of the dinning room is a small desk. This desk is also on my To Do list to be painted and flanked with a new chair. It will probably be white next time you see it.



The kitchen door gets a fall wreath. I love to put wreaths on the inside of doors too.




Well that's my tour of our fall decorations.

To see some other fabulous fall transformations please visit Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch.

Feeling Blue

There's nothing like a little redecorating to lift my spirits as summer comes to an end. So I decided to do some spray painting. I've had this wicker chest below for quite some time and have always wanted to paint it but couldn't decide on the color. When I found Mediterranean Blue spray paint from Valspar at Lowe's I knew it was just what it needed.


Here's the finished project.



A closer look at the seashells I've placed atop it. I had these on the chest when it was natural wicker and I'm amazed at how they really stand out now against the aqua blue color. Pretty soon I'll be taking these down when I start my Fall decorating, but for a few more weeks more I'm enjoying them.



The blue glass vases I've had in the fireplace nook have been there all summer. They match the chest perfectly. I change out the mantel with the seasons and will be looking for some orange vases. I like the color combination of orange and blue so I think the blue chest will work fine for the Fall.



Here's a closer look at the fireplace nook. Andy designed the fireplace. He also crafted the mantel, installed the stone, and did all the electrical. The corner in which this fireplace sits used to just be a bare wall. Our house didn't have a fireplace when we bought it and we always wanted one so Andy added it himself last winter. He did an amazing job! He hand crafted the molding and corbels - nothing was pre-made. I love it and we always joke that it is so well made that if the house were to get hit by some natural disaster that the fireplace would remain standing.



I love cut sunflowers in the house this time of year.



I've been wanting to do something with this sofa table.



I've never liked it because the Queen Style is not my taste and the color doesn't match anything I have. I decorate it for the seasons too so right now it has some sea birds on it along with a jar of seashells. Since we can't afford a new table I'll probably end up painting it and changing out the handles but I'm not sure what color yet. Most of the wood furniture in the room is painted white (with the exception of the blue chest). I don't think I want to paint it white because it sits against a white sofa and blue would be too much. Maybe black would work. If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them.