Showing posts with label cottage style. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cottage style. Show all posts

Friday, February 6, 2009

Splashes of color...

A couple of days ago I showed you the prisms that hang in our windows. The prisms are so pretty in and of themselves, but the rainbows they create are truly spectacular! Here are some that I captured around the house...

(click any photos to enlarge)

Rainbows dance on the ceiling and upper wall of the dining room...


... inside the family room bookcases...


...across the living room pie safe...



... and down the hallway.


They brighten up the kitchen cabinets...


...and the slipcovered sofa (I love how the scrollwork of a decorative tray cast a shadow across the rainbow).


They appear on lampshades and walls...


...dining room chairs...


...and the living room pie safe.


Even the candleholders that sit in the dining room window cast little rainbows in the bay window.


A houseplant leaf casts a shadow on the hallway wall...


...while rainbows chase each other around the grandmother clock.


And lastly, the living room rocker, decorated with rainbows and the shadows of a lace valance.
The rainbows are especially enjoyable during the long, cold winter here in New England as they definitely brighten up our little cottage!
Donna

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Craving spring... faux tulips...a thrifted vase... and why I love Rachel Ashwell...


(click any photos to enlarge)
Okay, I'm really craving a big dose of spring right about now!
Ignore that pink poinsettia that screams Christmas and winter! Instead, focus on the tulips that are beckoning, "Come on spring! We're ready for you!"


Okay, so they're fake tulips, but I don't care... They remind me of spring, and since I'm at the tail end of a cold & snowy New England January, anything that makes me think of warm sunshine and spending time outside is okay in my book...

In addition to the tulips, I got out my Rachel Ashwell 'Simply Shabby Chic' Rosalie tablecloth (it also reminds me of all things spring-like!)... This tablecloth was one of my earliest purchases when I started getting into the shabby-cottage look...


Not only do I love Rachel Ashwell's home decor items (I just splurged on a shower curtain that I'll show you in an upcoming post), I also love her philosophy regarding decorating and life in general... She says, "Perfection is too daunting." Four such powerful words!! She also embraces the "rumpled style," as she calls it, and as you can tell from the tablecloth in the photos, I have no problem enbracing that style either!


Another early "cottage" purchase was this junktique vase. The bottom is marked E.O. Brody Co. M5000 Cleveland, O. U.S.A. It's very similar to this one that I just found on-line while researching the E.O. Brody Co.


So here's to... the anticipation of spring... the acceptance of faux flowers... the fun of thrifting... and the love of Rachel Ashwell's 'rumpled' style and 'perfection' philosophy!


Donna