It's a "We Love White" party - and you're invited!

While visiting Donna at the beautiful Funky Junk Interiors earlier, I learned about a fantastic We Love White party being hosted by Marianne at Songbird, and everyone is invited!! Marianne is also having a giveaway at her beautiful blog (3 giveaways, in fact!!) so be sure to visit her to see why she loves white, and why all the other participating bloggers love white!

Anybody who visits my blog knows how much I love white! Over the past 6-7 years, we have transitioned from a darker, primitive decor (which I still do love!) to a lighter, brighter shabby cottage decor.

(click any photos to enlarge)

The dark pine trestle table that we've had for the past 21 years is always covered with white (or light) table coverings, and the dark bow back chairs were replaced by six white farmhouse chairs. I also painted our old primitive hutch white, giving it instant cottage charm (before & after photos).

All of our living room furniture was painted white as well, which really brightened up this small room. In addition, our 21-year old blue Sturbridge Plaid loveseat is concealed under a white slipcover. Color is easily added through the use of pillows and the vintage bedspread throws that cover our old, threadbare wing chair.

The same goes for the family room. The matching Sturbridge Plaid sofa is covered with a white slipcover and an equally old, threadbare wing chair is covered by a variety of spreads, just as in the living room. Having the white slipcovers, bookcases, and lamps allows me to easily switch accent colors.

Our teeny, tiny windowless kitchen was once a dungeon (before & after photos here)... but not anymore! It's amazing how a little white paint made this small room seem so much bigger! And our old brick fireplace, that hubby would not let me paint, is now hidden behind the new white fireplace cover he built (before & after photos here).

White lampshades, lace runners & table scarves, and pillow shams help make the small rooms in our little home seem so much brighter.

Vases filled with white buttons, white sparkly holiday decorations, pale white & pink pillowcase shams (used as curtains on our front doors), and a white church and tan angel keep the white theme going...

... while white cats (some real, some not) provide a little whimsy here, there, and everywhere.

Our Halloween decorations are light and bright rather than the standard orange and black...

... and white is the predominant color ...

 ... of all the Christmas decorations, too!

And as you can see, the white theme carries right through to the outside as well... There is white wicker patio furniture, our little white backyard shed, and the most beautiful WINTER white for several months out of the year (this is New England, after all!!!).

I hope you enjoyed these collages of Why I Love White! Now be sure to click the button below to head straight to Songbird's WE LOVE WHITE party!!

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone!

Donna

Finally!

After many, many months...

of looking this way...

...and looking that way...

... of always sleeping...

... with one eye open...

of waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

...until you have no more "wait" left in you...

... of looking through...

... every window, for the smallest sign ...

...until you feel like climbing the walls ...

... or the windows ...

... because all you see is this.

 F . I  . N . A . L . L .Y

... beautiful, glorious ....

... S P R I N G ....

... has arrived in New England...

HAPPY SPRING, EVERYONE!!!!

Donna

Thrift Store Mantel Decor...

I've been playing around with the mantel decor a bit and thought it might be fun to group several thrift store finds together...

There's a silver candleholder, some small shaker bottles, a white footed vase...

... and my favorite, the lady head planter vase on the end (found last year at a thrift store in Cambridge, MA). Although she's elegant just as she is, I wanted to try a few different looks on her...

Here she is modeling a bit of faux ivy....

... and here she is sporting a bird's nest to celebrate SPRING.

 Decisions, decisions...

Although it's hardly spring-like, with it's black velvet brim, I kept coming back to this vintage hat with the delightful netting and rhinestone embellishment (picked up at yet another thrift store in Cambridge last year)...

So for the time being, Miss Lady Head Planter Vase will sport her black & white hat while sitting on the mantel among my other thrift store finds.

I'm linking up to Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday, so be sure to stop over and see what everyone is sharing this week!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Donna



I've finally mastered Christmas minimalism...

...thanks to one small ball of fur. And it doesn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would!

This is our house right now, decorated for Christmas 2010. You really have to compare it to past Christmas's to get the full impact of how many decorations I did not put out this year (I normally go over the top when it comes to Christmas decorating). I also didn't have to rearrange the furniture to make room for the tree in our small living room (definitely a plus!).

See what I mean? This is last year.

Instead of my tinsel tree, the Christmas cactus has been moved into the living room bay window because....

...Baby has taken over the Dining Room bay window, where the cactus has been sitting for years. She likes that window best because the bird feeder is attached outside of it!

Fake poinsettieas have replaced real ones...


Again, because of you-know-who. (Poinsettias are poisonous to cats and since she is into everything, I'm definitely not going to take a chance with her! Here's a toxic/non-toxic list put out by the ASPCA if you ever need to refer to it).

Bottlebrush trees aren't breakable (I see you back there, Baby! Watching my every move!)...

...so a tray full of them seems to be a safe centerpiece for the trunk/coffee table.

...and if little Miss Mischief does knock them over...


...it's easy enough to set them back up on the tray.

I'm old enough to know the truth of the phrase "never say never," but I'm thinking I might try to make this "Christmas minimalism" an annual tradition, because it was SO easy to decorate - and undecorating is going to be a BREEZE!

I'm linking up to Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday, so be sure to head over there to check out all the other participating bloggers!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Donna