Fall Buffet

It's getting a little closer to Fall now, at least that's what the calendar says.  It's so hot here and will be for a long time still.  I say it's always summer here except for a couple of months and it's true!  However I do love thinking of Fall and the pretty colors of leaves falling from the trees and the wonderful weather it brings.  Is it too early to start thinking about decorating for Fall in your home?  That's up to you to decide.  Today I have a few pretties to share with you. (Why is it every time I say or rather write pretties, I think of that horrible witch on The Wizard of Oz.  "I'll get you, my pretty." Remember her?  She scared me to death as a kid and I still am scared of her!  She's here.)

Fall is rich colors.  You can count on a lushness of colors and textures.  Fall is a time of bounty.  Dried hydrangeas mixed with faux ones in the container I recently came across at a consignment store.   Transferware plates are scattered across the buffet.  This is one way I decorate for Fall.















The geese are loving the hot days at the lake.









Jan

Gallery Wall Reflection

I have had some fun playing with the mantel.  The mister rehung the mirror for me.  It's tilted a little lower into the room and is reflecting the room well.  When my mister moved the mirror it left a blank spot around the green chest.  I keep saying I am going to paint the chest blue, but when the desire to paint comes over me I just sit down and wait until it passes.  It works every time!  Now every time I took a photo of the mirror I kept seeing this empty spot so I knew I had to do something with it.  That area has never received attention like it should have but I was always a little perplexed as to what to do with it.  I have art with similar colors and decided to group them there along with my daughter's baby photo.  So I went to work on a gallery wall for this spot.

Fresh roses from local big chain in the prettiest colors that compliment the blue and is repeated in the floral painting.  I was still tweaking it here.  It started with the roses in a clear glass pitcher.





Still tweaking...



 Then I kept tweaking the gallery wall by taking away a print and adding two lamps with the same blue and white.  One small lamp is sitting on the top of the red books on the green chest.  The other lamp is much taller and I added it to the fabric covered round table.  You can't see the table in these photos but you have seen it plenty of times before.  Then I added two blue and white jars to the mantel.  I just acquired these babies and was up very late playing with them.  It was getting close to early morning so I decided I would just stay up because the morning light is so good.  Well...you know what happened.  I fell asleep but then I woke up and the living room was lit up like a stage for a play!  I had all the curtains open and the lights on from before I fell asleep.  So it was all good!





I am not going to tell you that this is a collection of blue and white I have been acquiring carefully over the years and am continuing to slowly build.  Heck no!  I am in my fifties and don't have forever!




What have you been up to?



Jan

Rain Equals Flowers

We have been getting so much rain for the past few weeks that we have flowers blooming that are usually done by now in August.  They are prospering and loving the daily rains we are receiving.



A photo of real life as opposed to a styled photo.   Layla on the left of the trunk and her baby on the right.


I need to go cut some more zinnias right now.

Rose of Sharon still blooming in August.




I dry the zinnia heads for the seeds.  Meanwhile they still have lots of pretty color on them.

I believe this is primrose, right ladies?



This zinnia is past its prime but the bee doesn't mind.






Jan

Would This Do?

It's fun to see different homes.   Would this do for you?

It's in Santa Barbara, California.

1520 Roble Drive


7987 square feet

Seven bedrooms

Eleven baths

Built in 1929

Just 6.5 gets you this address

And an ocean view.



Jan

Pattern Play

There's some wonderful pattern play on here today.  Take a look at this English home with the chesterfield sofa covered in a blue stripe.

As seen in Architectural Digest this is the home of writer Amanda Brooks and her husband painter Christoper moved from New York city to his family's Oxfordshire, England farm with their two children.    But let's focus on her upholsery, shall we?!  Red chairs facing the sofa give the room a punch.  Blue striped chesterfied sofa, isn't it yummy!!

Robert Kime fabric on the sofa and the lampshades.  The sofa fabric is perfect!


Amanda and daughter Coco riding. The English really have the most beautiful surroundings.


Max Rollitt had this sofa done in Sanderson's Picotage.


Speaking of Sanderson, have you seen this wallpaper!!


How about this floral on the sofa?!  Are you a fan?



Or the solid sofa with the striped chair.  The floral drapes bring the room to life.  All seen at Sanderson.

No financial compensation, I am just crazy about pretty fabric!


Jan

Curtains/Drapes

I love pretty curtains and appreciate just how much they bring to a room.  If you google curtains they are a thin fabric hung just for decorative use.  Drapes are a heavier fabric that is used to bring formality to the room and insulate against weather.  Either way I love them!  They bring a cohesiveness to the room, a lushness and coziness.  When you choose curtains that have the same colors used in the space, they tie the room together.  Whether you prefer solids or prints they cocoon a room.  In fact with a patterned drape you don't necessarily need another pattern in the room unless you are a pattern lover like myself.



There are plenty of how to's on lining your curtains and the correct way to hang them.   But sometimes you may need a tip or two for achieving a better look  after you have hung them.  You may think oh no!  What can be done now, after I have hung them?



When I had these curtains that are made out of a cotton chintz made for my living/family room they looked a little skimpy to me when I hung them.  I didn't have them relined but used what I had on hand.  I had these lined red drapes and found I didn't care for them like I thought I would.  So they were hung behind the floral curtains.  It worked perfect because it really helped with the visual fullness and with blocking heat and cold.



Do you remember or know about the tips on making your curtains fuller?  Like for example putting something behind your curtains to make them stand out and look fuller?  I know some in the past used tissue paper in the top pieces.  But did you know you could use virtually anything to make them fuller?  I have a vintage stool tucked behind each panel.  It gives them a lot more fullness and shows the curtains much better.  You could even use a trash bag filled with newspaper.  The possibilities are endless.  Just always remember they are there so you don't trip on them!






Curtains can be expensive but what they give back will last for many years.  I know I will always be drawn to reds, greens and blues regardless of any current trend.  It will save you a lot of money down the road if you know the colors you love.  When it's time to replace furniture, the curtains won't necessarily have to be replaced. There are enough colors in the curtains that what furniture is bought in the future will work in here.







Jan

Blue and White Tablescape with Zinnias

Yes, I have some blue and white for you today.  It's so hot and steamy outside that I have to have blue around me.  The zinnias were cut this morning from the garden.  They are still going strong with all the rain we have been getting.  I even have a couple of light blue hydrangeas!  That's strange to have here in August.  They are usually gone gone gone by now.

I wanted to have a place for us to have brunch this morning but it's just too hot.  So I made us some coke floats!  How does that sound?!  I try to stay away from coke but it just so good when it's hot and humid.






You want a refill?  Yes, me too just more coke!





Our crape myrtles actually bloomed this year.  They don't usually so this was a very nice surprise.  We have so many big trees for them to compete with.










Jan