A Winter Garden

Once Christmas Day is over, I can't wait to put up all the Christmas decor and get ready for the New Year. One of the first things I decorate for the seasons is my Welsh Dresser in our breakfast area, and I decided to use a "garden theme" for the winter months.

I love birds and had several decorative bird houses on hand, along with some other "garden-style" accessories I gathered from the attic, my "decor" closet, and even from outside. I still had a few blank places on the shelves that I needed to fill to achieve the look I wanted, and, after a visit to a couple of my favorite shops in Jackson, I was able to finish my decorating project.

It makes me happy every time I look at the dresser, because, even though it's winter, the garden theme reminds me of things-to-come in the Spring, too. Like this little robin sitting on its nest ...

I couldn't resist this mossy green stone bird with its iron feet, and the little pot of violets were calling my name, too.

The little snow birds that were huddled on the steps of the church under our Christmas tree ...

Have now taken up residence on the dresser ...

It was "love at first sight" when I saw this decorative "book" box with its ragged cover and faded picture of a bird on the front.

I rescued this little guy from my "decor" closet, and I think he looks right at home in his new "garden," don't you?

I found the stone planter in the attic with the orchid leaves, and added the "hens and bitties" plant and fern fronds ...

I love it when a plan comes together, don't you!

I hope you enjoy these last couple of days of the year, and are looking forward to decorating your house for the winter, too.

Decorating for Fall with Stained Gourds

One of my favorite Fall decorating accessories is gourds. They are inexpensive, come in all shapes and sizes, and can be stained or painted to complement any style decor. Here are a few ways I use mine:

On the mantel of our fireplace ...

The Welsh Dresser in our breakfast area ...

A few closeup vignettes of the shelves:

If you would like to read more about how to stain gourds, you can read a post I wrote a couple of years ago called Stained Gourds: A Fall Decorating Project. It's fun, inexpensive, and you'll be surprised by how many other accessories, besides gourds, you can update for your Fall decorating projects ... just with a can of stain (like plain, inexpensive terra cotta pots, which I plan to try soon).

Happy decorating!

Spring Decorating Project

Although Spring hasn't quite arrived outside, I've been busy trying to create it inside. My first project was the old Welsh Dresser in our breakfast area. I love decorating it for the different seasons and here it is decked out for Fall and Christmas ...

It took me a while to get the look I wanted for Spring, and I tried several different vignettes before I decided, "Okay, enough!" Here is the finished dresser, and I hope you don't think, "Oh, bless her heart, she should have kept trying."

Our breakfast area and kitchen ...

This photo shows a glimpse of the
game table in the left corner ...

Close-up of the game table. I found the old school
bell at an estate auction in Vicksburg ...

And now back to the Dresser ...

I've had the bluebird pictures in my "decorating closet," for years, and, since I was trying to achieve a "garden look," I thought I would try them on the shelves. I was delighted with them, even with their "mauve" mattes.

I kept the top shelf pretty simple. I love the swan and use it for all the seasons. The tall bird house is new, and also the orchid plant. I liked the orchid so much that I bought one for the breakfast table, too. I think it gives sort of a "neutral" look, plus it's not overpowering, and I like that.

The birdcages on the bottom shelf were a gift from our daughter, Whitney, and I love their "light and airy look."

I added this little blue bird and nest.

I had fun decorating the dresser and have a few more projects I want to do, which I will probably share later. Until then, "Happy Spring Decorating!"

A New Home for an Old Welsh Dresser ...

Sometimes I think it's much harder to find just the right piece of furniture ... or fabric ... or accessory ... when you have something definite in mind. I can't count the number of times I've gone into a shop and, when asked by a salesperson if they can help me find something, answered ... "No, thanks. I'll know it when I see it."

I have been looking for a china cabinet for our breakfast area for quite some time, and had a mental image of exactly what I wanted filed away in that part of my mind where I store "decorating stuff" (if you're like me, that's a pretty large area).

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I spent some time in Shreveport, Louisiana, and we went to one of my favorite shops there, a little antique shop called Antiques on Gladstone. As I walked in, one of the first things I saw was the little china cabinet I've had filed away in my mind all this time. It was truly "love at first sight," and my heart literally skipped a beat when I saw it.

Its tag read "Old Welsh Dresser with Pot Rack," and I thought, "Oh, be still my heart ... I'm taking you home."

I'll spare you the details of my "wheeling and dealing," and the Kodak moments of my husband and me loading it in the back of his pickup truck. Suffice it to say that it is, indeed, happily living in its new home -- our breakfast area!

It looks like it was made to fit the space, and I'm so pleased with the way it complements the other furniture.

{You can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like }

I can't close without telling you a little about some of the accessories I used to decorate it.

The wooden bowl holding the apples was my grandmother's, and this old oval-shaped tin on the top shelf is full of antique buttons she saved "just in case she needed them someday." I'll share the buttons in a post soon.

This precious little cut glass jar with the little bird perched on the lid is a treasure I inherited from my mother-in-law. There are also little birds encircling the bottom of the jar ...

And my mother recently gave me this beautiful old candy tin. She can't remember where she got it, but she's had it for many years ...

I love having all these keepsakes nearby so we can enjoy them and share the stories behind them.

Perhaps one day, our granddaughter Avery Grace will reminisce with her family about "the day Grandmama found that old Welsh Dresser in a little shop in Shreveport."