Auctions Create Great Finds

I found this wonderful piece of furniture at an auction in San Diego.  The wood is solid walnut and the carving is turn of the century. 

The cabinet is from Scotland which my mother and I bought at an auction. 

My mother found a treasure in the pictographs of the Sistine Chapel painted by Michael Angelo.  

Lighting With Chandeliers

Our contractor suggested a wonderful place to choose our lighting called Lees north of Dallas.  We immediately were helped with customer service willing to discuss our options.  When I saw this chandelier I fell in love at first sight.  It was even half price so how could I refuse.  The mixture of iron and ice crystals with candlesticks glowing gave a dramatic result.  My only concern was it too much for the kitchen.  Since Country French was the theme we thought go for it.

We kept the chandelier that came with the original home.  It was my favorite for over twenty years.

Since glass crystal is very romantic we went with a Bombeck for the entry hall.  The contractor said it can't be too big and it can't be too small.  So we picked one just right.

Etagere Memories

 

I stumbled upon this etagere in a quaint antique shop in Temecula, north of San Diego.  I fell in love with the ornate doors and scrolled edges.  Our family has been blessed with the gift of travel so to keep memories alive we have collected souvenirs.  As I pass by the shelves in our living room it reminds me of happy times.  The watercolor painting of Hawaii brings back pictures of two little boys building sandcastles with shovels and pails.  On top is a photo of a lula where we sampled poi for the first time.  The third shelf has a picture of a castle we toured in Rhodes.  We bought a plate from Turkey, the best place to shop for Persian Rugs.  A golden Gondola brings a image of weaving through Venice Canals.

I believe the furniture dates to the turn of the century.  I saw it in an old movie dated in that time period.  It stores china in the bottom shelves.  I bought two little lamps with magnolia flowers for extra lighting.  The original etagere began in France in the 18th century. Keeping the old brings memories to share with generations to come.

Finalist For Family Room Sofas

I went to store after store trying to find the perfect match for our home.  The sofas in our family room were destroyed by the flood so I was able to pick out new.  I wanted something to be comfortable and durable.

The grand winner was from Freeds Department store.  I liked the blue microfiber fabric.  If you spill something it wipes right up.  It's very soft as you sink into the cushions.  I liked the brown trip and matching ottoman.   My husband and two sons tried it out and enjoyed putting their feet up on the cushion.
It's a winner!!!!After hours of shopping.

Oil Paintings Make a Home

Oil Paintings make a visual statement in a home.  I went to several galleries to find the perfect choice.  It is a very personal decision what you decide to hang on your walls.  We have traveled to Italy and France so the pics on this page reminds me of the quaint cobbled streets, beautiful poppies, colorful harbors, and still life found in museums.

Finding A Place for Cherished Toile Fabric

Fabric speaks to me.  My mother and I picked out the toile fabric several years ago.  She made pillows, recovered a chair and made drapes with coordinating material.  Since my mom is ninety years old she will not be sewing a new set.  So i wanted to keep something to remember her by.  I also shopped for another toile and didn't see one I liked better.

My mom and I  found this chair at an estate sale with cane sides and curved legs, very French.  It is sooo comfortable our cat, Crystal loved to curl up in it.  The chair was saved in the flood so it was a sign to keep it.  My son called it the people fabric.  Every toile tells a story.  The story seems to be about a husband and wife working in fields for survival.  The wife watered the plants in her lovely garden and the husband plowed crops to sell and eat.   Life a hundred years ago was mostly rural.  Husband and wife worked as a team to provide food on the table and sell what was left over.  My mom grew up on a farm in rural Oklahoma and remembers what it was like to grab eggs from the underbelly of a chicken.  It  wasn't romantic at all because the chickens pecked at her.  But it was her job and she did it.  She watched her mother ring the necks of chickens for Sunday dinner.  The toile is a reminder of rural America.

I purchased the book, Country French Living by Charles Faudree to educate me about French design.  As I was thumbing the pages I couldn't believe my eyes.  The same fabric was on page 123 in Charles book.  In fact it was displayed at the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at the University of Oklahoma.  The same University my elder son was attending.  It's a small world.  

Shopping

Before I could make an absolute decision on anything I had to know if what i wanted existed out there.  So it was time to shop.  I found these furniture items at Dillards Department Store.  I went there because twenty years earlier I had purchased two nice floral sofas at Dillards and had a nice memory of the store.  Plus  it has great clothes to buy.  But that's another day.  I found this wonderful leather sofa with brown trim.  I thought it looked very elegant but wasn't sure if it had enough color.

Dillards had a nice chaise lounge that I scooted over to the leather couch because I thought they went together.  The sales person was very nice and aloud me to do so.  Since my theme was Country French I liked the French language on the chairs.  I sat there for a good while and wondered if this was a fit?  In my imagination I imagined the furniture in another place.  Perhaps in a French Villa with fountains in the view.  I only had limited space so wasn't sure if it was the right pick.

Bare Bones

Our home was bare bones. The dry wall came down because we didn't want any chance of the dreaded word mold.  It is sooo strange to see your home as it was in its birth.   This is what it looked like when it was being built I thought.  All of the memories you have seem so distant.  I remember Alex crawling on the floor in a circle as we chased him laughing.  This is a picture of our bedroom without the bed, bookcase, and dresser.  It seemed so surreal that our bedroom was still our bedroom but in a different state.  It was an out of the box experience.  It was like we had a chance to do over.  It was a fresh start to try new things. 

Paint Color

It wasn't an easy decision to pick out paint color.  I knew I wanted soft colors from the landscape of Provence. I wanted our dining room to be a natural green from the countryside, but not so pastel it looked like a nursery.  So I went to Sherwin Williams to pick out possible colors of green.  During this time I had consulted some decorators and contractors.  They all wanted me to do beige.  Kiln Beige was the most popular color.  I know because I asked the manager of Sherwin Williams.

"What is the most popular color?"  No matter what store I went to it was Kiln Beige.  I reverted to conformity and used that color for our guest bathroom.  It does look warm and inviting.  Let me show you all the colors I tried.  I think I must be an analytic thinker because I tried quite a few paint colors.  The colors on the family room wall were all shades of beige.  All the decorator books say to try the paint colors on the wall to see if they change in the light.  Our home was vacant after the flood and the walls were ripe to experiment.
It was a daunting task to pick just the right colors.  

After the Flood

After the flood 

Our family had a wonderful vacation on a cruise.  But while we were away our upstairs bathroom toilet sprung a leak.  Thanks to our neighbor she noticed a river of water coming down our stairs.  I found out while we were on the cruise that everything was submerged in water.  My neighbor Jos said on the phone over seas,

"It's bad Sandra, really bad."  

The tone of her voice made me wonder how bad was it?  

As we arrived home I opened the door to see everything moved out of our home.  Luckily Servpro had been busy with fans blowing to dry the structure to keep it intact.. The next six  months was a journey to what to buy?  What was my plan? Who do I follow?  What is my style?  Do I follow my instincts?

I was raised with a mom who loved fabric.  She could cover her couches and make drapes from her sewing machine in her bedroom.  If she was about to change the living room or den it was countless trips to the fabric stores to see what was the perfect covering for her devan.  If we weren't decorating we loved to go to fabric stores just to see what was out there.  Cutting Corners was our favorite so it was the first place I went to study my plan.

I've always loved Country French so I was so excited when I found this fabric by Alex. It went with Comfort Gray paint color by Sherwin Williams.   My neighbor was so sweet and held it up to get a vision of how it would drape for my dining room.

The other choice was a favorite color but didn't stand out as anything special.

Before I decided on the dining room drapes I needed to have something to coordinate for the living room.  So I went on another trip to Cutting Corners.  The aqua fabric stood out as a friend.  I think of pieces of material as friends because you live with them for quite awhile.  It's not like you can have a fight and say I  won't call you again. (Not that I do that ) The fabrics you choose must feel right.  They are apart of your life.