Christmas Decorations

I want to say goodbye to my beautiful Christmas Tree filled with memories of travels, photos of children, and ornaments of keepsakes.

The Disneyland Ornament reminds me when my two sons saw the Disney parade at ages three and two. Alex was amazed at the costumes of storybook characters coming over to shake your hand to say Merry Christmas.  Michael was happy after a nap in his stroller and came alive for the lights and music.






The three wise men were purchased at a San Diego fundraiser I attended with Grandma Kent. They were handmade with carefully crafted pieces of clothing showing the royalty of kings from afar.  It's not a Christmas decoration made in china but made with the sweet intentions of raising money for good cause.  It seems like the meaning of Christmas every time they are  taken out of the Christmas box.  

Mirrors Add Dimension

Mirrors Add Dimension

The entry hall is a wonderful space for a gilded mirror because it adds depth to the room.  I love the way it reflects off different places in the family room, stairs, and dining room.  The chandelier from our dining room table glows in the reflection.

I fell in love with this piece at a San Diego Antique Store fifteen years ago.  It has been a friend ever since.  The curved edges go well with French Country.  The design reminds me of gold leaf from era's gone by.  I'm not sure of the age of the  mirror since it was purchased as an antique.  I believe the sales person thought it was 1920's.   

Mauve Drapes

Before the flood this is what our living room looked like.  We had the same mauve drapes I picked out with the JC Penny decorator the year after we got married in 1989.  I loved the drapes with traditional swags and a darker outline of pink.  They matched the floral couches we bought at Dillards.  I thought my room was complete.  However in the 90's mauve was not a popular color.  So it felt very outdated very quickly.  It seems like mauve became the oh nooooo word over night.  Yet in the 80's everyone decorated with mauve.

Lesson learned.  I grew to love my mauve drapes.  I pretended they were a flower petal.  They became different shades of pink in the light.  I could pull them shut with the cord.  My husband always said I think those drapes are just right every time I talked about changing them.  So I was excited when I found this floral print to blend with the mauve drapes.  My mother made matching pillows for the sofas.   Does anyone have any mauve stories?  

Garage Sale Finds

My mom and I love to visit garage sales to find treasures.  This painting was bought from an interesting man who was a professor in Spain.  He said his students painted masterpieces for his class. This is one of their paintings.  A ray of light shines on Mary and an angel ministers to her.  I believe I only paid thirty five dollars.  The frame alone would be more than that if you bought it in the store.  I have the perfect place for it in the dining room.  

The Perfect Oil Painting

Purchasing art work is a very personal decision.  After the flood I stored my most beloved piece of art for protection at my favorite Art Gallery, The Framesmith in North Dallas.  I found our living room painting at the store twenty three years earlier.  It was the first place I went to look.  I saw this oil painting  hanging on the wall calling out to me.  The owner said the artist was from Italy and it is a very rare piece but reasonably priced.  It was not massed produced in China.  The pastel colors flowed nicely with our dining room.  The mural painting of the sea coast in Italy reminded me of our  trips along the Adriatic Sea.  The dining room paint color of Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray was a wonderful backdrop.  

Rods For Drapes

Decorative Rods

I was able to choose from a selection of rods to give a finished look to the drapes.   My final decision was a walnut color to go with the wood strip on the top of our living room.  The drapes pull with a wand to open and close.  I had the traditional pull drapes from twenty years ago so it was a change to get use to.  But its fun to close the sheers at night at the end of a day.

Tile Over Brick Fireplace

It took courage but we decided to tile over the brick fireplace.  It was very inexpensive and easy maintenance since the tile I chose was Travertine look alike.  If there is soot on the tile all I have to do is wipe it off.  It also created a nice flow with the tile in the entry hall overlooking the living room.  The big issue my husband and I had was to replace the mantle. My husband did not want to put it back up. Without the mantle it gives it a more contemporary look.  So I call it Country French With A Twist.

The other issue was hanging our oil painting.  My son was so sweet to hang it as I was visualizing how high to hang it.  We had to put a special hook with a special glue as not to damage the tile.  So far it has not fallen so all is well.

Our wonderful contractor added a spotlight to shine on the painting every time we turn on our light switch.  I use to have a little light attached to the picture frame which was very inconvenient to turn on and off.  I think it also detracted from the painting to have the light on top.  Not sure what the trend is but its nice to have lighting to show off things you love.

My next job was to find a fireplace screen.  I went to my favorite Consignment store and found a screen with scrolls of gold on top for a French Flair.

Drapes Verses Blinds Or Both

Open window in living room for wonderful view of the trees.

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A lot of people told me when I was decorating don't put any drapes back up, just use blinds.  But I feel fabric softens a window.  So for a compromise I used Blinds for the family room to block the glare on the TV but did not use blinds in our living room so we could look out and enjoy the beautiful trees.

I used the same drapes my mom had made from years before in our family room.  It's nice to be able to close the blinds for privacy.  My mom made the drapes with one long piece so it was easy to drape over the fluer de li sconces giving it a French Flair.  It also reminds me of our sons Boyscout days.

I'm not sure if it is a regional thing about using blinds.  The Texas Heat perhaps requires a little more protection,  I'm curious to see how others feel about it.  It seems like heavy drapes got a bad rap in recent years so it was easier not to use anything.

Sheers are nice for privacy too.  I pull them with a magic wand.  

Travertine Look Alike

We chose to use tile for a fresh, light, look. We tiled our family room, dining area and kitchen for a nice flow.   I wanted the look of travertine without the maintenance.  Travertine is a natural stone and very porous.  If you spill something it has the possibility of staining.  Many people who have Traventine love it but I didn't want to take the risk.  So through a friend's suggestion I went to the Arizona Tile Store for a wonderful selection of tiles.  The assortment of tile was actually visually seen on the floor of the store so the customer can see the pattern.  I wanted a light tile to open the space.  I found NuCream Travertine look alike.  When the manufacturer makes the tile they use a photo image of natural stone so it is so similar its difficult to tell it really isn't Travertine.  There are variations in the pattern so your eye does not see a duplicate pattern.  We also tiled our guest bathroom.

I also chose a darker grout so I never have to clean it.  I figured it was going to get dark anyway since there is not way I am going to scrub it.  The tile is sooo easy to maintain.  The variation in the tile hides spills and dirt.  I was a little worried the tile would be cold but its not.  I  love love our tile.  I will never miss going around with Resolve to try to clean the carpet.  We did carpet in the bedrooms and living room for a cozy feel but the tile is great for the traffic areas.