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This is a first, here on the blog....two posts in two days...the weather outside is frightful (couldn't resist) and I am in a total hibernation state of mind!! Attached to my iPad with copious amounts of tea are whiling away my winter mornings.... A few questions have been raised about the TV...where is it ?? Do we watch TV?

When I was designing the fireplace and mantle, I knew I didn't want a TV over the fireplace....I have always felt a beautiful fireplace would be compromised with an unsightly flat screen hanging over it...but, necessity dictated that it was the only place it could be installed and be viewed from the sitting area and kitchen island..

When we renovated, we took down all the walls to make one, large open concept, kitchen/gathering room...

Here, you can see the layout of both rooms fairly well...

I decided on a stacked stone fireplace with bead board accents, and since we live in the country, I wanted to keep it simple and natural..I searched Pinterest and other sources for hours looking for just the right solution to the problem of the disappearing TV flat screen! Sources ran the gamut from a roll up art canvas to hinged doors to mirrors that camouflage the screen, mirrors that are the TV screen...the possibilities seemed endless, but nothing was really working for me....

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....until I saw this, on Houzz.com. The shrine to home building and renovating!! I loved the concept, but felt the hinges were too bold and large for the decor I had in mind for my home...so, I adapted it...instead of bolting the hardware to the front of the sliding doors, I had them installed behind the doors...this still provided the look and functionality without the " horse shoe" look...

My husband loved the "horseshoes" , but I won that battle!!

The only downside to this application is that the mantle cannot be decorated !! I can still add framed prints to the doors....a possibility?

The iron screen is an antique from England, which I had purchased from an estate sale several years ago...

The other question is about the counter material...it is honed, Carrera marble....which everyone dissuaded me from using...another battle I won....I have absolutely no regrets..I would encourage it's use...born Italian and having travelled to Italy several times, I have seen first hand the beautiful patina that worn marble acquires over time...it was the look I was striving for here in my kitchen...with sensible use and care it will not disappoint . Honed marble has had the shine taken off, sanded and it is sealed...I chose pieces with a soft green running through it....

The serving island, taken this Christmas, as well as all the counters are in honed marble....so there you have it! Thank you for your interest and kind and encouraging comments, always....they mean so much to me... still so much to do, but it is coming together, as the budget allows...

A visitor this morning, munching on my oak leaf hydrangeas !! Stay warm, N.xo

A nod to romance....

The question of love has been an eternal one....my thought is, it should permeate our lives every day, every second.....filling our homes and living our lives with it at the forefront, is unquestionable...

Little tokens of love every day....a warm cup of tea, a comforting, simple meal, a hug, a smile, expecting less and giving more and remembering, for me, to take joy in everything I do, no matter how humble...

I know I am an incurable romantic...and am always drawn to those images and objects...flowers, putti or cherubs...and the colours of romance....red and pink!

Scenes of faraway castles on my tea cups and tea pot, hold promises of romantic escapes...

Repurposing furnishings from another time, like this dining table, I cut down to coffee table height...was it set for a romantic dinner at one time? I think I am loving here in our kitchen/gathering room....it's beautiful oval shape makes a statement...

It is filling this large, open space at the moment...I have been on the hunt for a coffee table since our move in, and decided to use what I already had....just giving it new life...I think a sisal rug will look just perfect underneath....

The porcelain, putti figurine is a vintage find....and I move it around every season....

The sunshine streaming through my windows today, prompted this short, quick post....my nod to romance...

Wishing everyone a Happy St. Valentine's Day....N.xo

FYI.....The rose sap bucket is an Acorn Lane design and the grapevine basket is from our local Niagara vineyards and is handmade by local artisans....

 

The Collected Home....

One of my favourite designers is Charlotte Moss....her interiors are collected, not decorated...infused with character and charm and that haphazard look of uncontrived elegance...

....layers of the stuff of life....meaningful momentos acquired over time...

 

...interiors that shun clutter in favour of symmetry and balance, but still offer comfort and personality...

With my decorating challenges here at Acorn Lane, I strive to employ some of these design principles in my own home...

What seems to work for me....is decorating in layers....like below in our kitchen/sitting area...

I begin with fabrics and colours I love to live with...the colour green taking top billing...the blue export china I have collected for years...consistent throughout with Cake Batter paint on the walls and Cloud White trim by BM...

Layering with collections and different textures like silver, glass, baskets and of course, flowers from the garden, helps me to achieve the look I want, without the clutter...

One of the design principles I learned in retail....group and seperate....it has been working for me! Below..looking from the kitchen into the sitting area...

In the master bedroom below...the colours of alabaster and blush are working well with the painted French provincial furniture acquired at an estate sale over twenty years ago...there is a wonderful story associated with it's purchase...for another time...

Many more layers required here!! I am thinking Mole (a mousy brown) velvet pillows and linen bedding....a small slipper chair..bedside lamps...personal touches....

The downstairs guest bedroom is acquiring the collected look...here looking in from the ensuite bath..

...because this room gets limited light, I decided for a happy, yellow colour scheme...I think I have about six different patterns going on here...but I like it...they are colours of the garden! Petit print quilts have found their way into my heart..

....a romantic at heart... I added this small plaster relief over the iron bed....which was in an upstairs bedroom for several years...

The small chest, below, belonged to my Mom...handpainted through Acorn Lane...

Layering with vintage pillow slips, lamps and hand painted furniture and china...the lamp shade is made from vintage fabric...I sold them in my shop at one time...I love the English term for anything handmade...bespoke!

It just sounds so lovely and proper...

A vintage bark cloth toss cushion, with bottle brush fringe....bottle brush fringe...my sewing obsession at the moment! It looks soft and pretty on cushions and works just as well with upholstery...

Decorating in layers, for me, helps me to visualize more clearly in achieving the look I want, and ultimately avoid costly mistakes...especially when you are on a budget! I can wait...for just the right thing!!

Finding your own personal style can be a harrowing, daunting experience....but like anything else, I have found, that decorating from the heart makes it a little less difficult, and ultimately more pleasurable..employing basic design principles and layering with objects of affection, loved and collected over the years, creates an inviting and interesting home reflecting the people who live there......

This is a view from my window today...grey skies, chilly and snowing....I hope this small post helped brighten up your day!!

N.xo

 

First impressions...the entry.

The weekend after New Year's Day, the painter left....he was the last of the workers to finish up with the renovation. It felt wonderful to be able to wake up in the morning and not have anyone coming into the house...finally!

I thought I would share some glimpses of our front entrance...foyer..it is very small, and my grand vision of what I would do here, from a decorating standpoint, quickly vanished...

It is actually no bigger than a landing, and you are immediately forced to go either up into the open kitchen/sitting area, or downstairs to the family room...below.

I decided to reuse a vintage mirror which I had saved from my shop...it is a bit like a trumeau, but not really.

It is from Belgium and we painted and antiqued it, like I did all of the pieces I sold...I like the lines and scale and thought it would make a statement in my small foyer..

The bench was fashioned from a coffee table....my upholsterer resized it to fit, and added the small back from the piece that was cut out of the middle. I only had approximately 14 inches of width to play with and it was the perfect length to sit under the mirror...40 inches...

The pretty Louis XV legs on the bench add a bit of softness to the angular lines of the mirror...

The cream coloured damask fabric came from a local thrift shop...I had been saving it for just the right project..and it works well with the tone on tone colours of the stone floor tiles...

The cushion is attached to the upholstered base so it won't slip and slide when you sit on it...

This mirror probably sat on a console table and went straight up to the ceiling in a former life...

It fits the small space, yet gives it a sense of grandeur as well, and because of the 12 foot ceiling it reflects the light from the hall fixture...

I can't really do much more with this space...I plan to add a few more framed prints on this wall, a rug and a some homey touches....I love the English country look...

Perhaps a vintage suitcase under the bench to hold gloves and scarves....

....or a basket and top hat on top of the bench....just for fun....

A la W.C. Fields....

Here you can see how very small the space really is....

I have so much yet to do...thinking ahead, but thinking back, the best decision I made was painting the entire house in one colour, both upstairs and down...Cake Batter by BM....it looks like the colour of an old alabaster lamp here in my home, with our diffused light...this decision has enabled me to reuse most, if not all, of my old furniture and collections...with a little bit of tweeking...making for a very happy husband!

Till next time, N.xo