My kind of caravan

Of course if I was heading off in a gorgeous caravan full of lovely cupcakes I would be in heaven. Why is it though, that my cupcakes never look that perfect. Still its something to aim for!

From here x

My Favorite Shopping Spots!!

The famous Brimfield Fair starts this week in the sleepy town of Brimfield, MA. It comes to life three times a year and Tuesday, May 11 - Sunday, May 16; kicks off the 2010 season. I hardly ever miss it and this year I wanted to pass along a few favorite shopping spots of mine. I have listed the field they are located in parenthesis.

First stop -Industrial Age Antiques -(The Meadows) A great place for Mercury glass bottles and industrial carts made into tables, assorted lab ware and machine and industrial antiques. I never know what they are going to bring, but its always interesting!
My next never miss stop is my friend, Wendy Lewis Textile Trunk - (New England Motel - under the tent) Wendy has an incredible collection of antique french ticking, grain sacks and antique linens - If you are searching for it she either has it or can find it for you.
I never want to miss Marvin Gardens - (Quaker Acres) It is always so gorgeous- real eye candy and an inspiration of how your garden could look - Though not all antiques, they have interesting and beautiful fountains and garden urns.
I also never miss Capitol Salvage (New England Motel) Actually I usually go here first to make sure I get the best selection of all their great treasures. They are masters at finding architectural pediments, corbels and old windows. They also take old columns and make them into tables. Great spot!

My favorite spot for finding awesome accessories for my clients with summer homes is Traditional Marine Outfitters - (The Meadows) They come down from Nova Scotia with fabulous antique nautical items like buoys ,oars, floats, etc.
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This year I have to miss Brimfield, but if you find any treasures please email me photos so I can see the great new finds that will undoubtedly be there!! Fields open on different days so check out their specific times here. Have fun!!

My Living Room Evolution

I wanted to share with you the evolution of my living room.

(click on any photo to enlarge)

My living room is a warm and inviting room with windows on two sides and sun coming from a third side through the Conservatory. I have always been hesitant to cover the windows with any window treatments - as I hate to block any light. But, clearly my living room needed some softening. Above is the before.

After a long search for perfect Belgian linen and a tutorial from Joni at Cote De Texas on curtains (do click this link - it is a fabulous resource) the day came to have the drapes installed. I hired a professional drapery installer. I am a good at many things, but this area is best left to a professional.

Here is the after (please disregard the wreaths in the windows as they are part of my holiday decor.) The curtains are Parisian pleat tops, double window width with a trouser break bottom. The rods are hand forged iron and sent up from New Orleans by my dear designer friend, Millie. You can see the richness and softness the new window treatments bring to the room.

Here is the living room from another angle. You can see my cherished Mora clock to the right. For the story on how I acquired that clock click here. Notice the sweet Gustavian chair in the bottom right of the photo.

Here are the Gustavian chairs from another angle. The painting is a lovely work by Cape Cod artist, Anne Packard. We usually put our Christmas Tree here.

This angle is taken by standing at the Mora clock. Also notice my new "soft" seagrass rug- which really is very soft with white cowhide rug overlay - to learn more about cowhide rugs click here.

I added a few more holiday decorations in this shot. Notice the garden urns by the fireplace filled with berries, branches and evergreens.

I added more oversized mercury glass ornaments to compliment the ones on the mantel and also to pick up the sparkle from the mirrored trees in the Conservatory. I also love the texture and smell of the Rosemary Topiary trees.

Finally here is a close up of a reliquary and pedestal, as well as a close up of the garden urn. I love the warm colors and the way that the evergreens and mercury glass add a holiday sparkle to my room. Let me know your thoughts, should I add more holiday decorations or leave it as is?

(all photos property of Willow Decor)

My faith is being tested today

Those of you who follow me know that I have not really gotten too personal in the year that I have been blogging. You know that I am blessed beyond measure to have 3 beautiful children, you know that I am married to a wonderful husband that I love dearly and that I live in the country in the middle of nowhere surrounded by natures beauty, my dogs, cats and donkeys.
But today is different. I am setting aside the holiday decor and holiday projects for something far more inspirational. Today my faith is being tested as I let you into my heart, share my soul and hopefully as I share a letter with you, a lesson as well. My friend Laura of Finding Home created The Greatest Gift Project which gives me another platform to be able to share my heart with you today. You can follow along here to see my letter.

My Breakfast Room and Family Room Reveal

When I bought my house I knew we would need to enlarge the kitchen and family room area. The previous owners were empty nesters and although the layout worked for them, it was not appropriate for our growing family.

This before picture was taken during our home inspection. At this point the previous owners had removed much of their family room furniture - all that remained was their small kitchen table and some odd chairs. You can see that the wall of windows was about 3 feet beyond the solid wall. A larger table would have ended up looming into the Family room space. So, when we were ready to renovate we pushed back the wall and added an additional nine feet to create a dedicated breakfast room. Here is the breakfast room after!

We recessed the ceiling and added beadboard and crown moulding to match the treatment we added in the kitchen.

I vacillated for months over the light fixture, but finally decided on the Niermann Weeks Italian Chandelier with an antiqued silvered finish. (Actually I vacillated over spending the money or not spending the money - I always knew it was just perfect) In the end, it was my husbands sage advice that made me order it - "You will look at this everyday, all day, for years - buy what you love!" I am so glad I listened to him (He says its one of the only times!)

Here you can see that we added three windows on each side to keep the original feeling.

I found a wonderful Belgian wrought iron table with old wood top that fit the space perfectly. Wisteria had a bench that was just the right size and I topped it with a grainsack! The linen curtains were a steal, only $20. a panel, a close-out from Country Curtains; all they needed was a little doctoring.

You might remember that at this time I also took out the over head cabinets between the Family Room and Kitchen area and removed four lower cabinets to create more of a center island.

Here you can see how much better the space feels. Removing the upper cabinets also allowed you to see the recessed ceiling area in the kitchen. We spiffed that up a bit by adding the beadboard and crown moulding details.
Here is the Family Room before. This is directly across from the center island. The size is deceiving as the back wall is over 13 feet wide.
Here is the Family Room after. We added the window on the right to match the rest of the back. It was a great addition as it brings in so much light to what used to be a shadowy area. The mantel above the couch I found in the trash on the side of a road many years ago. It has an original workmans label from 1881. What a find!! I just love the feeling it brings to the space. Lamps are from Aidan Gray and the mirror is from Wisteria - It came in gold so I silver leafed it one afternoon.
Here is the before looking from the Kitchen area out toward the Family Room area. Notice the wonderful ceiling detail that was hidden from view before we removed the upper bank of cabinets.
And here is another photo of the after. Notice the addition of the crown moulding. The chairs are my old yellow club chairs, slipcovered in the same close-out linen from Country Curtains- a steal at $6 yard. I think they are bit oversized, but until I find what I am looking for they were an inexpensive fix. Here is the TV cabinet - notice the size of the TV that fit in it.

We added a gas fireplace, mantel and surrounded the area with crown moulding. We also placed a much larger TV above. Winter is long here so the fireplace makes the space so much more cozy.

This is the full view of the new space if you are standing in front of the fireplace.

From this...

To this...

(click to enlarge)

A final thought - I have received some email recently about rooms done by decorators that are considered "high-end" and not accessible to the average person. I just want to share with you that not all things that look expensive actually are expensive. Beauty does not have a price tag. Do not be afraid to mix $20 curtains and mantels you find in the trash with expensive chandeliers, or reproductions from mail order catalogs with real antiques. Trust what you love and it will all come together. Its not about the price, its about surrounding yourself with things you enjoy.

We really enjoy our new space - I hope you do too!!

To see more of my house click here.

(all photos Willow Decor please do not copy without permission)