White Out

Whites, creams, and ecru combine for white out conditions, and I'm not talking about the kind of white out conditions I'm privy to in the Midwest. The talk is all about decorating with lack of color or hue, and in artsy terms, a surface that REFLECTS EVERY color, thus appears white. 

    

My favorite white basket is filled with an off white china plate, a silver plate, and a distressed thingamajig (thingamajig: item with absolutly no purpose, but adding color or texture). My black pedestal table displays a candlestick, a vintage pottery piece, a children's tea set and a glittered star.   

When putting together vignettes of one color, (or in this case, lack of color), choose pieces with texture and variations of the same color. Think of visual texture as the glue that holds it all together. If all the pieces were glossy or matte they would seem to slide away.  The weave of the basket adds visual texture that allows the sleekness of the pottery and silver pieces to (visually) stick together.  The pottery and the thingamajig add another type of glue due to their distressed appearance.  Even the star contrasts and adds texture against a glossy tea service. I like it simply for the pop of sparkle :) 

I prefer combining white with its complementary color: black. This works well for me because I have touches of black around my home, like the table where this vignette sits. I added silver pieces because black and white mixed together makes gray (silver).  Easy peasy. Get it? But, remember the best rule when combining items, do you like it?   

My friend Mary at Vintage Patina really knows how to use white and creams in her home. The following pictures are from her Christmas post, (I know, I just can't let Christmas go).

 

Look at those textures! 
 This is the kind of white out I don't mind!

DIY: The star in the little silver children's teapot is an easy do it yourself project. You can buy chipboard stars already cut out at your local hobby store. Paint the star silver, and glitter away!

Blessings, Ele

Changes and Balance

What has been going on in your life?
My Life in the Fall:  harvest time, dinner and supper in the field (LOVE), hauling cows and hay home, moving vehicles, giving rides, Mr. Pink Heaven's political trips- which means movie nights with my Pink Girl, trips to town, (which includes waiting, but I always have my craft supply bag with me), spending time with my mother, trying to avoid the horrid flu, but my household did not escape it. Thankfully, everyone is well right now.  
Like all of you trying to maintain the balanCe when life gets busy. 
Just remember to stop and look for God's blessings along the way. 

Oddly enough to help me "feel" balanced, I like to move furniture, take away decor,  and add decor. The changes don't have to be huge or costly, just change.
Changes= (satifying attention defeceit) Balance

I have shown you bits and pieces of the changes in my main floor family room, but had not shown you proper before and afters.
BEFORE:

Objective #1
Eliminate Smaller Items (so the eye is not traveling all over the place)
This was achieved by taking away the antique buffet and adding a higher black curio so the eye has a place to rest. Do-dads, plates, and some pictures removed. The picture of my three kids on the wall stays. They are the heart of my home. I also moved the Kennedy rocker and added the black and white chair. A coffee table was added . You know I'm not matchy matchy, so I added a coffee table that is different then the curio. It works because the wood grain top coordinates with the floor and the black legs coordinate with the curio. The antique Chinese buffet was moved to the opposite wall. The area rug with the   hideous country nice blue border  was removed, and has new life in my son's basement. 

Objective #2

Update Lighting (HELLO, Can you hear me? It's not the 1980's)

Mr. Pink Heaven and son changed out the SOLID GOLD (pun intended)  light fixture with this chandelier.

Objective #3

Warm up the floor

I LOVE the original hardwood floors in this house. They are a beautiful golden color, but with cold weather on it's way, I wanted to warm things up. Winter time is a time for layers, even when it comes to floors! When it came to the bottom layer, the large area rugs I looked at where not the size or color I wanted.  A visit to the carpet store took place, and I chose to have a solid taupe carpet cut and bound to exact size of my choice.  The multicolored top rug, which adds a pop, was purchased at a discount store. It is placed directly on top of the taupe carpet, and under the coffee table. I was thrilled to find this rug as it matches the chair in the last post. Would you believe I trimmed the chair BEFORE I bought the rug. Sometimes things just work.

Objective #4

Fall it Up

Adding touches of Fall completes this room. I left the perimeter of the hardwood exposed, and added a few accessories. The gold pillow was replaced with a black and white chandelier pillow. A white pumpkin, Autumn  bouquet, and black crow candle were added to the coffee table. All give a sense of Fall and harvest, and life on a farm.

AFTER:

I like the changes. I feel balanced. For now.

Fall blessings to you,

Ele

Men+nail guns=?

Mr. Pink Heaven and his posse have been sawing wood, grouting ceramic tile, and using the nail gun. The sun room is progressing.

I have been filling nail holes, and painting the room a cottage white..
men+nail guns=a trillion gazillion nail holes.


I added amber glass knobs to a stained table.


Beadboard on the walls, a fabric basket to hold stray shoes, luscious pear candles, an art glass bowl for keys, and a sky blue mirror were all put in place. The mirror is a vintage find repurposed with spray paint.

This room is not finished yet. I still have more nail holes to fill!

Blessings,

Ele

CSN Stores Rug Review

Honestly, I didn't mean to leave you in blog-space. I meant to post sooner, but it has been a busy and wonderful summer. Where have I been?

Yale Commencement in CT

Shady Hollow Flea Market, MN

Patina White,MN

Patina White Blog

Fort Abraham Lincoln,ND

On the Slant Indian Village, ND

Raging Rivers Water Park, ND

Detroit Lakes, MN

Boulder, CO

Cherry Creek Marina and Yacht Club, Denver CO

Mt. Rushmore, SD

Mt. Rushmore Cave, SD

tons of tennis

Taylor Swift Concert,ND State Fair

Thanks for all the great suggestions on the rug. I ended up going with a rug that I hadn't pictured for all of you. The main reason I went with this particular rug is that it is an indoor/outdoor rug and can be washed by hosing it down. With two dogs, (and will be getting another one in two weeks!), being able to easily clean the rug is a must. Another reason is that the rug is black and cream and can be easily used in the new sun room, (stay tuned).

I was THRILLED when I received the rug. It came wrapped in plastic, and safely packaged. The texture, feel, weaving- all perfect. I think it works well in the kitchen dining room and adds to the eclectic feel of my home. If you need a rug, I suggest you visit CSNRugs.com.

Update: I've chosen white textured sheers for the formal dining room. I'll have pics up soon!
I hope all of you have had a great summer.

Blessings,
Ele