Category: Home Decor

Transforming Our Shed into a Charming Dock House…Summer Celebrations

It’s the quaintest little place, filled with vintage and cherished things, and a porch that beckons, “Come sit!”

Flags, fireworks, and banners of red, white, and blue were draped throughout our Country for the most glorious celebration of them all…America’s 250th Anniversary of Freedom!

This memorable and special weekend in Americal was spent with our family in the most convenient and charming little cottage…our latest renovation project, we’ve named, “The Dock House.” It’s down by the lake and has lots of “camp-style” charm, mingled with vintage treasures, and a porch that beckons, “Come sit!”

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Spring Gardening in the Cottage Greenhouse: How to Prepare Seedlings for Outdoors

The seeds I planted in April are almost ready to be planted in their new homes outside! The little seeds have spent a cozy Spring on warm heat mats and cosseted under cozy moisture domes. Now the last step I need to do is to thin out the seedlings and harden off the plants before they’re transplanted outside.

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Cottage Core Decorating Ideas for a Cozy Home

If you have been reading any magazines, ordering things on-line, or seeing ads on TV, you may have noticed a new term, “cottage core decorating” or “cottage core decorations.” You might have asked yourself, “What is cottage core?”

One description of cottage core decorating is…

“Decorating in such a way that evokes romance, whimsy or nostalgia using items or decorations that make you feel like you are in a cozy cottage.”

People are veering away from the stark, black and white, cookie cutter style of the Modern Farmhouse decorating trend and are wanting their homes to reflect more of their personality and charm.

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Winter Celebrations and Tablescape

Setting a pretty tablescape after the Christmas decorations are put away can be challenging, but with 2 very special birthday celebrations this month, I wanted the table to glow and set about creating an enchanting woodland tablescape that would be fitting, “In the Bleak Midwinter.”

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Setting a Cozy Winter Tablescape and Decorating the Mantle

Our kitchen nook glowed invitingly, with winter weather just a windowpane away…

Setting a cozy winter tablescape and decorating a mantle that brims with rustic charm and elegance is easy using a cozy plaid, a fir swag, and a variety of different sized candlesticks, silver pieces, and crystal.

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Create a Magical Christmas Tablescape

…Lighting the long, gold tapers that match the golden chains of the reindeer’s harness adds the last bit of enchantment to this sugar-plum scene.

Christmas magic abounds in this fun and simple tablescape with Santa and his reindeer prancing across the table.

Now, Dasher!  Now, Dancer!  Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet!  On, Cupid!  On, Donder and Blitzen!

~Clement C. Moore
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Creating an Outdoor Centerpiece for Thanksgiving

Today was another beautiful November day and the perfect day for assembling a centerpiece for our outside table. The centerpiece splays across the table and is made up of “twig-ery and poke-ery” and other autumn finery, and candlelight twinkles over the tabletop. An outside dining area easily becomes an extension of your living area and an enchanting way to beckon company outside.

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Antique & Flea Market Finds

Last year after I wrote about our antique and flea market trips, many of you wrote in the comment section and in letters, that you enjoyed reading about our shopping trips and seeing the treasures we found. We’ve been on several shopping adventures since then and I’ve been saving some of my favorite finds to share with you!

I like adventures, and I’m going to find some.

Louisa May Alcott
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Spring in the Cottage Greenhouse…Part 1

“I set up a tea tray…an “Alice in Wonderland” kind of tea tray with a dash of woodland whimsy that seemed perfect for tea that was being served in a greenhouse tearoom, with the sky for our ceiling and a pea gravel floor.

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Part 2 Spring in the Cottage Greenhouse…DIY Whimsical Spring Arrangements

…the wild iris kept waving and beckoning me to come over. Finally, worn down by their flirting and persistence, I stopped working and went into the cottage greenhouse to fetch my trowel.

Dainty wood violets, wild irises, perky daffodils, fragrant hyacinth’s, azaleas in all shades of pink, creamy white Lady Banks roses, and woodland ferns are making their spring debut at Cottage Green!

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