Summer lightspilling into the living room yesterday evening was so bright and warm that I had to capture it! Ethereal and fleeting in its beauty the lighting was perfect for a study in white…
Playing with color and then the absence of it in editing was fun! After the brightness of our earlier patriotic mantel taking everything down and starting anew brought a fresh look which I love ~ I hope you do, too.
The original photograph.
Over the years my decorating tastes have run from the primitive antiques and country blues of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and to then to brighter colors with purple pillows, floral sofas and mauve recliners.
Then with the new century something happened, or rather my friend Kathy happened, and I found decorating in white…
Friends Kathy (left) sitting beside another good friend of mine, Julie.
Oh! Julie just opened up a store online and she is making wonderfully
scented all-natural soaps. Her Instagram account is @Rosecottagesoaps.
At her previous home in San Diego County about a half-hour from mine in Riverside County, I found the ethereal home I had been craving as a busy working mom. Unfortunately the one photo I shared a year ago put me in hot water… So, no photos to share though her new home is absolutely stunning with a large peaked beamed ceiling in her living room, a gorgeous white carved framed mirror over a white painted fireplace, white and pale bamboo furniture draped with old white tablecloths and linen, lots of natural light coming through many windows.
She decorates with crystal and wire chandeliers in every room, glass-topped end tables and a large round coffee table set with the prettiest crystal decanters draped with beaded covers, cut-crystal bowls filled with those cute grass balls painted white, and always candles of all sorts but especially mercury glass with its mottled look…
My style evolved from hers with a little more whimsy as I love animals and they do show up in my decor as you know…
😉
Here on this summer mantel I’ve brought in the reflective sparkle of Kathy’s mercury glass with vintage crystal doorknobs overlaid with fresh white cotton bolls and my great-grandmother Julia Foley’s cut-crystal serving bowl set atop a small white cake plate.
The silver in the doorknob parts begat looking for more silvery items. Recently unpacked, a pewter creamer my mother had given us as a wedding present makes its debut. I love the richness this one piece of pewter brings to the vignette!
A sparkly swan and a small white bird, both really Christmas decorations, and two tall altar candlesticks add their pearly beauty. With this we’ve almost finished our vignette…
The 1990’s didn’t completely leave as this little angel got to stay…
I didn’t have any fresh white flowers but I did have some saved white German statice which promptly went into this little white bucket with its embossed heart on its front ~ a gift one year for Valentine’s at a tea given by my friend Gloria.
Love the details shown in this close-up of the mantel center
with its horizontal layers of golds, silvers and whites!
The addition of a favorite framed card I have had since we first married set against a vintage Limoge plate complete the scene.
Here is a list of some other “studies in white” posts I have shared over the past five years. A breadth of etherealness for you…
their guest bathroom upstairs after a pipe burst and caused
some flooding and she is graciously letting me share
the amazing results with you!
Little Miss Daisy checking out the bathroom with us ~ love this wallpaper!
So bright and airy this lovely bathroom is stunning with
a new marble countertop, clawfoot tub, light creamy white beadboard under the wainscot moulding ~ really a bath lover’s dream!
Jim is a retired carpenter by trade and the man who along
with my son rebuilt our patio cover several years ago.
Jim effortlessly added chair rail moulding to this bathroom and
in all of the other rooms of their home plus he laid the floor tiles here and in their two other bathrooms.
Julie mightkill me for printing this picture of her
but it really shows off her bathroom to its best advantage and as she had been outside gardening all afternoon and wasn’t expecting a visitor…
I told her no one would mind seeing her this way as she is always
beautiful no matter what.
You can see a really nice photograph of Julie on my
sidebar in the Follow on Google + link.
🙂
Seriously, though, isn’t this vanity stunning??! I gasped when
I first saw it ~ then I found out she and her hubby bought it
on Ebay…
Can you believe it?!
I definitely am going to check it out if it’s still available
as I’d love to pick one or two up.
They actually purchased four of the same vanity ~
the one for this bathroom, two for their master bathroom
and one for their downstairs powder room.
By buying four, they were able to get the cost down
plus insurance picked up some of the costs with
the renovations due to the damage.
There were actually two different water pipe breaks and the
bathroom I am sharing today was the first break several years ago
but this room wasn’t fully remodeled until the second waterline
break this past year.
The second break occurred in their master bathroom causing
damage there and also to their powder room directly
right below downstairs
so…
This is how they ended up with four of the same gorgeous
vanities which look seamless throughout.
Julie loves Shabby Chic and all the whites mixed in
so it’s no wonder her bathrooms all look lovely with white
painted antique furniture and roses strewn here and there
in luscious wallpaper borders and in her favorite china pieces.
Julie also loves blue and her downstairs has Victorian furniture
and blue carpeting but after eight years or so of living in this
home she said she is ready for some changes.
I didn’ttake any photographs downstairs this time but I did capture their front yard from the porch and some of the roses
she hasn’t yet cut back for the season.
It’s sooo hard to know when to cut back roses in Southern California as some of the best growing times for roses are
during the winter!
🙂
A little cherub wall pocket hanging outside the bathroom.
Here is one of their spare bedrooms and it is devoted to sharing Julie’s dolls which belonged to her mother and grandmother and also a sweet hexagonal paper pieced flower quilt hand-sewn
by her grandmother almost a century ago.
Bright and airy and turn of the last century this look is
Victorian and timeless.
Here’s little Miss Daisy
I just loved her sweet face and personality ~ she is a very
gentle Maltese/toy poodle mix and was so photogenic
that I had to snap a quick photo of her.
Daisy looks adorable sharing the lovely tile flooring and
this sweet bathmat with you.
Sharing with Sweet Inspiration ~ The Boondock’s Blog Feathered Nest Friday ~ French Country Cottage Thursday Favorite Things ~ Katherine’s Corner Over the Moon ~ Gwin Gal Adventures Wow Us Wednesday ~ Savvy Southern Style
Between wandering around the International Home Furnishings Center (IHFC) by myself on Friday afternoon/evening and then meeting up with Courtney of French Country Cottage {our Insider’s Guide to High Point Market for first timers!} and new friend and designer Janie Timberlake of JBeth Designs {she’s just starting a site on FB and is on Instagram} on Saturday and touring showrooms listening to a fabulous talk at a place I will share with you in a separate post {we were treated to a Moroccan lunch there, too!} and getting to shop for amazing pieces and see all these gorgeous goods coming from Europe and all over the world I’m on sensory overload ~ but in the best way possible!!! 😀 I’ll have several indepth write-ups over the next few weeks sharing more of the beautiful furniture pieces and accessories I found that inspired me. Here are Seven Incredible Showrooms that I found which just knocked my socks off:
Eloquence
Shown in the featured first photo was my absolute definite favorite followed closely by these next three. As soon as I can figure out how to share Eloquence’s trademark with you on their photographs I promise I have a TON of French etherealness by way of incredibly beautiful French pieces to share with you… sigh! Just look at those gorgeous round accent lights! They are such a lovely take on the 1960’s-1970’s ones my parents had in their guest/second bathroom in their country Connecticut home. {Left by a previous owner and they sufficed ~ just weren’t my taste.}
Love the old French novels and the French farmhouse table and benches at French Heritage.
French Heritage
A showroom filled with beautiful fine furnishings the owner designed herself for various designers and pieces of the company’s own label. Gold leaf, incredible French Louis mirrors exquisite reproductions and antiques as well as avante-garde Art Deco inspired pieces ~ totally on trend!
TONS of ironstone tureens inside Golden Oldies.
Golden Oldies
This must be where everything comes into port
from everywhere overseas…
Hat makers forms, chocolate molds, loving cups,
French mirrors, olive buckets in stacks…
Janie and I… Our mouths dropped open at the $$
we could have dropped there
for clients AND for ourselves!
Ave Home
Ave features raw wood designs for the home
and can customize any of their furniture pieces
with Annie Sloan chalk paint matched to your decor
or can stain as desired.
I like their ability to customize!
I think that’s their best selling point as not
every company has the ability to do this.
Ave prides itself on being very vendor and
owner-oriented.
🙂
Bobo Intriguing Objects
One of the first shops we had an appointment with on
Saturday which has really nice clean furniture lines
and a fun mix of funky accessories ~ like the cute
French bulldog who has a name which I forget
{I’m sorry!}
and cute children’s play horses with burlap bodies
but paper maché heads, legs and tails!
Bobo also carries incredible antique artists’ drawings
which would have been used as the original design
for pieces created in the 18th and 17th centuries.
Wonderful for framing
they were on my list of future wallhangings.
Bliss Studio
Lovely reproductions with that ethereal white Nordic look
that I have totally fallen for these past few years…
Bliss is making very European-style cushions
which are thicker and more comfortable than
foam-filled cushions used on a lot of lesser quality
furniture pieces.
They are featuring the Gustavian-French look
brought over from Europe
which is so beautiful and popular right now
in North America and across Europe.
I was particularly excited about this table
set up that you can see in the photo above.
I like that the demilune tables can be added to
the kitchen table to bring in extra spaces
when extra company arrives ~
especially handy during the holidays!
Blue Ocean Traders
OMGosh! We all went nuts for the many
vintage goodies found here…
My picks were horse troughs which come in three
sizes stacked and can be used in the garden
inside in a greenhouse or really anywhere.
Doors from India and the Middle East
are also a big feature here
along with reproduction wooden breadboards
doughbowls and the cutest capitals
from the Phillipines
made of wood.
A very famous t.v. personality has these
in her showroom.
🙂
Mine! 😀
These are the doors I wanted to put in my
suitcase and bring home…
Love all the colors on them!
Coming to Market has been crazy fun and
I’ve learned a ton!
I’ve linked all the showroom names for you
so you can see their products.
If there is something you’d like to buy
just let me know and I’ll
inquire for you and quote you a price.
Sharing with Inspire Me Monday ~ Create with Joy
Dishing It and Digging It ~ Rustic and Refined
Snickerdoodle Create Bake Make ~ My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies Totally Terrific Tuesday ~ Savvy Apron Wow Us Wednesday ~ Savvy Southern Style Welcome Home Wednesdays ~ Five Kids a Dog and a Blog Wonderful Wednesday ~ Oh, My Heartsie Girl Feathered Nest Friday ~ French Country Cottage Sweet Inspiration ~ The Boondocks Blog This post was featured at Dishing It and Digging It at Rustic and Refined 😀
French Ethereal Design and
Photography
is my fledgling company with its own resale license.
is celebrating a 3rd birthday today ~ July 11th!!!
The beginnings of a sofa slipcover made out of giant painter’s dropcloths.
Three years agotoday my son Peter sat down with me
and helped me begin a blog ~ just a little place where
I could share some sewing tips, share tea parties
and my garden.
I had no idea how to write a blog though
I loved reading several others online
that I’d stumbled upon
quite by accident, really.
Some blogs I’d found because they were
mentioned in decorating magazines, like
French Country Cottage and ShabbyFufu.
Two favorites, Schwannennest and
My Shabby Streamside Studio are
no longer written.
A beautiful tablecloth found over in England but probably Irish-made.
Schwannennest {“Swan’s Nest” in German} was a lovely
blog with an all-white Nordic look
set in Bavaria, I believe.
I would stay up late at night reading on my iPad
and dream of an all-white home and
how ethereal it was!
The author had hung four large doors with
windows as a big screen separating her
living room from her dining/kitchen area
and I always found that really unique.
Our mantel at the Big House decorated for summer… still a favorite way to decorate!
My Shabby Streamside Studio was a blog
also mostly done in whites with pops of
pink on dishes and fabrics.
It became a huge sensation and was written up
in home magazines and even was
featured on television.
Sandy, whose lovely hunting-cabin-turned-cottage
had such an ethereal quality to it
that I just wanted to go up into her
reading loft and while away
an afternoon!
You can still find Sandy’s postings
online.
They are worth the time to go back and read.
Just lovely!
Really, these were where I got
my inspiration…
Another one of my Girls draped with the usual array of necklaces plus a photo of my children when they were small.
I realized then just how much I really liked
decorating in whites
and even though my home had lots of color
on our walls
we also had some walls and lots of furniture
painted or purchased which were
painted white.
My daughter’s bedroom had all-white furniture
in it which I totally loved.
For Amy, though, she grew to
love stained wood.
{Though funny enough, she has a white car now! The pendulum
swings back…}
😉
That first blog was hosted over on Weebly.
Soon after, I found out that a lot of bloggers
were on another site called Blogger.
So, for the rest of that first year,
I double-blogged.
I’d write in Weebly and copy/paste
over here to Blogger.
It was crazy!
😉
That first year I worked on writing whatever
popped into my head, but I did share
lots of tea-related posts since I had hosted
many a tea for about 15 years leading up to then.
I also wrote up lengthy, very detailed posts about
making those sofa slipcovers in the photo
up at this post’s beginning!
You can find those here:
Post #1
Post #2
Post #3
Post #4
😀
We had a lot of dry rot, so replacing posts and cross beams was a necessity. Afterall, we planned on living here a lot long, though that wasn’t meant to be. 🙁
The First Anniversary
came and went and I don’t remember
why I didn’t mention it
but I didn’t.
Oh! I know why ~ I was too busy building
and painting the patio cover out back!
My son and a friend Jim rebuilt the patio cover
then I decided I wanted to totally cover the patio
to provide more shade.
It turned out well, but then a month
after it was finished…
My husband lost his job.
There wasn’t much to celebrate after that,
let me tell you…
The accent wall in our living/dining room painted a lovely blue-green {color-matched from a pair of pants}.
But we muddled on through that first year
he wasn’t working.
And I kept blogging.
It was a good way to step away from
our troubles
and
focus on something ethereal and happy.
God was working through all this planning
what was to come, though I didn’t see it
at the time.
A fall tablesetting ~ one of my favorites!
Christmas was tough that year and I think
we gave the kids one or two small presents
and Peter stayed in South Dakota
at school.
He went home with his girlfriend, Justine, to her
family’s home over Christmas
since we couldn’t afford to bring him home.
That year I made mini Christmas trees to give to the
ladies I worked with at school
and to friends.
I sent a couple to Peter and Justine.
It killed me not to bring our son home for Christmas
and it was his first Christmas away from home.
We all soldiered on.
Our warm barn red front doors decorated with twin wreaths festooned with new ribbons! Before, the ribbons were a 1990’s pink rose pattern.
On Valentine’s Day, I drove down to a book signing at Vignettes in San Diego and met author Fifi O’Neill.
The Second Anniversary
saw us preparing to move out of our beloved house
and move into a 27′ travel trailer
with no slides, no extra room.
July came and went as we were busy showing
the house and trying to finish up packing
enough belongings from
28 years of marriage,
a four bedroom plus den
and
complete with three car garage.
We were beyond busy!
A Valentine’s mantel ~ another favorite!
Moving to our Tiny Home
was a new challenge but we loved it for
the new life it provided
and we got our own private lake
after the summer and fall campers left
on Sunday afternoons!
The roses bloomed beautifully that last spring on Spinning Wheel!
Yoda loved going for two-mile walks each weekend.
The bird calls were peaceful ~ something we really needed.
Lake Skinner was the best thing that could
have happened to us during that awful time
Charles was out of work for two years.
We had a home with new scenery.
The lake was serene and when the campers
were gone from Sunday through Thursdays
that fall into spring
it was the best place we could have been
to console us.
It reminded me of my parents’ last home.
Lots of tears were shed but God
wasn’t done.
He knew we needed a break-away
from Murrieta
but a slow breaking away…
Our Coleman travel trailer over at Campground C, site 372 with a view of the moon rising over the mountains every night…
My birthday going into January 2016 and the new year.
I didn’t write for several months; I just couldn’t.
My heart was broken.
But, I realized pretty quickly that I had
a new opportunity to pull up my bootstraps
and get on with life
and that I still loved decorating
and sewing
and making crafts.
So, I did.
Second Impressions Antique Mall
Visiting Magnolia Market at the Silos
A Bridal Shower Tea
Then last summer, there was a wedding…
Peter and Justine with our daughter Amy on the far left in lavender.
And we were doing alright!
🙂
Hubby was still coaching and the school district
gave him an emergency credential to teach.
He made as much as I did, which was HUGE.
And, we had a lot less stress without the house
payment and all the utility bills.
And it was good.
Another photo from Magnolia Market at the Silos.
Fall came around again and it looked like
we were going to be spending a second year
at The Lake.
We were looking forward to it
actually.
But God had other plans.
A whirlwind of internet phone interviews
and Hubby now had work in his usual line
of employment ~ and we were moving!
Out of state!
To Texas!
Longhorns, prairies, horses, wildflowers
and here we are.
🙂
Celebrating the end of Year Three…
My life has kinda followed those scenes in
the movie Forrest Gump ~ where the feather
kinda floats through life.
Do you know it?
Exactly! My life has been a lot like that.
Who knows what this fourth year will bring
but I know where I will be.
Right here,bringing you my best photographs,
and gardens, and some tea parties
and places to visit.
Blessings to you, always,
Sharing with
Welcome Home Wednesdays ~ Five Kids a Dog and a Blog
I looked for a way to contact Sandra Foster now to see if I could use her photos ~ I ended up taking a photo with my iPhone to share this photograph with you. On her sidebar, Sandy has a message that says “she is flattered if anyone wants to use her photos. Just please give me credit!” Always! All rights reserved ~ Sandra Foster and My Shabby Streamside Studio.
Blogging or any journaling,
like a diary of old,
is an ethereal and elusive thing.
One moment we wax prophetic, another we are off on a
Such is how I came to write my own little blog; my son saying I would probably like blogging.About seven years ago, I found a blog that tugged at my heartstrings ~ this person was just like me!
She loved the peaceful etherealness of whites and had turned an ordinary hunter’s-blind-of-a-cabin into an ethereal white Victorian cottage.Her décor included white Christmas fairy lights, tissue paper valance puffs to hide nails and the ordinariness of a thrown-together building, and furnishings all wicker-ed and linen-y.Bone china set behind repurposed door frames became a built-in china cabinet and some erstwhile pieces with pale pink roses scattered about were forgiven for not being completely white because of their beauty.
Photo taken off my computer with my iPhone ~ used with permission, My Shabby Streamside Studio.
Decorations mirrored this etherealness with vanilla candles flickering and gleeming away on silver trays, and crackled mirrors with ethereal rose swags reflecting their warm fiery glow.
Favorite old books and decorating magazines were just a ladder and a quick grab away up on the cottage’s tiny loft alcove’s whitewashed shelves ~ Lucy Maude Montgomery’s “Anne of Green Gables” being an especial favorite for summertime reading.
Sandra wrote of these reads and writers on occasion ~ her writings about these authors being favorites of mine to go back to to read.Sandra wrote of the original publishing of Victoria magazine and some authors whom whose writings she enjoyed, sharing those writing with us readers over and again, making us wish to go and reread those Victoria back issues once more.
Hers was a world filled with Nordic white sleds, warm cocoa, tea and scones, cream-colored dogs Zuzu and Bella, and curious clucking chickens wandering in and out ~ a world at once surreal and SO real as to blend happiness on this Earth and the spirituality of Heaven into an enchanting whole.
Sadly, this beautiful blog is no longer written due to some unfortunate personal events, but Sandra Foster’s blog lives on as a place to go back to whenever one feels the need to wax poetic and to rekindle one’s decorating soulfire again, leaving us wishing for more.
In a way, Sandra created what she most liked to read ~ a place forever populated by characters and events frozen in a moment in time ~ just like her favorite Green Gables and Victoria issues of old.
Tea, cake and scones ~ a study in whites and creams… {sigh!}
White and Silver…
Some of my most favorite colors…
Today’s post sharing some past
lovelies with you!!!
A few of the ecru and white lace napkins, a table runner and an Irish tablecloth {far right, bottom} picked up in England. Shot when I was still learning how to use the aperature on our camera to let in light. 😉
Do you ever feel the need to
just daydream? Bringing out my favorite pieces of china and those lacy linens and just the act of decorating our tables {whether they are big or small}, set me off daydreaming… Great for decompressing from life’s trials and also just because it’s a lot of fun to decorate with all that china!
I feel that need a lot. Do you?? 😉
A few of my favorite pieces… found at various thrift stores, flea markets, and antique shops. Most of my silver-plate pieces are 1847 Rogers Bros. ~ Remembrance pattern ~ above, far right
We usually have a few get-togethers
over the summer with family and friends.
Our daughter’s birthday starts the summer parties
here in June and in the past
we always had her school friends over
for a cookout and to swim
then to eat cupcakes or cake
depending upon the birthday girl’s wishes
each particular year.
Our son’s birthday is just on Labor Day weekend,
so his birthdays were always a little quieter
with just a couple of friends over
for a sleepover and swimming,
movies all night, and more cake and ice cream.
It was always rather nice having their birthdays
as bookends to the summer season!
For this summer, I’m making plans
to invite a few of my friends over for tea…
Okay, it’s always
my favorite thing to do I admit
but even with the tea craze
having come and gone
I feel there is always a place
for a good tea and fellowship with friends.
🙂
A favorite photo of a tea at friend Kathy’s former home with all of us from our tea group. This was taken nine years ago now! My how time flies!
I haven’t really had anyone
over to our new place as last fall was simply too crazy
moving every couple of weeks to new locations among the campsites as we took on our camp host positions,
then, winter was windy and freezing
{no outdoor entertaining for us!},
and we have just been too busy
this spring with track season.
But…
now summer is here!!!
and
the weather is balmy,
the afternoon coastal breezes soft and cooling,
and lovely trees providing the
necessary afternoon shade ~
just perfect to invite some guests over
to see our new digs and experience
all that this area has to offer!
One tea I have planned is for the friends
I’ve known for many years now and met
through the
Victorian Tea Society
and
The second is a party for my new friends
met while working here at The Lake!
🙂
The photograph just above
was taken after a tea when all the
silverware was sparkling
in the late afternoon light.
A favorite time of day to daydream is when
I’m making
all that china and silver
*sparkle*
with a good cleaning!
Our powder room downstairs at our Big House. ~ dressed for company!
Did you know that one of my favorite things
to do after giving a tea for friends
is to wash up all of the
tea luncheon’s dishes and all of the silverplate
while listening to music and
watching birds
peck seeds at the bird feeders outside?
I still do that here at our Tiny House,
now I just have to turn around and
sip a cup of tea while peering out the
sitting area window.
Is birdwatching a favorite for you, too??
A favorite setting with the rose plates and bowls brought back from England along with my great~grandmother’s crystal bowl passed down to the daughters. My daughter will be the fifth generation to have it grace her tables!
The lake here attracts so many species of birds
than we ever had at our bird feeders back in Murrieta!
Juncos, towhees (really large brown birds with barrel tummies!),
field and Nevada sparrows, blackbirds,
crows, ravens (so enormous and they love sunflower seeds!).
I’m sorry I don’t have any good photographs
of the towhees for you today.
They are rather shy birds and I’ll just
have to be sneaky this summer and
set up the camera the evening before
so I can nab pics early in the mornings
through our sitting area window!
😉
What kinds of birds are attracted
to your backyard?
Let me know as I love hearing
about everyone’s feathered friends!
I hope you enjoy having them visit you.
(I know you do!)
😉
Pieces of a cake we had at the “Snowman Tea” I gave for friends a few years back.
I Love birdson china, too!
This is a set of dessert plates I bring out each winter
to celebrate special occasions with
and also “just because days.”
You may have seen this set at the big stores like
Macy’s,
which is where I believe I bought a few of these at an after-Christmas sale.
Some came years later from
HomeGoods.
I would stack them in our cupboard and use them
myself for tea and muffins in the mornings
and for special dinners
with the family.
So pretty and fun for every occasion!
My daughter also likes to use them
for her breakfasts.
🙂
A cement piece I’ve had for many years ~ still looking to create something with it!
Anyway, Just a look back at some
“pretties” dressed in whites and silver
fromOur Home to Yours!
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