Hodgepodge

I love this time of year. I'm happy to feel the chill--I'd rather grab a sweater! Here's how we've welcomed the change of season at our house . . . Can you believe I grabbed that candelabra out of the hands of someone who was about to toss it to its death at the dump? Umm . . . "Excuse me--you're not throwing that away are you?"

More mums, please!

Love this triple tier display. I grabbed this sideboard at that Busy Bees consignment event I mentioned several weeks ago. I think they'll do it again in the Spring--I'll keep you posted.

The spooky mantle--adorned with the holographic "family" portraits, gilded pumpkins, corn, nandina berries and leaves. I think we'll age those frames--too white.

Okay, the white linen curtains in our bedroom have been on my list for a while. They're lovely and simple, but for the winter months--impractical; sheer and light weight--we need some insulating qualities in this room (it's the coldest in the house).

So, what's a girl to do?
It seems this girl always reaches for the burlap. My plan was to make curtains out of burlap--it's affordable, easy to work with (you don't even need to hem it) and it has the great look of linen.

Then I saw these: http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod70049&navAction=jump&link=link=mi_vintage_velvet_all_drapery_collections&cm_re=MI-_-MainImage-_-VintageVelvetLinenCotton

Well, I can't do that. I need the 120" curtains--a minimum of six! So, I can forget about those.

Oh no I can't.

I went shopping for fabric. I found this great sage green/blue burlap--I love it! Look at this:




That's how it looked at night, but this is how it looks in the morning light:

I love it even more! The glow in the room is lovely. I am struggling with two issues, however. One--I was hoping for a little more privacy (you can see the burlap is still very sheer); Two--it smells. Burlap has a definite odor, but this time it's worse. I think it has something to do with the fact that we've got our gas fireplaces on--they seem to exacerbate odors.

For the sheerness, I've added the original linen curtains behind the burlap. For the odor, my friend Jennifer, sprayed them with diluted vinegar in hopes of overcoming the odor. I want to believe it's better.

The true "fall back" plan, however is the BEAUTIFUL sage blue/green velvet I also purchased . . . more on that later!

I hope you all are having fun preparing for this wonderful season. I'd love to hear what you like to do differently this time of year. Leave your comments here, please!
Thanks for your indulgence!

Paige