Adopted southerness

Changing the windows to reflect the season has always been a daunting task for me.  You can check—I almost always open my posts about my windows with a similar comment.  You will note, however, that most of my blog posts about my windows will be about fall or Christmas displays.  You will also note, that with this particular season, my frequency of blog posts will increase.  Why is that?   Well, if you will pardon me as I allow a little bit of my adopted southerness to show . . .

I love me some fall, y’all.

 

 

So, here we go . . .

The tradition in this window is to display and indoor and outdoor scene.  I hung the vintage window screens right next to my windows to give the impression you are looking through the windows to the outside.  Patty thinks it’s time for a change and that I should take them down; I know she is right—the screens have been there for years now—but I’m just not ready.

 

I picked-up that pasture gate early this past summer and it’s been part of a display in the shop, but when I was planning the windows, I decided it would be the best focal feature to make you think “outside” when you’re peeking in.  

The swing is a new addition to the shop.  It is available in three sizes and well as a single-seater circle swing.

Then there is our little campfire scene—the warm glow of the fire and the ingredients for s’mores are at the ready!  The growler of beer from The Blackhorse Pub and Brewery will be enjoyed, as well.

The we shifted our attention to the inside scene of the same window.  This was a quick change of a few items.  Having removed the dining room display we had for the summer months, I added a side table and vintage, cane-back rocker.  A few of our signature Haunted Memories changing photos, fake cobwebbing and we’re good.

Look closely for the before and after of Aunt Maggie below.

Now we’re transitioning to the other window where we have a bed and a few other vignettes surrounding it.

 

The French café scene came to me when I decided to move the hand painted Café de Flore door into the front corner—not an easy feat for this old lady, but I managed it, then kept the scene simple with a dress form and a market basket.  the table in the display is an authentic English pub table (yes—I realize I’m mixing my countries of influence), that extends to seat 6.

We’ve dressed the bed in a red matelesse –style quilt; added a mix of pillows and a vintage camp-style blanket for the fall bedroom scene I wanted to achieve.  The floral displays in our gorgeous pottery urns would transition very nicely to compliment your winter décor, as well.  You also see the lovely limited edition print from the talented Judy Lewis of my favorite building in Clarksville; already framed and ready to hang in your house.

 

Well, that about wraps-up the tour of our windows.  There are a few other details I haven’t touched on, but I need to give you something to see when you get here.

Thanks for your indulgence.

Wardrobe Wow!

Remember that amazing, custom made wardrobe I referenced a few blogs back?  Well, it is finally in place and looks fabulous!

About two months ago, Whitney sent me a picture of the  wardrobe she had in mind.  We talked about their needs  and decided which changes we needed to make.  Then my friend, Jeff, went to work.  He recycles old shutters for a lot of pieces—they were exactly what we needed for the doors.  We painted with sea scape—a valspar paint—then I finished it with the toner from Caromal Colours.  It looks great—if I do say so myself!

We also helped Whitney choose some new bedding.

She has a new ruched duvet and matching euro shams.  Then we added these beautiful shams and coordinated bed skirt.

I understand that this beautiful headboard is Whitney’s own creation!  It took all of my restraint to not jump in the middle of the bed—it looks so comfy and welcoming!

Thanks to Whitney for allowing me to share these pictures with you.

and, thanks for your indulgence.

a quick change at Hodgepodge

Finally getting something done!

Much to my chagrin, I finally sold a favorite cabinet at Hodgepodge.

It was made from a recycled paneled door, barn board and a screen door.

 

As well as a wonderful iron bed . . .

 

With the restrictions of  a busy Rivers & Spires festival weekend, I needed to find a creative fix for some quick replacements.

For the bed, I remembered this maple, artichoke finial full bed I had in the back room.  Not being a big fan of the orange-y tint of maple, I was determined to get it painted before I put it on the floor.

 

So, I pulled the head- and footboards out to the front porch area and started cleaning, sanding and cleaning again.  Then I reached for this beautiful shade of taupe paint.

Here’s how it looks now:

What a classic look, eh?

Then, to replace that wonderful cabinet . . .

What to do?  I love that thing—it held so much and offered such impact at the front of the shop.  Yet, it’s going to a good home and she was appropriately excited about it (I couldn’t let just anyone take it home!).  So, I took a look at the Acme boot factory racks I had just acquired and thought there it is!  They’ve been serving s my sidewalk sale carts, but this was a more important need.  They have a great urban design look.  After some quick repairs . . .

 

And here’s the boot rack, turned kitchen shelving:

Way cool, eh?

 

Well, that’s all I wanted to share today.  I just love the urban, industry look of these racks.

Any other ideas for how you would use this rack?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for your indulgence!

Leaf Chronicle column, March 27th

As promised, this column is going to address some of the many options and issues we face in choosing our bedding—here’s where I lose 80% of the male readers on which I had a tenuous hold at best. Guys generally don’t care what is on the bed, until it’s—in their opinion—the wrong thing.

I may as well address this issue at the onset. One of the most common refrains I hear as ladies stare with longing at the romantic bed vignettes we present at Hodgepodge is: My husband would never go for that. While I agree that home decorating is best done with some cooperative effort between the spouses, I generally say “break the rules” in the bedroom. Try to stay with me here guys, most of the time spent in the bedroom is with eyes closed. As long as the mattress is comfy, does it really matter if you’re lying under a quilt with a floral design? I think not. Go ahead and stand firm for the recliner in the den (not that it would work in our house), but let her have the bedroom.

Alrighty then, next issue: bed-in-a-bag. (Here’s where I may lose the rest of you, but I’m not trying to be insulting, really.) While I do agree they serve a purpose—they’re easy to grab and an ideal option for many bachelors—I’d much rather see you choose a pieces that reflect your taste and needs. The “package deal” offered with one bag full of comforter, shams, dust ruffle and throw pillows has improved and there are a few tasteful options available. Yet, thought of your bedroom looking the same as your neighbors and someone across the state is off putting.

So here are some tools for you when choosing a look unique to you. We’ll start at the bottom with the dust ruffle. Some folks prefer not to have a dust ruffle—I prefer to have two! The ruffle generally is placed directly on the top of your box spring. Depending on your mattress set and bed you’ll need to measure for the drop you desire—measure form the top of the box spring to the floor. Most dust ruffles have a drop between 14 – 16 inches. If you like the layered look you’ll want to find two dust ruffles with different lengths. I achieved our look with a king size ruffle on the bottom and a queen size on top of it. I cinched the king sized ruffle in the center, but allowed it to puddle on the floor.

The next layer will be your sheets. This is really the most important aspect of the bedding, because it’s where most of the contact happens. We’ve recently discovered the pleasure of high thread count, Egyptian cotton. (Really ladies—put these on the bed and your husband won’t care if you use cabbage roses and lace for the rest!) I have a couple pointers about putting sheets on the bed. First, if you use a quilt or comforter which you fold back, make sure your fitted sheet matches the rest of the bedding—it’ll show. Second, the top sheet goes on the mattress with the pretty side facing down. You do this so that when you fold the edge back, the pretty side is showing. Even if you don’t fold back the edge, place the finished side down so the stitched selvedge is facing up (away from your face). Finally, if you don’t know how, learn how to make hospital corners! It keeps the top sheet in place and you’ll have less work making the bed in the morning.

The next layer is generally the one we give the most attention. This is the top layer—the part we see immediately upon entering the room. I prefer lightweight quilts which I can layer in the winter and shed in the summer. I also love duvets with cotton or linen covers folded at the foot of the bed. At the moment, you’ll find a cotton quilt with a velvet quilt folded at the foot of the bed and topped with a crocheted lace tablecloth (yes—tablecloth). I’ve had the tablecloth spread out across the blue velvet when it serves as our primary quilt in the winter—it looks lovely—and no, my husband doesn’t see the point, but I do (refer back to paragraph 2). I recommend using something machine washable, which is why I like lightweight quilts and duvet covers—they fit in our home washing machine.

Pillows are definitely a personal preference thing. Some like them flat, some like them fluffy. If you and your partner use different styles, I recommend two of each. When making the bed, put the two flats on the mattress and the two fluffies on top or vice versa. You can use pillowcases or shams (yes, you can sleep on the shams—they’re washable!). I try to keep the throw pillows to a minimum—one or two—but they do help pull the look together.

I’ll be posting some pictures of a variety of bedding options on my blog, I hope you’ll take a look and leave your comments or questions. Next week, I’ll address the concept of creative head boards.

Autumn at Hodgepodge

The colors, the textures, the temperature (well, soon . . .) I’m loving this change!  It’s my forever favorite season.  We’ve transformed the shop and I wanted to share our new look with you.

You can’t beat these stylized-floral plates from the Mary Carol Collection for a great impact! 

Brown transferware pitchers and a fabulous new bird vase.

   

A leaf shaped appetizer plate layered on your favorite dinnerware is all you need to set the scene.   (Be sure to pick-up some of our mixed pattern, silverplate flatware to complete your setting.)

Some festively fall buffet napkins with dried hops.

Couldn’t agree more!

 

 

 

Find a basic pattern you can mix-and-match with seasonal favorites.  I love this brasserie collection from Comptoir de Famille.

One of my favorite cabinets in the shop—a blend of an old paneled door, barnwood and a screen door—serves as a display for items to coordinate with the dinnerware.

The full scene.

An outdoor urn with and oversized pumpkin make a dramatic impact here—imagine it in your home!

 

 

This beautiful santos-style fairie stands watch over our new collection of write-on, wipe-off placecards, bottle corks and cheese markers.  The blues of this billow teapot and matching tea cups and saucers set a stunning table for tea and scones—paired with the season’s browns—it’s a can’t miss combination.

A new bookcase from our custom furniture line is the perfect display for our favorite bubble glass, handcrafted barware.

Been looking for this for years—a quality lavender at a reasonable price! 

Another favorite scent, our “fall gatherings” potpourri—instant fall!

A buffet table updated from summer to fall with a few simple changes.  Let us help you do this for your home.

Our favorite sideboard—which I understand serves as a great plasma screen tv “under cabinet,” too.

A vintage metal bed (with a great floral accent) is outfitted in this brick red matelasse, mixed with some linen blend porch pillows and striped euro shams.

A bucolic scene of these figures bringing in the harvest transitions our mantel for fall.  LOVE this burlap-backed clock!

  

We’ve pulled all of our fragrances and ambient lighting together along this wall.  Great scents for fall have arrived—to include our best selling Archipelago Botanicals Bergamot Tobacco, Burl Wood and Pomegranate Citrus.

A screen door backdrop displays this incredible feather wreath—another sure fire bet for your fall decor.

Our Caldrea stocks are full, as are our mini journals.

More candles in an array of colors ad scents

Another display of the quintessential autumn colors, mixed with a variety of gift items.

I hope this photo montage inspires you to make some changes to your home; I hope you start at Hodgepodge!

And for those of you who live at a distance—we ship! 

Thanks for your indulgence!

Paige

Finally . . .

What a wonderful weekend!

Our friends, Cory and Brooke, are on their way to Norfolk, VA for their next assignment. They left Ft. Polk, LA and headed for Ft. Walton Beach, FL, where our friends, George and Ruta now live. They spent a night there and headed our way—with Ruta! What a great surprise! We had a wonderful time—laughed and talked as if we’ve never been apart!

We are truly blessed to have friends like these and we’ve got them all over—thanks to the Army.

Later this week, my sister, Nikki, and her family will join us here at the King Kompound. More fun to come!

In the meantime, I need to bring our bedroom back together. The furniture is in place; we’ve even slept in our new bed! We’re missing the rod to our wardrobe, so I can’t hang any clothes, but we have filled the dressers.

I purchased some lined baskets for additional storage.

I will be ordering a new rug—one of the new Kaleen rugs we have at the shop. I was leaning toward Mercer’s Glenn,

but now I’m thinking Cedar Hammock.

Here’s a pic of my new sheets and the quilt I have on order.

I have hung these linen curtains.

So, now that you’ve seen these pictures, which rug do you like? There is a subtle blue in Cedar Hammock, which doesn’t show-up in this picture. The reason I’m liking it is that I think Mercer’s Glenn might be a little too “matchy-matchy.”

I’ll post more pics when it’s all done, but I may need more help between now and then!

Thanks for your indulgence!