Inspired By Roses

I owe my love of roses to my mom.

She also loved roses, collecting rose bushes like baseball cards!

Indeed, her rose garden was amazing!

While she preferred red roses, I prefer white, like the Iceberg Rose above.

I have planted these Icebergs in three homes now, in various forms.

I chose the standard version of Icebergs at our previous home's side yard...

...and New Dawn climbers in the back.

I remember how glorious this arbor was with those pale pink roses!

Just like my mom collected rose bushes, I collected rose paintings and featured them on the stairs in our previous home.


They now live in our garage where I appreciate them every time I park the car!
I just can't part with them, nor will I ever.


A few of my favorite paintings found their way inside our new home.
This one is in the laundry room.
The red roses in a basket remind me of my mom.

 When I created this bouquet years ago, I again was inspired by my mom's love of roses.
She often cut from her garden and created bouquets of mixed colored roses.
I remember how she mixed "Double Delight," "Mr. Lincoln," and her favorite, "Tropicana" to name a few in her collection.
Roses inspired her too, and she passed her love of them to me.
Thanks, Mom!

I'm joining A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday.

Be My Guest - The San Francisco Room

 I like to call the second guest room, the "San Francisco Room."

This is where all our collected books and prints of San Francisco ended up, which is great for out of town guests who might really appreciate it.

While we were remodeling the house, we were always on the lookout for vintage prints and maps of San Francisco which we had framed and saved to hang later.
We just weren't sure where!


Like this vintage black and white photo that we love of the wharf at the turn of the century.
I envisioned it, along with others like it hanging on the stair wall...

Originally, we thought we would hang this vintage map of San Francisco in the family room, but it ended up being way too big, so it now takes center stage in the guest room.
That's when I got the idea to hang our collection of old prints of The City in here and make it a theme.

This room started out as a white, uninspiring box.
I slowly added layer upon layer of texture to warm it up, starting with a seagrass rug layered with a Persian rug. Woven shades on the window for privacy were eventually layered with gray linen drapes which I had reworked from World Market drapes.

The canopy bed came from Ballard Designs and is upholstered in gray linen.

I wanted a canopy bed because I thought it would lend some drama to this room, which believe me, it needed.
Plus, I just love canopy beds!

 The most dramatic thing I did though was to wrap the room in this gray stripe raffia wallpaper.

It made all the difference in the world!

Now it feels very cozy.

The bedding is from Pottery Barn.

The lamps and nightstands were repurposed from our master bedroom in the old house.

A pair of leather chairs offer a place to sit and read all the San Francisco books in the room.

The rope mirror, a Marshall's find and vintage seashell lamp give the room a nautical feel as well.

A framed post card of Alcatraz and more books on San Francisco, including an old Herb Caen book sit on the night stand.

The ensuite bathroom is just like the bathroom in the tartan bedroom, down the hall.

I kept the same tile and apothecary sink, just to be consistent.

I realize this bathroom is kinda boring though.

It is too white!  Maybe some patterned towels would add some interest?

However, the bathroom is super tiny and so maybe being boring and white is a nice contrast to the grasscloth walls and all the fabric in the bedroom.

Sometimes I like to sleep in this room and pretend I'm a guest at a bed and breakfast in Martha's Vineyard, or Nantucket, or even San Francisco!

I can stay up and read until the wee hours, listening to the fog horn.    

Of course, Oscar loves the San Francisco room too!

Sources:

Bed:  The Louisa Canopy Bed, Ballard Designs

Wallpaper:  Phillip Jeffries

Bed Linens:  Pottery Barn

Leather Chairs:  Crate and Barrel

Pine Dresser:  Vintage

Window Shades:  Presidio Classics

Drapes:  World Market

Alabaster Lamps:  Vintage

Lampshades:  Target

Nightstand:  Ralph Lauren

Bathroom Mirror:  Pottery Barn

Apothecary sink:  Custom

I'm joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for "Inspire Me Tuesday."

Also, Kim at Savvy Southern Style for "Wow Us Wednesday."

And, French Country Cottage for "Feathered Nest Friday."

Be sure to visit and check out more inspiring decor.

Collecting My Thoughts

 The problem with being a collector is that eventually it all must be dealt with, either when you downsize into a smaller home or apartment, or later on when your family must absorb it or sell it.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about collections and what to do with them when the time comes to move into a smaller home.

I have helped my mother-in-law downsize four times already so you would think I would be an expert at it.

When she sold her large family home which was packed with collections and furniture, I helped her downsize to a two bedroom condo.  Several years later, she entered a retirement home and downsized again--this time to a studio apartment the size of my living room.

 Then last year, she fell and broke her leg and I had to take out rugs, chairs and clutter to make her room safe and easy to maneuver a walker.

Bless her heart, she still has some of her Belleek and Hummels that she collected over the years.

They are part of her and they make her happy!

I inherited some of her Belleek and have enjoyed using it.  It has sentimental value and I don't think I can ever sell it or donate it.

Which brings me to my point.

Downsizing in the near future and what to do with all my stuff, plus my mother-in-law's stuff, plus my grandma's stuff, plus my grown children's stuff.

You get the idea...

My name is Delores and I'm a collector.

Is there a 12 step program for that?

Step one: Do not buy more stuff!

Do not add anymore to your collections.

Ok, I can do that because I'm truly ready to downsize.

I look forward to narrowing down my collections to what is really important to me, to keep something either for its sentimental value or because I simply love it.

Books are the one thing I refuse to get rid of though!  

I envision our next house with built-in bookshelves just waiting for my book collection!

As we prepare for the inevitable job of a future downsize, I am being mindful of the stuff in my life and look forward to decluttering, organizing and simplifying our home.

And so the process begins!

Lighten Up And Declutter

 Do you ever feel like you have too much stuff? 

I do and have finally made a commitment to deal with it.

Last week I began the process of decluttering my house and life!

Down came the majolica plates and half of the oil paintings that I've collected over the years.

I took down the plates and the Dijon colored paint.

Tommy the Painter thinks I've flipped my lid! 

 He painted the walls Dijon over ten years ago and can't wrap his mind around my plan.  I told him to think of it as going from Dijon to Mayonnaise!

The result is a cleaner, uncluttered look.

Now I'm questioning this light fixture. 

It certainly was love at first sight but that love affair is over.

I'm looking for something less......foo foo!

 The Dijon color was at its best around the mantel as it gave a warm, cozy feel to the room.

But not so much next to the green cabinets. 

Here's the cleaned up mantel in its preliminary staging.

I like how important the black mantel looks now, much crisper and cleaner.

Lightened up and decluttered.

Stay tuned for more before and after of the kitchen as it goes from Dijon to Mayonnaise!

For The Love Of Transferware And A Giveaway!

 I love transferware!

It speaks to me with its wonderful, elaborate borders and endearing scenes, making transferware truly a work of art!

Above is one of my favorite plates from A. J. Wilkinson called Rural Scenes.

I use the purple for Easter, but this pattern comes in many different colors also.

 Rural Scenes was also produced in multi-color.

When I first laid eyes on this pattern, it made my heart skip a beat.

I have been collecting English Transferware for years.

My favorite pattern is this Johnson Brothers "Windsorware" plate.

I love the vibrant fruit center and brown rim.

I was lucky enough to find eight plates in an antique store years ago in Portland, Oregon and then ten more plates at an estate sale some years later.  

To replace a plate at today's price would cost $75.00!

Another estate sale find is this pattern called "Pomeroy" by Royal Doulton

It is so lovely with its multi-colored bouquet and red fruit rim.

I realize that I am drawn to multi-colored transferware even more than the single color.

Johnson Brothers "Friendly Village" is still being produced today.

I have many pieces of this pattern, some old and some new.  I love how the dinner plates all have a different scene from the village...

 ...which are all again repeated on the soup tureen.

Just lovely!

Masons "Fruit Basket" is a fun pattern to mix with red transferware and tartan at Christmas.

Masons "Vista" was one of my first collections.  It was when I was head over heals in love with red toile, so it made sense to have the dishes too!

 Transferware also pairs well with earthy majolica, which works for me since I love combining the two.

In fact, I find transferware not only compliments majolica well, it goes well with textural wicker and Provencal prints.

Really?  Is there anything transferware does not go with?

Over the years I've added to my collection from estate sales, eBay and for that hard to find piece that no one else has, I go to Nancy Roberts, The Transferware Queen!

I discovered her years ago on eBay and follow her blog, Nancy's Daily Dish.

You can find lovely and unique transferware for sale through her online store here.

Wait for it:

Nancy has generously offered a $50 gift card as a giveaway on my blog!

To enter, just leave a comment with contact information should you win.

Or better yet, visit Nancy's Daily Dish and come back to tell me what your favorite dish is.

A winner will be chosen at random on Friday, January 31st.

In addition, Nancy is offering a 15% discount to vignette design readers towards any merchandise in her online store.  Just use the code "vignettedesign" when checking out.

For more information about Nancy, watch this video where she explains her passion for transferware, its history and shows a glimpse into her home and "transferware-ville" garage!