My forever favorite.

Reading over a classmates assignment today, the question of my favorite color came up. This is something that has changed many times over the years.

For as long as I can remember it was pink.... that perfect soft ballet slipper pink.

Then there was blue.

And at times I wonder if gray could be my favorite?


Or the color I see becoming more and more popular in homes? white.


And QUITE the love affair I had with green for some time.



But no matter.

I will always.

Love Black.




What is your forever favorite color?

I Adore.

Tonight I found French Blue & Co.

From the very first beautifully french page, to the ringing door bells to direct you through each section of this enchanted store, one can be come quite tranquilized by the beauties found within.

These beauties I speak of are French Antiques.


* A monogrammed dish found in Paris. Believed to be from a hotel.

* Vintage Mother of Pearl Binoculars. {I LOVE Mother of Pearl}

*Vintage real ostrich feathered hat.

This site is worth visiting, I promise.

When I think of the times passed in which these beautiful items belonged to, I simply cannot stop swooning!

Home.

I am unsure where I found this image, but I love it. A few posts back I spoke about homes being an expression of their owners. This image captures what I meant to perfection.

Though this may not be the taste of some, I for one, adore it. The old photos in worn frames... the framed vintage fabric.. the worn mirror... all combined together to create a real statement... a collection of that families past and present... a collection of memories and enchanting hints of who is within those walls....
I love this image.

I love how it feels.

I understand it is not fancy, or modern, or anything out of the ordinary.. but do you know what it is?

Personal.

And what more should a home be?
xx
Jolena

I want a Sunday Kind of Love.

Today I think nothing could make me happier than to be in my garden. Hands in the cool dirt, listening to the birds sing and finding new blooms on my flowers.



Wishing you all a happy and fruitful weekend.

xx
Jolena

To Me.

"Don't Complain." " Don't Explain." - Elsie De Wolfe

Elsie De Wolfe.

Lady Mendl.

"The First Lady Of Interior Decorating".


Some say this is an exaggeration as she did not begin her career in interior design until the age of forty. I however, believe that any woman in the early 1900's willing to step "out of the box" and follow her passion and talent to make the world around her a more beautiful place, is more than deserving of said title.

“From the moment I was conscious of ugliness and its relation to myself and my surroundings, my one preoccupation was to find my way out of it. In my escape, I came to the meaning of beauty.” De Wolfe transformed the design of wealthy homes from the dark Victorian style into designs featuring light, fresh colors, and a reliance on 18th century French furniture and reproductions. “I opened the doors and windows of America and let the air and sunshine in.”


*Notice the animal print throw pillows? - remember, this is in the Victorian era. Elsie rocked. period.

Perhaps the one thing I love most about this woman is her belief that decor should reflect "the woman's personality and not her husbands earning power"

Can this still be said today?

I live in a rather wealthy area.. I love to drive by homes at night and peak in the windows... not creepy like.. just to study the decor.

Much to my dismay it all seems to appear the same.

Nearly every home has a red room for a "statement"

Nearly every home has paintings of flowers in large gold frames.

And large bouquets of artificial flowers.

Homes that look as if they jumped right out of the Home Interior sale catalog pages.

I love nothing more than to go into a home I've never visited and seeing interesting things... collections, antiques, family photographs, things that say "This is who I am." Not "This is what we have".

Because that is SO not what it is about!

On my birthday I will go back to school... this time for what I have wanted to do for years, Interior Design.

My hope is that I can work with people and help them learn how to express who they are through their home.

I hope that I do not sound judgemental or hypocritical. I know that many of these people have their homes this way because they don't know HOW to do otherwise.

So like Elsi De Wolfe, I want to open the windows, doors, AND minds of Americans and let in the sunshine, light AND personality.


xx
Jolena

Count Down To Thirty.

In ten days I will be thirty years old.

That sounds so strange.

On a brighter note, here is my beautiful early birthday gift..



xx
Jolena

It Was A Great Weekend.

After much searching, we finally found dining room chairs for Tiffany's kitchen

Antique Broyhill. Three for $25

Before.


After.
Hand Painted and Upholstered.





Left in my house when we bought it were a few antique chairs.

We had fabric leftover so we thought we would use it on one of them.
Before.

After.
Now, this chair still needs the cording added to the fabrics edges, so it is mid-project. You can still see the staples. I still had to post the picture because it is just amazing what a little paint and fabric can do. I will post another picture when it's complete.