A Winter Home Tour

In a previous post, SAVOIR, PENSIR, RÊVER. TOUT EST LÀ I dreamt of living in my very own home, having that peace and stability would mean so much. I sometimes feel like a bit of a traveller in life these days, setting up camp until I am on the move again.

But.. in the meantime, I have gathered together a space that belongs to me, that speaks of my family, my loves and my life. The blessing is that the interior pieces will go with me wherever I am. I know.. I know.. they are just “things” { I’ve been called the “keeper of all things ” } but being inspired visually, they are my creation of a place that feels more like home every day. This place brings me joy and my heart sings when I get to share it with others.

♥

In my little kitchen, now, the colours blue and white play together, creating a sharper contrast than the uniformity of my Christmas neutral shades. The floor in this room of my rental apartment is quite cold, as it’s right above an unheated garage, so I’ve been looking everywhere for an affordable solution.. staying “on budget” is my mantra when it comes to decorating. I have been eyeing this Lohals Ikea rug for some time and love how it warms up my room. The fur throws on chairs you may recall were from Costco, I’ve seen many versions that fetch prices much higher than these.

I love to sit at the end of the table on the white wooden chair looking out to the aspen trees.. imagining I am out in the countryside. I pull close the fur throw covered chair and my puppy Bella curls up on it beside me as I work, write, edit photos or blog.

Table throws or runners seem to be replacing the standard table cloth and I can see why. They’re an inexpensive way to add colour but also allows the beauty of the natural wood table be shown.

The blue and white jug is from Homesense, the butter dish from a local potter I love, the plate’s from Anthropologie and the white strainer with blue and white dishtowels are from Ikea. My favorite pieces are the flow blue china dishes I picked up at a local antique shop, discounted because they were no longer part of a set. The little Vintage Chippy Teacup Candles I made were picked up at the same time. they were featured on Buzzfeed.

Another vintage bowl, owls from Anthropologie and few favourite cookbooks are on my wire racks. Once when I came home at dusk I saw a beautiful owl resting on the peak of my home above the front door. Maybe the owl is my spirit animal?

My white flocked magnolia still grace my “sideboard” (a white metal locker shelving unit from IKEA). They’ll stay here for a while longer before being replaced with something for spring, maybe pink flowered twigs or simple green leafy branches.

My baking cart hasn’t moved or changed, I still love my wolf pup picture. She reminds me to stay strong, even when I feel small.

Down a few stairs to my living room ( where the serendipitous wedding took place a few weeks ago) you’ll find all sorts of places for the eye to wander:

It’s graced by my favourite chaise designed by the lovely Jane Gelinas and my acoustic guitar that made it’s way home again… and fur throws.. lots and lots of them to cuddle in!

You may remember this home-made bulletin board .. this is my version of a Gratitude Journal, I love photography so it’s a way to display highlights of my life, my friends, travel and occasions. It brings me peace whenever I wander past.

My newest pieces of art { my white buddha } is getting framed as we speak. This shop coincidentally has a smaller version of this exact frame. I’ll be making a smaller bulletin board for my kitchen, or maybe a chalkboard, I can’t quite decide.

The more modern book shelf { on sale at 4Living years ago } is filled with neutral loves..a sea shell, an elk, books and candles and the photographs that were taken down to be replaced by new memories.

{ the little sugar bowl has dog treats inside }

I don’t play the mandolin.. that is my son’s newest adventure

Just around the corner is my buddha and a rainbow of books and family photos that get changed up now and then.

Yes.. I have a television, mostly for Netflix or movie watching and music. Otherwise it doesn’t seem to get turned on much these days. The painting is one of two of my mother’s original pieces.. they are my favourites. This meadow of flowers was hung on the wall at our cabin for a long time, just looking at it transports me back to the summer and time with my family on the water or in the garden.

Dawn from Peridot helped me “map out” a plan for my living room. A few pieces came from her shop, almost always on sale, I’ve learned to wait for sales. The side tables arrived in her store with a bend in the legs, so I picked them up for a great price and just turned them sideways. The rug was a treat to myself for a real estate sale last year, ordered from Pottery Barn, it brings a lot of life and light into the room.

I love these gold Luminara candles! They were steeply discounted from Pottery Barn after Christmas because they were gold { ! } and were scratched. I plan to top them up with some gold leaf when I have a moment. At night they come on automatically and look so real and add such a calming peaceful presence to the darkened room.

In this wee corner is my white Ikea slipcovered love seat, the place I curl up with my dog Bella every morning for coffee while I read or watch the sun rise through the trees.