Adding Pops of Color to All White

It's White Wednesday again!  I haven't shown our living room for a while, so here it is today.  After the calming all-white look in winter, I'm starting to add some pops of color. 

The pillow and quilted throw have been borrowed from our daughter's room:

So has this heart ornament:

During our children's school vacation last week, we visited our local garden center to get a taste of spring.  These purple hyacinths came home with us, and I potted them for indoor enjoyment:

They liven up this corner desk in the room.  I also added a bag (won from Karen's giveaway) with dried lavender hanging on the chair:

The garden store also had the prettiest begonia with soft pink flowers....

I couldn't part with the roses from Trader Joe's, so here they are hung to dry:

Instead of scattering old books about, I stacked and wrapped them in torn muslin:

Dried sprigs of lavender and hydrangea topped them off:

Hope you are enjoying adding pops of spring color to your home, too!

Lighter and Brighter

The sun is shining brightly today and our dining room is splendidly reflecting all that light.  This room gets the best light in the house. 

The white tulips my dear husband got me for Valentine's day brightened up the room even more:

I love the new look of the light gray lower wall, which you can see closer in the background of this next photo.  The sculptured paste wall stencil now has a more subtle effect, but still gives dimension:

It looks especially calming behind these pretty china pieces:

These pink roses from Trader Joe's are still going strong:

The corner hutch got a cleaning-out and now displays all the blue and white pieces I've collected, as well as our wedding china.  Here it is, with the arched window glass door closed & opened:

Little details...

...and a reflection of the room in this vintage mirror:

This room is such a happy place to be, that I'm seriously considering turning it into a multi-purpose library/dining room.  I am embarassed to admit that a gorgeous antique French daybed is being held captive in our dark basement.  We never had any place to put it on our upper levels.  It's been down there far too long, and needs to relish some daylight.  Would it be crazy to line it up against a wall in here next to the dining table and use it as a reading area?  Hmmmm...
I'll be sharing this bright room with White Wednesday, Feathered Nest Friday and Show and Tell Friday.

St. Valentine's Day

Pink perfection added to the neutral whites here (sharing with White Wednesday).  Such happy pinks, don't you agree?  I hope you are enjoying your St. Valentine's day.  I'm feeling incredibly blessed for the loves in my life - my dear husband, children, family and friends (including you!). 

I'm sending special prayers out today for those I love who are struggling with illness, job loss and sadness.  My dear college friends and I just spent the weekend in Vermont.  A beloved spouse of one of these friends is living in the advanced stages of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  The strength of the love in that family holds them together, day by day.  I'd appreciate any prayers you could offer for Frank, Heidi and their two boys.
All I can think about today is the power of LOVE.  It defies despair and has no end.
Thank you.

Flowers and a Beautiful Saint

St. Valentine's day is the perfect time to celebrate LOVE.  I can't help but add some romantic details in our dining room, and what is more romantic than pink roses? 

The dining room did indeed get a new coat of paint under the chair-rail (as I hinted at in my last post).  I used a mix of leftover paint, and am happy with the soft gray-ish result. 

It contrasts better with the dark mahogany pieces.  I'll show more of the wall later, but today I'm sharing all the little Valentine touches before the holiday has come & gone. 

a simple request

And of course I had to display our St. Therese figure amongst all these roses. 
Humble and lovely...

A gift tag from Rosemary, saved from last year:

Fun with papers & boxes, and another lavender heart sachet:

Hope you are all enjoying this romantic time.  See you at:
Vintage Inspiration Friday (Vintage Valentine party!)
Feathered Nest Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Pink Saturday

Spring(?) Cleaning

Is it only a week until Valentine's day?  This winter is going by much faster than last year, considering what a mild season it has been.  We've had very little snow and warmer temperatures.  The spring-cleaning bug has hit me early.   Lots of purging is going on (finally!), as well as making lists of zero-budget projects.  
A girl can try.

The wintery decor is retiring, yet the simple whites still dominate...

Last summer's dried hydrangeas from our garden were re-discovered and I'm adding groups of them about:

The photo above shows the wall under our dining room chair-rail.  We have a sculptured fleur-de-lis stencil there, but I'm no longer loving the antique gold glaze painted on it.  I plan to cover it gray this week with paint we already have, crossing my fingers there will be enough (zero-budget means a magical mix of paints on hand). 

Meanwhile, some small reminders of Valentine's day are taking form.  A little bit of pink:

A vintage postcard:

Some hanging hearts to spread the love:

I hope to share the refreshed dining room with you soon.  Wish me luck with my creative painting challenge.
In the meantime, I'll see you and a whole lot of inspiration over at White Wednesday this week. 
Oh, and thank you so much for all your lovely comments on the previous post about my sweethearts.  It's moments like those that I cherish.  :)