Ansel Adams, I'm Not!

Well I tried my best to take some good photographs of my decorations but I'm definitely not a photographer! I tried reading the camera manual for some tips but quickly put that away (too much left brain thinking was required for this right brained girl!) and I may still have a friend help me take some better pics but until then I decided to go ahead and post what I've got. I'll start with the living room today.

You may remember from a previous post I was having trouble finding inspiration for this year's decor. I resorted to praying to the decorating Gods (to no avail) and procrastinating with the hope something would just come to me. I eventually wandered outside to pick up sticks in the yard and that's when inspiration struck. I decided I would take the largest branches I found, bring them into the house, and somehow find a way to decorate with them. I thought it would be really cool to hang simple ornaments from the branches, add some sparkle, a few lights and see what happens. I really like the results but I don't think it shows well in the pictures.

I also used a lot of burlap because it has a great texture, goes with the natural look I was after and best of all, it's cheap. Let me know what you think of the results:

This is a picture of my two boys from last Christmas that I have on an antique ice box just inside the foyer of my front door. I clipped the berries from a bush in the backyard, added some greens and magnolia leaves and a simple burlap bow.


Continuing on into the foyer, this is the view to the left into my living room. I LOVE Cheetah fabric and have yards of it draped as a portiere to frame the door and add a little drama before entering the room.


My living room is a really dark chocolate brown, with taupe furniture and icy blue accents. I decided to play off that theme by adding burlap to the end tables, more evergreens and combining those elements with things I display every day. I got the gold mirror for free at an auction on Maryland's eastern shore because no one wanted it, the old pocket watch dangling from the lamp was picked up at an estate sale for a couple of dollars. The old photograph and trophy cup were picked up at a flea market.




Another end table in the living room, with found objects, greens, old sailing cups picked up at an estate sale.

Now for the sticks, branches, twigs, etc. I wanted to add a little drama behind my sofa so I placed three old mirrors I had around the house (again, picked up at estate sales or auctions) on the sofa table, and stuck large branches into florist foam I put inside an old trophy, and then added the glitz: chandelier crystals, a crystal swag, sparkly ornaments in bronze, gold, and cream. I also added some pictures I had. On the left is the classic Blue Boy (found at a barn sale) and on the right, a much more solmen lithograph of a woman praying I bought at an auction. I liked the contrast between the two figures.






I love big clocks and have four or five of them in my house. This one is in the living room so I draped it with some evergreens and added a couple of ornaments.



For the typewriter which sits on an old trunk, I typed the words to the classic "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...." article that was originally published in the New York Sun in 1897 and added an old passport, greens, and sparkly snowflake for a little glitz.


I'll post more of the decorations tomorrow.