Decorating & Design - Maison de Cinq

Friday Favorites – White Ironstone

I’m not sure when my love affair with white ironstone started, but I do know that when I remodeled my kitchen four years ago, I had already started collecting and putting it aside for the new room. For those of you not familiar with ironstone, it is antique pottery originally made in the United Kingdom. It was developed in the 19th century by potters in Staffordshire, England as a cheaper, mass-produced alternative to porcelain. Originally made in transferware patterns, beginning in the 1840s, British potteries created white ironstone for the American market where undecorated tableware was popular. read more

Feeling Blue

I have a confession to make. I have never liked blue in decorating. Oh, I wear blue, and it’s cute in my little boy’s room, but whenever I saw blue in a living space, I just didn’t love it. Perhaps it’s because my parent’s house was blue for many years (every room, mind you!) but for whatever reason, it was just not something that spoke to me. My family room/kitchen area is neutrals and cream with pops of red, and it has been like that for quite awhile now. Red toile curtains, red toile chairs, red checked roman shade and a few red striped and/or floral pillows on the cream couches. And I have always loved it. It is fresh and cheerful, and it looks great at Christmas. That is, I loved it until recently. I don’t know what happened, but I sort of woke up one day and thought, “I cannot look at this red for one more day!” I know blue is a huge trend in decorating. And of course, I’ve been seeing a ton of it; in blogs, in catalogs, on websites and on Pinterest. But I’ve certainly seen trends I didn’t follow before. And I’ve certainly seen blue photos that never spoke to me before. But now….. read more

Friday Favorites – To the Letter

I love letters in decorating. They are so personal and unique. Not only do they add some personality to the room, they also add dimension and irreverence. A room with some kind of metal or wood letter, whether it be old or new, seems to say “Relax… take a load off.” It doesn’t take itself too seriously. I personally like vintage ones more than the new, but they are actually pretty difficult to find. However, there are a lot of reproduction letters out there that do a great job of giving the look of vintage, without all the hunting! read more

Friday Favorites – White Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are my absolute favorite flower! But not every color carries equal weight. For me, it’s the white ones. I know people love the blue, but the white are what make my heart skip a beat! I usually have white hydrangeas in a pitcher in the kitchen on a weekly basis when I can find them, and we have them in both our front and backyards. Luckily for me, I have a Trader Joe’s close to my home as they carry them almost year round. And that’s another thing about them; they look good anytime of year! They look spring-y and fresh in the spring and summer months (especially the white ones that are tinged with green), but they also look amazing in the winter. I love them mixed with pine and berries at Christmas! And they look great in any container; from an old crusty urn or bucket, to a crystal vase or a white pitcher (my personal favorite!) They’re versatile and so long lasting – another one of their many wonderful traits!

Love them in a simple vase. Design by Linda McDougald.

Love them in vintage urns. Via The Enchanted Home.

Love them in baskets in the yard or house. (Source unknown.)

Love them in a silver bowl. Via Country Living.

Love them in the yard. Via Houzz.

Absolutely love these by this pool (would love to do this in my yard!) (Source unknown).

Simply stunning! Via Atelier de Campagne.

Wishing you have a lovely weekend! I’m off to the garden store to buy some new white hydrangeas to add to the front beds and to TJ’s to get some for the kitchen counter…..

Sheila
xo

Coffee Talk

Today coffee table styling is on my mind. I’m one of those people who once I start thinking about something (design-wise, anyway… or clothing-wise :)) I become a little obsessed. I was literally up until after midnight the last few nights looking online and at pins on Pinterest for interesting ways to style a coffee table. I recently purchase a new one and it’s twice the size of the old one so I’m feeling like I want to add a little bit. I don’t like them too full (and the hubby usually doesn’t like too many things “in his way”) but I don’t like a big empty table either. My new table is a full 48″ x 48″ so that’s a pretty big space if there is nothing on it. There are a few things I noticed that were consistent in the tables I liked: read more

Friday Favorites – Preserved Boxwood

Something I was recently turned onto is preserved boxwood topiaries. These are not the plastic, fake topiaries that don’t look real, oh no, these are hand made from real boxwood plants and are specially treated to retain their deep green color. They even have a faint hay-like smell that makes them seem more natural than just a plastic topiary. I have only had two fake (plastic) topiaries in my life and I had recently thrown them out, vowing to go only “real” from now on. read more