Grab things that speak to you and pepper them around the house. For example, check out these charming items for under $10. Fabulous...
Can you believe it?
Well, in all fairness, they're decor items and I did keep my holiday decorations up for a long time. I think it was almost the third week in January by the time they came down.
And to be honest, once they were packed up, I still kept a few stragglers around, like the pillows in my family room and master bedroom.
They were just to festive put away, especially since the days were so long and dark. I needed that color. Then last week, I noticed that my electric candles went on during a very bright part of the afternoon.
What? How could that be? I had them set to turn on the minute the sun went down.
Ah...but the sun was going down a full hour later now. Maybe that groundhog was right and spring is on its way! So I figured this was the perfect time to pull out some of my new cottage style treasures and get decorating.
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The first thing I was exciting to open, was a new pillow cover I found under the tree.
These suckers are so cheap, I put one on my wish list every chance I get.
My Christmas one was the same style and material, sort of a soft burlap look, but not burlap, because that makes me sneeze.
One of the hallmarks of cottage style is the mixing and matching of fabrics and patterns.
I always keep the solid pillows on the couch as a base, but then I add other floral or checks for interest. And while I adore pillows, I'm usually a more the merrier kind of gal, I don't over do it in this room.
We live here. We use this couch and the pillows every day and I want the family to feel comfortable, not worry about where they're going to find room to sit.
You'll also notice that the throws are basic.
I would love one of those blankets with the big poofy pom poms, but here?
Nope. Not going to work. I'm not sure it would wash well ~ a necessity ~ or if it would look good after a few naps tangled around a teenager.
And there's no room in this tiny cottage for decoration only pieces.
Which is why I love pillow covers...I can store them ON the pillow. Yup. I do!
I did put the Christmas cover away with its holiday friends, but you see that leg peeking out, that's my rooster pillow.
He's safely stored underneath and since the zippers are so nicely hidden on these covers we never feel it.
What's up next? Well, it's fake lemons. They are THE BEST!
The kids made fun of me when I unwrapped this one and cheered, but hey, I was excited. I mean next to flowers, what's more cottage style than fruit?
I love using fruit as decor, the problem is someone always eats it. Or juggles with it.
I kid you not.
I constantly have a full house and many of those filling it up are between the ages of seventeen and twenty one. It's prime juggling age. Especially for boys.
Rather than deal with dented and bruised fruit, I thought I would give some fake ones a try.
I figured the worst that would happen is they would look terrible and I would make a wreath out of them. But you know, I was super impressed.
There were twelve lemons in the package Santa brought me.
Sometimes I pepper them around the house, sometimes I put them all in one bowl.
They're not huge, but a decent size and while some commenters said they looked a little too yellow, they're the exact same color as the lemons at my grocery store.
The only difference is they are a bit smaller, but not by much. I'm holding a real one for comparison. I don't love dusting them, but it's a small price to pay for the pluses.
They'll never rot, I don't have to pay for decorative lemons anymore, no one is eating my decor and best of all, when you drop them during juggling, they bounce. No dents here.
My next two new cottage decor pieces already lived in my house. I just moved them to other rooms to give them new lease on life.
This wreath used to hang on my bathroom wall. When it got bumped during the holidays in favor of my new canvas print, I wasn't sure what to do with it.
Then one day, I put it down in the kitchen on a plate and thought, hmmm. That actually looks very cute.
It's like a little wreath cake. It's rustic and whimsical, perfect for my cottage and since it's just placed there, no damage done, it can go back on a wall if I so desire. Perfect for a fickle decorator like myself.
For my last decor trick of the day, I want to show you my all time favorite chair. I'm actually siting in it right now. This is where I spend a lot of my day, working, eating, reading.
The view is much better when the pool's open. I get to look out at the water and cottage garden, but even in winter, it's a bright space to set myself up.
Well, this past weekend, I realized that big pillows aren't just for the couch.
I mean nothing screams cottage style more than a cozy place to curl up, so I grabbed an extra pillow from the family room window seat and plopped it on my patchwork chair.
I have to say, it looks great, it feels great and it was free.
And I like free.
Oh and presents, I like them, too.
How about you? Have you been decorating?
Love your ideas! Thanks. Fake lemons. Love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sally, I love those lemons a little more each day!
DeleteI love your cottage touches! That chair is amazing and I can see why you love it so much! I use "fake" fruit in containers that sit on my dryer. In March I change out the winter pears and pinecones for green and red apples. Fake fruit makes sense to me AND the fruit covers the nasty box where the hoses go in the wall. Happy Wednesday! Love and hugs!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, Benita! I just love a bowl full of fruit, I think it adds so much to a room...and I don't even mind when the kids eat it. That's what it's there for, but when it's been dropped and bruised no one wants to eat it. This just works out much better!
DeleteYour cottage is lovely. The faux lemons are perfect! No decorating here. Hunkering down in an ice storm.
ReplyDeleteI hope you were safe, Penny! We got a ton of snow, but at least I had sunshine in my bowl!!
DeleteI like all of your ideas for cottage style decorating Kim. I like the idea of using the pillow covers and they way that they can really change the way a room looks! You can't go wrong with decorating the house with fruit. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie and I do love the fruit. Real or faux!
DeleteI haven't quite gotten the bug to decorate for spring yet, not when there are snowflakes still drifting out of the sky, lol! I am still enjoying the snow, but come March, I'll be ready for spring! I love all your decor touches, changes and additions! My eye was especially caught by the gather pillow. I just found a pillow cover at a thrift store that I need to decorate. I really like the gather pillow of yours. I am thinking of trying to create one on my computer, and doing a fabric heat transfer. Thanks for the inspiration, which I ALWAYS get when I visit you, and a good smile or two :) Blessings!
ReplyDeleteOh Marilyn, you're so creative you'll come up with something. I did a heat transfer recently and I used PicMonkey to design my wreath. It was so easy. You can also try The Graphics Fairy, she has some lovely patterns that are free. You'll have to share what you come up with and stay warm. It's chilly here. C'mon spring!! Hugs to you!!
DeleteI see you are having fun decorating. Pillows are a great way of changing up the look. I love the faux lemons. I just decorated our baker rack with spring and some Easter items.
ReplyDeleteI could use some Easter treats now, Linda. I'm tired of looking at all the snow!!
DeleteI like the wreath on the plate. I do not remember it?
ReplyDeleteI like the lemons. :-)
Carla
Thanks Carla! I took the wreath off the bathroom wall and put it on the plate. It's fun!
DeleteLove all your fun decor ideas. It is so amazing how faux fruit and flowers are so real looking now. I love using pillows too to change things up with the holidays and season changes. Happy Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Kris
I used to laugh at my grandmother's fake fruit and make fun of the grapes on my mom's table. Now look at me...Ha!
DeleteI've been fluffing things a bit too...all my Christmas decorations were down Dec 26th, lol but I did still have two sparkly snowflakes on the window by my front door. Those came down yesterday because I'm so tired of winter and the decor, too! I have faux lemons, too. ;-) They look pretty and cheery in a bowl and hey, if someone wants to juggle them, no harm no foul, right?
ReplyDeleteExactly, Melanie! And they really are cheery!
DeleteI think I need to go downstairs and dig out my faux lemons! I used to have them out but put them away when we moved. I think they are bright and cheery and make me think CLEAN! I store my pillow covers the same way...zip on top of zip. lol
ReplyDeleteI am so anxious for spring but probably won't do much this spring in a rental...there's always another year (I hope I hope I hope).
Have a great night- xo Diana
I totally get it, Diana. When things feel temporary it's hard to put down the decorating roots and dig open those boxes. I get it. I might be tempted to just buy the real thing!
DeleteI love that trick with the pillows Kim. I tend to do that too sometimes it really saves space and you cannot lose your pillowcases. Did you know we had a lemon farm in Greece. Those lemons came in all shapes and sizes, some of them really ugly too. So another benefit of your fake lemons is that they are very, very pretty. I cannot fault you for wanting perfect lemons at all. They add a note of sunshine to any room. And the big pillow looks perfect on your chair too!
ReplyDeleteNo room to store too much here, Mary, so if I can layer those cases, that just means I can have more. And I love my big pillow on my chair. Thanks! Super comfy!
DeleteI love your creativity! I think the lemons look good, and your pillow cover tip is so good!
ReplyDeleteI've been busy making paper flowers! They are so fun and will be perfect for the baby shower I'm hosting this weekend!
Fun!! Paper flowers are always a festive touch!
DeleteWinter decorating is hard for me since I'm am busy wishing for Spring! Your house looks great, Kim, and I don't care what anyone says, the lemons look real to me!
ReplyDeleteThey really do Ann! I used to make fun of faux fruit, but when kids think they're real, I guess they can't be all that terrible.
DeleteI always love glimpses into your sweet cottage, Kim! That chair is just dreamy!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Debbie! I do love my chair!
DeleteKim, I like using faux fruit and want to get a big bunch of red apples. I just love the chair you fixed. I have seen it there for quite some time and it still looks brand new. You did a great job on it. Of course, the colors are perfect too. I never thought of putting pillow cover over pillow covers. I will try it but it doesn't look like mine would work. The covers are too tight to begin with, I think I might not get the right size insert for the cover. How do you judge that?.. Happy Thursday..xxoJudy
ReplyDeleteJudy, my pillows seem to fit in the 18" covers. It is snug, no doubt about it, since that's what makes them look so fluffy, but I just give it an extra squeeze!
DeleteKim, I can see why that's your fave chair...mine too...have always loved it ever since I saw it on your site.
ReplyDeleteThanks Florence. I sit in it whenever I'm in the kitchen.
DeleteBeautiful decoration ideas. Have a happy weekend Kim. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra and to you, too!
DeleteI always wonder about those gorgeous throws with big pom poms, do they not have children or cats or dogs? Your Gather pillow is charming! and I can see the advantage of keeping another cover under the current one. Kim, those lemons look so real! I admire bowls of fruit on counters too. And I always keep a glass bowl of lemons and limes in the fridge rather than storing them away in the fruit bin because I know I'll use them more often that way, and because I like looking at them. Got that idea years ago from an Alexandra Stoddard book. Your wreath cake is so pretty! And I am so in love with your chair, have been for ages! Every room needs a favorite chair in it, don't they? I'm waiting until March 1 to try to de-winterize my house and bring in some spring touches but when my husband brought in a handful of daffodils in bloom yesterday from the yard and I put them in a pretty green pitcher I really got the urge to move that date up. I'm a winter lover but even I am enjoying the longer days. What I dread though is the fake one hour move up that comes far too soon, if at all, in my opinion. But then I know most people love it. Aren't we a strange mixture of likes and dislikes? And all the better for it, I guess.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly keeps life interesting doesn't it? I'm enjoying the longer days, too. Of course, as soon as I put out those lemons, the snow came and then it came again! I just wish spring would show up earlier rather than later this year. I'm so ready!!
DeleteI'm glad we're not the only ones who take our sweet time putting away Christmas decorations. We still have a deflated inflatable laying out on the back porch. We're waiting for the snow to dry off before packing it away...never mind that its been dry before this last snow blew through! ha!
ReplyDeleteYou cracked me up with buying decor that withstands juggling! hehe Glad you found lemons that work for the fun and giggles in your home. :)
Those giggles are the best part of the day, Audra. I'd much rather have some faux fruit hanging around that they can juggle than a boring and perfect household!
DeleteI love seeing your home and the special touches you've added! The lemons really do look real and I love the wreath displayed like that. I LOVE pillow covers and change mine out quite often. In fact I need to do that now! Thanks for caring about my old blog lavender dreams too. I hope and pray I get it back! Anything you can do to help would be so appreciated! Sweet hugs, Diane PS I've started a blog until then called lavender dreams new.
ReplyDeleteI'm so gad you're up and running again, Diane. How wonderful!
DeleteI love all your new treasure, Kim, and the idea of tucking in the unused pillowcases is brilliant. But the fake lemons are my favorite. I hope you'll be making fake lemonade.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
I really should, Amalia! Even though I'm not very good in the kitchen, I think I could handle pretend lemonade. 😉
DeleteI love the rustic/farmhouse look. I love your lemons! I have fake fruit that I have put out and moved around for years. I have thought to get rid of them but then I always change my mind. They look so good. I just need to put them away for a while. Everything is looking good....I have never had my tree up for long. Usually comes down right after Christmas but here we are looking at March and mine is still up.....yep, I know! In my defense, I have not stayed home for more then maybe 30 mins since I left my home on Dec 28th to take mom for surgery and we all know how my life changed after that day. Still have moms. Need to get hom and stay long enough to at least put up the inside stuff. I did get the lights and stuff down outside but its hard being here, caring for five pets and trying to pack up stuff......life throws us wicked stuff at times. Loving your home.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pam and yes, I totally get it. Honestly, the reason we kept it up so long this year is that the one year anniversary of my mom's passing was in early January. We had a celebration here and I thought it'd be nice to keep the tree up...and up and up. Now, I'm just waiting for spring!
DeleteLots of cute new decor! I love the idea of artificial fruit. Sadly,I don't have any jugglers at my house...
ReplyDeleteThanks Lorri. I've never really been a big fan of fake anything, but these work and keep mama and the jugglers happy. It's a small price to pay for a few giggles each week!
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