Decorating with kids in mind

I have a 15 month old daughter, and she likes nothing better than to pull out every basket in my home (and there are a lot of them) and dump out the contents.  So when I saw all my hard decorating work having to be put away so that no harm came to it - I realized there had to be a better way!!!!  I did my best to outsmart her.  I filled the baskets with her toys, not other country trinkets.  Her stuffed animals rather than candles.  it took a lot of the "fun" out of it for her when she opened something and found her stuff, so she started to leave it alone after a while.  I replaced metal candle holders with wooden ones, so she couldn't hurt herself (or the dog) with them.  In a way - I got a chance to redecorate in a kid friendly way!  I may not have cute runners on my coffee table anymore, but at least all that stuff is safely away where it can't be harmed or harm her.  And when she is older, and out of her "destruction phase" all the old will become new again!

One man's junk is another man's treasure.

If you're not a big online shopper and you can't get a feel for things off the pages of magazines,  I have 2 words for you...  yard sales!!!!   Yard sales or flea markets are some of the best places to pick up odds and ends.  Lots of people have things in their home that can be core pieces in country decorating.  You could find a weathered picnic basket (which I have found), an old wooden piece, something wrought iron or tin.  I can look around my home and remember several purchase I've made at yard sales-  that great weathered picnic basket, an old lantern, a big wooden bowl that now holds some candles and potpourri.   My sister in law even found old barn doors at a yard sale and ended up making the most beautiful entry way into her home with them.  Never underestimate where you can find some real treasures.

Isn't it all red, white & blue?

The answer to that question is... only if you want it to be. I chose to do my spare bedroom in an Americana theme. But there is much more to country decorating than just Americana decorating. Country decorating can tie in a myriad of colors. My house is a sea of dark green, navy blue, maroon, mustard yellow, dark red and brown. I chose a darker shade of beige for my walls to let the country accents stand out more. There are so many kinds of patterns available now that you should never feel pinned down to a single color or style. Part of what I enjoy about country decorating is finding what might be deemed as mismatched pieces, and making them work together.

For instance, my "spool table" is spools that I've collected over the years. The table is all spools, candles & decorations of all different shapes, sizes and colors.  The randomness of it is what makes it different... special...  mine.    Here is a picture of my table to show you what I'm talking about.

Starting slow

There's no need to jump out of the decorating gate and go straight out to a store and buy everything to decorate your room from top to bottom. In fact, some of the best decorated spaces are done in pieces. I find that when you look in lots of places, not just one, you find many more things and many more ideas on how you want to decorate. Find a starting point, a color palette perhaps and go from there. Saw these really amazing curtains you love - get them, and build your room from there. It can be something as simple as a table runner or a bowl & candle set. Whatever you find, start there and build. Take your time, the right pieces will come to you. In the meantime, do a lot of browsing, don't be afraid to look and not buy! I know that's an odd concept, but take it from someone who knows - you don't have to buy everything. The right pieces & accents will find their way into your life and you'll be happy you waited for them.

New for 2010

I admit, I may have abandoned my blog in 2009, but now that my daughter is one, hopefully I can find more time to give advice about country decorating. Hope to see you all here in 2010!!!!!

Does it have to be everywhere?????

I knew someone once who had their ENTIRE kitchen decorated in the Pfaltzgraff pattern Naturewood. You might not know it right away, but if you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about. I think Pfaltzgraff made EVERY accessory and decorating item known to mankind for this pattern. And I'm all about finding a theme.... but let's be serious. There's got to be a moment when you say to yourself... hmmm maybe the Naturewood wall paper is a BIT over the top!

So the answer is no... it doesn't have to be everywhere, in every room, on every surface. You can choose to decorate your kitchen and living room possibly. Or maybe just a bathroom, or even a small room like your laundry room. Just like you can decorate one room with a country feel, you can do another room with a beachy feel, and try to use weathered objects that still have a country feel. It doesn't have to be a consistent pattern or color scheme throughout your entire house. The key is to try to tie things together in small ways.

So don't worry... if you decide to go the "country" route when decorating, your ENTIRE house doesn't have to be plaids and berries. Unless of course that's how you want it to be. :)

Figuring out what you like

I know this sounds like an easy thing... but when it comes to decorating, its actually not. My advice to you, as its been in past blogs, is to look around. Look at lots of website, get magazines, so you can see stuff put together in a room. Here are some of my favorite magazines and catalog's to browse.

The Country Door - has a great website to browse, but the catalog is even nicer. Its good to see things paired together - could give you a new idea of how to put something together.

The Country House - also a great website, but again... get the catalog. You'll get lots of ideas, and things are pretty reasonably priced.

Terry's Village - I know I've mentioned it before but along with finding reasonably priced merchandise in there, you can also find lots of good basics that will serve as fillers for your decorating.

The most important thing is to take your time. There's no rush to get it all done NOW! In my experience the more time you take, the better chance you have of finding exactly what you want, rather than settling for something that's just OK.