Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Keep In Touch #206

Hello, Friends,
How are you? I hope you are healthy, happy and feeling blessed. 

This past week I shared our living room decked out in blue and white





I also shared some patriotic decor out in East Texas. 


Our bedroom has a new quilt. I shared it and some cottage style bedding ideas. . This morning, I added some red to our bathroom. 



I love this artwork by The Marmelade Gypsy. 


I also loved Paula's fun summer home tour over at Sweet Pea. 


That tugboat is adorable. 
That is all for now. 
Link away friends, 
Katie 

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July Fourth Decor At Our Country House

Good Morning, Friends!
How are you?
I hope you are well and that you are enjoying your summer. 
Our little ranch house got some 4th of July decor this past weekend. 
I had loads of fun sprinkling some Patriotic trimmings around the space. 


I will try to keep my chatter to a minimum so that you can enjoy the pictures. 
If you have been following, you might remember that we've decorated with greens out in East Texas. 
I packed all that up, temporarily, and swapped out the color scheme with blue. 
Vintage blue and white transferware forms the basis for the decorations. 



Please ignore or the countertop. Those will be changing soon. 
A Better Homes and Gardens valance in blue and white adorn the little window. I wasn't sure it would work but I love it. 


The core of our collection of blue and white came to us from my mother and grandmother. 
I suspect that my mother collected it for my grandmother. 
We have some really good blue onion and straw flower pieces as a result. 
I had all of this on display all of the time in the 80s and 90s. Eventually, I packed it away for trendier color schemes. The collection gets pulled out seasonally these days. I love it in winter and in summer for the fourth. 





The cow creamer is one of my favorite pieces in the collection. 


The decor shelf got a few bits as well. 


The flag postcard and the photo are fun. 


The lavender, vegetable bowl, one clock face and the blue and white plate were all East Texas finds. Antiques are cheaper out that way. 


I love how the mantel looks for the fourth. 


I found the cottage "painting" in an antique shop out there but it's not old. It may not even be a painting but a textured print instead. I can't tell. 


I painted the little flag a while ago. 
The inspiration came from a hooked rug. 



I thrifted the mini basket last year. 


My flower crate from Nearly Natural got red geraniums, curly branches and flags. 

Let's go outside to the cabin porch. 


The white wrought iron bench was found at Bill's live edge wood guy who lives in Rendon, Texas. 
This is Bill's third bench refurbishment project in a year. He said, "No more!"
 Okay, I don't have any more porches that need a bench anyway. :) 





The paint on the cabin is Retreat by Sherwin Williams. The door of the cabin is Sun Dried Tomato also by Sherwin Williams. 


The trim above the porch still needs priming and painting but it may have to wait until this fall. 
We are trying to slow things down a little instead of working ourselves to death. 


Stock tank number two is filled. Bill is in the process of setting up the pump so that we can circulate the water. 


The front of the house got a smidge of decor. 


I should have tried to get bunting to go all the way across but I didn't think about it until we were out there this past weekend. Maybe next year I'll have it all together. 



The new butcher block countertops will be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully, Bill can install the two small sections this weekend. I think he wants to see how that goes before we do the sink area. 
We are trying to relax and enjoy it more anyway.  
That is about it for now. I hope you enjoyed seeing the decor out in East Texas. 
To see overall room shots visit the country house page. 
Blessings, 
Katie 


Saturday, June 26, 2021

Summer Bedding Looks In A Cottage Style

Hi, Friends,
Y'all know that I love redecorating for the seasons and the holidays.
The bedrooms are no exception. I thought I'd share some of my favorite tips for getting a cute, cottage look for your beds this summer. Many of these images are from my archives but there will be a few images of what is going on currently. 


I have a collection of quilts, coverlets, pillow cases and pillow covers. 
When they aren't on a bed, they are stored in one of our two armoires. 


When the system is operating as it should, covers are taken off of the pillow forms and stacked according to color and season. When the system has gone awry, pillows with covers are tossed into a closet. 
The system manager has bouts of laziness amidst spurts of creativity. 
Reds, blues and anything with a summer motif are stacked together. 


A geranium pillow from a Raz warehouse sale adorns a guest bed. I made some red gingham pillow cases years and years ago. They have been used many times.
White sheets sets, matelasse coverlets, shams and dust ruffles provide the neutral backdrop for the colorful accent pillows and pillow cases. 
Quilts in coordinating colors are draped across the end of the bed. 


We have a wonderful Tommy Hilfiger twin bedspread. When folded in half it fits across the end of a queen size bed. One side is blue and white gingham. The other side is a red and white stripes. I love this coverlet and would buy it again because it is so versatile. It's perfect for summer. I got it at T.J. Maxx. Usually, our quilts are twins size which is adequate for the look.  


An assortment of bedding red, blue and a floral give a bed such a cottage-y feel which is one of my favorite combinations when the weather is hot. 
Mixing stripes with checks is effortless. A floral is thrown in the mix as well. 


I've been known to quilt something every so often. My quilting came to halt for many years but I've recently started the hobby again. I stitched up an easy quilt in green, blue, and red two years ago. 


The square floral pillow was made out of a Chaps by Ralph Lauren sham. 
Somehow, one king size shams got misplaced. Since I only had one, I cut it up and made an accent pillow instead. 


Black and ecru ticking sheets from Red Land Cotton became the inspiration for our 2020 bedroom. 
We highly recommend Red Land Cotton Sheets. They are so comfortable. 
The black ticking strip square pillow is older Pottery Barn. The toile for the pillow came from a nearby drapery workshop. Occasionally, they would open their doors for free picking. Our fabric closet was stuffed to the gils in those days. 



The red and blue against a white headboard look so cute. 


The addition of a flag pinned to blue and white stripes turns a pillow into a festive display. 


The dutch boy and girl pillows were thrifted years go. I love rescuing vintage needlepoint. 


I'm quite cognizant of the fact that most people do not go to such lengths to get a quaint, seasonal bedroom. 
Did I miss my calling as a Macy's bedding department stylist? 
It really isn't that difficult to change the look. Sheets are changed weekly adding a few seasonal cases to pillow forms doesn't take that much extra time. 


I love our beds to evoke a summer at my grandparent's cottage feel. In reality there was no air conditioning at the cottage so I'm sure the beds were very simply dressed. I vividly remember a chenille bedspread on my grandmother's bed. That probably was sufficient unless another layer was needed as dawn approached. Who else remembers hiding beneath a bedspread to elude a buzzing mosquito looking for a meal?  


I've been on a quilt kick lately. My new red and white quilt just pops against the freshly painted bed. 
 Our bed has been given new life. I love it again. 


A few red transferware pieces echo the color story. The transferware goes with the faux brick on the faux fireplace. 


Our bedroom in East Texas tells another color tale. This time green is the hue. 


Someone steals the quilt in the middle of the night or so the story goes. I found the quilt in our attic when I was a teenager and I packed it up and took it to college with me. I have no idea who made it but it is old. 


Guest room number one is a symphony in blue. 


You'll notice the Tommy Hilfiger bedspread has appeared again for the summer of 2021. 


The chambray colored pillow covers were also found at the Raz warehouse sale. 


The gallery wall was fun to create. It is reminiscent of my cousin's teenage bedroom. 


That is about all for now. 
I hope this inspires you to create some fresh summer looks with a cottage feel. 


It's fun and it's only annoying for the person who takes the pillows off at night. 
Haha. 
Blessings, 
Katie