You Say Vinaigrette, I say Vignette

In our homes, vignettes are really just a grouping of items we love.  The thread that pulls a look together can go from similar colors, textures, themes and the list goes on.  Pick your spot then surround your objects, your vignette, with empty space.  This will make them decorative and meaningful and not just an endless array of clutter.

Robert's baby shoes and Buddha.  Go figure.  Gretchen passed on her passion for the whimsical use of old bronzed baby shoes... you'll see them in many of her creations.  They are still easily found in thrift stores and flea markets.  We like that they are an unexpected addition.  Their warm tarnished quality ties in with the jeweled elegance that sits behind.  

A bright idea.  Take not-so-great thrift shop paintings add a bit of white paint or collage and you have given the piece a new abstract focus.  Now the painting is allowed to stay and frames a favorite vignette.

In an old house wall space is at a premium so we use the staircase spindles on which to hang our artwork.  Overlapping pieces, as well as molding, accentuates what's left of the home's original architectural detail.  "Sherlock" seems a little stunned.  What does he know?

P.S.  Silver lamps, gold frames, there are no rules.

Find Colleen's vignette collages available for purchase on Etsy!

Just click the link - etsy.com/handmade-collage-the-jewel-box 

or etsy.com/handmade-collage-simply-dotty

Oh, Please, Do Come In

Baby it's cold outside.  Well, we're getting there.  We are starting to "winterize" the porch which really means we are displacing the neighbors' cats and moving everything into a "sculptural" pile.  We don't bother covering the furniture... the snow will do that.  Now, we can cozy up inside.  Take off your shoes.

The last of the impatiens and the last of Halloween.  Our little garden treasures will spend winter in a corner of the porch.  The vintage blue chair stays put (the rustier, the better) and, unless someone does some raking, so do the leaves.  

Blue pitcher comes off the porch and back inside.

Inside Colleen's foyer.  Playing with a covering for her narrow windows, she pins strips of vintage velvets and damask to an existing shade, with the idea that the seamstress fairy will come down and sew it all together.  She waits.

"When it's all done..." (famous last words) "I want the sides of the shade to show the frayed fabric and selvage edges.  To me, that adds to a tarnished elegance already going on in the house."

Ah, the glass lamp, it follows us everywhere.  A rich deep yellow color capped with black metal is the pop you might need.  This would look great with a black fabric shade in the kitchen... or the foyer, we love it!  

Can someone sew up the curtains?

To purchase our coveted yellow lamp and blue songbird pitcher visit us on Etsy.  Just click the links -  etsy.com/glass-lamp or etsy.com/blue-pitcher

Back to Work

Doing a blog.  It sounded like the wave of the future... at the very least it sounded like a good idea after that bottle of wine last spring.  But our collective short-term memory, or lack thereof, got in the way... add a dose of what-the-hel-l-l were we thinking... and drinking... and summer is over and really, we must get back to work.

Gretchen's inviting neighborhood workshop and curbside garden.

Trash picked containers and old pots match the eclectic mix of cuttings that took off this summer.  Don't ask us what any of the plants are called.

Gretchen's workshop mailbox, what would you say is her address?

The gas bill still finds its way.

Stepping inside, there are walls of good stuff to inspire and use on the multitude of projects going on at one time.

"You are what you play"  - Ovid


Gretchen's booty.

Rolls of trim and ribbon lace the ceiling. What is Santa doing in our workshop?

He should get his own place.

The holidays are coming!

Some Temptations

Just serving up a few sumptuous morsels! Gretchen's hand painted and distressed trays from $40-250. Sizes and colors vary. This particular Tray: $120. It's a nice, useful size for serving up...well, just about anything! ;-)




Here's another view, this time with some luscious strawberries: yum!



Speaking of luscious, is there anything more delicious than baby toes? We don't think there is, so we are having these adorable Baby Feet cast for us by friends in Honduras. They will be available for purchase this Fall.



Here is our newest Little Soul, Katie Yatie. Doesn't she look adorable with her sparkly green shades? This girl has an attitude like a ginger snap, spunky and sweet and just plain fun! (Don't dunk her in a glass of milk though!) Katie Yatie, approximately 18" high: $300



A work in progress! Gretchen is really into old medicine cabinets these days, stripping them down and re-creating them as Love-Medicine Cabinets! Stay tuned for more of these magical assemblages (you can glimpse another in the the photo of Katie Yatie, above!)



We just love this vintage pressed-tin coffee pot painted in bright blue with brilliant marigold orange rust spots! What a score by our eagle-eyed Colleen! Approximately 14" high, and topped by a tiny bluebird of happiness, this one of a kind thrift-shop find is no longer intended for culinary use, but it makes a tasty color accent wherever we put it. Vintage Blue Coffee Pot: $80  buy it directly from Etsy.com http://www.etsy.com/listing/59695002/blue-pitcher




The Hens and Chicks are coming right along in Gretchen's nursery. She loves these succulent little beauties and relishes growing and propagating them with her own fair hands! They seem to bring out the mother hen in many women. You should see Gretchen and Nancy Bea leaning over the pots, clucking and cooing!



Namaste you guys! Come back soon for a glimpse inside the house, and a sneak peek at Gretchen's fabulous art collection!

Still Pimping the Porch!

Here's a glimpse of my not-so-sacred sacred space. This is my favorite corner of the porch, presided over by my daughter's Buddha Head (she still doesn't know it is missing from her living-room!) and featuring a comfy chair with a fat pillow: my own little Nirvana nest!




An overview of the shady side of the porch. I'm so lucky to have this great space ready to welcome my book club or visiting grandchildren or for a romantic evening booze-up à deux!



Bluebird Bowl made by a friend in Honduras. Hand-carved and painted folk art bluebird perches on a raku pot: $200
Candlepots work better than candlesticks on my breezy porch! Vintage silver teapots atop hand-painted candlesticks. One-of-a-kind candlepots: $85




Last year's living room pillows become this year's porch pillows! With another view of the candlepots. $85 (sizes will vary)




Here's the sunny side of the porch in all its sun-drenched glory!



A shaded spot for Baby Pearl when she visits. Child's rocking chair: $80 Elegant umbrella: $40



Artwork loves company! And it loves to get out of the house once in a while, too. Vintage naif pastel of flowers (16 x 20 inches) $180 Our own Colleen's beautiful ink drawing "Old Man in the Park." Funky framed (and signed) print: $150

For purchasing information:
litlsouls@aol.com or
610-212-7604

Pimping the Porch

Our porches are next on the list after a winter of staring at the dining room walls...paint them Bruised Plum or Chinese Lantern Red? Ideas we have toyed with inside, now spill outside. Lots of leftovers from last year's porch season are staring us in the face.


Where do we begin? Our mantra is “all colors go together.” And it appears, as we look around our homes, we seem to take ourselves seriously. Now on the porch we quickly inventory the collection of furniture castoffs and determine what stays , what goes, what chairs the neighborhood cats have made their own.




And then we paint. We are pretty lazy and spray paint is a fast, instant gratification way to pull a porch look together when dealing with an eclectic mix of pieces. Also, textiles gathered from throughout the house. Old tablecloths, shams, curtains, throws, comforters and, in one case, a vintage sleeping bag which also doubles as a Christmas tree skirt are used as various coverings, strengthening the color palette, bringing in pattern, and adding a level of comfort. And pillows. Lots of pillows. (These are last year's pillows, getting a last airing before being retired.)
Like what you see? Buy this painting and more directly from Etsy.com http://www.etsy.com/listing/59705166/vintage-painting-kitchen-flowers



Okay, we're getting started. Our furniture, freshened with paint, is for the most part from yard sales, from the curb, and the dumpster...yes, we are guilty of drive-by trash-picking!



For us a porch, like summer, has few restrictions. A lot of favorite things are used, but nothing is precious. It is all temporary, and, so, our style is relaxed, colors brighter, detail whimsical and unexpected. This is just the beginning...like the ferns in the garden, our porch is just starting to unfurl.



The garden is beginning to emerge. The Fiddlehead ferns are taking over and we can’t sit still. Our porches will keep evolving throughout the summer.

Welcome to Gretchen's world!

This is the blog of Gretchen Wilson Designs, Inc! We are excited to show you all our colors, patterns and other great stuff. Our famous Little Souls dolls are still in limited production and we are branching out into other design adventures too. Stop back for frequent updates, photos, stories and other amusing offerings!


Colleen Charleston and Gretchen Wilson