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

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