Friday, December 9, 2011

Winter Living Room

For the last month or so, my blog has taken a serious backseat to the Christmas rush of online shopping. Not my own shopping, mind you, but I've been busy from morning to night wrapping soap, stitching towels, packing orders, and helping a host of my lovely customers get their Christmas shopping done early. 'Tis the season...
But in the midst of all the packing and shipping, there's still been a little time for decorating. With all the traveling my husband and I do over the holidays, I don't go all out with Christmas decorations at our little house. It just makes the beautiful trees and lights at our parents homes in Ohio that much more special next to our own undecked halls. But with a few wintery touches here and there and a couple of wonderful new finds from my last antiquing trip, our livingroom has a fresh winter look in blue, white, and grey that is perfect even long after the holidays are over.  



One of my favorite new-to-me antiques is this blue and white coverlet. I've always admired woven coverlets like this, but authentic early ones in good condition are few and far between, not to mention expensive. But on our Thanksgiving road trip a couple weeks ago, we took a minor detour to stop at one of my favorite antique malls in Shipshewana, Indiana, and I spotted this beautiful blanket almost the moment I walked in the door. It was in excellent condition, and I flipped over the price tag without much hope. But at $80 it was literally hundreds less than I was expecting, so I bought myself an early Christmas present. (There, see, I have done a little shopping after all).



The color and texture that it adds to the white slipcovered couch are wonderful, and the bold pattern works so nicely with all of my french striped pillows.



The wooden bowl on the coffee table got a touch of the holidays with a handful of natural pinecones and a stack of antique books with dark blue covers. My husband loves reading old books and buys them regardless of what they look like - I pick out my favorites from his collection and decorate with them...


My absolute favorite is the tiny leather-bound hymnal from 1854 (on top of the stack). Not only does it have perfectly aged pages and a handsome pattern pressed into the old leather cover, but the hymns inside are some of the most beautifully penned words I have ever read, proclaiming the truths of scripture with a poetry and depth that is seldom heard today.





As I've told you before, I am in love with these mosaic mirror candle sconces, and I found this one for only $15 at an antique shop in Ohio this fall. It adds a festive touch of sparkle to the simple rustic room, even without a candle (don't worry, I'm working on it).


My TJ Maxx french chair gets a little primitive white stool to rest my feet on (which I am actually doing right this minute as I write).



The chippy white table in the corner holds a pair of antique crocks with pale grey glaze and a crinkled wire antique basket the I picked up recently here in Nebraska. It's one of the things I bought to sell in my Etsy shop, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. Sorry...






Pillows... I love pillows.


A few sprigs of (fake) Christmas greenery nestle around another antique crock and my little gray duck.




Even the TV gets some holiday love, with a bowl of reproduction mercury glass ornaments and more greenery.




And the icing on the cake...?


We had our first snowfall on the day I took these pictures last week, and we've had a thick blanket of winter wonderland ever since. Merry Christmas from Nebraska!

11 comments:

  1. WOW~ you make blue looks so wonderful and wintery-- not so beachy. :)

    I noticed I hadn't seen you post in a while. So glad your selling and doing well with your business!

    enjoy your weekend~ and your upcoming travels for the holidays!

    Pat

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  2. I love your soft muted colour scheme. Are the baubles vintage? They're so beautiful!

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  3. Hi Ellie ~ I love your style and your living room looks so gorgeous! You have a talented eye for choosing just the right pieces. Your entire home is so charming and inviting. I love your touches of blue too!! We live in Ohio but will be going to Pennsylvania for Christmas. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  4. Love your living room, Ellie! (I pinned it!) It is just beautiful.

    Hope you are well. David (and family) is back in San Jose. Yeah, bummer.

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  5. Such a very beautiful and cozy room! I love all your wonderful vintage touches, but my favorite thing is your gorgeous French chair. I hope my TJ Maxx carries them some time in the future!

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  6. What a beautiful room, I love everything about it!!

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  7. This room is just gorgeous. Not only is it beautiful, but it looks so comfy and cozy for the long winter months ahead. I could certainly see myself settling in here for a nice long nap.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  8. I love your syle of decorating....not too white,a touch of rustic, and a bit of color......awesome!!

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  9. Lovely space! Loving the rustic touch to it! Have a delightful day, Kellie xx

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  10. I just love it!! I've recently started the switch to blue's and you have great ideas :) Thanks for sharing.

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