Thoughts on Decorating a House

 

Good morning. Outside my window the wind is tossing the just-opening lilacs. Puffy clouds move steadily across the sky. It's a much cooler week than last, and there's been needed rain. The colour of the week is green, green, green. The blooms in my garden are mostly blue - bluebells, blue mountain cornflower, and blue forget-me-nots. A few pink tulips and white candytuft add a bit of contrast. I'm enjoying clipping a few blossoms here and there for bouquets in the house. 

For as long as I can remember I've loved the colour blue. Blue for my wardrobe choices, blue for my home decor. My mom always thought I looked best in pink, and my family tells me red suits me. I do wear those colours, but when I'm shopping for clothing or fabric I naturally gravitate to blue. 

In my home I've flirted with green and pink and yellow, but here, too, I remain faithful to blue and cool greys, whites, and beiges. There are so many shades of blue, from sea glass turquoise to rich teal to crisp navy. I love them all. 

I recently replaced the curtains in the living and dining rooms. The procedure took much longer than I'd planned because I did a lot of thinking about what I wanted and then what I wanted took a lot of work. I found some panels at Home Sense in a cotton jacquard from Portugal. They were just to be gathered onto rods, but I first thought of putting grommets into them. Then I thought about lining them. In the end, I ripped out the seams down to flat panels, lined them, and used shirring tape and hooks for hanging them. 

It was difficult to get a proper photo with the light from the window, but you get the idea. I'll keep trying. Perhaps at night.  I had some navy blackout curtains before, and I prefer these softer looking ones. 

While at a consignment goods store in Oak Bay (Good Things) I saw a whole set of Royal Crown Derby Mikado Blue porcelain for sale, individually priced. I indulged in four dinner plates and love the way they look on my china dresser. 

I recently skimmed through "Decorating a Room of One's Own" by Susan Harlan. It's a series of imagined interviews with literary characters such as Jane Eyre, Miss Havisham, Marilla of Anne of Green Gables, and others. It's witty, and in places very funny, but it got to be too much after awhile. Perhaps it's a book to pick up and read in bits and pieces.

In the introduction, Harlan writes "In the end, decorating a house is a lot like writing. You are arranging things in relationship to other things in a precise and thoughtful way in order to create something beautiful." That's an excellent way to describe both writing and decorating and the quotation went into my journal immediately.

Do you have a most favourite colour? Do you enjoy decorating your home and arranging things to suit you?

Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post, especially from readers I've never heard from previously. I wasn't eliciting praise, just setting out a thought I've been having. I don't plan to stop blogging, but I wonder if I'm repeating myself over and over. 

Also, Betsy J in PA - I can't find a contact for you, and you can find my email by clicking "my complete profile" on the right hand side of the blog under my photo. Also I'm on Instagram as lorrie.orr.creative and you can message me there. I'd love to answer your questions.