Tuesday, April 27, 2021

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.


26 comments:

  1. Love your new curtains. I have always used reds and yellows in my decorating. But this new home of ours is all shades of blue, white and cream. I am using some green as an accent and will probably add a little pink or raspberry as the mood strikes.

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  2. I love so many different colors. I wear a lot of blue because I have blue eyes and I've been complimented! teehee! I am trying to decide how to make my bed up right now. Wondering if I can do away with the big comforter for awhile but what can I use that's easy to put on top of the bed and looks like a made bed! Love your new purchases, they are perfect for your home. I get in the mood to change things so thrift stores are perfect for me. I haven't been to one in over a year though...so better watch out when I go! Hugs!

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  3. I am definitely a blue girl too, but I tend towards the darker shades especially navy, which I can then dress up with pretty coloured scarves or beads etc. However, I am not the same within the home where I prefer to have a more eclectic colour mix.

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  4. The new curtains look great! I'm also admiring the cozy blue arm chair. The Mikado Blue porcelain were a great find!

    My favourite colour is purple, but my home decor don't really have a particular colour scheme. Just a lot of teawares. LOL.

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  5. I do like a home that is tastefully decorated, but still very comfy. My favourite color is pink and all it's variants, from deep burgundy to the softest pink.

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  6. The new dinner plates look great, and so are the curtains. Your living room looks cozy.
    I can't say that I like any particular colour. I do enjoy arranging things in my house just as I like them.

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  7. I love shades of blue for clothes and decor. I am satisfied with the decor in my home now but I’m sure time will fix that.

    Love those plates!

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  8. I like your new panels. Those dinner plates are so pretty. I'm a sucker for blue and white dishes. Decorating is not a strong suit of mine. I do like things to be comfortable.

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  9. BLUE BLUE BLUE

    I always go back to it, though when I was young I often wanted green clothes when I was expecting!

    Your house always looks lovely to me - must be all that BLUE!!

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  10. I very much enjoy decorating my home! I am certainly not on trend, but that it okay with me because I think that a person should make a house beautiful and comfortable according to their own tastes. I also think that it takes time to create a space; it is always evolving.

    I love your new drapes! Can't a small change make a huge difference?

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  11. I love decorating my home.
    In winter I have navy blue curtains in my living room, at spring pale green and summer beige.
    But this year I skipped the green and went straight to beige ones.
    I often wear blue , navy blue, green and beige... like my curtains lol!
    When I change something in my decoration I think about it quite a long time before painting.

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  12. J'ai déménagé 20 fois en 50 ans ; et toujours, dans chaque maison j'ai repris les mêmes couleurs : l'ivoire et rouge fonce dans le séjour , mais toujours du bleu dans la chambre, cette couleur m'apaise !
    Un fois que l'on a choisi les couleurs dans lesquelles on se sent bien , il faut les garder, c'est tellement important d'être bien chez soi.
    J'ai remarqué , en lisant des blogs que de nombreux séjours américains sont bleus et blanc, je trouve cela très joli.
    Gardez les couleurs que vous aimez et dans lesquelles vous trouvez votre confort.
    Bonne journée
    Une lectrice française

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  13. Blue is definitely my colour, in all its ranges. It's calming. Your curtains are very pretty, light and summery.

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  14. As child my mother always dressed me in blue. As adult I changed the blue to black... As to home decoration I love nowadays earthy tones: sand, brown & hint of black, white walls. We renovated & decorated a lot last summer & autumn, I am still content. I love your blue plates with white porcelaine. Here I look forward to real spring temperatures, First of May will be celebrated in cool weather. Warm greetings, riitta

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  15. I love that quote about decorating and I think it's spot on! I love red, and use it a lot in my home, but my home doesn't scream 'red!' I also love navy, yellow, and green and use them in my home. It all works together.

    I like your new curtains. They look fresh and light.

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  16. Hello, Lorrie. I'm a blue girl too, always have been. I'm especially drawn to French blue, cobalt blue, and sky blue. I never fail to run toward them. Honestly, I think they find me. I do love to decorate our home, our kitchen cabinets are a beautiful blue-gray. They were that way when we bought our home and I wouldn't touch them. The French believe, blue keeps away evil spirits and so they often have blue in the kitchen and on door and window trim. I have pale butter yellow as accents along with a deep forest green.
    Your home is lovely and your new window treatments are so pretty. I believe you did the exact right thing to them. And your plates are gorgeous. I have what I refer to as my blue wall in our kitchen. Many pretty blue and white plates placed in a pattern on the wall behind our table.

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  17. I rarely comment, but always enjoy your posts. Actually, I'm not sure if I've ever commented, but had to comment on this post. Love your new plates - beautiful! I also am a blue person. When I was a child I thought blue was THE favorite color. When I learned that there were people who had a different favorite I couldn't believe it! After all, I thought, BLUE is obviously the best color. It's funny how children think. I also look good in pink, but I look good in blue as well and I always gravitate to blue (just like I always gravitate to chocolate!). I'm a quilter and guess which color bin has the most fabric?! I love all shades of blue. And it's so wonderful to have blue flowers. I love flax and right now I have vinca vine blooming with those beautiful blue flowers. They just don't last long enough - those blooms!

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  18. Lorrie - I do enjoy decorating my house. The "big items" are the same throughout the year, but I change out smaller items such as the dining room table centerpiece. It is fun to draw from ordinary household items to create new tableaux. Wishing you a happy last week of April!

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  19. It was so nice to visit with you this morning, Lorrie. You new curtains look so airy and let in light. Aren’t you new blue dishes so pretty in behind the white? What a happy purchase! As far as favorite color, I have always loved red, but I love blues, and greens, but never orange, purple or yellow. Yes, I decorate to what suits me and makes me happy, and constantly tweaking.
    I read your previous post, and I always love reading your thoughtful, soothing words, and seeing your beautiful photos. Those forget-me-knots made my heart pitter patter! I hope you can visit your parents soon. People need each other. 🥰

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  20. That quote made me smile. Just this morning I finished a book where one of the main characters was always jotting down quotes in her pink journal. I made a mental note to remember many of them. In truth I'd be better off starting my own journal as my memory isn't what it used to be.
    Your new plates and curtains are really pretty. Blue has always been my favorite color and it can be seen in every room of my house :).

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  21. Well blue has always been a favorite to wear and to take in with my own eyes. Your home is just lovely. Feminine and organized!

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  22. You are a true seamstress! I almost had to laugh that you'd take the panels apart and re-do them, but of course, and they do look so soft and pretty! I appreciate that quote "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." It is so true. I have worked on both of these in later years of my life ... writing and decorating and I've never thought of how they are similar. I've just been surprised at how, when decorating our home, I like things to flow from one room to the other. Sometimes it feels like every room looks similar, but if I try to change it too much, it doesn't look right. I gravitate toward soft cream and sage colors, but I have some blue/greys added in. I wanted to switch up the porch with some red, but in the end returned the rug because it stood out ... it was all my eyes looked at when I looked out. =) but alone I really liked it. I think that eventually I'll work in some muted reds inside and then I can do the red outside too.

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  23. I too am a ‘blue girl’. It has always been my favorite colour...though I don’t have a whole lot of blue in my home decor right now. I just picked up some beautiful blue fabrics for a project I’m working on. Love your plates!

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  24. Yes, add me to the 'blue list' - my favorite always and for so many things around the home and my wardrobe. I actually just purchased a pair of blue leather sandals from J.Jill - they look good with grey linen pants for summer. I'm once again into blue and white, especially with china, lamps etc., yes, loving the chinoiserie style.

    'Singing the Blues'
    Hugs - Mary

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  25. Thoughtful post. The pattern of a fabric can inject a different facet of a color's personality. Your curtains are beautiful. I love the small geomatric pattern design.

    Nowadays, I get the feeling if you throw a large geometric in the room's decor, then it looks professionally done. In some rooms that may be true. But I feel in most, it looks like fad following fail. Several years ago the fad appeared to be black and white animal prints. I believe in one's own decor, it is all about who live there, not what is popular.
    As for color, I love a deep tangerine orange room. Turning a magazine page to see orange, I physically feel uplifted. However, in my own space, that color would eventually pressure my nerves to get relief in a softer hue, like blue teal shades. Staying with the favorite and the familiar, like your love of blue, uses personal power in a positive way.

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  26. Yes, I do believe you are a blue girl.
    Lately I have been gravitating to greens and just feel so peaceful with them.
    Oh now I wish I was close enough to visit that shop in Oak Bay. I know the one. They do carry the best things. Love your blue plates.

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Thank you for your comment. I read and value each one, cherishing the connections we can make although far apart. Usually, I visit your blog in return, although if you ask a question I try to contact you directly.

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