Christmas Decor - A Rustic Christmas

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As promised, here is my final set of inspirations:
A Rustic Christmas.

I can't help being drawn to the simplicity of this style, but also to the vintage charm.

I love the look of fresh greenery and potted trees tucked in a home full of old, beautiful things.

I find with this style, the seasonal decorating becomes less of the focus of a room, and more complimentary to it. It doesn't take over a space, but rather blends in here and there, adding bits of holiday cheer to each space.

Here are some beautiful rustic spaces decorated perfectly for the holiday season.

House and Home

Simple small trees, in simple milk jugs, with simple white lights.

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Obviously a simple potted tree in a metal bucket is a popular choice and I can see why! It's so easy to do, and it looks so pretty. In the background, thin boughs make perfect accents to the tops of vents and windows, and form perfectly delicate wreaths.

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More simple holiday decor from the same kitchen.

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A pretty topiary adds a bit of festiveness, without looking typically Christmas.

Country Living

A simple holiday greeting strung from a cabinet.

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I love paperwhites and other pretty white bulbs in old metalware, or even ironstone!



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Again, a simple, rustic kitchen perfectly decorated for the holidays. I love the bits of red, including the red-striped linens, the simple wreaths, and again, more bulbs in a rustic urn. It's simple and perfect.

The Sunroom Makeover - An Office Space

All Photos - The Grower's Daughter

My sale is now over, and I'm left with a few "holes" in my house. Actually, to be honest, this year I'm left with quite a few holes! That's always a good thing. It means that I get to replace old pieces with new ones and tweak the look of my house a little bit more.

One room that was left quite sparse was my sunroom.

If you follow the link below, you can see how it looked prior to the sale.

The Old Sunroom

I had picked up a few new pieces that I knew I wanted to incorporate into my house, but I wasn't sure where. As I was moving pieces back inside, this room just kind of came together. I have been lacking an "office" space that I really want to be in. I previously had one upstairs, and at the time, had one in our basement. Neither were where I wanted to spend any length of time. I want to be near Willen while I'm writing and I don't want to feel like I'm locked away somewhere. However, doing all my work on our living room couch, or at the dining room table was getting old (and messy).

I sold the daybed that was in the room before, and moved the wicker chairs outside as they were looking a little tattered. The sunroom became a free space. I didn't want a sitting area - we never used it unfortunately. I didn't want an entrance - we're now accustomed to using the front one. So, what to make of it?

After moving a few pieces around, using mainly what I already had, this is what I came up with. A workspace. I have to say, I'm extremely happy with how it's turned out. It's simple, clean and useful and houses a few of my favourite things.

Enjoy!

The space is open again, which is great for traffic coming in and out of the back door. Even though we mainly use the front entrance, we use the back door. The previous space didn't allow for easy access which was beginning to get annoying. This is much more efficient. Oliver has already found a new favourite nap spot.

I moved this old rocker up from the basement and threw on a couple of my old pillows. It's a lighter stain and it matches the wicker nicely.

I had this old wicker trunk sitting around in the basement. It's empty, but I'm planning on moving some storage boxes with old files inside it. Since they don't require easy access so it will hold them perfectly. The old frame is one of my favourite pieces, as is the old European water can.

The is an old cottage table that I painted Heavy Cream by Martha Stewart. It's simple and is the perfect little writing desk. The French bistro chair is the most amazing shade. It's a sort of grayish linen colour and was found at The Country Living Fair (photos to come soon!). An old black desk lamp was brought up from my office downstairs.

Trying to keep things simple, I added a small cream ironstone pitcher and a dainty little ironstone sugar pot to hold clips and things. A simple vase with pencils is the only hint of office, aside from the computer, in the whole space. I like that.

Similarly, I kept the decor simple and just added a small glass cloche with a rustic nest to incorporate more of the natural elements in the room. It matched the displays on the shelves nicely - another nest in a pedestal glass cloche, a small clay bird, old white corbels, and a shadow box housing speckled quails eggs.

The windows make the space light and airy.

To fill out the rest of the wall, I added an old white window with rusty hardware on either side of the desk, and an old sap bucket with a boxwood plant inside. It's adds some green to the room and keep the room light and natural.

Wedding One - Rebecca and Nathan

[All Photos - The Grower's Daughter, and Family]

As promised, here are a few photos from our first wedding, my sister's, this past Friday.

I was in the wedding party, and when I wasn't busy with pictures and other duties, I was styling the set up for the reception which took place in the same barn afterwards. It was so busy that I just didn't have time to take as many photos as I would have liked, but I was busy with more important things!

It was quite literally the perfect day. The weather was as good as it could possibly be and everything went as planned and looked gorgeous. Really, the photos don't nearly do it justice.

Congratulations Rebecca and Nathan!

She was the most stunning bride in her antique white dress that was simple and elegant. Her veil was trimmed in pretty lace and she wore a simple strand of pearls. Isn't she gorgeous?

She carried a simple bouquet of luscious cream and soft pink peonies tied with lace.

This was the reception in the barn. There was awful fluorescent lights (hence the horrible lighting in the photos), so we hung strands of garden party lights which made the ambiance so romantic.

The tables were simple with cream tablecloths, truffle brown napkins and a burlap table runner. The guests got homemade biscotti as a favour, which was made by my mom.

We stenciled the table runners with a monogram which really personalized them.

The front of the barn was decorated with old sap buckets full of white Hydrangeas and cream Garden Roses, as well as huge bundles of curly willow.

I used old windows as place settings and my chalkboards to write out the menus for the evening.

This was the entrance she walked through during the ceremony, and then all of us again later for the reception.

Old mason jars with zinc lids were filled with peonies and placed around the barn, on tables and in the windows which made the whole barn smell so lovely.

Our bouquets - cream Antique Garden Roses.

The head table was decorated with all of my old crates and ironstone, carriers and anything else I had stored in my garage!

I made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for dessert, which matched the cream and brown colours.

As well, I did her wedding cake. It's a vanilla bean cake with vanilla buttercream and a chocolate truffle filling between one layer and a Robin's egg blue buttercream filling between the other layer.

And because I couldn't resist - my son. He was the ring bearer and he was just the most handsome little guy ever! I was so proud.

They were the happiest couple, and really are the perfect pair.

Feathers

[All Photos - The Grower's Daughter]

This past weekend, I took a trip out to one of the largest antique shows in Canada. It's held about an hour from our place so it was barely a trip at all, but it felt kind of like a road trip: The anticipation of what you'll bring home, the getting up while it's dark, the early morning, peaceful drive, and the good coffee and donuts. Road trip.

Though there are some highlights from the show coming later, I wanted to share one specific booth with you. It was one of my two favourites of the entire show, and, you'll soon see why.

It's actually kind of funny because the brilliant woman behind the booth happens to be someone who I see, quite regularly, at a local auction. In fact, I can often expect some competitive bidding from her on certain items I love. I figured she was just a typical dealer with good taste... then I saw her booth.

It's filled with the most gorgeous mix of vintage linens, rustic garden ware, French antiques and just a hint of industrial chic. Gorgeous.

Take a peak inside this lovely booth belonging to Joanne Price of Feathers.

I thought it was a good find worth sharing.