taming the rambling rose

I apologise if the blog is a tad flowery at the moment, but hey!  it is June after all, and Normandy is at its most fragrant time of year.

Our climbing rose in the middle of the garden has exploded this week, and although I know it is difficult to use the flowers in an arrangement, I thought I'd have a go ...

I placed one large and two smaller vases on my mantelpiece, and cut branches of various lengths from the fragrant rose.

This exercise could be more accurately described as a balancing act than as a flower arrangement.  Those rose branches have a will of their own, and persuading them to face the right way required .... patience!

The dogs, in the meantime, feigned indifference to the rose bush lighting up the garden behind them, and faced with my resistance to their pleas to go for a walk, they lost the will to protest and fell asleep on the terrace!

dining in white - the french summer table

 summer dining

it should be easy, and elegant, and relaxed

keeping it white 

keeping it simple

the evening air filled with the scent of orange and elder blossom

summer dining is something I love

bringing the spring indoors

As you know, I love to have flowers indoors, and whenever possible my bouquets and vases are filled with whatever is flowering in the garden  ....  March is a little tricky!   The daffodils are not quite open, I've done the snowdrops to death, and we have to wait a few more weeks for the magnolia.

Bulbs provide a good solution, and I often pick up budding hyacinths at the market and slip them out of their plastic pots and into a container at home.

Last week, I bought these blue beauties, who - placed in an antique bowl in the warmth of the house - shot sky high and then started to fall poetically under the weight of their fragrant flowers.  I love that.

I have been moving them around the house, and when this weekend, I found a little family of white primroses, hidden behind a bush, they were lifted and placed on a tarnished tray.   I'll  keep them here for a couple of days then replant them in a corner of the garden where they can grow on undisturbed.

In the meantime, we have enjoyed the blue and white together,  brightening the sitting room and perfuming the house.

 Keeping it simple, bringing  the spring indoors.

french chairs, french dogs and rugs on painted floors

Just a little Saturday post,

 a few quick shots of a rug on a painted floor 

and a dog on an upholstered chair .. grrrr!

 ... the sun is shining .....

.... the weekend is here..... 

enjoy!

my home grown christmas decorating - part 1

Having decided that I can most certainly start talking about christmas here at MFCH, I thought I'd kick the season off with a little home-grown decorating and gift wrapping.

After all, everybody's doing it;....

 it really can't be that tricky to throw a few things together, click the camera and write in a casual-off-the-cuff manner, "I just threw this little vignette together between walking the dogs and  breakfast  this morning".

But that would be a lie ....

My friends, you have no idea how long all this took....

 So today I raise my hat to all those talented designers, stylists, and bloggers who single handedly put together decor to turn Martha Stewart green with envy. 

 Believe me, it is not that easy.

Here are my very humble offerings: I aimed for a natural look and created a 'Happy Christmas' for the chalkboard in the kitchen, plus a few silver birch bark gift tags.

So after these superhuman efforts, I would really love it if you wrote and told me how wonderful you think they look,  I don't mind if you lie, I just want to hear the words!....

and if you want to mention what a good idea the bark and the berries were, then I'd like that too because I can assure you that half way through this little project I was losing the will to live .....

And  in the coming weeks, although I intend to bring you other christmas mood boards, I think I'll keep it simple and copy paste from Martha then cross my fingers that you don't notice ....

And while you are writing the compliments about my handwork,  seeing as how my morale has already sunk beneath the plimsoll line, you can also tell me  if you have already completely decorated your home and done all your christmas shopping ... hmmm, ..... on the other hand I'm not so sure

let the festive season begin!

painted floors - your opinion please

I am thinking long and hard at the moment ... about painted floors, or rather about paintING floors, and to be more specific, about painting MY floors!

Our home is fairly traditional in and out; colouring the floors would give a more contemporary feel, but what happens when we bore of the look?

I have looked at many pictures, and sighed at the gentle sheen of a dark wooden floor, or the lift given by white boards, but it takes a certain amount of courage that I have yet to muster before I can reach for the paintbrush.

In our guest cottage I painted the kitchen floor, but have been disappointed by the low resistance to scratches.  But that could be a question of paint quality.  That will be redone in the spring  which is fine as it's not a big room to cover.

So, who better to turn to than YOU, dear readers.  I know that between you there will be many who have painted floors at home, or who know other homes where it has been done.

Would you give me an outright thumbs up or shake your head and utter stern words of warning?

Many people have painted wooden floorboards, but has anyone painted on old tiles?  Have you painted hallways or kitchen with heavy traffic, or only kept to the quieter parts of the house?

And what about stairs?  How long is it before they start looking scruffy - please remember that mine is a country house, and the stairs are climbed by dogs and feet clad in riding boots!

Is there a paint you would recommend, and is there anyone out there - please - who has been able to compare a floor painted with special floor paint, and another covered in chalk paint?  I used Annie Sloan paint on the floor of the showroom, and didn't wax or varnish, and it looks good.

And finally, if you have used chalk paint, what protection did you add once the paint is dry.

So as you can see, my head is full of questions and with my guest season over, and a month before Christmas (and no Thanksgiving to celebrate, which of course I always regret, but that's another story), with all of that I am itching to go ..... all I need is your permission !! :)  I look forward to reading your advice, and I may even promise a picture or two of the results!


PS, and if you would like to see the home of a friend of mine, who just painted her floor white, then take a look here, she is very clever and brave!!

 

turquoise for an autumn vignette

The day is fairly grey here and this morning I badly needed a shot of colour.  A quick tour of the garden revealed that very few blooms have survived our early frosts, so I knew that I'd have to rely on what I had to hand.

I quickly assembled some of my favourite objects in the house, painted trays, old and frayed books, a small oil painting and of course some jugs.

I don't know why jugs are so easy and such fun to collect, but people world over seem to assemble them on shelves, in groups, or on their table.  A jug can be mismatched, can be unique, it can even be chipped, it still holds its charm.

I tried to use some turquoise pieces to match the colours of the old books.

The simplest flowers: rusty hydrangeas and the very last dahlias and that is it.  My entrance hall looks a little more welcoming for the weekend.

Even Ghetto was willing to pose in the vignette, so it can't all be bad!

and on another note ....

new in the store today ...

teacloth runner

metal stencils

monogram plaques

decorating teenage bedrooms and watchings kids create

There are few things I find as mesmerising as watching someone paint or draw, and when that person is a child, then I think I love it even more.

This week, one of the tasks on the agenda was renovating my teenage son's bedroom.  That delicate moment , at 15 years old, when he is ready to leave behind his child's room and assume a style that says ME!

What to put on the walls came under discussion, and I mentioned how much I liked his charcoal portraits he had done at school last term.  We found a couple of black frames, liked the way they looked, and from there he decided to draw  a few more.

I left him in peace, and by the end of an afternoon, we found ourselves with a little portrait gallery.  I love it!

This would work very well with any children's (or adult's!) drawings.  What brings it together is the uniform style, and the simple frames.

Its like most of the stuff I show here.  No bling bling, just a simple idea, put together  with care.

Tomorrow I bring you the second giveaway of the month, so don't forget to stop by and try your luck!