Fall in the Family Room

I know I've said this before, but the only time I like my family room mantel is in the Fall when its color complements the earth tones of the season.  One day when I have a long stretch of time on my hands, I'm going to dry brush the wood in that room.  Besides the mantel, there are door frames, doors, window frames, wainscoting, and beams, all stained a murky brown.

I added pops of orange and gold to the mantel for my Fall decor.   

Looking into the Family Room From the Foyer

Mantel Top

Inverted Stag Urn with Antlers

Golden Ibex

Metal Sea Urchin on Stack of Hermes Scarf Boxes

Fabric-Covered Cork Board

Upright Stag Urn

Have you made some seasonal changes?

I'm really welcoming the cooler weather.

Landscaping With Seed Packets

This is one of my absolute favorite garden posts.  I'm sharing it again during my August garden month.

 I've been searching for a non-invasive climbing vine.  I learned the hard way that perennial climbers like to take over, so I decided to select an annual for the geometric trellises in my garden.  I'd never heard of a Cardinal Climber vine before, but I loved the picture on the seed packet and decided to give it a try.  Here it is in bloom.  I love it.

Cardinal Climber in My Garden

The leaves look very much like palm fronds and the bright red flower surprised me

 with the tiny white bud in the center.

If you missed last year's post, my dilemma was a large expanse of wall along the driveway with an extremely narrow bed.  I planted some Japanese Pencil Boxwood in the space.  I chose them because they were tall and narrow.  I'm not sure about the choice.  They look scraggly and thin.  

Expanse of Wall to Fill

I found some geometric lattice at Home Goods and added it next.

Geometric Lattice

Lattice Panels and Dog Photobomb

I planted some small boxwoods and the Cardinal Climber seeds in front of the panels.
The boxwoods haven't grown much, but the vine climbed and covered the trellises.

You can see how narrow the bed is from this angle.  This is the view from the street.

Side Street View of Narrow Bed

Divided liriope from another bed fills the space between the brick and the driveway.

Liriope Fills the Space

This was the perfect vine for the trellises.

Climbing Blooms

Blooms and Japanese Pencil Boxwood

It was impressive when the vines reached out to each other, intertwined, and formed
 a garland between each trellis.  I told my son that they were holding hands.

Intertwined Vines

The vines are holding hands and forming a garland across the wall.

Holding Hands

The vines left just enough open space for the geometric lattice pattern to peek through.

Vine, Lattice, and Japanese Boxwood

I'm so happy with my vine choice.  I bought my seed packet from a display in a hardware store,
but I checked and you can buy Cardinal Climber on Amazon too.  They're supposed to attract hummingbirds, but I haven't seen any yet.

If I do this next year, I definitely will start the seeds indoors first to get a head start.
 It took a long time for them to grow to this size and bloom.

Chinoiserie and Vintage Finds

I think I've become totally spoiled by having a shop with once-a-month sales.  I have three weeks to really pull the space together and think through the design for the month.  We added a sale for Labor Day Weekend and before I could collect myself---and collect more to sell--it was time for another sale.  Whew!!!!!  I can't wait to return to our slower pace for October.

If you love yourself some Chinese Chippedale/Chinoiserie, I have a pair of chairs and 

a fabulous two drawer chest with a pull-out tray.  I used a hand-painted folding screen as a back drop.  They make perfect head boards or can also be a summer fireplace screen.

 My other favorite find for this month is a curvy black and brass bench.
  I added an animal print pillow with cording to soften it.

My wonderful vanity didn't sell last sale so I added a caned back Italian side chair beside it.
 Let's see if that works.

Chinese Chippendale Chairs and Bamboo Chest with Pull Out Tray

Large Wooden Bead Rosary

Chinoiserie Cachepot

Hand-Painted Folding Screen

Asian Screen

Custom Toile Pillow with Designer Fringe

Curvy Copper and Black Metal Stool

Animal Print Pillow and Metal Arrows

I can always count on selling an arrow, or two, or three or TEN at our sale.

Arrows--Always Best Sellers

Caned Back Chair "Made in Italy"

I always have empty frames.

The shoes are still hanging around, but I love this pic.  We need someone with size 8 to come in.

Mini Leather Books Inside A Crown

Numbers and Letters

Horse Trophy is Still Around

Even if you can't come to the barn and shop, I hope you've enjoyed viewing my finds and displays.


Sweet Clover Barn Sale
Sept. 18-20

Paris Postcards

Recently I found black and white postcards of Paris in the 1920s.
I displayed them among the accordian-style folded pages of a book.

I framed some too.

 I love these scenes and wanted to share some individually.

Gargoyles are my favorites.  Notice the woman hanging over the ledge too.