Touches of Spring in the House

First, I just wanted to say 'welcome!' to all the new readers and followers from the last several weeks.  So glad you 'came out to the country.' And thank you to everyone who keeps on returning to read this little blog. I do a mental happy dance whenever I receive an email from someone who's been kind enough to say hello and leave a comment, or see a new follower appear on the sidebar. Y'all are what make blogging so much fun for me!

Second, I was completely thrilled (and flattered) that my cane-back sofa re-do received *two* features in the last several days from two of my very favorite bloggers.

Cassie at Primitive and Proper chose it as one of her favorite projects from last week's Piece of Work Wednesday Party. And Lauren of West Furniture Revival featured it at her Revival Monday Features column. Thank you, Cassie and Lauren!

Readers, if you enjoy being completely inspired by furniture revamps, you must go visit these insanely talented ladies' blogs.

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With spring burgeoning outside, I was in the mood to bring some of its splendor inside my house last week. I'd put away the last of the winter decorations a few weeks before and the house was in need of some sprucing up. 

Besides daffodils, there really aren't any flowers in bloom around here, and it's not yet time to plant a cutting garden, much less have any fresh-cut flowers.The only other option for live flowers is the local markets, and at $10+ for a small bouquet (that will die in less than a week), that's just not in the budget.

Then I remembered Jane's fake flower fiesta on the British blog Posy that I'd read about over the winter.

Up until reading that post, I'd been a total snob about fake flowers. I drew the line at fauxliage since that seemed acceptable for fall decorating, but fake flowers?  No way! 

Seeing Jane's flowers completely changed my mind.

Posy

You can't tell it's not the real thing, can you?

Being, ahem, budget-minded, I figured there'd be no harm in checking out the local Dollar Trees for some frugal flowers.

Well, it turned out I was able to find quite a few pretty, not-particularly-fake-looking flowers!

Now, don't get me wrong, there were plenty of ugly and cheap-looking flowers, but I tried to pick blooms that were realistically colored and didn't scream "I'M FAKE" at first glance.  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I don't think I did too bad. <grin>

And if you visited my house last week, the first thing I did was give you an overly bubbly tour of all the fake pretty flowers!  Thank goodness my family and friends are willing to humor me.  Will you do the same?

Let's take a look-see of what I put together...

Dogwood-esque blooms in an enameled pitcher in the living room. One of several birdies I made in January sits atop a 100-year-old farm and garden catalog. The silver tin contains a homemade candle.

Excuse the terrible photo and the ginormous blue ladder in the background! Springtime equals project-time at this house. :) Faux forsythia branches are intermingled with dried curly willow leftover from the fall in a bright turquoise vase. Anybody spy the chickens?

White lilac stems and periwinkle-ish flowers fill this favorite ironstone pitcher of mine on a side table between the living room and the kitchen. I picked up the vintage strawberry textile last fall at an antique fair and couldn't wait to bring it out for spring! I can't sufficiently convey my love for freshly picked strawberries.

Another vintage linen tops the dining room table and enhances the centerpiece. If you've been reading for a few months, this centerpiece probably looks familiar, save for the fact the cedar and pinecones have been replaced by dogwood blooms.  Hey, it's simple and it works.

Daffodils in a milk glass vase further brighten a sunny spot next to the front door. A couple of vintage books on chickens from my mom look at home atop the primitive-style table. The silver dish, a recent find, is filled with old mother-of-pearl buttons.

Speaking of the front door, let's pop outside to see the wreath. I'm making the most use of this grapevine wreath. After embellishing it with holly leaves and berries for the winter, faux forsythia inserted into the vines make it sunshiny perfect for spring.

Okay, back inside now! Moving from the living room to the hallway adjacent to my bedroom...I painted this table last year before blogging and it's been a favorite spot to decorate each season. More dogwood flowers fill a small pitcher from IKEA and a picture from one of my favorite stores--Nest--creates a simple vignette.

The pictures reads: "It's the small things after all."  I fully embrace that sentiment.

In my bedroom are sweet pink and white carnations in (yet another) milk glass vase.  I have plans for a springy/summery bedroom re-do so hopefully I can find the time to actually do it...

A few vintage postcards on my bedroom window sash...just had to throw this photo into the mix since vintage postcards always bring a smile to my face.

Are you getting tired yet? I know, I'm dragging you all over the house!  Bear with me...just a couple rooms left, I promise!

From the bedroom, let's pop our heads in the master bath. This room is difficult to photograph but there's a peek of my beloved periwinkle walls.  See, I've been reading Country Living magazine forever, and in 1998, my senior year of high school, the magazine's House of the Year had a periwinkle bathroom. I remember looking at my copy of the magazine in physics class (I was surreptitiously reading while *not* listening to the lecture) and my heart went THUNK when I saw it. Since then, I've always wanted  a periwinkle bathroom, and I got it 12 years later. :)  But, back to the flowers!  Lavender stems and white lilacs mix together nicely in a hobnail milk-glass vase to complement the periwinkle walls.

Well, since I've already taken you into one bathroom, why not another? Periwinkle blue lilacs freshen the half bath nicely.

And to round out this test of endurance tour, here's a shot of my son's favorite flowers.  He was so helpful while I flitted about the house finding containers and arranging flowers that I couldn't deny him flowers for his room.

Pink peonies in a blue Ball jar. Enough said.

So, are you a fan of fake flowers or will you only keep real ones in your home?

Happy Spring!
Erin