A New Heartsease...

Here, I'm wintering over geraniums that won't survive Northern Idaho winters. The potted hosta will be set out in a couple of weeks as it needs Winter's chill during dormancy.

You don't need a lot of money to have an elegant, nicely decorated home. Nor do you have to shop furniture stores with their matchy-matchy furniture options.

An eclectic look often has greater appeal than a suite of furnishings consisting of matching finishes and style. For decor, look to what you already have or what can be found at thrift stores having unique, personal appeal that complements what you already have and love.

In the picture above I've wintered over geraniums kept outside during warmer months. Living plants make inexpensive decorating items and great focal points. One or more large plants have greater impact and presence than a bunch of tiny pots that require frequent watering.

The bench occupied by the geraniums was brought to my condo from the back garden of my old farmhouse. Vintage and used garden furniture can be brought indoors to serve as extra seating and add an above-the-ordinary look.

In the photo below, featured in my last post, the small iron table and chair set once sat under the giant elm tree in the front garden of my farmhouse.

Subjected to nearly two decades of wind, rain, snow, and ice has given table and chairs a patina that enhances the character of my decor. I had a piece of glass cut to fit the table top recently. In Winter I cover the cold glass with a layering of tablecloths. In Summer I like the airy, cool look of the glass top.

My small dining room contains very little that was purchased new. The China cabinet was given to me by a friend and I painted it's dark wood a soft gray to give it a faded-by-age look. The candle sconces - one of them seen to the right of the cabinet - were purchased used on eBay for a fraction of their cost when new.

In this room the only newly purchased item is the hostess tray in the corner.

The lamp was given to me years ago by my mom when she was in the throws of redecorating her home. The two panel screen behind the tray was something I already owned. It was four panels once, but I separated the panels and use the other two as large shutters on each side of a long bank of windows in my living room. The crocheted lace border salvaged from an old bed skirt trims the bottom of the checked curtain.

Two plates on the wall were purchased from a thrift store, while the statuette next to the window came out of the kitchen garden of my previous home.

The curtain is a reuse from a set of four panels once hanging in the farmhouse dining room before I decided they made the room too dark.

I made seat cushions for the two chairs to make dining more comfortable, using a toile fabric remnant to add some French country ambiance.

To the left of the cabinet a three-tiered server is used when I host a formal tea. Then, another bistro table is brought in from the front porch to seat the extra guests.

The unique, the odd, the unexpected when drawn from a variety of sources, venues, and giveaways creates rooms that are uniquely creative and one's own.

While my decor suits me, you can adopt the concepts of Re-use, Recycle, Re-purpose, Refurbish, and Repair to tastefully, inexpensively, and elegantly furnish your own home. It will have the "wow" factor of being uniquely, beautifully yours. And, it will also have the "woohoo" factor that you did it for far less$

Decor should reflect the people living in a space. Their own lifestyle, interests, and attitudes are good starting places. Your style will be different than mine. Nor does it need to clone the costly offerings at the big box stores, or the cash-chic of the decorating mavens.

We need to occupy and feather our own nests, not have our homes be odes to the fads and fashions of those who claim the ephemeral and dubious titles of "TV fashionistas".

For inspiration look at your hobbies, your interests, the type of music you listen to. Do you read books? Collect cameras? Admire a particular era in history? Do you like to forage in the woods, beach comb? Paddle a canoe?

Are you drawn to a particular area of the country even if you don't presently live there? Perhaps the Appalachian mountains, Cape Cod, the Southwest, or the Midwest appeal? Paris even?

Does an era of history or an architectural style inspire?

Make your house your home, your nest, your sanctuary by incorporating the things you love in a minimal, yet sassy statement of who you are and what you love! Easy Elegance is about thinking outside the box - the Big Box store!

It's fun! It's doable! It's practical! And it's all you and yours with whom you abide and reside!

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