Chickadee Home Nest: Skotch Kooler

Showing posts with label Skotch Kooler. Show all posts

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Tartan (Plaid) Is More Than Just for Christmas!

As I think back, I think I’ve always loved plaids, and especially the traditional tartans. (As an aside, according to Wikipedia, “Tartan is often called plaid in North America, but in Scotland, a plaid is a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder as a kilt accessory, or a plain ordinary blanket such as one would have on a bed.” Isn’t that interesting?) So…"Tartan plaid” is a repetitive term, thus my title having plaid in parenthesis.

I wish I’d had time to look for a picture of myself when I was probably 4 or 5, dressed in a a Black Watch (cotton) dress with a matching Black Watch purse! It was taken at the Havana airport when my parents and I were traveling to or from the US to Cuba. I’ll have to find that and share :).

As a family we’ve always recognized the Epiphany, and lucky children that we were, the Three Kings made a stop at our home even when we came to the US. AND they did not visit American homes! Lucky us! Now that we have grands and we’ve started also hosting a party to celebrate the Epiphany (HERE), it seems that we’re enjoying the Twelve Days of Christmas even more. So much so that this year, unlike other years, I was in no hurry to take the tree down! By the time we had the party we’d already de-Christmased by putting a way the Santas, the stockings, and other decorations that started to say “Christmas” a little too loudly, and what was left felt glow-y and calm. We didn’t even take the tree down until January 10!

Our Christmas china cabinet went from this:

To this:

The Boehm Chickadee and Holly china stayed because it’s not a Christmas pattern—it’s a winter pattern. I took away the feather Christmas trees, the poinsettias, etc., and left it as a winter scene, including touches of red (I’m loving red this January—could it be to add color to my world, given all the snow and rain and gray, very cold days we’ve had??). Anyway, more on the china cabinet in another post.

So, in my “red” mood, I decided to BRING ON THE TARTAN! I hadn’t really been able to do much with plaids at Christmas, and really, tartans are a year-round design element, but particularly effective during the winter months.

During Christmas this writing desk was the playful area—it’s where I placed the two gingerbread houses the two oldest chickadees made, and that set the tone for a candyland setting (that too, will be another post, now probably closer to Christmas 2014).

My father’s suitcase (you can read about it HERE), as well as the old wood trunk had lived under the writing desk already, so I was happy to put my dad’s suitcase to use by filling it with plaid throws and tablecloths. The now-ubiquitous-to-my-decorating hydrangeas filled the blue-and-white cachepot.

I’ve always loved the mix of tartan and silver and gold, so the vignette consists of shiny, mellow silver pieces and blue-and-white pieces. The roses in the background are from the Three Kings Celebration! They’re starting to show their age, but those of you who’ve read my posts on roses know how much I love roses as they age ever so gracefully.

Blue and white and silver…classic.

The cordials are set in a smaller gallery tray that then sits within the larger gallery tray, to provide more interest and texture to the setting, softened by…you guessed it, hydrangeas! (I keep them in a large plastic bin, which makes it easy to reach for them as needed.)

These vintage damask napkins with their plaid touch are near and dear to me—they, and the matching tablecloth—were often in use at our dinner table when I was growing up. My mother and grandmother (who lived with us) always, always, always set the dinner table with a tablecloth.

This corner is bringing me a lot of new-year cheer, because it showcases many of my favorite things: blue and white, silver, crystal (the vase), and plaids.

Not to mention actually having my dad’s suitcase in use in a more “interactive” way.

So tell me, how do you feel about tartan other than at Christmas? Do you use it other times of the year? Are you one of the luckies who have a room with plaid upholstery, OR even plaid wallpaper? If you do, I’d love to see pictures! I hope you’ll share!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I’m thrilled to know you stopped by, and I’ll always visit back and comment too. If you like what you see, I invite you to follow me (I promise to follow back), and please—Pin away and follow me on Pinterest too! Thank you!!

NOTE: Some of the items I use in my posts are in my Etsy shop, but many are not, simply because I haven’t updated my shop. If you see something you like and wonder if it’s available for sale, email me at coral5252@gmail.com and let’s talk!

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Sunday Creative Home and Garden Hop at http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com/

Sundays at The Tablescaper: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Tuesdays at Our Home at http://mariaelenasdecor.blogspot.com/

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Inspire Me Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Cuisine Kathleen at http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Open House Party Thursday at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Thrifty Things Friday at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Fall, on the Porch and Inside

Mid-October, and the days are still in the 70s here in central Ohio…the shift to fall has been slow and easy, not rushed by the weather or too-early color, and for me, that’s just about perfect!

So now that I’m “into fall,” our surroundings are too.

As my mind made the transition into fall I’ve been mulling over lots of decorating ideas. The one I could.not.wait to carry out was:

…a fall twig arrangement in my vintage red-plaid Skotch Kooler.

This cooler used to be store our charcoal for our grill until I promoted it to the front porch this summer, where it held a large pot and also served as a small table when needed, since it was right next to the rocking chair.

These twigs usually live in our blue and white umbrella stand, first next to the piano, and now next to the buffet, but there was a very specific reason why I wanted to use them on the porch! They LIGHT UP!

The fall decor on them is simply two garlands wrapped through it,

and at the base, as anchor, are pinecones, berries, and a pumpkin with lots of leaves that gives a nice texture and is a great filler.

Now for the rest of the porch…

The fall pitcher was a gift from one of our sons many years ago, and I use it every.single.fall, either as a pitcher at the table, or more often as part of our fall decor so it’s out and visible.

You’ve seen this wood box many times…it seems to now be a staple, because I love its rustic nature.

I’ve had this beautifully painted pot for many, many years. It was a sweet and unexpected fall gift from my cousin’s wife, and year after year it’s part of my fall decor—sometimes in the china cabinet, sometimes holding bittersweet, sometimes outside somewhere.

The old bird’s nest is filled with faux pumpkins and gourds, but the BUCKEYES are VERY REAL—after all, Ohio State is our alma mater and THIS IS BUCKEYE COUNTRY!

Now, back to the rest of the porch ~

Can you see the guy holding the mum is a pail with a jack-o-lantern face? A simple nod to Halloween.

And to honor my most-pinned item on Pinterest…

About 350 pins on this garland wrapped around our front-porch light! With such popularity, I of course had to do it again!

And now for a quick tour of the screened porch ~

With little grands around the house, something fun for Halloween…Oh, and let me introduce you to Wilbur, there in the background. He’s been around our family for many, many years, and his clothes are definitely starting to show it, but that makes him all the more perfect for his role in the family!

On our shelf we still have a lovely mix of summer flowers and sunflowers…the summers are still happy to be around, and I can’t bear to get rid of them.

Another nod to Halloween…

Since Baby Love came over to “help” me decorate for Halloween/Fall, she decided that her “amiguitos,” which is the Spanish word for “little friends,” should be part of the decor, since they’re all dressed up in costumes! (The rag dolls were all her dad’s and uncle’s, which I saved for the happy day when their children would play with them too, and that day is happily here.)

Oops! She couldn’t find Raggedy Ann’s clothes!

Happy Halloween and Fall to All!

If you don’t have little ones around, how much do you decorate for Halloween versus fall? We did some Halloween inside too, because we’re blessed with little ones around. I’ll share that next week.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to Google+ this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

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