Category: Southern Home Decorating

  • A Time of Rest

    Whew, we made it through Christmas, Carnival, Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day. Now, I feel like “resting” my eyes (and body) for a few weeks before Easter and the festival season. The Carnival/Mardi Gras decorations are all down (although, I did find a bit of tinsel that I missed this morning). You may remember how…

  • Deck the Halls with Carnival Color

    Carnival parades start in earnest this weekend, so I figured it was about time to decorate the house.  Purple, green and gold (especially purple) tends to clash with my décor, so the challenge is to achieve a festive look that you can live with for a couple of weeks. Here is the dining room centerpiece,…

  • Mardi Gras Tablescapes (and Valentine’s Too)

    New Orleans is in for a busy holiday period, with Valentine’s Day coming just two days after Mardi Gras.  My friend Sherry, a talented designer, gave an inspiring presentation today on festive table ideas. Sherry had great advice for us novice decorators.  Don’t be afraid to experiment.  Shop from your closets and attics first, and…

  • Wreaths on a New Orleans Walk

    I was very late in getting my Fall wreath up this year.  We were doing work on the house – a necessity for old homes, but I wouldn’t trade for the world.  I brought my camera on a recent coonhound walk to document what the neighbors were featuring.  There were a number of Halloween decorations…

  • Southern Renovation

    You’ve met my friend Donna of the fabulous Donnadots before. Now she is redoing her bathroom. Here are the before pictures. I kind of like that octagonal window. She is planning on painting the walls tan and replacing the light fixtures. I will post “after” pics as she gets finished with the project. What do…

  • Southern Cabinets

    My friend Darlene’s husband got these wonderful shutters for the Salvation Army Thrift Store. They had a couple extra that they gave to me. What they did with them was such a good idea. They have a dining area with a window in the middle and then a corner on either side. They used the…

  • Southern Winter Blooms

    It is that time of year. Time to bring in some of the branches from your forsythia and quince branches and force them to bloom inside! I love the early Spring when the first blooms begin and bringing in a few branches to get an early start just gets the fun started sooner. The quince…

  • Southern Open House

    Come on in, take a tour of the house with it’s fall decorations and have a bite to eat. It’s time for Hooked on House Tours with Hooked on Houses and Foodie Friday with Designs by Gollum. I love decorating for fall. After a long hot summer, it is nice to welcome some cooler temperatures…

  • Southern Spring Fluff

    I started out yesterday to fluff the house for Spring. I got as far as a Spring tablecloth on the dining table and a couple of decorations featuring Easter eggs until I was compelled by forces unknown (or maybe the beautiful blue sky and the 70 something degree temps) to get outside and get my…

  • Southern Ramblings

    1 day until Spring! Okay, now that St. Patrick’s Day is over, I’m ready to decorate for Spring. I’m going to try to get to that this weekend. Today, I have meetings and tomorrow I have meetings and then am leading a seminar. The seminar is over at 4 p.m. so I’l be ready to…

  • Southern Style

    11 days to Spring! On one of the boards I frequent, someone asked the question. What low-cost decorating solutions are you using during the recession? My first response was recycle! My sofa needs re-upholstering. I had a beautiful king-size matelasse bedspread that I was not using. Voila. I used the spread as a sofa cover,…

  • A Southern Garden – Inside

    What is the solution to stale indoor air in the Winter? Occasionally it will get warm enough to open windows but, when you can’t, a great way to clean the air in your house is with . . . houseplants. NASA scientists have discovered that many houseplants and blooming potted plants fight indoor air pollution.…