SPRING TIME FRESH

Springtime is a time of renewal, new life and all things fresh.  Don’t you think?  And, of course it’s the season we Christians celebrate Easter….which if you’re thinking it’s just about bunnies, candy and eggs….it’s not!  LOL!  That’s a fun part of celebrating, but it’s really about Jesus Christ and his resurrection into heaven.  A life altering moment in history for those of us who believe in and worship Jesus.  Isn’t it crazy that the most important event in the history of the world has gotten watered down for so many and gets lost in the bunnies and candy and eggs nowadays?

Interestingly enough the good ole Easter bunny can be traced all the way back to the 13th century, however originally it had less to do with Jesus and more to do with the pagan gods that were worshiped by pre-Christian Germany at the time.  As Roman Catholicism emerged as the dominant religion the symbolism of spring with new life and rebirth and eggs became the symbolism of the resurrection and our new life with Jesus Christ and thus our Easter holiday with bunnies and eggs began.  (I love reading the origin of things and found that interesting.  Hopefully you do, too.  But, onto decorating now.)

Below is a picture of an antique armoire that I have in my master bedroom.  I have literally had this piece for over 35 years.  We originally bought it when I had my own greeting card company and needed a place to house my greeting cards so that they were out of sight instead on the open shelves they started out on.  I eventually sold my greeting card company to Russ-Berrie and this became a clothes wardrobe again.  It’s in a little need of some TLC and the doors don’t always close properly, but I love it as much now as I did so many years ago when I bought it.  The original color was a sort of medium to dark walnut which worked great for years until I decided to do a room refresh, cast off all of my “Old World” decor and update it to a light and airy French Farmhouse Cottage look.  Rather than get rid of it I decided it was time to paint.

 

I painted this in the Waverly chalk paint color – Ivory.  Originally I was just going to dry-brush the color on and let some of the dark peek through, but as I started painting I realized I really wanted the full transformation to this ivory color.  And, I’m so glad I did.  It’s perfect for my French Farmhouse theme in here and I absolutely love it.  It’s so fresh and fun now.  Since painting it I’ve had more fun styling the top of it for various seasons than I did before.  I’m not sure why, but I do.  The basic accessories that stay here are the candle holder to the left, the lantern, the cherub statue and the round storage trunk.  For my spring refresh I added all these white and cream flowers from The Dollar Tree.  I must confess that much of the time the flowers there are somewhat lackluster.  They’re either too bright or the leaves are too green and a little off-color or they just don’t have the oomph they need to look like quality flowers.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across these white and cream stems.  I wasn’t actually there looking for them…I just sort of happened upon them and they were perfect for this spot.  I’m a flower fanatic and one can never have too many as far as I’m concerned so adding these to my bedroom was a fun spring touch.

And, with Easter upon us I thought I’d go ahead and go one step further by adding this little $6.00 bird nest with eggs and then the addition of these extra .60 cent eggs from Hobby Lobby.  Its a budget friendly Easter touch and easy to remove when Easter has come and gone.  (The best kind!)

The little cherub duo you see here used to be an oil rubbed bronze color.  In order to freshen them up for the new look I painted them an aged ivory.  They look much softer and more fitting in this color.  This little storage trunk is one I found at JoAnn’s Fabrics on sale half price for $25.00.  I don’t know about you, but I can hardly bring myself to EVER buy anything at these sort of retail stores that is not either on sale or that I have a coupon for.  Because you know that more than likely – in the next week or two – they’ll be on sale! 

Below is a picture of what I did with it for Christmas.  You’ll notice the main pieces stayed in place just as you see above, but instead of the flowers and Easter decor I have flocked Christmas trees and Christmas picks.  Well,actually, the lantern is not here.  The two center Christmas trees are there instead, but the other accessories remain.  When I can keep my current decor in tact through the holidays I do, because it’s less stuff to store.  And storage around here is an issue…along with the energy required to store and “un-store” it.  Know what I mean???  Holiday decorating is exhausting enough as it is!

I had so much fun styling this for Christmas and prior to that…..with green and off-white pumpkins for the fall in the picture below:

See that I mean?  It’s been so fun to play around with styling it for all the different seasons.  One thing you’ll notice in each of the different scenarios are the following tips when styling your own decor:

1. Always vary your heights
2. Bring in different textures
3. Vary the shapes and sizes of the accessories

Just keep these basic principles in mind when styling your own piece and you’ll be off to a good start.  And if you have any antiques or old pieces of furniture that have lost there luster or that you’ve just “lost that lovin’ feelin’ ” for remember a fresh coat of paint can breathe new life into almost anything.  And, you probably know by now that chalk paint is by far the easiest product on the market right now.  It’s dabomb.com!

Happy Monday, Happy Decorating and Happy Life By Design!