Our Spring Vignette

When you first walk into our home, there is a small buffet to the left. I love to decorate this area for the current season or holiday. I got a little overexcited for spring and Easter and decorated quite early this year. But after I took down our Valentine's decor, it felt a little bare. Here are some photos of the springtime vignette.

 Hope you feel inspired to start thinking warm, green thoughts! Happy Monday!

Excited to be sharing at French Country Cottage today!

Dreaming of Spring

The snow is still freshly fallen here in Stuttgart (and we are expecting MORE), but I am ready for spring. I am slowly getting my home ready for spring as well. We enjoyed a month of Valentine's decor to transition out of the holidays, but I am welcoming the fresh, clean looks of the approaching season. I'll be posting photos of our spring decor later this week, but today I am sharing my favorite spring decor items.

 1. IKEA Alpklocka 100% Linen Throw
At $39.99, this throw was is a little more on the expensive side, especially for IKEA. But in my opinion, it is well worth the cost. It is highly reminiscent of the linen products I saw at the weekly markets in Provence. It is soft and light, perfect for the warmer months coming up.

2. Rabbit Silhouettes

It's only natural to love bunnies at this time of year. And more and more lately, I am loving silhouettes of most anything. I have a particular fondness of items that are more natural, such as this distressed beauty from Slippin' Southern. It would make a lovely addition to any Easter or spring vignette.

 

3. IKEA Fintorp Baskets

At 2 for $14.99, these baskets are an incredible deal. The set includes this size pictured, as well as a smaller more square basket. I am in love with this basket. The sloped edges and wooden handle make it feel a little more special than the average find at IKEA.

 

4. IKEA Skurar Plant Pots

These simple tins pots are actually quite elegant with the loveliest eyelet cutouts on the rim.

 

5. IKEA Fejka Faux Potted Plants

In Germany, we don't have a lot of options as far as faux plants and flowers go. So, I was pretty happy with this selection of faux plants from IKEA. I purchased the boxwood and olive looking ones. It's a nice touch of green in our home. (and they fit perfectly in the Skurar pots!)

 

 

6. Birds' Nests

Does anything say "Spring" more than birds' nests full of little baby eggs? I have a few of these around our main living area and plan to make a wreath featuring one as well. (Germany friends, you can find a small selection of cute birds' nests at Depot!)

 

7. Birds!

Of course, you wouldn't have the nest or eggs without the birds. I have a soft spot in my heart for birds and have been using them in spots in my home for years. These can be found nearly anywhere these days including Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Target, etc. If you are in Germany, they are also at Depot.

 

 



 

 

For the love of French soaps.

 

I found this amazing dish at IKEA about a year ago. I knew I needed it for our master bath, but was stumped with what to do with it.

 

Enter Provençal soaps.

 

 

How unbelievably blessed I am to have spent a week in Provence last spring with my family. We visited the local markets on a daily basis.

 

The first market we went to was in L'isle-sur-la-Sorgue. It was there we found the most lovely soaps from Marseilles. They were so inexpensive. I wish I would have bought more. I keep hoping they will be featured at a local bazaar.

 

 

If you do not happen to find yourself in Provence, you should be able to find lovely unwrapped soaps at any natural foods store or local market in your area. For extra special, extra lovely soaps with a cause, check out The Poppy Soap Company. Lindy makes all her soaps with certified organic materials and for every bar you purchase, she will donate a bar to your local women's shelter. How amazing is that?

French Cheeseboard Centerpiece

  Over the summer, I found the beauty that is Kristine's style over at The Painted Hive. Since then, I have ogled her home over and over and dreamed of ways I could incorporate her style into my own home. One thing I really loved was the way she styled her dining room table. The centerpiece was a simple collection of things: a pair of lanterns, a floral arrangement, and some fruit centered around a cheeseboard. It was an aha! moment for me. I needed a cheeseboard.

How lucky I am that I happen to live in Europe at the time of this revelation. I started the search. Of course, it needed to be French. This was non-negotiable. I've been to several bazaars since summer and I've seen lovely vintage cheeseboards. For whatever reason, they didn't seem right to me. 

Last weekend, I finally stumble upon the perfect option. Don't you love when things mesh so perfectly? You see, there are these amazing wine racks that Americans love to buy over here. They are actual champagne riddling racks directly from Reims, France. They are beautiful. But we have a wine rack we love and it's hard for us to find a place for a riddling rack in our home. Nonetheless, I couldn't imagine leaving Europe without an authentic riddling rack. 

 So, we found ourselves at the place in Germany that sells these lovely items with the stamp of authenticity. I stood in the shop debating with myself over this wine rack and I happened to see this beautiful cheeseboard! It is made of the wood from the riddling racks in Reims and even has the stamp of the vineyard. How perfect! I was so excited about my find and couldn't wait to get home and style it up myself.

The items currently in use are what I had on hand. I am sure they will be changed plenty of times throughout the year to accommodate different holidays and the changing seasons. Right now, I have some lovely pink tea towels from IKEA and a rustic heart frame as a nod to Valentine's Day. Of course, I will be adding a family picture and some other fun things, but I am quite happy with the way it all turned out. 

The Makings of a Boy's Room | Part 4

Add Complimentary Storage Options

 

One thing is for certain: When you have a baby, you will need storage. In the infant months, it's for diapers, wipes and burp cloths. With toddlerhood comes the invasion of toys and the collection just keeps growing from there. It's best to think about storage options from the beginning. I like to try to find versatile pieces that will grow with our needs.

 

The Expedit Shelving Unit from IKEA is one of my favorites for this reason. We actually purchased it to store toys in our girls' room. When we moved, it became a storage/display piece in the baby's room.

 

 

 

And as he's grown, our needs have changed. We turned it horizontally once again and it's the perfect height for him to play with his toys on... or to climb on and look out his window.

 

 

Another one of my favorite storage options is this laundry basket. I know it sounds crazy, but the color of it works nicely with his room and it's just perfect for throwing in those random toys at the end of the day.

 

 

And of course, there is the armoire I discussed in my Part 3. No matter what storage options you choose, remember to think outside the box and to think towards the future!

The Makings of a Boy's Room | Part 3

Design with your child and yourself in mind.

 

 

When shopping for furniture pieces and accessories for your child's room, choose items you would put anywhere in your home. Try to avoid pieces that are totally marketed towards children. Doing this serves two purposes: Style and longevity.

 

 

 

Changing tables are a perfect example of furniture marketed completely towards children. Yes, they are awesome and there is definitely a place for them. But what happens to that piece of furniture when your child is potty trained? For me, the best option was finding a simple dresser and adding a changing pad on top. We found ours at IKEA. It's very, very basic. It works in Sam's room now. Later, I can paint it, change the hardware and use it as an entryway piece to store shoes. Or I can keep it white and throw it in my craft room to store all of my supplies. I can slap on chalkboard paint and use it in the school room. The list of possibilities is endless. This piece of furniture has a long and happy life in front of it.

As for style...There is just something about walking into a child's room and seeing the unexpected. The armoire in the photo above is a perfect example. It's a statement piece. That doesn't mean it was expensive. It means the piece has a voice. It tells a story. This armoire was a very inexpensive floor model at an already inexpensive discount store. It has served as a tv hutch in our newly finished basement, an entertainment center in a family room, a clothing wardrobe in our master bedroom and now center stage in our son's room. When we chose this piece of furniture we had no idea the roles it would play in our home. That is why choosing a piece you love is so important. Don't settle! Think outside the baby superstore box! Every piece of furniture speaks. What do you want yours to say?

The makings of a boy's room.

Once upon a time, I posted a picture on Facebook of my daughter studying in her bed. It was meant to tell the story of how peaceful and quiet our home was for all of those five minutes. Instead, it got quite a response from friends about the decor of her room. One response {from my sister}, lovingly stated, "I bet you can't make your little boy's room that beautiful." While it was in jest, I took this challenge head on. My son's room was already cute enough, but it wasn't quite exactly how I envisioned it. Some changes needed to be made, so I got to work..... slowly. Did I mention the photo and comment were posted on April 11? So, six months later, here I am.

 

Over the next few days, I am going to share with you what I think are key elements of a child's room. Of course, this is just my opinion. But I do hope you find these posts useful or at the very least, entertaining.

Making a Temporary House a Home | Rugs

If you currently have get to live in base housing or practically anywhere overseas, you most likely do not have carpets. We actually have not had carpeting in our last three homes, so rugs have become essentials for us.

Like curtains, rugs work very well in softening a space. This one in our living area is one of my favorites. It is soft, plush and really cozy. My kids play on it. They even stack pillows and layers of blankets on it to lay on the floor and watch a movie. It wouldn't be quite so comfortable without this rug. We found this rug at IKEA in Sindelfingen. It came in several colors.

Rugs can also help to define a space. Our kitchen, living room, entryway and dining room are actually lumped together in one giant, difficult-to-arrange space. Having these coverings on the floor really help to separate the areas. This rug is a neutral, practical jute rug also from IKEA. I believe they had a few with different border colors.

Rugs can fill the void. Our apartment has a very long, kind of awkward entry way. This indoor/outdoor runner is just the right size to fill that space. The fact that it is water resistant is a fantastic bonus. German winters + ice + salt do not equal happy floors! This lovely runner was found in the Estate Sale section of Ballard Designs.

Most of our rugs are inexpensive and were found locally.  The only thing we did splurge on were the runners for our hallway. Due to the way our apartment is set up, you can hear everything going on in our home no matter where you may be. The hallway basically became a sound tunnel that would echo all of our sounds throughout the rest of the home. We knew we wanted thick runners to absorb a lot of that noise. We looked locally and didn't find anything that was visually acceptable for us. With the current exchange rate, we realized we'd end up paying just as much for something we didn't particularly love. So, we bit the bullet and ordered our runners from Pottery Barn. It was an investment. But, I am happy to say it has paid off already. Our home feels a bit more cozy and the runners have definitely helped with sound control.

Of course, rugs can be just plain functional as well. Our bathrooms are very strange sizes and shapes, so I had to be a bit more creative in there. I loved the idea of using indoor/outdoor rugs in here because they come in much larger and unique sizes than your typical bath rug. This particular rug was found at Mömax in Böblingen. You will see I have the same rug in different colors in our guest bath as well as the kitchen. Clearly, this rug works for us.

Here are a few before + after shots to show what a difference rugs can make.

The kids/guest bath before and after. This is another version of the indoor/outdoor rug from Mömax. This one is a warm taupe color.

The master bath before and after. Same Mömax rug. The version in the master bath has cool gray trim and woven throughout.

Finally, the kitchen before and after. Same rug, this one with black woven throughout.

One thing you'll notice in all three of these rooms is the same large, WHITE tile. It shows everything. It was getting very annoying seeing every speck of dust. And let's be real, who sweeps, dusts, vacuums everyday? I certainly don't. While I do still have to do those three things more often, these rugs truly help.

All in all, rugs can soften a home, hide a multitude of imperfections and deaden echoing noise. They are a great, inexpensive option to help make your temporary house feel more like home.