I was still feeling like I needed a little more of a Summer feeling around the house, just to cheer things up a bit, so I moved a few things around in the dining room the other day.
Plus my peonies bloomed! So I needed to put them, well, pretty much everywhere.
On the table now I have something that goes a little like this:
There’s no rhyme or reason to it. At all. Just fun things I wanted to look at when I walked by.
Why, yes! Those are rocks in my new little cake stand! Would you care for one with your tea?
Ginger jars on a table make me happy. Or ginger jars anywhere, really.
Peonies on a side table.
I used little tea light holders with water in them to put the blooms in to my twine bowl.
Yup. That paint can and renovating debris is still there, weeks later. Just keeping things real. Well, real for a few days ago. Things are changing in there now!
Flags and patriotic decor in general just always seem right in the Summer. We’re in Canada here, but I have the Stars and Stripes going too. It’s the neighborly thing to do. Plus I like the look. Is it wrong to fly a flag just for the look of it? Yes? I don’t care. And I like my American friends!
I filled in the empty spaces in this lantern with hosta leaves. They’re actually lasting quite a while without any water at all.
So, truth be told, I did make myself a little frustrated by playing with the decor in this room. I’ve been telling myself to stop trying to “fix” un-renovated rooms by decorating them because it’s just not possible and then I make myself crazy. Well, I did find my inner perfectionist coming out when I was playing around in here. I guess I was feeling like I wanted a perfect room for my peonies to be showcased in.
Well, I finally decided that even if I don’t think my room is good enough to deserve the flowers right now, I still do, and that’s as good of a reason as any to pretty things up a little.
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.