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When I entertain for the Holidays, I do NOT ask guests to make a dish, I find it rude! If they would like to bring a bottle or dessert thats fine, but if I invite friends and family for a Holiday, its my treat:)
We also have used plants native to this area of Southeast Michigan. We also started a 'prairie' area. Our issue is DEER. We have so many, that actually getting plants to flower is a challenge, and we end up with mostly green stalks. We have plants similar to the article, goldenrod, coneflowers, asters, etc. Deer eat everything, even plants that are marked resistant.
We have a lot of native plants in our Northern Colorado garden, with some non-natives that are quite well adapted to this climate (Zone 5b at 5,000 ft). We have had elk, turkeys and many other species wander around our yard and the neighborhood. This past summer we had the cutest little bull snake living in the flower bed off the patio. No more mice!
I have blackout curtains but I also like to leave the tops down to see the stars on clear nights. I always have nice cotton sheets and a quilt that I made. In the fall and spring I have an ancient silk blanket, and add a down comforter for winter. One of the cats sleep on the bed by my feet and keeps my toes warm when it's cold. The iphone and watch charge by my bedside and don't bother me a bit. I also like to keep the room a bit on the cool side, but that is difficult in the summer, so we have a nice quiet ceiling fan. We only have one TV in the house and that's in the basement family room.
A bed frame with no footboard and recessed legs avoids bumping toes and shins any time of day.
Would love to see more images of Kitchen number 6.
Looks very tastefull and interesting.
I love the fact that in two of the photos, a chair is slightly askew. This makes them look real!
So beautiful, I especially love the Dutch door in #8.
What do you do when you have NO entry? I tried to create one by facing the backs of two book cases towards the carport door. They do not go up to the ceiling, but I do use their tops for basket display. Just wonder what I might have done instead?
@katherineelizabeth08 that sounds like a good idea! At least for now. A bench might work too. How big is your space? Want to start a post and provide the link here?
Nice ideas though in the U.K. it is not permitted to even hard wire a hairdryer etc into a bathroom.
Wonderful tips, especially always measure first so you can decide if the vanity will fit before you fall in love with it. Also, remember that textured wood is so much harder to keep clean than smooth surfaces.
All lovely ideas. All of the beds in my house have quilts on them that I have made, right after T-day I'll get out the Christmas ones. I may go looking for some ceramic and/or glass pumpkins at the antique shops, that is always fun.
One more “Decorate with Nature”: a granite cobble from a Maine beach, drilled and filled with a few sprigs of bittersweet.
Your ideas are original and fun, Foofaraw. Thanks for sharing them with us!
To Seat a Holiday Crowd. A lot of dining tables are about the same width -- mine is 38". So I have a couple of antique fold-top card tables (similar to the one pictured) with tops the same width as my dining table. Ninety-percent of the time, these tables have other functions elsewhere in the house.
But when I have a large dinner party, I put one of these (with the top opened) at either end of the dining table & use two long, matching table clothes to cover the whole top. Of course you have to have a space long enough to accommodate the temporary "extensions," but if you extend into the hall and/or next room, so what? I can seat up to 14 people this way (more if I had more card tables!).
Totally matchy-matching table service for 14? Totally matching chairs? Not so much. But again, nobody cares, & you can probably come up with a creative, attractive mix.
It's great when you can seat everyone together for a festive occasion. I've done this a number of times, and it works very well. And yeah, I set up the tables wa-a-a-y in advance.