My take on Season 3: Episode 1...Downton Downstairs

I don't get sucked into too many series on TV but Downton has had me from, "hello" or I guess I should say, it has had me from "Good day".  So last night when the opening music started playing I was a happy Lady.  I won't comment too much about the plot and story line in case some of you haven't seen it yet, but here are some of my set observations and some side bars.

1. Spoiler: I wish they showed more of THE wedding.  Two observations: other than the fact that I loved HER dress and was giddy about this event, I thought it a nod to the '20s era by having HER carry Calla Lilies.  The Calla Lily was the IT flower of the '20s. Most brides wore satin and carried a sleek calla lily bouquet. It is the non-fussy, streamlined option for the roaring '20s bride.

Vintage 1920's Bridal sketches

2.  Didn't you just melt with the crowds waving flags and the white banners (bunting, pennants) blowing in the wind?  Banners have been very popular in the past couple of years, being used in children's rooms, mantles, holiday and parties.  I love them and have started making several for holidays.  There is something simple and lovely about banners.




3. As much as I am in awe of the Highclere Castle furnishings UPSTAIRS, I have to say that I'd like to draw attention to the DOWNSTAIRS for a minute.  The servants area downstairs has some features that are part of the English Cottage look, or I would even call it Vintage Style now. I think this is actually a style I am drawn to, although in Downton, it is easy to overlook these elements.  Here are the style characteristics that I love DOWNSTAIRS:
-Gray
-Antlers on mounts, hanging near the doors and hooks.
-Beadboard Wainscotting
-Exposed shelving
-Ironstone dishes and pitchers
-Yellow ware mixing bowls
-Copper and Pewter (poor man's silver). I'm predicting a huge resurgence in Pewter within the next couple of years, btw.

Dutch Boy's "Cathedral Gray"

beadboard wainscotting

Mounted Antlers

Yellow ware

Copper Pots

Antique Pewter

Mason Jars

Ironstone

This pic captures the essence of the simple kitchen wares

Can't wait for next Sunday night!!!

XXXOOO!

Downton Decor-Edwardian Roundup and some predictions

While Highclere castle furnishings are used throughout the scenes, and remain constant, I wouldn't be surprised if they start infusing more DECO, CRAFTSMAN and other 1920s era furnishings into the rooms at Downton over the course of this season.  I think the major '20s influence will obviously be in the characters clothing and hair style, keep your eyes open for little hints of the '20s more modern style of furniture.

Here's a refresher on Edwardian style {1901-1919, although this end date is debated, some say earlier 1910 (think Titanic), many say 1914, the start of WWI, others say 1919}. Edwardian comes after Victorian (King Edward VII was Queen Victoria's son Albert, don't you know...he was the wild Prince of Wales that liked women and horseracing).  The Edwardian era corresponds with the French BELLE EPOQUE time frame.

Here are the stills from last season's episodes.
There are a few things that stand out to me that pretty much scream EDWARDIAN:
The Look:

Pale walls, gold gilding, chandelier, oriental rug, pastel upholsterey with detail such as tassles, fringe, tufting, lots of velvet and needlepoint, portrait paintings. 

Silver candelabra, Sheraton style reproduction chair

Oriental rug, sconces, tufted upholstered chairs, ferns, grand scale. 

Pastel wall paper, gold gilding  auboson rug, marble fireplace, portraits, french uphostered chair.

Pastel chair, Auboson rug, dark furniture and fern.

Earl Scrumptious, his fancy vases (pronounced  "vaaaases", gold accents, pastel wall paper and FERNS...lots of FERNS. 

Architectural built in book case library

Pastel wall, Gold gilded mirror, tufted chairs, 4 poster bed with floral canopy

Everyone loves an Oriental rug.

This season, I think we'll see a few "Roaring '20s" and "Jazz Age" influences such as:

Tiffany style lamps

Arts and Crafts Movement furniture, wallpaper and  fabrics (William Morris), and ceramics





as well as Deco modern flair table settings, silver and trinkets




That's my prediction!
This will be a series. I'll be posting every Monday about what I see in the sets on Downton this season!
CAN NOT WAIT!!!
XXXOOO.

January Wreath and Door ideas

I'm always a bit sad when I take down my outdoor Christmas decorations.  But when January hits, I know its time to pack it all up for storage. But I just can't seem to let my front door be naked. January is such a gray, sort of blahhh month so I want to still have something a bit cheerful on my front door.  I fell for this Anthropologie wool pom-pom wreath.  I went to see it in person in the store and as my friend, Jen, put it, "it looks like a dirty sheep".  It was cute, but looked more dirty than fluffy and for $128 I knew I was going to pass. In the pic above it looks lovely.  In the picture below you get the sort of dirty, been kicked around the barn look that it has in person and I wasn't about to spend that much on something dingy. (I can see that the dirty sheep look gave it character but it was really greige and not a nice fluffy cream or white).

Anthropologie Pom-Pom wreath looking sort of dirty-sheepish to me

And I'd prefer a brighter white or even cream.... So I went about making my own with a soft, white chenille.
I found another blogger who had the same exact idea...who was copying the Anthropologie wreath! She gives a great tutorial on an easy pom pom making technique.

My front door with my new handmade wreath!

I started by seeing what sort of wreath form I had kicking around.  I had an old grapevine wreath.  My plan B was going to be cutting a wreath shape out of cardboard.  Then I went about making pom poms out of the 3 rolls of white chenille that I had.  (Wool will give your pom pom a more stiff, defined pom...but I had this chenille and used it. It is super soft and a bit flopsy, but that's ok)! If you need a review on making pom poms check this out.  I am sort of a 'wing it' kind of girl. I don't use any fancy pom pom making device, I just  grab a piece of cardboard, count how many times I'm looping my yarn around it. Pull out the cardboard and tie a string around it making a sort of donut. Then I start to cut the loops and give the ball a haircut! I used a glue gun to attach my poms. My wreath took about 40 pom poms. 

The perfect, perky greeting on my door step for January.

If pom poms aren't your thing, here are a few other quirky ideas to celebrate winter after the holidays.

It's a fun time of year to cozy up to your glue gun!
 XXXOOO.

Freebie Friday: Get organized!

Well, if you're at all like me, you could use a bit of motivation to get back on track after the holidays. And one of my New Year's resolutions is to be more organized in several aspects of my life. So I was trolling the internet, looking for charts and organizational tips to sort of launch me into being on top of things this year.

I started with FLYLADY.  She has a fabulous website to teach you step by step how to become more efficient at house keeping. Her site can be overwhelming to me, defeating the purpose, because when I am overwhelmed, I just might walk away. SO, I've navigated around her site and found that the best place for me to start was HERE and  HERE.   Her whole premise is that you can master the art of decluttering and cleaning, doing it in the least amount of time, and enjoy it. It is an every day effort and I think it is the solution to my organizational goals for 2013. She has terms like ZONES and THE 27 FLING BOOGIE- but once you get the gist of what she's talking about it REALLY MAKES SENSE. She has the tips and tools to help make new housekeeping habits stick.

And I think I am lost without charts. Last year I so often felt like I was just running from things day to day. I frequently even said to friends, "I'm just doing day to day, I'll get back to you" whenever I tried to schedule anything. Well, NO MORE! I will conquer the art of schedules, chores and the like.  I now have CHARTS. I need 'um. You may, too.  I thought I'd share what I've found! I couldn't narrow it down, so I chose my favorite options and thought it would be fun for you to see if any of them would work for you or give you a starting point to create your own.

So, here is your first Freebie Friday of 2013! A gift you can use all year! Chose one or two or three that may get your year off on the right foot.

2013 Month by Month Printable Calendar from TomKat Studio

Weekly Family Calendar from TomKat Studio

Another Cleaning Calendar

Katie Brown's Cleaning Chart (as if she cleans her house herself).

Daily Housekeeping Schedule from The Time Warp Wife

Clean House Flow Chart

Example of Deep Cleaning Schedule

Daily Chore Chart for Mom

Planner from Ink Tree Press

Do Your Chores from Lisa Dickenson

Weekly Cleaning 

Sutton Grace Chore Chart, you'll need to fill in chores

Little Ones Chore Chart from The Handmade Home

Manners Chart from The Handmade Home

Potty Chart from Pure+Lovely