SPRING DECORATING TRICKS

Are you passionate about creating a home that is warm and welcoming? If you have read my blog for any amount of time, or you've been to my shop at French Garden House, you know that I believe with all my heart that your home should reflect the way you live, your passions, and evolve with your personal style.

Madame et Monsieur Lapin | Country Topiaiere Buxus

Creating a space surrounded by beautiful things you love is one of the best ways to express your own style and improve your quality of life. Here are a few simple ways to weave your personality into your home, making your home a reflection of what you love. Feathering your nest for Spring is easy with these tips! 1. BRING NATURE INSIDE. Welcome Mother Nature into your decor, spring is an especially great time to sing nature's praises in your home. I am always inspired by nature, and our gardens, so I weave natural or green accents into our decorating here at FrenchGardenHouse through-out the year. Fresh, or faux, this little nod to nature keeps our interiors fresh, organic in feel and brings a touch of casual. One of my favorite ways to welcome the outdoors into our home is to use lots of flowers. Especially at this time of year when our garden is bursting with colorful blooms ready to be cut and brought inside. No garden? Or don't want to cut off your prized blooms? A little "fool the eye" floral arrangement like this very pretty Romance Francaise gives you all the effect without the fuss. {and they never wilt!}

Romance Francaise

I love this arrangement of faux hydrangeas because it looks just like you cut the flowers from your garden, it is not fussy in looks, nor upkeep! These flowers are especially designed to be displayed in water, further enhancing the illusion of the "real" flowers. I am excited that these best-selling stems now come in a new, deeper color, actually a French Blue with a hint of lilac and green, for all of you who emailed and called asking for more!

French Ocean Hortensia Stems

Weaving natural elements into your décor doesn’t need to take much time. For this guest bath, I just placed a small floral arrangement on an antique child's chair in front of the bath tub. Since the chair is painted a vintage aqua blue, the faux floral with purples adds a pop of color and a bit of spring excitement to this bathroom. I love it!

French Anemone Violette

I am wildly in love with topiaries, at any time of year. These are almost just like the preserved topiaries we sell at FrenchGardenHouse, except that they are silk. I adore the preserved ones, don't get me wrong, these are just another version, they tend to stay greener longer, and are a bit less costly. They just sit on top of the organic and earthy pots meant to look just like the antique French ones we sell. Fool proof to use, these look fantastic on your mantel, or marching down the center of your table. Group some together on an antique silver tray, and you'll have an exceptional display in minutes! And you never have to worry about watering.

Country Topiaiere Buxus

2. LOVE LAYERS. Another classic FrenchGardenHouse look is creating beautiful décor with layers. It's all about creating little touch spots of beauty by pairing several decorative accents together to create a harmonious, layered story. Don't be afraid to mix "un-like" elements, here I mixed beautiful lavender purple transferware with a very rustic French metal vase. A potted flowering plant and little faux bird's nest complete this story of spring.

Antique French Art Nouveau Vase

Another place I always like to layer is on my tables. Here at FrenchGardenHouse I'm not really a fan of matched table settings. I like to make each table a small work of art, combining French Country antique linens with contemporary dishes in fun patterns, and adding heirloom antique silver and porcelain dishes. The pink roses and green hydrangeas are in a French pink enamelware "vase" - this table combines the best of heirloom pieces with new...unexpected and with a touch of elegance! That's what makes layering fun, the element of surprise, the mixing of era's and designs.

Antique Tilting Teapot | Ribbon Rose & Bird Cups| Sml. Bowls |Big Bowls

3. ADD SOME FUN! Especially traditional interiors decorated with antiques can sometimes get a little "too" serious. One way to inject some fun is to display your sense of humor! One way I lighten the mood, and look of our home, is to tuck in whimsical objects that make me smile. My living room is the more elegant part of our French Country style home, but inside my antique armoire, two little porcelain doll's legs stick out of an antique silver baby cup. just. for. fun.

Miniature Porcelain Pekingese Dog

I am always drawn to small figurines, they are perfect to weave into large or small displays. Spotting a small and whimsical, totally unexpected figurine in a display is a happy surprise to reward anyone who carefully looks at your decor! Small little vintage and antique dogs are a cute reminder that we love dogs at FrenchGardenHouse.

Miniature Wire Haired Terrier

At times, you can spot one or more in our living room, standing guard on the coffee table, such as the little terrier above, who has climbed up on the stack of antique French books. Sometimes I add them to an antique cloche, although mostly I allow them to "roam freely" because. #dogsjustwannahavefun! If you are not a fan of dogs, a little girl clutching her spring flowers, or even a framed photo of someone you love in a funny pose can work just as well! 4. ELEVATE EVERY DAY ELEMENTS. I love to find new uses for everyday decorative items, or to use something, like a piece of jewelry, as a decorative element in a display at home. {My children seem to think I have way too much jewelry - I disagree - there is no such thing as too much, is there?!}

Hand Made Peruvian Opals and Carnelian Necklace

To add some dimension to this tray display in the living room, I layered a favorite statement necklace that features gorgeous gemstones from Peru, natural opals, over a stack of antique books. Their color is remniscent of the Caribbean Sea, a soft translucent blue green - local folklore says these gemstones soften the impact of stress. I added an antique French mother-of-pearl set of opera glasses to the top, popped a maidenhair fern in the opaline vase, added one of our Lavender scented luxury candles, and voilà, a layered display that is interesting and a treat for all our senses!

Opaline Vase

We have a lot of books here at home. We're trying to curate our collection, by donating many of them, but there will always be stacks and stacks of favorite books, antique and otherwise. Instead of fighting it, I've taken to using them in all sorts of ways to solve some of my decorating dilemmas, and using them to create charming displays. In the photo below, I used a small stack of antique books to elevate the beautiful antique French Samson Chelsea style porcelain figures. Instead of featuring the books as a focal point, they provided a little riser for the stars of my display. They are elevated, and that is just what they deserve, these are exceptionally gorgeous!

Antique French Samson Chelsea Porcelain Figures

I hope this has given you some inspiration to create a bit of Spring magic at home! Shop for the best in French Antiques, furniture with the patina of age, vintage accessories to delight you and your family & friends, and French Country utilitarian pieces. Treasures that make your home fresh, beautiful, inspirational and uniquely yours. Visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.com