On Crooked Creektt

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Life Is Fragile. . .

Music speaks to me.
It motivates me when I'm creating and designing.
It calms and soothes my inner soul.

Today,
music uplifted me.

Life is fragile.
My life is fragile.
Today, I felt fragile and vulnerable.

I turned on my classical piano music
and before I knew it,
I was removing the linens in On Crooked Creektt's Dining Room.

No pencil / paper layout to follow.
No prior inspiration to re~create.
I allowed the music to speak to my creative spirit.

I placed a freshly ironed vintage white damask tablecloth
on our extended table as a base for our tablescape.

First,
I placed a creamy ivory, khaki and yellow embossed runner atop the tablecloth.

Next,
I added the requested khaki linen place mats.

Our newest dinnerware in creamy ivory and embossed curvy edges
seemed to flow with the chords of the music playing softly in the background.

I admired the way it accents the bird dessert / salad plate
giving it a more stately presence within the place setting.

Everyday Oneida flatware accompanied by our everyday clear bubble glassware,
with dishwasher ease, keep clean~up to a minimum.

I added the bird cup and saucer mimicking those that frequent the bird feeders
in On Crooked Creektt's Gardens beyond the patio doors.

Gathering the crocheted edged linen khaki cloth napkin
inside my chippy bird napkin rings and placing it on an angle
atop the dessert /salad and dinner fork softens the place setting
and follows the angle of the table runner.

My centerpiece,
a family of white reticulated glass birds on garden orbs and pedestals.

A laser cut sea shell blossom serves as the flora atop my wrought iron footed tray.

Looking up,
I catch a glimpse of "Mr. Ed" as he works diligently
at another of On Crooked Creektt's 2015 Projects.

As the symphony swells,
my entire mood shifts and I, too am uplifted.

Gentle reminders that my life is continually filled with abundance
On Crooked Creektt becomes evident everywhere I gaze.

Once again,
the music stirs a sense of peace within my soul.

I am grateful for the blessings within my life and my home.

Life's fragile moments,
combined with vulnerability,
changed in an instant through the language of music.

Until next time. . .

On Crooked Creektt will be joining

Cindy @ Dwellings ~ The Heart Of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday!

And. . .

Christine @ Rustic and Refined for Table It!

And. . .

Karen @ Karen's Up On The Hill for Something To Talk About!

And. . .

Debra @ Common Ground for Share Your Style!

And. . .

Jody and Stan @ Rooted In Thyme for Simple and Sweet Fridays!

Each and every week,

seeds of inspiration bloom from these host and hostesses linky parties.

Be sure to visit and delight your family dwelling with brilliant interior design.

Friday, June 5, 2015

From Whence Inspiration Abounds. . .

Returning to my Traditional roots in home design
has made my life more content and tranquil here On Crooked Creektt.

"Mr. Ed" and I have worked many interior design changes
titled 2015 Projects since January,
however, the lower level Family Room
continually presents itself with multiple design challenges.

This long, narrow room makes me seek into the very depths of my inner designer
to try to accomplish a symmetrical seating and dining arrangement
while using the furniture pieces we own.

Recently, as I was purging through past publications of Southern Cottage,
I was inspired by the Traditional Southern Cottage Style
combining rich patina of heritage collections
with the fresh appeal to modern day living.

I guess you could call this my "Ah~ ha Moment"!

On page 10 titled Relaxed ELEGANCE,
under the Traditional & TRUE section, I began to see similarities.

Our English roll arm club chairs were similar to
Relaxed ELEGANCE wing back chairs.

Another Relaxed ELEGANCE similarity
was in the over sized coffee tables and the long neutral sofas.

And while I didn't have a Relaxed ELEGANCE over sized club chair,
I do have a comfortable heritage chair and a round table within the Family Room.

While On Crooked Creektt's 1970's Ranch Style Home
doesn't have symmetrical bookcases on either side of the fireplace,
I compensated by positioning the TV stand and the vintage record cabinet
on opposite sides to bring balance to the space.

I still had that one awkward space where we descend the stairs.
This area is wider than the rest of the lower level Family Room
and features the red chicken wire cabinet, quite nicely.

A special thank you to my blog friend, Kathy @ Sharing
Shadymont for her recent post on Furniture Rearrange At Lake House (here).

Once I saw the difference Kathy made to her living area
by moving a wing chair to the bedroom,
I knew that moving this armed dining chair from the back of the Family Room
to the front was what was needed to make sense of this awkward space
merging it into the Relaxed ELEGANCE Traditional design.

My goal with or lower level Family Room was to create a design
that reflects our current everyday life style
and to bring the furniture pieces closer to the focal point. . .our fireplace.

Each and every week,
I stand in awe at the continual inspiration I receive
from the ever amazing host and hostesses linky parties in The Land of Blog!

It is from these parties and Traditional design publications
that I obtain some of my greatest inspirations for my own home decor!

One just never knows from whence inspiration abounds. . .

Until next time. . .

On Crooked Creektt will be joining

Cindy @ Dwellings ~ The Heart Of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday!

And. . .

Karen @ Karen's Up On The Hill for Something To Talk About!

And. . .

Christine @ Rustic and Refined for Table It!

And. . .

Debra @ Common Ground for Share Your Style!

And. . .

Jody and Stan @ Rooted In Thyme for Simple and Sweet Fridays!

Each and every week,

seeds of inspiration bloom from these host and hostesses linky parties.

Be sure to visit and delight your family dwelling with brilliant interior design.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Third Times The Charm. . .

There's something about the rule of three's. . .
if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!
and then there's. . .Strike three. . .You're out!

However, for me, On Crooked Creektt. . .
it was the third unsuccessful attempt to $ale this primitive cabinet
that made me realize. . .it was meant to be.

"Mr. Ed" and I acquired this primitive cabinet
while residing on the other side of the Prairie.

Through the 25 plus years that we've owned this cabinet,
it has served us well. Most recently, we used it as a display cabinet.

So~o~o. . .
I decided that three was a reasonable amount of times
to try to transact a $ale. . .and made the administrative decision to keep it.

Can I say that "Mr. Ed" was not 'overjoyed'
to carry this beast back down the stairs? ? ?

Now that it is in its final resting place,
I decided this primitive cabinet needed a "fresh role "
in On Crooked Creektt's Family Room!

This cabinet is the "perfect piece" for housing "Mr. Ed's" Trout dinnerware!

I began by filling the narrow top shelf with dessert/salad plates,
coffee mugs, a decorative votive candle holder and a brass dinner bell.

Next,
came the short shelf, which was a "perfect fit" for all the dinner plates,
and the rest of the bowls and dessert/salad plate.

Then,
what I call the "challenging shelf"!

Due to its narrow and long interior,
this shelf has always been one to test my styling patience.

Using the Complete Outdoor Encyclopedia as a riser,
I filled this space with a mug rack and the remainder of the coffee mugs.
Behind the mug rack, resting at an angle, is a hand carved wooden fish tray.

I finished the interior of the primitive cabinet
with some vintage pine cone decor plates
that "Mr. Ed" and I primarily use during the holiday season.

The a d o r a b l e white squirrel resting upon an acorn
is a "gift" from my dear blog friend,
Lynne @ Lynne's Gifts From The Heart (here) this past year.

Atop the cabinet,
I used an heirloom butter churn and some dairy crocks
from "Mr. Ed's" boyhood Family Farm.
I combined them with some decoratively hand painted Rainbow Trout.