Living Room Jan.2021

 

I've left the mantel the same because I'm satisfied with it.  The coral/orange centerpiece was created for me by a gentleman who owns a store up north of us called Monarch Garden & Floral.  I did a post about it "here".  The big ginger jar is again from The Enchanted Home and I carried the blue with a small blue jar.  I'm mixing the coral/orange with blue which is through the room.

Last fall we picked up a couple of new chairs and I sold my two wing back recliners. We managed to get them at a fraction of their cost because the store was closing and liquidating.

 

This is the other chair, it's motorized and sooo comfy! 

 

I picked up the pillow at Home Goods, I couldn't resist it.  It really doesn't go with my Asian theme but I loved it right off and knew it would go with this chair.  He looks like a British Captain so we'll just say that he is traveling to Asia!

 

Sun floods the room and is always appreciated during the winter months!

 

  The coffee table got a new tray and the acryllic bird piece.  The elephant was from a furniture store a while back.  It had no brand name on it so I couldn't find out more about it.

Lana our youngest cat just turned 2.

Teddy basking in the sun!

They are both Tonkinese, which is a siamese and burmese mix.   The look a lot like siamese but with a rounder head.

There you have my living room in 2021!

Into The Blue and White

 

I mentioned that I had a collection of blue and white porcelain pieces from my Mom's home.  Everything here except the vase down below was from her house.

 I especially like these figural Chinese statue pieces.

I don't know a lot about the names that could be applied to these but I know they came from the 90's.
 

I ordered a base for the hexagonal vase to set on and it fit perfectly as though it had been made for it!  

I gifted her this dragon plate, one of the first things I gifted her after we were married in '78.  We lived in Chicago and I bought it from Marshall Fields.

Next is my display cabinet that I put some of her other items plus a few of my own.

The big platter down below was also a gift I gave Mom.  At that time her home had a sofa set with blue peacocks as part of the design.

I added the blue jar from a website known as The Enchanted Home and the Fu Dog I found at Home Goods. 

Some more modern design.  I used this large elongated brass dish loaded with some deco balls I've had for a while.

 

The pumpkin shape piece was another of my Mom's pieces and the Tulipiere pagoda vase also came from The Enchanted Home.  The elephant came from Pier 1. 

More modern deco, I added these two white and gold matching pieces along with this very large clear glass vase from Ethan Allen.

So that's what got me started on adding blue and white porcelain to my decorating!

Updating The Living Room

I tweaked the floor plan again in the living room and I added a little bit more of the coral/orange tone that I brought in with the new pillows and the vase.

I wanted to accessorize a bit with more of this color that the new rug has brought into the home that I showed "here" in a previous post.

Notice the new floral arrangement on the mantel.  We took a trip up to Petoskey to my favorite store Monarch Garden & Floral Design, with faux florals (and real ones too).  I worked with Michael who is the owner and he put together a beautiful arrangement using faux orchids and succulents.  I had scoured the internet for an arrangement but everything was too tall and narrow.  I already had the lidded jar in a closet and pulled it out to fill in the left side.  The candle holders are new from the store and I had the candles.    

I snapped a couple of pictures of Michael as he was creating it.  This is the 2nd time he's made an arrangement on the spot for me (I feel lucky).  

I think it's really pretty.  I wanted something with orchids and I wanted it to be wide but low in design.  I would never have thought of using the succulents like he did but it sure pulled the arrangement together nicely!

We played with accessory ideas and I decided to take the two candle holders on the left. 

The pillows aren't quite as orange as they appear in the photos but anyway they worked out to go  really well with the sofa.  I tried the new temple jar on the mantel but it felt better on the cocktail table.   The brass accents have been with me a while.  

I want to paint or stain the round wooden top setting on the white garden stool in brown so it will pick up on other things in the room and I feel it will ground it better.

The game table was moved over to a corner and the chairs fit but the corner felt crowded so I moved them over by the chest.  One of the goals for this room is to get new curtains and the other is to find a replacement chest for this striped one.  

I took the lamp away from the wood cabinet area and put it on this table.  I like the taller height for this table. 

  

I like Asian accents and had bought this big lidded pagoda style box to hold our remotes a while back.  I keep it in this corner and decided to try my bronze cranes I got years back from Bombay Furniture.  

I think the cranes make a good "Asian" accent too!  The black chinoiserie shelving unit came from Ethan Allen a while back.  I grabbed it when our local store was closing.  

I stripped everything off of this wood cabinet top and came up with a new look.  The clock looks good with the dining room set so I'm keeping it here.  I did try it on the mantel but it's too high in front of the picture.

The two dogs (mock Staffordshire dogs from Nell Hills) were over on the black shelving unit by the storks but I decided to bring them out since they also offer that coral/rust coloring for the room.

The clock is new.  Dan and I bought it as a commemorative item for our 40th Wedding Anniversary coming this Sunday.  I can hardly believe I'm old enough to say that but I am!  We found it at a clock shop in Frankenmuth, MI late last year and bought it ahead of time for our Anniversary.  There's a brass plate engraved with our wedding and anniversary date on the inside.  Dan and I like clocks- we get enthused when we're in a place like that!  This sounds as good as our big grandfather clock- it's amazing!

So these are my updates for now!

Joining:

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Metamorphosis Monday 

Inspire Me Tuesday