A French Country Christmas Living Room

In my last post I'd decided not to have a tree this Christmas. Wait! What?
(If you missed that post, you can read it by clicking this link.)

A French Country Christmas Dining Room

Instead, I thought I'd decorate my living and dining rooms with vintage pieces,
while giving these rooms a little French Country flair.

So, let's start in the foyer. 

Welcome to my French Country Christmas!

This old nativity scene is actually Italian so it has that European feel.
I love the blue and red together.
The angel wreath always hung in my mother's kitchen window when I was growing up

and my sister hand painted the three sheep.

Come on in to the living room.

The mantel is always the focal point in holiday decor.
I love to use lots of candles and a few bottlebrush trees.

Cozy up to the fireplace.
An ironstone pitcher holds a stash of white candles on the console table behind the couch. 

A few baubles on a vintage wire tree and a candle bring sparkle to the living room . . .

and a French market basket, filled with holiday goodies, adds a bit of French soul.

An urn laden with holly, pine cones and antlers is a simple natural touch,
an important element in French Country design. 

Of course, I think everyone should decorate with whatever makes them happy.
But I've decided I'm content with how our house looks this year (without a tree).

So enjoyed hearing all your comments and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

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French Country: Old Sconces, New Look

I've been watching for two old sconces for my bathroom for a long time.
They were all too new, too gaudy, too expensive.
But then I found just what I was looking for at an estate sale.

I wanted something with turn-of-the-century character and style 

but small enough to work in my tiny bathroom.
So, take a look . . . aren't these just gorgeous?

They are in need of re-wiring and re-connecting and replacing bits and pieces, 

but, oh, they captured my heart at first glance. 

And only $20 for the pair!

The thing that really caught my eye was the charming profile of the woman in the center. 

So delicate and pretty.

The jolly man in the plaid shirt who sold them to me told me they were "very very old."  

He said "she" wouldn't have let him sell them.
I assume he was referring to his wife who had probably passed.

Then, he proudly showed me his gazillion bird houses and feeders. 

I so enjoyed talking with this elderly man with the twinkle in his eye.
It's one of the reasons I love these sales so much.

Here you can see where someone slopped paint along the edges.

I'm definitely no expert but I think these sconces might have
a little Venetian or French-inspired influence. At least, I hope so. 

I'm guessing they're from the early 20th century, judging from the design and the old wiring.
Ron plans to rewire the sconces and tighten up the creaky joints
before hanging them in the bathroom.

PLAN B
Well my friends, things don't always turn out the way you think they're going to.
When Ron got into the project, he discovered the arms of the sconces had been badly broken, probably dropped, and soldered back together.
This effectively closed off the channels for the wiring. Permanently.
Sometimes Humpty Dumpty just can't be put back together again.

So, on to Plan B.
Ron squeezed JB Weld into the wobbly joints. When this epoxy is dry, it's rock solid.
He says it's the next best thing to actual welding. It actually glues metal together.

Removing old paint splatters with Zip Strip,
then toning down the shine with matte medium tidied them up nicely.
A big thank you to Ron for all his hard work restoring these sconces.
Like most renovations, it took a lot longer than we'd thought.

Once they were put back together, we mounted them on the living room fireplace wall . . .

and put battery-operated candles in them.

They may not be the bathroom sconces I thought they'd be
but it's good to be flexible when dealing with old things that don't cooperate, don't you think?
Hey, I'm talking about the sconces here people!

And here's the final result. 

I'm still totally in love with them, maybe even more.

And they look right at home in my old house. 

I have searched on-line but haven't been able to find anything similar to these
to learn more about them.
They're quite heavy, probably cast iron.
If you know anything about this type of sconce, I would love to hear from you.

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~~ Fireplace Do-Over ~~

My living room has had many looks. I'm sure you can relate.

Gradually, through trial and error, I started to find my style.

But before I figured it out, there was the Mary Tyler Moore look with matching
white love seats, mauve pillows, a glass coffee table, and black lacquer shelving units.
At least I didn't have the big initial "P" on the wall.
(I do wish I'd kept that chaise lounge though. It would have been perfect in my office.)

And then I had the southwestern style with a wicker sofa and leather mission-style chairs--
cool looking but so uncomfortable--and a  shaggy flokati rug.

And I can't forget the time I went for drama with dark red walls. 

Yep, every wall.
Red. Dark glossy red.
What was I thinking?
This was before I knew dark colors make a small space seem even smaller
and glossy paint highlights every problem.

Finally, I painted the walls a muted khaki with white trim. 

I removed the lined bronze drapes, lightening the room with new lace curtains, 

(I've since replaced them with ivory loose-weave linen drapes.)
I removed the fake stained-glass windows on each side of the fireplace and

switched out a wobbly ceiling fan for the vintage chandelier from the foyer.

Better, but I still had that boxy red fireplace.

So, I decided to take the plunge and remove the fireplace that, 

like so many good intentions in the 70s, was just wrong. 

It jutted into the small room about two feet and
diagonal planks of rough wood covered the whole thing floor to ceiling. 

Quite a visual impact but not one I wanted.
(Here's an old photo showing the diagonal boards).

Researching my options, I decided to have a gas insert installed. 

Wood-burning fireplaces are romantic . . . and dirty, time-consuming, and inconvenient. 

I loved the idea of enjoying an instant fire with the flick of a switch.

My contractor demo-ed the fireplace wall down to the cinder block lining. 

You can see the scars on the floor and ceiling where the old fireplace used to be. 

It was about this time I started having second and third thoughts.

 I asked him to build a platform to rest the insert on so it would be more visible. 

Then, the gas guys came and installed the insert.

You can see how much natural light comes in
after we removed the faux stained-glass windows. 

Then my contractor finished the carpentry.

I asked him to match the design of the corner legs to the original staircase newel posts.
Perfect match. He does beautiful work. 

I picked out a tile that complimented my furnishings and resembled tile I'd seen in old houses.

When the construction was finished, I painted the wood white to match the white trim in the room 

and the white dog on the couch. Then refinished the floor.

Most visitors think the fireplace is original to the house with a new gas insert.

I gained a little over an actual foot of floor space since the new design hugs the wall
but the room feels even more spacious.

I've made some changes since the previous picture was taken:
a different rug, a light slipcover on the couch, flat-screen TV, farmhouse coffee table
and a more relaxed yet elegant French Country style.

The gas insert was definitely the right choice. 

It's perfect for a chilly morning with a cup of coffee or a romantic evening watching a movie.

And it's fun decorating the new mantle.

So now, the room is finished. . . at least for now!

Only 50 days til Spring!!


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