In yesterday’s blog post,
I went down memory lane to my country bumpkin Christmasi of the past.
Here’s the building I bought way back in 1993,
to house my country bumpkin retail store,
Heart-in-Hand:
Christmas 1993
Oregon, Illinois
Just a few years after this,
we built a home upstairs for me, my boys +
Susie, our beloved miniature Dachshund.
Ben, Susie + Jon
seated on an old bench
I bought at auction when I was 19 or so.
I splurged on that gas fireplace
+ am currently obsessing about doing said-same
in our current re-do.
Stay tuned!
Meanwhile, check out my delightful red woodwork
+ my dozens of Santa’s!
* * *
Now let’s back track just a bit, to the BEFORE:
Whoa! Kind of looks like a bomb went off, doesn’t it?
* * *
Here’s the same shot, AFTER:
Currently, I find myself wanting old school shutters like these
for the bottom halves of our Dutch colonial’s windows.
Stay tuned, part II!
My then-beau, an upholsterer, covered my couch
in that awesome coverlet-style fabric.
It was the height of country bumpkin awesomeness
at the time!
Also noteworthy: the original pressed tin ceiling
+ my hand-stenciled border!
* * *
Imagine that — back then, I was even less skilled
at photography than I am now,
but this does show that pressed tin ceiling:
Here I am in ‘mid-decorating mode’:
I hosted open houses of our pad, all decked out for Christmas,
during our town’s annual Candlelight Walk.
Good X’s.
* * *
My beloved floors were new, wide-plank pine boards,
secured with square-head nail look-alikes.
Here’s a nice view of it:
Susie the mini Dachsie
with my upholsterer beau’s dog Max
These days, I find myself wanting light wood floors like this
for our Dutch colonial fixer.
Stay tuned, part III!
* * *
The main living spaces were all together.
Here’s a photo of Ben, seated at the dining table.
He’s facing the living room + those front windows,
with the country bumpkin kitchen in the background.
Oh, please note the skylight — 1 of 3 (another splurge).
I’m still loving the large buffalo check wallpaper
+ am thinking about using said-same NOW!
YUM + stay tuned, yet again!!
But I digress. Back to my old kitchen:
Wow, this photo’s bad,
but it does show my antique red workbench
that I thought made the most perfect kitchen island.
* * *
Let’s head down the hallway
to our very country bumpkin bathroom!
I super loved that homespun wallpaper.
There’s the patchwork shower curtain that I made
by sewing together antique 4-Patch quilt squares.
It was always a crowd pleaser during my open houses.
Loving the shelf above this door, behind which
we’d tucked in a stackable washer + dryer:
Just say NO to the tunic-length sweater when one is 5’0″!
Look! I still clasp my hands together like that in photos:
Ditto on the unflattering blue top, for some reason!?
Somebody call a stylist!
I “keed” (a little!)
* * *
But I digress. Back to our apartment.
It contained 3 bedrooms.
Each boy had his own, but for some reason,
there are no photos of said-same.
Here’s mine:
I seriously wish I still had that pencil post bed,
but NOT those swag + jabot curtains.
I did love them at the time (Country Curtains catalog).
Another of my splurges: the wood-clad, vaulted ceiling,
with its (not shown) skylight.
* * *
Isn’t it funny that, while I poke fun of my fondness
for the country bumpkin décor . . .
. . . there are still quite a few things I did here
that I am considering doing again, TODAY!
Stay tuned!
REDBIRD 