My mother’s design style? A cross between the farmer’s house in a Beatrice Potter story and a Victorian sitting room.
As a master gardener and lover of animals (two dogs, a cat, a bazzillion fish, and a horse…currently) her home is filled with hints of the outdoors. Floral wallpapers, animal statues, and flower arrangements in every corner.
She’s very industrious and I’ve seen her polyurethane her floors, strip furniture, stencil walls, and paint everything in between. She and my father have been wallpapering together for thirty-five years. She can not possibly pass up a salvage yard or antique shop and will go to great lengths to bring home something she loves.
Favorite color? Pink. Oh yes. The more the better.
In honor of mother’s day, I’m dedicating this post to her favorites – the things you see when you visit her home, a turn of the century Victorian built in 1896. And yes, the house is painted pink.
note: although these pictures were gathered from various and sundry places and are not her actual home, I think they capture the spirit of the things she loves:
Bedrooms: romantic, feminine, and have I mentioned pink?
My mother sets an elegant table for two people or ten, spaghetti or roast. White china, real silver, and flowers can be counted on whether you are family or guest.
Somehow she manages to make stone animals from garden centers fit right in. Bunnies and dogs are the creatures you are most likely to see.
Orchids and more orchids. I once watched her board a PLANE with a huge potted orchid because it was one she couldn’t find in Vermont. While the rest of us fret over ounces of shampoo, my mother is packing live plants in tissue paper.
English porcelain flower pins
A vast collection of PoppyTrail used every single day at breakfast in her greenhouse.
And among all of these pretty things, if you so much as whisper the word cookie in her direction, she will whip you up a batch of chocolate chip love in minutes.
Happy Mother’s Day Mom!
