Take A Look Around My Parlour

Beloved, You have been invited to take a look around my Parlour. 

Not bragging, but wanted to share some real bargains with you.  I think it's encouraging to know that there are still bargains out there and these treasures can enhance our homes with a personality.

  Each person has their likes and dislikes when it comes to furnishing their own personal space.  As a 5 year old child I use to take the sales catalogs and pull pages out, lay them on the floor and make a paper home with the pages.  Like a doll house, except out of paper.  Nobody told me at the time that my house shouldn't have 14 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms, 6 living rooms, etc.

I had the best time playing make believe on the floor with the pages.  Mom was the one that let me play quietly on the living room floor by myself.  She nurtured this very inexpensive playtime activity.  The love of decorating was showing up as a child.

Like a lot of people, style and interest has morphed into different looks in the home furnishing department.  I grew up in a house that was quite small with my shared bedroom in the basement.  Slept in a double bed with my older sister and have many childhood stories of sharing the covers with a bed hog.  I'm the bed hog.  Our bedroom furniture was white french provincial and I loved the waviness in it.

I remember very well when long shag carpeting was all the rage. Mom's was dark green and covered a perfectly good hardwood floor.  Mom's living room had more straight line contemporary furniture in it than the frilly.  As I inched into adulthood, I said good-bye to this as avocado green, harvest gold and dark brown appliances merged into the marketplace making their way into homes.  I was so envious when my sister got married and she had one of those green stoves and fridges.  This made married life look inviting to me...ouch.  Thank you God, I know that appliances aren't all there is to marriage.

When on my own, it was second hand decorating all the way.  Once married, we were dirt poor.  One of the little rentals we lived in had pull down maps for dining room window treatments.  It wasn't what was popular, but we used them out of desperation.  We could travel around the world in just one glance.  Our end table in the living room was an actual tree stump.  We were shabby chic way before it's time.  We had second hand living room furniture, second hand bedroom furniture, cast offs for dining room furniture and second hand baby crib, old fridge that froze the food, borrowed stove.  Our dishes, silverware, drinking glasses, pots, pans, towels, sheets were all wedding gifts and much cherished. We stayed warm, never went hungry and we were madly in love as we started our family.

We helped the U.S. economy by using credit for a new refrigerator, stove and dishwasher.  What a romantic day it was when we charged a brand new Kirby vacuum sweeper for Valentine's Day. I'll need to blog about that later.  Soon a medium brown sofa and love seat made their way to our living room.  These sofas faithfully traveled with us each time we moved until we sold them about 20 years later just before another relocation.

Hastily I purchased a sleeper sofa which one of our sons inherited when we bought an over sized leather sofa. Then came my long awaited traditional camel back sofa, two over sized wing chairs with ottoman and decorative pillows.

It took us twelve years to save up the money to purchase this Ethan Allen furniture that we've had since 2000.  Pray it last a very long time.  There have been expenses that were more important than having formal furniture to look at.  A home full of love and warmth is far more valuable than a museum looking room.  One's home doesn't have to be cold or so proper.  You can decorate with great finds that aren't expensive and enjoyable to be around.






When I got into my thirties, I wanted a more formal room and so that's the look I was going to go for in the Formal Living room.  We had a formal living room with second hand sofa and wing chair as well as a family room with the older furniture we had.  The children were allowed to LIVE and BREATHE in the family room while the formal living room was for quieter times and manners.  Now into our 50s it's my turn to be a little more foo-foo.  Earned it.

Here's the tour of the Parlour.  The room has 9'6" high ceiling with two small matching chandeliers, four windows and a door that opens to a very small conservatory.  The plastered covered rock walls are 24 inches thick and curve inward toward the windows.  The floors are made of hardwood maple planks.

The Parlour houses a Ethan Allen Camel Back Sofa with two decorative pillows and two matching over sized Wing Chairs with Ottoman.
The solid wood Coffee Table was purchased at a Thrift Store for $38.00.
Old Books are a Flea Market find.
The Pie Table that sits between the wing chairs was a Texas purchase from when we lived there many years ago.
The lead crystal Vase with flowers was bought on clearance from a high dollar department store.
Flowers were from Garden Ridge.  I've had these so long, I don't remember what I paid for them.
The Piano belonged to my husband's Grandparents and later given to him as a gift because he was their only grandchild that showed an interest in playing the piano.  Husband refinished it.
Mirror above piano was a Christmas gift from my Parents.
The $24.99 area rug was a Salvation Army find.
Print from J.C. Penney.
The walnut Sideboard was a $10.00 neighborhood garage sale find that we excitedly carried home the distance of two blocks.  My husband refinished it as well.
The Lamp is a reproduction from Sams.
Family Pictures in discounted frames.
Discounted Table Runner.



There you have it.
I love our old house that we call home these days.  There's a lot of repairs and decorating we hope to complete.

Though this house is a temporary dwelling place, we are thankful to be here for the time being.

From a different post about The Parlour:
http://homehavenministry.blogspot.com/2011/09/decorating-on-prairie-switcharoo.html

Remember the words of our LORD that's recorded in JOHN 14: 1-2 which says " Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."

What a place that will be.

Thank you for touring my Parlour.  No matter what style your home is decorated in or with, may it be a place of warmth and love that blesses those that are on your watch.
Deanna from Home Haven.