Nesting Instincts

Shelf vignette: guest bath

Yesterday — March 19th, was the first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere.  Here in Raleigh it’s going to reach 80 today, it’s sunny, the cherry and crabapple trees are blooming away, the azalea bushes are just beginning to blossom. Our lives might be turned upside down with most everything canceled or closed, but not Spring. Mother nature doesn’t quarantine.  We’re all spending much more time at home now, which makes it a very good time to look around for ways to make home a nice place to be. It’s a good time to tackle cleaning out that closet, painting a room, . . . or just smaller things, little touches. It’s easy to bring the sweetness of spring inside.

Front door wreath: grapevine wreath, moss, flower stems, bird nest, fabric scraps, robyn’s eggs

The front door is a good place to start. Have you hung a wreath to welcome spring? There are many places to buy one — Pottery Barn, of course, has gorgeous door decorations for all seasons, as does Frontgate. Locally, Homewood Nursery is a fun place to browse with a great selection of wreaths and other fresh and faux plants and decorations. Although  the pre-made variety can be pricey. A decorative wreath is a pretty easy thing to put together yourself: start with a grapevine wreath, some faux floral stems, and a glue gun. Experiment with the arrangement of your florals and any other decorative elements you want to include, then hot glue them into place on the grapevine. 

Moving inside . . . one of the first places we think of decorating is a table centerpiece. A plant or vase of flowers always works, but you can also group things together. A grouped arrangement can fill up space if a single item is not proportional to the size of the table; it also allows you to add a seasonal element to more everyday items. Do you have a serving platter, a flat basket or a cake stand you could us as a base? Add votives and a seasonal plant, and you have an arrangement. Do you have a decoration you’d like to use but it’s too small on it’s own to make a centerpiece? Look for other items to group with it and  arrange them on your base.

Kitchen island centerpiece: vintage cake stand, votive candles, felt bird and tulips — I purchased these from a gift store here in Raleigh (Zest) several years ago.

Dining room centerpiece: ironstone platter, china bunnies, faux orchids (Pottery Barn)

Accent tables, since they don’t require leaving the perimeter free for dining, can host a full tablescape (like a landscape, but spread across a table). This gives you the opportunity to create an entire scene, or a chance to use several items that get lost on their own. Again, the key is grouping. When arranging your items it helps to remember the “rule of 3” — you just about can’t go wrong with three elements in a group, but it’s not essential. Just make sure the items are proportional — there’s not one single piece that dwarfs all the others for example, and play around until you find an arrangement that pleases you.

Living room accent table: Easter bunny under cloche, small iron urn with moss ball, porcelain rabbit figurine, jasperware egg cup with nest

Hall table: I change the plates displayed on this table five or six times a year.

And then of course there are shelves and mantels, the quintessential candidates for vignette arranging. Think of it as creative play! You might be attracted to cute ceramic bunnies but think: what am I going to do with one bunny? Let it be a “guest” on a bookshelf for March and April. I find that personal, timely touches around the house spark a joy that is worth an extra box at the top of a closet (actually I have an entire closet just for this purpose.)Marie Kondo doesn’t have to come over.

Family room fireplace mantel, left side: transferware jug with faux florals, decoupage plate, moss ball, vintage book, vintage ceramic bunny

Family room bookshelf: bird nest, moss and wooden eggs

Decorative plates are easy to switch out. You can determine once where you want them, put your stands in place, and rotate the plates according to seasons, holidays, your mood . . . it will take two minutes at most. Vintage ceramic plates are a fun collectible. Pick a type, like transferware, or a color or theme and you’ll have something to hunt for in interesting shops and markets. Most of the plates I use are decoupage plates that I’ve made. Below is a very quick “how to” on that process. If you’re interested in a more detailed tutorial, let me know and I’ll do a post on it.

I hope you and yours stay well and have a

Happy Spring!

Kitchen mantel shelf: vintage ceramic bunny, acrylic painting on board (DIY), watering can and faux floral (from Homewood)