Author: carolechidester

I am never satisfied with my bookshelf arrangement. I’m constantly tweaking and adjusting, not just to add seasonal decor but also to find that perfect array that pleases my eye.

In our old house, we had a family room full of built-in shelves, but because our family room was on the lower level, I would arrange them and just leave them. Here, I see our family room built-ins every day. They are a focal point for the whole back of the house. And so I tweak. Constantly.

The window next to the shelf gets north light, so only low-light plants are appropriate. Right now, I have a little pothos and an umbrella tree in this spot. I am always looking to add plants, but most of my plants are too big for these shelves.

This is my latest arrangement. I’ve stolen items from around the house. I like it—a lot—but I will likely keep tweaking.

Do you constantly rearrange your shelves?

#farmhouse

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So it’s still mid-August, right? And some parts of the country are experiencing record heat waves. But here, darkness is falling a little earlier, and the nights are getting a little cooler, and my Instagram feed is starting to fill up with early fall decor.

So when my husband decided to burn some branches from a willow tree that toppled earlier this summer, I rushed outside with a cozy blanket, pillow and lantern to set up a vignette before he set fire to the next pile of sticks.

Crazy? Yes, probably. But I’m also burning a fall candle in my home office this week. And it smells glorious. 🔥🍁🕯

#farmhouse

#farmhousedecor

#farmhousestyle

#countryliving

#bhghome

#hgtv

#decorinspo

#traditionalhome

#traditionaldesign

#interiordesign

#interiordetails

#interiorinspiration

#timelessinteriors

#modernmix

#collectedhome

#classicdecor

#classicdesign

#blueandwhite

#blueandwhitehome

#chinoiseriechicstyle

#blueandwhiteforever

#blueandwhitedecor

#edwardianhomedecor

#vintagestyle

#vintage

#myvintagetoucheshome

#charminghomes

#beautifuldecorstyles

#stylemepretty

#lovelydecorhomes

#tablescapes

#tabledecor

#tablesetting

#farmhouseinspo

#farmhouseismystyle

#fixerupper

#livingroomdecor

#livingroomideas

Some mornings call for something more than a cup of yogurt and a dash out the door. We’ve slowed down a lot this year, and I suspect you have too.

A table setting for breakfast? For one? Why not?

My feed is full of beautiful creamy white decor, and I love it. But you won’t find a room in my house without blue. For me it’s a grounding color. Oceans, skies, babies’ eyes. And lots of blue and white china! 💙🤍💙

Our property has a huge fenced garden that the previous owners used to grow vegetables — along with grapevines along the fence. I love fresh vegetables, but we don’t need that much space for what we want to grow — blueberries, blackberries, zucchini, cucumbers, and lots of lovely heirloom tomatoes. That leaves a little under half of the garden space for my cutting garden.

This year, I planted seeds for many of my favorite flowers and herbs, but the most reliable of all are the zinnias.

Zinnias are like nature’s paintbox. So many shades of orange, pink, red and yellow. And they bloom for weeks from mid-summer til fall.

Every time I visit the garden, the zinnias are the ones covered in pollinators like this gorgeous monarch butterfly. 🦋

And they make the most gorgeous bouquets around the house. A cheerful reminder that simple is often best! 🌺

Container gardening is nothing new to us, but the patio and multi-level deck at our new house give us more room to play with various combinations of annuals. Before we masked up and ventured out to the local nurseries around Memorial Day, we set a color scheme for the area of purple, blue and white. We had a lot of fun coming up with various plants to fit the scheme.

We love geraniums as an anchor plant in the largest pots, and these white geraniums were so healthy and full.

Calibrochoa and wave petunias are wonderful for texture and a trailing habit. And the colors are so calming!

We’ve used sweet potato vines to add more trailing interest to containers in the past, but this purple version is just stunning against the pavers, don’t you think?

What could be a more inviting sight than a well designed cheese board? It’s my favorite way to welcome guests regardless of the season.

This one includes all the elements — fruit, hard cheese, spreadable cheese, jam, raw veggies, pate and meats. The only thing I don’t typically add is nuts, because I’m allergic.

We threw this one together for a little socially distant patio party we had with some friends.

My husband and I have been known to split a cheese board like this and call it dinner. Anyone else ever do that?

As the days grow longer and we get reacquainted with the outdoors, we love to plant some cold- hardy pansies to compliment our spring bulbs.

I love their cheerful little faces so much. And they smell wonderful and springy!

This year, we went a little wild and filled our huge patio planter with rows and rows of pansies. My husband, bless his heart, planted something like 500 tiny plants in one day. I did all the containers while he was working on it.

My husband and I visited the garden center just before the world closed down in mid-March. We arrived first thing in the morning and were the only ones there.

It makes sitting outside on those first sunny, warm days feel so much cozier with some colorful flowers to greet us.

We also added a few some ranunculus for height. Their colors were so bright! This is the first time I’ve planted them.

If I have to quarantine, let it be outside with flowers and a view!

Our first Christmas in the house! I always restyle my house for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. For this year, I knew I’d be entertaining a large crowd a week after Thanksgiving for a family celebration, so I had to plan ahead.

I was excited to try some new ideas, like this apothecary jar filled with a little snowy scene. 🌲

We found a Christmas tree lot just a half mile from our house, and brought home the most gorgeous Douglas fir we’ve ever had.

I tried to incorporate some of my houseplants into the decor. Here’s an IKEA greenhouse that I painted and filled with plants, a bottlebrush tree and lights.

We had everyone home, so the nest was full this Christmas. The dogs were thrilled.

We even started a new tradition this year, a Christmas Eve family firepit! Happy holidays, everyone!

I love fall. While my favorite season is still probably spring, fall is a close second. And at our house, we always welcome the new season by swapping out our summer containers for some colorful, fragrant mums.

This year, because we didn’t plant a lot of summer containers due to the move, we were really anxious to get our mums in.

Our patio planter is huge. I’m talking 35 feet long. So I knew a solid wall of mums, no matter how beautiful, would get boring on that scale.

The combination of mums, ornamental cabbage and cockscomb gave us a variety of fall colors and varying heights.

And how fun are those ornamental peppers in the blue pots? Those pots have been my pride and joy for the past 20 years — heavy Italian blue glazed pottery that is not allowed to stay outside over the winter. My husband will not be sorry when those finally fall apart.

I think our golden retriever Drake likes them, though. 🐕🧡