REFRESHING & EDITING LAYERS IN THE HOME

Layers, collections, vignettes... it's the lingo today for our "stuff". And just like with drinking, we need to know when to say when. Too much stuff, and it reads as clutter. Not enough stuff and a house can look sterile.  Layers, collections, and vignettes is about how we express ourselves - but it does need to be balanced. From my own personal experiences, I've gone from a vignette on every surface to minimal looks of only grouping repeating items in threes, to now a mix of them both.

A pair of lamps from the buffet have relocated upstairs to the bedroom. The thrifted glass globe lamp has been relocated from the dining space into the living room.

The leaves will be removed next Friday and replaced with

snowflakes or simple glass balls.

To help me with the editing of our home, I've learned over time to showcase some collections only once a year. For example, I try not to use my silver pieces during the year and wait until the holidays. I'm in this process now. As I was trying out some various tablescapes for Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season, I started to put away (edit) some of the items I used for September and October Fall decor. I took a step back and started planning what I could reuse, repaint or repurpose, but I'm not forcing all things to stay as they are (that's the know when to say when part of editing). It's a great way to refresh the look of your home, especially for the holidays, and even make your items more special because they aren't always out.

Extra orange candles and orange pumpkins have been stored away.

Artwork has been updated and simplified by utilizing a $1 calender to update frames with wintry scenes. Dark window panels will be replaced with cream panels and cream sheers will close over.

The bench will probably makes its way upstairs

to the foot of the bed or window...

While editing and scaling back some of the fall decor in our home this week, it also allowed me to give the house a good cleaning before setting Christmas. And I'm not just talking about decor - I mean recycling the magazine & newspaper piles in the office, letting go of papers not adding any value to my life, clearing the pantry and cupboards of items that have expired or spices that lost their umph, and even condensing toiletries - like those bits of left over shampoo and conditioner into two bottles - and purge the rest. Some items, like clothing have been donated, and I'm even looking at selling some items on Craigslist or eBay.

Numbers came down and replaced with simple gold mirror.

Photos have been removed off the TV unit and books will be covered, probably in white.

Branches & urns removed from dining space will be removed from here next Friday because I'll be adding the tree in this space.

What are some ways you edit your decor in your home for the holidays? Do you leave everything as is and add greenery, wreaths, the tree, poinsettias and such? Or do you put some things away until January after you tear down Christmas? Do you have collections you only use at the holidays? What are some ways you display your collections?

The black will chair will relocate upstairs to an extra room.

Corks will be replaced from containers with white & silver balls and pinecones.

In the meantime, the TV is acting as a fireplace or giant Thanksgiving card with OnDemand screen savers (it's nicer to look at than the big black box).

This is the last weekend before the "craziness" of the holidays begins. Now would be a great time to purge & donate those unused things, or maybe even have a garage sale to make a few bucks to put towards cards, baking supplies and gifts.

Christmas brought down from the attic and staged in the garage.

Stairway refresh: cleared, cleaned, and even repainting mouldings.

Ready for some wintry images and a snowflake or two.

Today, the windows are open to air out the house. Vents & ceiling fans are getting cleaned, and may need to get outside and refresh the gardens and clean the windows. Over the weekend, I hope to also edit & revamp the blog a bit. I'm trying to remove items from the sidebar, store them up top in tabs, and add a tab for services...

Have a lovely project filled weekend

and see you back on the blog on Monday!