Day 31 ~ My Mom

For the past several years my mom has suffered from dementia.

She has trouble remembering how old my kids are.  

She can have the same conversation with me 4 times within 10 minutes and express the same surprise each time.

And yet with every visit I find new bits of decor here and there.

A Fall vignette.

A pretty magazine photo she clipped and framed while I sat in her living room.

This sweet heart-shaped piece of driftwood she found outside.

Somehow her brain has hung on tightly to her own legacy of creating beauty in her home.

And while I am devastated by what my mom can't remember, I am so thankful that she has maintained this integral part of her very being.

Thank-you mom for what you have imparted to us...I hope we will hold on to it as tightly as you have.

Thanks for joining me on my 31 Day series.  

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Day 30 ~ Leaving My Legacy Behind

Have you been thinking over your own legacy?

It seems as though we either imitate what we grew up with, or we rebel against it.

So what will happen with my own children?

Will they appreciate that I saved tracings of their hands at 5 weeks old?

Or will they resent that I required them to clean the family room before leaving it?

Will this sort of thing push them over the edge into a total rebellion to slobsville?

Or will they end up desiring it?

My guess is that between the four of them we will see a combination of many of the traditions in design that they are growing up with.

So far they love to thrift.

They love it when I decorate our home for the seasons.

They like setting up their own vignettes.

And they are all very creative.

What more can I hope for?

(Well, maybe tidy drawers...but I'll live.)

Do you see your own design legacy filtering down to your kids?

To read more posts from my 31 Day series, click here.

Day 29 ~ Plants

I grew up with plants.  

And now when I design, a space without a plant or 5 is just wrong.

Often my mom has clippings around as well.

I've had some live plant distress over the years though.

Currently I'm still hanging on to my live ferns that were on the porch all summer.  

Of course, due to the reno they now take up the dining room and cause us to eat all squished in the kitchen.  I refuse to move them because they like the dining room and I live in fear that they will die at any moment if I take them elsewhere.

But most of my plants are of the non-living variety.

As with flowers, you have to be choosy, but there are loads of fabulous options out there.

Ferns are great.

I love this guy.

I got this funny tree one Christmas but he is soooo cute.  

And is often mistaken for real.

Is there a space in your home that needs a plant?

To read more from my 31 Day series click here.

Day 28 ~ Medicine Cabinet

My parents do not have a medicine cabinet in their bathroom.  

So my mom quite brilliantly uses a little basket with an attached lid on her counter instead.

Perfect for toothbrushes and paste.

Smart right?

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Day 27 ~ Floor to Ceiling Cupboards

It's pretty rare to see cupboards now that are not floor to ceiling.  

House of Turquoise

But I just can't get used to them.  

Somehow I feel like I need to see a little somethin' decorative up top.

Blissfulblog.com

My parents do have floor to ceiling cupboards.  But I think maybe this shelf above their table in the kitchen is what makes me feel there must be more than just cupboard at the upper end of my kitchen.

What's your cupboard preference?

To read more from my 31 Day series, click here.

Day 26 ~ Counter Space

If you're a minimalist, you might wanna sit down for this one.

I know.  

Yikers.  

They're pretty full.

And while I don't pack mine up quite so much as my mom, I do like to have stuff out.  That empty, "This is actually a show home" counter look makes me crazy.

I like to think my big empty peninsula makes up for it.

Are you a counter clutterer or counter clearer?

To read more from my 31 Day series click here.

Day 25 ~ Seasonal Decor

This might be the biggest legacy my mother passed on to me.  

I love to change things up for the seasons.  I know lots of people find it too time consuming or too cumbersome to store a bunch of extra stuff, but it's one of the great joys in my life to pull out a box of pretty seasonal items and splatter them around the house.

There are endless ways to put some seasonal items into your space.

It can be as simple as adding a plate.

Or switching out Summer greens for Fall berries.

Or how about an icy Winter switch out?

My mom crocheted covers for her pillows last year.

So I did too.  

It was easy and made my space more cozy.

Ditto for adding a fur throw.

My mom's got me beat with this chair though. 

She keeps the green cover on for Spring/Summer and changes it to its original plaid for Fall/Winter.

I grew up with no living room rug in the Summer and the replacement of it for Winter.

The possibilities are endless and making a seasonal change doesn't have to be expensive or difficult.  

Look around your space.  What can you do to make it feel like it reflects the season?

To read more posts from my 31 Day series, click here.

Day 24 ~ Toilet Paper

I have mentioned before how I hate to find myself in someone's bathroom without an extra roll close by.  That is the worst!  But it never happens at my mom's house.  She has always kept spare rolls stored attractively but obviously.

It's just a metal can but 2 rolls fit in there and my mom refills it relentlessly so you're never left in an awkward spot.

Thanks mom!

Where's your extra roll??

To read more from my 31 Day series click here.

Day 23 ~ Faux Flowers

I know many of you are quite apprehensive about using fake flowers.  

And yep, they can be pretty ugly.

But growing up I realized, as I watched my mom using them here and there, that you really can create some pretty artificial arrangements.

These yellow daisies are fake...but my mom added a few real white ones.

Hydrangeas are my favourite and look so pretty.

I always use a few faux geraniums in the summer.

This bunch is from Michael's and I have had several guests mistake them for real wildflowers.

It pays to shop around and you certainly have to be choosy, but faux flowers are a great way to bring colour and life to your space when the real thing just isn't available.

Do you have a favourite faux flower?

To read more posts from my 31 Day series click here.

Day 22 ~ Trays

Oh you know I love my trays.  

A love I learned from my mom.

This tray sits on her counter permanently with an assortment of coffee mugs.

You really can use a tray anywhere.

A pretty pop of colour by my bedside table.

Bringing some organization to a coffee table.

Providing a sturdy spot to set your drink.

House of Turquoise

Where could you use a tray?

To read more posts from my 31 Day series click here.

Day 21 ~ Tupperware

 Sooo, this is the tupperware cupboard at my parent's house.

Help.

I dunno what it is, but it is always a disaster.

When I think of my own tupperware cupboard, I picture disaster too.

So I took a photo for this post but then I realized, maybe some of you might say, very kindly, it's not SO bad,

unless you're comparing it to this.

Mini Manor Blog

At any rate, I kinda hate tupperware cupboards and I think I maybe inherited that trait.

You?

To read more posts from my 31 Day series, click here.

Day 20 ~ Colour

I see so many rooms that I think are pretty.

But I could never live in them.

I grew up in this dark living room.

As soon as the sun goes down it gets all cozy and moody.

And so try as I might to embrace a light, bright shade, I just keep coming back to dark.

In choosing paint for our new living room,

it is that darkest shade on the right that I keep coming back to.

Which some people will say is too dark.

But I know I will love it.

How about you?  Do your colour choices stem from where you grew up?

To read more from my 31 Day series click here.

Day 19 ~ Pretty Bathroom

Is your bathroom pretty?  

Or just functional.

My mom has always had a pretty bathroom.

She changes it up seasonally.  

I love that.

So I switch mine around too.

Not as much as my mom,

but a little change here and there keeps it looking fresh.

To read more posts from my 31 Day series click here.