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.