Panoply 2022: It's a Wrap!

It's time to collage all my blog posts for 2022 as a final step before closing the book, figuratively and literally, on 2022. This blog is primarily my personal journal, and my final step each year is to have all my yearly posts bound in a yearbook style format using Blog2Print (no affiliation, I just love the product and service). 

I only blogged 24 posts (counting this one) in 2022, the same as 2021. Perhaps that's my new norm. It is my hope, though, that there is entertainment and inspiration within these posts for you, my readers. My blog is non-revenue producing by choice.

Holiday Home Style 2017

Welcome, everyone, to my holiday home style 2017! If you're new to my blog, my mentioning just a few things will clue you in on my decor style. I am traditional in my decor, with a fusion of vintage and antique items in the mix. I love Christmas - it is my favorite holiday. Each year, I break out all my reds, greens, plaids and checks like there's no tomorrow. With that, let me share some of my new holiday home styling I've done for Christmas 2017.

We updated our kitchen early in 2017, and one of the smartest styling decisions I made was to reconfigure my breakfast area's bar / wine rack to open shelves. This has allowed me much more flexibility in decorating and in how the space is actually used. Pictured below, you can see my holiday home style for 2017 in that area.

I've made this bar area - which is immediately adjacent to the kitchen - a self-service, hot beverage bar. MacKenzie-Childs chargers and mugs are as stylish as they are functional, and serve as the backdrop. Most of my nutcrackers have found a new home here, and tartan plaids can be found throughout, on everything from the riser box (top shelf, holding tree candle), to the mugs and dishes (second shelf), down to the tray and napkins on the counter.

Coffee, tea and hot chocolate are garnered in a handmade covered rope bowl from a local artist, perched on a Courtly Check pedestal, while spoons are held in a small pot.

The little night light in the back corner is a vintage find - an angel trumpeting. She is perched on a silver compote topped with a small Courtly Check plate.

Just behind this bar, with open flow entry from both the kitchen and breakfast area, is the sunroom. It is my favorite space in the house for relaxing and casual entertaining. The sunroom is a spacious 16' x 20', and for Christmas, I usually style this space with a woodland, rustic approach. With windows on three walls, and a ceiling which is all windows (with built-in blinds), the light is incredible in here. Although climate controlled with a separate heating/cooling unit, we use mostly indoor/outdoor furniture and other vintage pieces to minimize sun damage.

The winter area rug grounds my favorite seating area which includes the chaise lounge. I've very liberally mixed various plaids and patterns in this area for the holidays. The stepback hutch pictured below is one of the carefree vintage pieces I use in this space. It is situated on the wall directly behind the beverage bar just shared. You can also see the kitchen through one of two sliding glass door entries, and a reflection of the chaise in that glass. A loveseat glider with plaid throw sits in front of that door.

Here's a closer view at how I've styled the hutch in the sunroom for Christmas 2017.

The top shelf is styled with collected spools of yarn and cotton thread - perfect as trees - and topped with red bells. The tan Santa mugs are estate sale finds. The plates on the hutch sport sleighs filled with holly, birds and gifts (Pier 1, last year).

The second shelf has a few woodland creatures: my woodland elf Santa, a deer topped Ball jar, ready for candy or marshmallows, and Mr. Fox, one of my most recent finds. The 'tree' in front of Mr. Fox is a stack of vintage, graduated Scotch Brand tape tins! It, too, is topped with a red bell. Another vintage Santa mug and thermos finish off that shelf. The matching lunchbox to the thermos is sitting on the hutch counter with another (taller) thermos. I keep dishes conveniently at the ready on the hutch, accessible near the kitchen space, which I typically use for buffet food service with company.

The sitting area pictured below is just across from the chaise area and french doors to the outside. The area rug with loaded truck motif is just inside the french door opening. My trusty olive bucket, filled with my fallen birch logs, pine cones, red ball ornaments and lights is just beyond the opening.

The outdoor furniture in the sunroom is almost thirty years old and has held up to high heat and heavy use. The chairs swivel and rock slightly, so they're conducive to engaging with company in various directions of the long space. The baker's rack holds some of my garden books and supplies, and there are a few plants in this back area. The corner table is set with whimsical holiday decor, new this year.

Another plaid blanket from my vintage stash was first draped over the table, and the new-for-2017 decorating followed. I started with my red truck (first used here).

The deer couple are driving the truck, with the freshly 'cut' tree (preserved boxwood), and have already strung the lights. ;)

I then proceeded to create a snowman. With three preserved boxwood balls I've had for years, and a dowel rod from the garage, I simply skewered the boxwoods to make the snowman. I found sticks and dried magnolia seed pods to trim as arms, eyes, nose and buttons. The top hat was a tree topper. I placed the snowman inside a gift box atop a stool covered with polyfill, the end result giving the appearance of snow on a hilltop.

My inspiration for the snowman came one evening while perusing my MacKenzie-Childs holiday catalog. I had everything on hand needed for this, so the savings was huge when you compare the two. Once Christmas is over, I can simply deconstruct and use the boxwood balls otherwise.

MacKenzie-Childs Snowman Topiary Inspiration

A view of the sunroom from the breakfast area (below).

Playing around with new holiday vignettes each year is always fun, and mixing with my existing decor is always my goal. I have begun a new holiday tablescape, and it will appear in a post next week, and I hope you'll return. :)

Once I play around with new ideas, the rest of my holiday decorating flows in traditional, tried-and-true fashion. For example, my outdoor decor was set on Black Friday, with a perfectly mild weather, sunny day. The Japanese maple has yet to drop its leaves; meanwhile it frames the poinsettia flag in the garden.

Capturing the photo below just as I finished the outdoor decor, I was delighted to find the crescent moon centered between my dormer windows. Simple pleasures!

If you'd like to see how my traditional holiday decor runs through the rest of my home and garden, you can click on my 2016 tour here. It's also still featured on my sidebar.

Thank you for visiting today, and I hope you'll come back again! If you're a new reader and like my content, you may subscribe to my blog on my sidebar by providing your email. That way, new posts will conveniently arrive in your inbox when published. I am a non-revenue generating blog, and I do not sell or provide your email to anyone.

This week, I am participating in a holiday home tour, hosted and organized by Chloe Crabtree of the blog, Celebrate and Decorate (thank you, Chloe!). See the complete list of bloggers participating below, each and all sure to inspire you. I've provided links to their blogs, and I will be updating the list as the week continues, so you can come back here and find the direct links to each one's holiday home tour.

Monday

Everyday Living | My Kentucky Living | Panoply (you are here!)

Tuesday

Savvy Apron | Hey Fitzy | Celebrate & Decorate 

Wednesday
Belle Blue Interiors | Red Cottage Chronicles | Dining Delight | Bluesky at Home

Thursday

The Painted Apron | Corner of Plaid and Paisley | Living With Thanksgiving 

Friday

From My Carolina Home | Supper Table Talk | Me and My Captain | Our Crafty Mom 

Do you completely change your holiday decor from year to year, or are you a traditionalist, keeping and re-using most or all of your holiday decor? Do you purge - selectively or entirely - your holiday decor each year? I'm curious. Leave me a comment if you care to share your thoughts.

(A big thanks to Kathryn at The Dedicated House Sunday Showcase from Make It Pretty and Richella at Grace at Home No. 277 for featuring this post!)

Happy Holidays!
Rita C. at Panoply

Sharing: One More Time, Amaze Me, DIDI,  BNOTP, Show & Share, Inspire Me, Make it Pretty, The Scoop, Dagmar's Home, Celebrate Your Story, Totally Terrific Tues,  SYS, SYC, Delightsome Life H&G, Grace at Home, Vintage Charm, Foodie Friday & Everything Else and I'm also sharing at Common Ground and Follow the Yellow Brick Home:

Traditional Holiday Home, Garden - 2014

Here at Panoply, my Christmas style is mostly traditional, with some vintage fusion added to the mix. I am delighted to be joining Brooke Kroeger of Creative Country Mom with her lineup of bloggers for the Holiday 2014 Home Tour & Link Party. The tour series is called, "Christmas in the Country" (a play on her blog title), but you'll be treated to a gamut of styles. Today, I'm sharing some of my traditional Christmas style in my home and garden.

In a series spanning two weeks and more than forty homes, mine is one of four being featured on this first day. If you're visiting from one of the other featured bloggers today (Brooke's, Carolyn's, or Maggie's), welcome!  Come on, let's go inside!

Just inside the front door, I'll take your coat and hang it just beyond the foyer and living room you see below.

We'll pass the dining room as we walk back toward our home's great room space.

Situated just beyond the dining room is our great room area of kitchen, breakfast nook and family room. The family room/TV viewing area is where our Christmas tree is situated, openly visible from many angles in our floor plan. The photo below captures half of the family room, which is a long, rectangular space. One chair is removed to make way for the tree during the holidays, near the fireplace.

The other half of the space is where the TV is located, along with swivel seating for flexibility in TV viewing and/or conversation.

Adjacent to our great room space is our sunroom, filled with lots of natural light. This area can easily seat twelve to fifteen people and, together with the great room, accommodates large crowds easily.

Most of the furniture in the sunroom is indoor/outdoor patio style, but the chaise lounge was scored several years ago at auction and quickly turned this room into my favorite for relaxing, reading and listening to music. This area rug is a very recent addition, and you can read about it here. For the rest of the holiday decor pattern play, I'm mostly using textiles I already had, pulling reds, greens, browns and blacks together for an outdoor, woodsy theme, consistent with prior years.

Just beyond the chaise seating area, there is another part of the sunroom, which easily accommodates more guests.

As you can see, there's a table for four, and three additional chairs. To the left (not pictured) is a matching loveseat glider. I keep a set of snack trays and small, folding teak side tables at the ready, as well as a couple Parsons chairs (one of which is beside the chaise, pictured above).

Pillows, throws, and candles give the room a a feeling of warmth and a soft glow, as do a few strings of white lights on the wreath, the snowman caroler flag, the greenery swag on the baker's rack in the far corner (seen in pictures above), and the olive bucket beside the French doors (seen in photo below).

If we step outside the French doors, we'll be in our courtyard, with the landscape garden beyond. Most of the garden is sleeping for the winter, but the pansies will perk up intermittently throughout the winter when the temps rise and the sun shines, Other plants in the garden will provide fresh cuttings for the season, including magnolia, nandina, red twig dogwood and holly trees.

The garden flag and statuary are also styled for the holidays, as you can see below. The little bookworm dons a hat and scarf in winter months, and two of the four seasons are sporting candy-striped socks as stocking hats.

I hope you'll come back as I ready my home and share more of my Christmas decor this season. I'm still busy decking the halls and making my lists, so there will be plenty more to come.  In the meantime, you're more than welcome to enjoy a look back at my Christmas Home & Garden Tour 2013 - it's still one of my most popular blog posts here at Panoply.

If you've enjoyed this partial tour, then I encourage you to search on any key topic (see "Search This Blog" above my profile picture) for additional reads, and leave a comment with any questions or opinions you want to share. My subjects range from my vintage adventures with my two sisters (together, we call ourselves Panoply), to home and garden topics, and how they all blend together in this panoply of life. I'd love for you to subscribe to my posts, or join my circle of friends on Google+ (both options are on my sidebar at right).

I hope you enjoy the rest of the stops on this two-week tour hosted by Brooke at Creative Country Mom. There promises to be plenty of pin-inspiring material, and there's also a holiday-themed link party where you can join in the fun by adding your own inspiring posts.

Happy Holidays! 

Rita C. at Panoply

Sharing:

Dimples&Tangles Best of Nest
Rustic & Refined's Table It!

BNOTP Met Monday

Coastal Charm's Show and Share
The Scoop

Savvy Southern's WOW
Delightsome Life Home & Garden

Ivy & Elephants What's It
Treasure Hunt Thursday

French Country's FNF

Summer Vibes in Our Collected Home

Happy summer solstice day for all you in the Northern Hemisphere! Right now I've got summer vibes throughout our home. Today I'm inviting you inside my collected home for a little tour of updates I've made since the first of the year. It's kind of a vintage armchair shopping (hence, collected) / home tour thing, since it's our first summer in this new home. Grab a beverage, and come virtually inside!

Front entry summer 2022

First Winter in Our New Home: Bare Necessities

Hello, and welcome to Panoply! Today I'm inviting you for a partial tour of our new home. With all the Christmas decor put away, it feels like there's a lot of white space (literally, there is!) in our home. As we transition to what are normally viewed as the cozy winter months at home, you may get the impression I'm living with bare necessities. I beg to differ, so please allow me to explain.

Winter 2022 Reading Nook, Spare Room

Inspiration from Subtle, Seasonal Signs

While the summer days are lingering, I can't help but be aware of my surroundings and be inspired by observing the subtle, seasonal signs of changes occurring. 

During August, one sign of the impending seasonal shift is the early morning fog we see on our walks. Have you ever heard the farmer's almanac folklore, "for every fog in August there will be a snowfall"? Well, we've seen several already.

Early morning August fog lifting from the Kanawha River, along the hillside behind the WV state capitol building.

Finding first fallen acorns on early morning walks is yet another subtle seasonal sign of change. 

The hints of fall have inspired me to make a few subtle changes in my home as the seasons are changing. Today, I'm collaborating with several other bloggers who are also transitioning from summer to fall in their homes, as part of a tour Amber Ferguson from Follow the Yellow Brick Home has graciously organized. If you're coming from A Stroll Thru Life, I'm sure you've recognized Marty's style is smart and chic in a traditional way, and always on a thrifty budget.

If you're new to my blog, welcome! If you're a returning reader, welcome back! All of the seasonal changes I've made so far in my home are just a matter of selecting things from my personal and small antiquing business inventory. My style is traditional with a vintage flair. For example, a gathering of fall fruits in a Shaker knife box demonstrates simplicity in seasonal display in the sunroom. The knife box, a purchase from a collector friend, is resting on placemats purchased new last year. The Golden Delicious variety apple originated in my home state of West Virginia, in case you didn't know!

Textile changes via throws and pillows, with feathers and other items in the sunroom, are all hints toward the late summer changes ushering in early fall.

A study in textures and contrasts against the exposed brick wall of the sunroom suggests an Indian summer.

A vintage find from earlier this year - a metal and wood pitcher - rests on a side table, now in service as a vase.

The sunroom (pictured below), in transition from late summer to early fall, is where I've made the majority of transitional changes. This is my year-round, go-to casual space for reading, relaxing and accessing my garden through French doors on the right side of this space.

My plates of party birds with friends are now perched in the sunroom hutch (out of view in previous photos), alongside some Parchment Check, my everyday ironstone, a couple vintage wine casks and other tabletop items. You can see how the birds and other critters on these plates partied like flock stars in this tablescape.

Together, they are a perfect transitional addition for a subtle hint of seasonal change, and replace the cool blues the hutch was styled with earlier in the year, as seen here.

I had more fun with dishes on the wall opposite the sunroom dish hutch, where my wine rack was converted to shelves in our kitchen update last year. I used vintage plates and more Parchment Check for an understated, neutral tone here. The plates can be seen in a fall tablescape from 2016, here.

For the dining room, a textile I admired and later received as a gift from a blog friend has now been put into service as a tablecloth (thank you, Patti!). The fruit and floral garland down the table's center is a simple arrangement of magnolia and dried hydrangeas from my garden, along with twigs, cotton bolls, and apples.

More dried hydrangeas are placed in an antique, quadruple silverplate bowl on the bar cart. A small herd of sheep gathers in the tole tray, while a single stray black sheep peeks out from the ironstone cafe au lait bowls beside the group. The bar cart and everything on it are either auction, estate or vintage shop purchases.

Even in my laundry room, I play up the seasons by rotating a collection of colorful crocheted potholders. I keep my potholder collection in an ironstone wash basin on my dryer as a simple display. For an early fall look, I pulled the yellows and golds to the surface, tucking the summer's blues away in the bottom of the basin.

All of these small changes are subtle, seasonal signs of the season to come, nothing glaringly shouting fall. I love all the seasons, and while choosing a favorite is hard, fall is second only to spring as my favorite. I love the change in the colors, mood and shadowplay that fall brings. I'll add pumpkins, gourds and other harvest items as the season progresses, but continue enjoying summer until it plays out with what I've shared here today.

Next on the tour is Carol's home at the blog Art and Sand. Carol lives in sunny California. Her style is the epitome of a relaxed, coastal vibe, energized with gorgeous color. You'll want to be sure and take some time to visit all the other blog links on this tour, too, conveniently located below!

If you're new to Panoply, I'd love to have you engage in conversation with me. You may browse my topics at the main menu at the top of the page (if on a handheld, just scroll to the bottom of your page and click on web version to access). You'll also see my subject labels and a search button on my sidebar for a particular topic of interest. Feel free to leave your comments, letting me know you stopped by. Thank you for your visit today!

Rita C. at Panoply

Sharing:  Pieced Pastimes, Best of the Weekend, Amaze Me, DIDI, BNOTP, Inspire Me, Make it Pretty, The Scoop, Dagmar's Home, Celebrate Your Story, SYC, Delightsome Life H&G, Grace at Home, Vintage Charm, 

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