Making sense

After re-reading my first post I realized blogging isn't as easy as it seems. I promise to try to make some sense in my raves going forward. I truly believe there are enough blogs out here that mimic each other and I do not want to become another in that crowd. I like European interiors, but I also admire beautiful things created from other counties. I wish I could afford to go antiquing and shopping around the world to gather unusual (but exquisite) furnishings and items that would find its way into peoples homes (for a reasonable price of course) to uplift their interior environment. This world becomes larger when I think of each country having something remarkable for furnishing a home.

My mother bought this heavy 36 inch brass tray in Turkey while we lived there during the late 1960s. She used it for her living room coffee table for many years, then decided to have a hook welded on the back of it so that it could be hung on a wall. She also had it polished and sealed with a coating that permanently ended my weekly brass cleaning duties. Thank goodness! When she died in 1997, I inherited it and to this day I still admire it and appreciate the memories. 

Decorating with attractive objects from a country other than ones own 

is a fabulous way to broaden the horizon.

My first hello...

Bonjour!

This blog will be a place to share my adventure of creating 
our beautiful home and reach out to others who love to share decor ideas.

My loving MFF (man friend forever) and I are currently purchasing a townhouse in Austin, 
that was built in the 1970s. It actually was a blessing to find the place. 
The previous owner gave it plenty of TLC and remodeled it with French style in mind. Texas French Country is what she ended with and I will forever be grateful.

You need to know that I am a serious Francophile

and have been all of my life. It is in my blood…literally. I am Creole. 
But I do have interest in other interior styles and cultures from around the world,
especially if they are of the "authentic country living folk" of the said country.

Did you get that? 

As a child I had the pleasure of living in Turkey
and being there influenced my mother's sense of style,
because she brought quite a bit of Turkish decor back to the USA,

when we returned home to Texas in the early 1970s.

My parents were both born in southern Louisiana and their families
both migrated to Houston in the 1940s.
My paternal and maternal grandparents spoke French.
English was their second language.
My mother spoke French as the rest of her family,
but did not think it was necessary to pass the tradition on to her children.
It was thought of as being passé in her day to speak French,
when all of her Texas peers in college spoke only English.

Oh how I wish she would have kept the tradition.
I am a lover of France, french food, french drink, movies, decor, and attitude.
I may not speak the language fluently, 
(took classes in the past and am able to translate some things)
 but the French blood in my veins lives strong.

Pour l'amour d'une vie bonne!
(for the love of a good life)

Okay, enough of that, now on to my first post...

~~~ 

What do you do when you have 

a French Country with a little  

Chic Casual and Elegant sense of style,

but are attached to someone who prefers Modern?

Well…You run right pass the ultra Modern and anything else uncomfortable then...

You go to Belgium (for its design ideas) and take a few notes.

I plan to incorporate my love for antiques mixed with contemporary interiors
and my desire to create a serene and sensual place to call home,
to be shared in this blogging adventure.

Oh, I forgot to mention like many others...I am on a serious budget!
 I will be refinishing many of our furniture pieces and decor items that I find for our new home myself.
This photo shows a section of the tops on the french country nesting tables I recently refinished.

I'll be back soon!