A blue and white arrangement for spring sits in a basket on the French Country antique breakfast table. After winter storms in February, the blue skies and bright green emerging leaves on the trees outside the windows are welcome sights. And, another welcome sight is the bright sunshine streaming through the sunspace windows onto the beautiful spring basket arrangement inside.  

? Is it spring without sky blue lobelia flowers? Not at my house. 

Blue lobelia bedding plants are part of every spring for me and after starring in arrangements inside and on my potting bench outside, they are planted in containers on the porch to enjoy all summer. 

This spring, the cheerful blue flowers star in a spring basket that includes more small plants, white ceramic bunnies, and blue bird's eggs. 

French Country Vintage Garden Bench

Long before I ever went to France and before I knew what French Country design was, I shopped for vintage furniture with character, furniture made to last, furniture with style. 

All within the budget of a young married couple starting out. 

Which meant shopping at garage sales, flea markets, model home sales, and antique sales. Which is where I came to buy what is now my French Country vintage garden bench. 

The red iron bench did not start out as a bench; it started out as an iron bed. Over thirty-five years ago someone reworked the bed frame, repurposed the bed into a bench, and gave it a new life. 

Architectural Salvage | French Country Style

To add instant character with some French country style to a modern-built house, incorporate architectural salvage pieces in your decor. Your house may not have wood beams, plaster walls, or limestone floors, but vintage architectural fragments can be used to give your house French country charm. 

A hand-carved wood fragment can be turned into a lamp base, a candle holder, or used as an accent by itself. 

Half Bath From American to French

From American Country to French Country 

Over a decade ago a long journey of changing the American Country look of our house to a French Country look began with the kitchen and is still a work in progress. 

This spring, changes for a new French Country look are coming for the guest half bath. To help me decide what to change to get the look I want, I took several before photos of the bathroom. Here is how the guest half bath looks now with an American Country look. 

When we built our house, I drew the house plans on graph paper. We toured a sawmill company in western Massachusetts, and they used my hand-drawn plans to create builder's blueprints and to cut the posts and beams for the framework of the house. 

Antique Fair Bleu

"Too far and snaky" 

was a phrase used by my grandmother 

for not going to someplace a long way away. 

Or, even for places close by

that she did not travel to for some reason. 

The conversation could have gone like... 

"Are you going to ________ ?" fill in blank 

Grandmother, "No, too far and snaky."

Lucketts Spring Market 2015 was too far and snaky 

from Texas to Virginia for me to attend. 

Hydrangeas Filled Copper Pot

My mother grows hydrangeas by the bushels, 

from branches she bent over and buried in dirt,
then transplanted. 

Blue ones, pink ones, magenta ones, white ones, green ones, 

all down the north side of the attached garage, 

around the corner and along the east side of the house, 

and all across the back of the detached garage. 

Hydrangeas

everywhere. 

My favorite... you guessed it... blue...

This may be my favorite flower...seriously.

I did not get the hydrangea-growing gene. 

I've killed too many plants to count.
Sigh...