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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Deer Christmas Table

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Deer, deer, deer... 
Everywhere I look this year I see deer in Christmas decor. 


Is this deer smiling at us? 



Carrying a load of fresh cedar, juniper, fraser fir, horse apples, 
and antlers, he is dressed as the Christmas table centerpiece. 
Simple greenery gathered from the yard and from the trimmings of a 
Christmas tree made a quick, easy, and no-expense arrangement. 




He has a herd of friends with him. 
Deer, deer, and more deer... 



Two cotton kitchen towels placed end to end create a center table runner that 
matches the paper napkins draped over each plate. 
Could there be more regal deer than these? 



The white bowl at each place holds a small gift decorated with 
a wooden deer clip with glittered antlers and hooves, but could 
hold more traditional fare such as soup or salad. 
Do you see that cute little deer tail at one end of the bowl? 




White deer ornaments do double duty as place card holders and as table favors for guests. 
A close up of the wooden reindeer clip reveals its glittered antlers and hooves. 

Two options for napkin rings, both of which are ribbons. 
First is the individual fabric ivory ribbon deer snipped 
from a spool of embroidered linked deer ribbon. 
A metallic ribbon tied around a rolled napkin becomes elaborate reins 
that also hold the deer in place on the napkin.
Just slide the deer's head under the tied gold ribbon 
and twirl the ends of the ribbon to flow in the wind. 
The second option is a short length of deer-shaped brown ribbon 
tied around a rolled napkin. 
Both are so pretty and unusual, I couldn't choose which to use. 
So, I used both! 

Tree-shaped salad plates have reclining deer.   
Balsam Fir candles come in decorated keepsake boxes that also match  
the kitchen towel table runner and paper napkins at each place. 




Oh, so many beautiful deer. 



Just a couple of green deer amidst all the white ones add a little touch of color 
to tie the fresh greenery and the green in the table linens together. 



The year of the 
Deer Christmas Table 


makes a striking table setting close up, 
from the hallway, 
and 



from the landing on the stairs across the hallway from the dining area. 
Do you see the silver reindeer flying from ribbons above the hallway? 
Those are from Pottery Barn many years ago... 
ahead of the trend.

Am I the only one who sees deer everywhere this year? 

Merry Christmas from my home to yours. 
~~~~❦~~~~
Please join me at these inspiring sites...
SUNDAY
Share It One More Time @ One More Time Events

MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

TUESDAY
Anything Blue Friday @ The Dedicated House
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Christmas Front Porch

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 


Everywhere we go... 
...~**~...
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be 
On your own front door. 



Or in your own front yard...  

One holly tree is near the front porch,  
and  


One is at the corner of the house and driveway. 



Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas with  
French touches in my front entry. 



With Christmas just a little more than a week away, 
it is none too soon for the fresh boxwood wreath 
from Trader Joe's ($10) on the front door.  



 Fresh greenery trimmed from the yard and 
from the bottom of the indoor Christmas tree 
dress the front porch ... 



Bois d'Arc tree fruit commonly known as horse apples in Texas 
add bright color and texture to Fraser fir branches. 
Bois d'Arc trees, native to Texas, drop the inedible fruit 
in November and provide excellent outside greenery at Christmas. 
 There are many Bois d'Arc trees in our area, 
and the fruit adds a French touch to my front porch decorations. 



Bois d'Arc means wood of the bow, and is from Louisiana French. 
You may know it as bodark, the Anglicized version of Bois d'Arc. 



The lighted iron topiary topped with a fleur-de-lis was made by my 
brother-in-law several years ago. 



Just this fall I found the 
large fleur-de-lis garden stake on half-price sale at Hobby Lobby. 



It is so easy to dress up the low round planter for Christmas 
by adding fresh cut greens, mostly from the yard, 
to the base of the fleur-de-lis topiary. 



The little green metal tree adds another touch of Christmas 
to the lighted iron topiary. 



The live conical evergreen topiary lives outside in a new urn 
found at a super winter sale at a Houston nursery. 
Keeping my fingers crossed that the evergreen lives through the winter... 



I leave the globe lights up year round because 
they add so much light to the porch at night. 
Since I live in the country with few streetlights, 
the extra light is very welcome.   



All the fresh greenery fits right in with my simple natural greenery 
theme for this Christmas and adds Christmas to the porch. 

The green moss on the brick steps and porch add to the look, 
but deceivingly make it look like we have lots of rain. 
You might say, "All I want for Christmas is rain," 
since our rainfall amount is so low this year. 
It was drizzling light rain as I took these photos, 
and a few raindrops are visible as white dots 
since the shutter speed was slow in the low light. 



Blue Doors in France were the inspiration for my front door. 

*****

Are you finished decorating or do you still have more to do? 
I still have more rooms to show, my tree to share, 
my Christmas dining table to share, and 
a couple of more Christmas Beautiful Ideas to share. 
Whew! 
Christmas is just around the corner. 

Lots to pack into a little more than a week... 
keep checking back for the latest Christmas inspiration. 

~~~~❦~~~~

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White Christmas Fleurs

Monday, December 15, 2014

Welcome to my living room decorated for Christmas with 
White Christmas Fleurs. 



After writing about my Christmas mantel decorated in a French style 
and referring to fresh flowers in a Parisian apartment, 
I wanted to add some seasonal white flowers to the living room. 
Fortunately for me, my sister is a florist and had brought home 
a whole bucket of fresh white flowers which were the inspiration 
for adding them to the coffee table. 



My fascination with white decor continues, and 
white amaryllis, freesia, and hellebores provide just 
the right white and green natural look that 
complements the white stone fireplace and 
whitewashed pine mantel. 



Amaryllis is one of the flowers that is a star at Christmas. 
These are just beginning to open and will be beautiful for several days. 



Only recently have I learned to appreciate the beauty of hellebores, 
a shade-loving perennial that blooms in the winter in the South. 
Yes, winter. 
It is often called Christmas Rose, but is not related to the rose. 



Fresh fleurs (flowers) are perfect additions for my au naturel 
Christmas decorations this year. 
The flowers replaced a concrete urn with an evergreen wreath, 
just visible to the right of the coffee table.  



The urn with wreath now sits on the hearth. 



The coffee table is really a 30-year-old blanket box, 
one of the first white painted pieces of furniture in my house. 

Another touch of Christmas is the oval metal bucket 
painted with a bird scene and the word JOY. 
The bucket holds paper, kindling, and gloves for 
starting a fire in the fireplace. 

Speaking of which, there are ashes in the fireplace 
hidden by a heavy fireplace screen. 
It is so heavy that in the winter we use a 
lightweight screen for two reasons. 
First, it allows more heat through to warm the room, and
secondly, it is easier to move for tending to the fire. 
The first two photos have the lighter screen in them. 



A third change to the living room Christmas decor is the 
Paris candle that adds another touch of France. 



Sunlight beams create a bright glow that makes the 
candle appear to be lit. 



The white flowers and greenery go very well with 
the new blue and white checked sofa's 
throw pillows that match the breakfast chairs in the adjoining kitchen. 



Most of the decor in the room is the same year round. 
However, the pastel-colored Santa print 
is only on display during Christmas. 



The hand painted Noël sign is blue to coordinate with the house's decor. 



Over the years, I've added more and more blue Christmas decorations 
in place of traditional red and green holiday colors 
which allows using everyday objects at Christmas. 




Even the throw pillows remain the same for Christmas. 



Small touches of evergreen are branches trimmed  
from the bottom of our Christmas tree. 
Using just four small evergreen branches, I tied them 
together with small pieces of green twine to form a candle ring.  




The white flowers coordinate with both the traditional evergreens 
and with the pastel Santa. 



Natural white flowers look good with all colors, 
such as the leather chair across from the sofa. 



Just a few natural greens and flowers are easy to use 
and give the entire room a Christmas feel. 



We may make some wreaths from evergreens cut from the yard and 
hang them on the railings to the left of the fireplace and over the sofa. 



Or this may be the last tweaking of the living room Christmas decor. 

Which do you like better on the coffee table? 
The concrete urn with the evergreen wreath or the vase of white flowers? 

You may want to look back at the French Christmas Mantel to see 
the coffee table with the concrete urn to help you decide 
which you like better. 
~~~~❦~~~~
Please join me at these inspiring sites..
SUNDAY
Share It One More Time @ One More Time Events

MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

TUESDAY
Anything Blue Friday @ The Dedicated House

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