Calico & Petticoats

 

 

 

There's a part of the country not far from here where four states meet called the Four Corners. There's a marker there and not much else at the Colorado, New Mexico, Utah , and Arizona borders. I sometimes feel like there's a territory inside of me with similar boundaries. As though all the decorating styles that I like line up next to each other like closely aligned states. Mine read "farmhouse", "cottage", "french country", and just plain "country." And like the real four states in the union that meet, they each have certain similarities within them.

 

 

 

 

I'm sure there are other voices in there speaking to me at various times in my Schizophrenic aesthetic  "states" as well. But today they came out of the closet in ruffles and calico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You see, I get these urges at times to juxtapose the rustic with the refined. And the lights and darks war within me like some cosmic battle competing for table space. (Do you sometimes feel a little crazy this time of year? I think I'm just having cabin fever!) But I do like both the all white and airy spaces and the dark and gleaming woods of old Scotch and Irish castles.

   

 

 

 

 

I think this style was born wherever on the planet there was a new frontier, and women carried their beloved possessions with them to tame the starkness of a life of pure necessity in some wilderness. Can't you just hear old wagon wheels creaking? Or is it just me?

 

 

 

 

 

The turn of a new year can have that same untamed wildness. And it can carry the challenge of a fresh start brought right alongside our old refinements. At least that's the romance I have layered upon it like so many dishes on a tablecloth. . . .

 

 

 

 

 

I only really know this much. . . . . That I wanted to see this old calico quilt on my table again. And that these various elements found their way on top of it. . . .

 

 

 

 

Ruffled linen napkins.

 

 

 

 

An old bed skirt for a petticoat.

 

 

 

 

 

Limoges.

 

 

 

An English stoneware jug.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tea leaf ironstone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit of homespun.

 

 

 

And delicate china. . . . .  Here are the marks below:

 

 

 

Dinner plates.

 

 

Boullion cups.

 

 

 

 

And talk about schizophrenia! Here's France, Boston, and McFarlins China Parlor all in the same place, with a horseshoe to boot!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You'll find me off taming the New Year!

Yee-haw!!

 

(I hope it all comes together for you too!)

 

Jacqueline

 

 

 

 

Join me at

Between Naps on the Porch~Tablescape Thursday

Common Ground~Be Inspired

French Country Cottage~Feathered Nest

My Romantic Home~Show & Tell