This is a crazy idea for me at this stage in my life. I’m always staging for blog photos, magazine photos, HGTV.com photos and in between the staging, my house is totally un-staged. I’m really working on balance this year and a part of that is doing things for me, my house and my family, so my home doesn’t feel like one big workshop, set and prop closet. I enjoy a beautiful space. I enjoy creating it, living in it and the process is very therapeutic for me.
Yesterday morning, a part of creating that balance meant that I sat down on the couch in my jammies and watched a movie while my kids were at school. I didn’t work or clean or run errands. I just sat and ate a late breakfast and watched a movie I hadn’t seen before. I had plenty I needed to work on, but wasting time is a rare and wonderful thing that I can allow myself every once in a while.
This morning I cleaned my house, did the laundry, and then I “played.” Playing for me is staging my house. Not for any reason or photo shoot or project, but just because I wanted to. We’ve had a couple of warm and sunny days, so I was feeling particularly springy today. I collected birds, nests, moss, mercury glass, pedestals and old books.
I came up with a pretty, subtle spring-themed arrangement on my dining room table.
I filled out a craft store bird’s nest with some dried grass and tucked it into a china soup bowl and saucer.
The second cloche covered a dried grass nest, ceramic eggs, feathers and two bird sketches I purchased from Etsy.
The final pedestal was filled with dark green reindeer moss a silver bird (which I was going to sell, but one of my kids dropped it and broke the crown), and a couple of guinea fowl feathers from a friend’s farm.
A broken crown made the bird unsellable, but it’s still good enough for me!
I placed the smallest pedestal on an open antique book.
…and a few more guinea fowl feathers are scattered around the base.
The mercury glass candle holders and glass pedestals with cloches were purchased at TJ Maxx.
Furniture Feature Friday is open tonight through midnight, so enter your link below if you have something to share.
68 Responses
I just adore your nest in the China cup!
xx-Kristyn
I love those kind of days i call it putzing
Love what you came up with!!
Love the "rest" day! It seems my cutting mat is always on the dining room table and there are moments when I just have to put everything away for an order or tutorial in order to replace the crystal bowl and candlesticks. Because a girl just needs a dressed table every once in a while:)
sooooo cute!
Marian you deserve a beautifully staged home after all that you make and do for others. It's like a spa day for home bloggers, I'd much prefer staging over a pedicure, the visual pleasure beats pink toes.
Love the table….I had a little spring fever today and I have been cleaning and rearranging…makes me feel good to see things move to different spots….Hope you have a great weekend.
Nice vignette! I never get it all put away…even for most parties. I inevitably have that final stack of something that I shove into my car in the garage right before my guests arrive. Works for me. Thank you for sharing your lovely design. Cherry Kay
So pretty and I just love days like that. They are few and far between with two boys but I relish them when they do happen!
Jeanine
My favorite is the nest in the tea cup…how sweet!
It's beautiful…and nesting is a part of our God-given work! Also cherish those times spent watching movies with your kids and that interaction, it's not wasted time. Those are the times you'll remember when they are all grown up!!
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your posts. Have a great day and thanks for sharing.! C
So glad for you that you took time for yourself. It's so important but often we women don't do it. I love the vignette you created; especially the birds' nests and feathers. Decorating my house is my favorite way to play, too!
Everything looks so pretty! I'm happy you had some fun time for yourself!
Kathy
Good for you, you need to do a few things for yourself. Your dining room is gorgeous and your table vignette is stunning. Of course I drool over anything with cloches, and this is just exquisite. Beautifully done. Hugs, Marty
YAY!!!! I'm so glad you did this for yourself! I bet it felt great to play 🙂
The table arrangement is just gorgeous! I love bird ANYTHING : )
Your staging is beautiful! Sometimes we all need a little time to decompress and it looks as though that bit of free time got the creative juices flowing!!
Love,
Susan and Bentley
xxoo
Good for you! You should definitely stage your home to LIVE. (You must realize we all picture you living in a perfectly staged home all the time.) I especially love the bird prints and the feathers. I love touches of nature mixed in with some glam.
Daryl
LOVE it!!Looks so cozy and cute!Glad you took some time for yourself~ Hugs,Rachel
French Farmhouse 425
I love this idea! KUDOS to you for a lovely home! ♥
Absolutely beautiful, my friend!
Love the table setting! I have several Mercury glass candle holders that I use during the holidays. I really should keep them out! I love the one with 3 little candles…I would have never thought of that.
Absolutely gorgeous! Your style is amazing.
Sound like a PERFECT day to me! Your "staging" is perfect!!!
Working from home can play havoc on one's personal space. It's so nice to 'play HGTV" for the day. Love your arrangements ~ especially the bird with the broken crown. Beautifully imperfect!
Your room is so very Lovely! Timeless! Ohhh I love it.
I'd say that with all that you've gotten done lately, you deserve (and need) a little R&R; time…or "playtime" as you call it. Everything looks beautiful. I love the way the sophistication of the mercury glass pairs well with the rustic, natural elements of the feathers and nests. Great job…as always.
-Gail
Naturally, beautiful …
~Barb~
Marian you take the most beautiful pictures! They're scrumptious! I could just eat em up! And good for you for taking time out for yourself. YOU deserve to enjoy the beauty of your own home for a change! Vanna
Gorgeous!
Sherry
Very nice – love the display you put together for your dining room table!
Beautiful! It's definitely good to have a day to yourself and decorate for yourself every now and then!
So glad you got to enjoy some time to yourself. Those are the best days, sitting around in you pj's doing absolutely nothing! Your table scape is gorgeous!
So lovely! I'm glad you're taking time for yourself…it's something we, as women, don't do enough of!
I adore your spring vignette…spring cannot come soon enough for me! 🙂
Missy
I bought those glass pieces at TJ Maxxxxxx!!!!! So sweet
I was smiling FOR YOU the whole time I read this post and am SO GLAD you are taking time for you! To PLAY like that sounds so dreamy and something not everyone would think of as satisfying. Keep on with it girlie!
http://www.northerncottage.blogspot.com
i love what you did, looks beautiful! i love that you took some time for yourself too. i only have a few free hours a week and i always feel like i need to get something accomplished when i'm alone, i need to follow your lead! enjoy the weekend! susan
I absolutely adore your blog! I am brand new to blogging and never imagined that there would be so many amazing ideas! I am so glad I found your blog! I am your newest follower.
Good for you! Doesn't that feel so good to play around in your own house, just for you and your family? Love what you did with the birds nests! Ive told myself that I wouldn't take down the snowy stuff until the 1st of March, but you may have changed my mind! Love every bit of it and I am sooo tired of snowmen!
So cute, I just love the teacup and saucer! That gives me hope that spring will get here someday!
So beautiful! I loved how you grouped several items to make a centerpiece.
What delightful and beautiful inspirations you have given us.
Lovely! I'm glad you took time for YOU!
Super pretty. The glass cloches with the little arrangements are so interesting to look at!
I am glad to hear that you do let yourself sit and enjoy your own time once in a while. I love the dinning room table scape, simple but beautiful. Have a wonderful weekend.
What a beautiful tablescape! I love all things natural like the bird nests, mosses and feathers and mercury glass is a true favorite of mine! They all work so well together. Congrats on seeing the importance of doing for yourself. It's hard for us to do but oh so needed! Keep inspiring! ~Leena~
It's so good to take those much needed mental health breaks. It restores the spirit. Your vignette is gorgeous. I bought the same candlesticks from Marshalls today. Its so funny to click on your blog and see something I just bought.
I love all the cute bird vignettes. I have been doing the same…think we have spring fever?
good for you to "stage" for yourself! Your table looks lovely and so inviting. Remember, when you don't refill the well? You did a great job refilling your own well. Now, you have even more to give back. Have a beautiful weekend. You deserve it!
Oh, those feathers! I may have to treat our table differently this season, thanks to the beauty of your ideas. I am a collector of things bird/egg/nest. We even have a wrought iron nest on my favorite bookshelves. Equipped with eggs, of course! Thanks to you, I may even treat them differently.
Rose McGuinn
My husband thought I was dropping the computer when I freaked out over your pictures! Seriously I love the table arrangement and am jealous I need to find a few of those things for myself!!
and don't you feel just great!!! I also reward myself by "playing", moving things around, stepping back and taking a good look around, creating vignettes.
Tracey
gorgeous as usual! marion, what kind of a camera/lens do you use for your photos? you take gorgeous photos!
Absolutely gorgeous! I love them all! I have a 'pretend' birds nest and eggs in an apothecary jar in my powder room. They look so beautiful under glass!
Love love love your new display!! It is gorgeous and so spring like!!
Hugs
SueAnn
Good for you taking time for YOU. Everything looks so beautiful, Marian. Is "Everything's for sale" still the deal? How about that Mercury glass? lol As much as I love it, you keep it for you. Love it.
I just LOVE your
table ~ Oh my goodness
it reminds me of visiting
Pottery Barn yesterday ~
I am such a HAPPY
girl that spring
is on its way soon !!
xoxo
Lori
I love it…especially the nest in the teacup and the scattering of feathers. But…what happened to your antlers above your mirror?? I loved them there!
Good for you (taking some time for yourself and NEVER consider it wasted time, I like to call it recharging time)…and your table and sunshiny pics really make me yearn for spring to get here…
I love the bird with the broken crown. I think it is better that way. I would buy it with no problem. Very sweet.I think my crown is broken sometimes.
wow!
Gorgeous photos!!!!!
happy weekend!
Rosa
aleccurts, I actually have three large pair of antlers that I'm waiting to hang. I removed the smaller pair and sold them. When I brought in the larger chalkboard the antlers didn't fit above them, anymore.
Don't worry, you'll see antlers again.
Woohoo love those veg days! Your table looks amazing as always. What are the glass cloche stands called or better yet where do you find them? Oh guess what?!?!?! I've found German sheet music & they'll even deliver it to my door haha. I just have to get my gf to translate for me to make sure I'm not signing my life & bank account away lol. Have a glorious weekend. Shell
Sometimes it nice to just take a little time and do something nice for ourselves instead of for everyone else! Your "me" staging is lovely!
Kat 🙂
ahhh your curtains make me swoon. so glad I'm not the only one who likes feathers! 😉
Seriously, your dining room colors are inspirational! I'm a graphic artist and photographer, and I just created a line of newborn photographer templates based on the colors an "feel" of your dining room! Thought you should know you inspire us in more ways than just decor! THANKS! Holly McCaig
i have just swung by for my first visit on your blog
& i have a couple things to say.
primarily, where the heck have i been?
apparantly since i'm like the 800th commenter, i have been living under a rock.
but more importantly, i'm hooked. what a lovely blog you have, fantastic home too! & the fact that you're married to a youth pastor ( i was too…long story) makes me love you even more
bird nests & moss & glass containers & old books=loveliness indeed!
These are beautiful. And wasn't your morning with the movie great? I've done that once before. It felt positively decadent!