New Floors Cause a new Scene

Since moving into our new location, we have wanted to re-do our floor color. So after our January Sale, Laurell and I decided to paint them a swirly brown and bronze. Of course, that makes us move and re-do every display in the store and that's a good thing! Last night, we finished the floors on the frenchy side of the store.

The first change was our store windows. A beautiful settee with Italian accessories is one side, and the other has a great white french chair covered in burlap. Next we painted the back room and created a new shop for Bella Notte. The new pewter color of bedding looks great on the antique cane bed. We love the the little paintings of cherubs on the bed. A beautiful vintage tapestry hangs over the bed.

A gift selection for Valentine's Day is together on our feature table. Cherub menu cards and porcelain vessels are so sweet and look antique, although they are reproductions.

A large collection of old floral oil paintings is re-hung on a wall by the new slipcover line that we carry. The white chair is slipcovered in a white linen and is detailed with small ruffles. The document printed fabric on the host or hostess chair is very fun and popular with our customers.

For spring, we will expand our jewelry collections into our front window. The crusty garden coat hooks contrast the shiny stones in the necklaces.

This weekend we hope to finish the floors in the rest of the store as next week we will

start to receive our new merchandise from the Atlanta Gift Show. Tomorrow we drive to Chicago to pick up a load of awesome garden merchandise. We can't wait -- displaying it is so much fun!

Hard to Find "Finds"

About 25 years ago, I found a beautiful silk velvet textile, beautifully embroidered with chenille threads. Shortly thereafter, I found two more for my collection. I haven't seen any since then, until a couple of weeks ago when I found 2 more from one antique dealer. These textiles are from the early part of this century and it amazes me how vibrant the color has stayed. I love the deep color of the velvets and embroidery. Our seamstress at the store makes them into beautiful pillows. I wish women still knew how to make these beautiful textiles, but I am afraid that it is a lost art. So preserving them for the future is very important to me. Pillows are beautiful, but the textiles also look great framed and hung as art.

Christmas in January

Just got back from Atlanta for the Gift Show. It was very exhilarating and exciting to finally see some new product introductions. But more about that in later blogs.

During every January gift show, my girlfriend, Lynda, and I celebrate a late Christmas. We designate one night as gift exchange night and enjoy opening gifts without the pressure of Christmas Day. That also gives me time to be creative and have fun with wrapping her gifts. This year animal print was the theme and the gifts were wrapped with a croco embossed gold and silver paper. The ribbon was from Sam's Club - can you believe it? Small rhinestone frogs and leopard pins embellished the ribbons. Lynda can use those later under cloches and in other small tabletop arrangements.

My friend's favorite colors are red and black, so the choice of packaging was perfect for her. But is sure makes it challenging to plan for the next season of gift giving. But I'll look for inspiration during the year---- that's the fun of it!

January Begins a new Year and new Look

It's Saturday in the store and our winter sale has started.

Laurell, Candy and I have been condensing Christmas, setting up sale, and beginning to re-do our windows and tablescapes. And of course, sweeping up the snow and glitter from our Christmas displays is always a chore.

First we set the front entry table with a vintage white china and a romantic rose bouquet for Valentine's Day. Hand dyed birds and ostrich feathers add romance to the display.

Candy merchandised the front window in a new leopard settee, an antique mantel and gilded accessories.

The side window showcases a new slipcover line with a sweet, white linen chair.

A grouping of vintage samovars and old wine jugs look great in our kitchen area. It's always fun to think of new ways to refresh our merchandise displays.

New Year's Eve Reflections

I love the reflection of candles in a room at night. With all of the beautiful white lights and candles lit , New Year's Eve is a time to reflect on the past year and a time to look forward to the New Year. 2009 was a tough economic year, especially for small retailers. However, with survival at stake, we just had to get better, get tougher, and get more excited about life. And a great year's memories were made -highlights included helping Mariterese with Alligator Point, her son's wedding at the Bee Hive, our trip to the Wine country with my sister and brother-in-law, my anniversary trip to Quebec City and our great trip to Kansas City. In February our twin grandsons were born and two weeks before Christmas our first grand daughter was born! And Romancing the Home survived another year with a great Holiday Season. So next Tuesday, I leave for Atlanta to buy 2010 Spring and Christmas for the store. But how do I know what's going to happen in 2010? I don't - but I do know we will survive and continue to offer the customers, the most exciting merchandise that we can find. I am grateful for my wonderful staff, Laurell, Candy, Amy, Penney, Julie, and Katha, who support the store in unspoken ways. My friend Lynda, flies up on moment's notice to help me with store events. And of course there is the constant input from my wonderful customers and close friends, Jill and Marlene. And when I need a high light bulb changed, my husband continues to be the best maintenance man . How lucky can a girl be? Thank you from the bottom of my heart- my family, my friends, and my wonderful loyal customers.

A Natural Christmas

These pictures are from one of the homes that Candy, our Romancing the Home stylist, decorates every year for the Holidays. This year, the client wanted a very natural and organic Christmas decor. Candy performed her magic, using feathers, greens, birds and twigs to create a beautiful home. Next year for the store, we see this as a major trend and will be looking for very natural looking artificial greenery for the holiday season.

The Magic of Santa

Santa has come and gone for this year, but as I pack up my Santa collection I smile. I remember when I was a little girl on Christmas Eve, my sisters and I would get up at 2 am to see what Santa had brought us. My most memorable gift from Santa was a Madam

Alexandra doll with beautiful clothes that my mom had sewn during the year when I was asleep. And in the very tip of my stocking was my very first ring - my birthstone. We never questioned how Santa was able to get to so many homes in one night. That was the Christmas magic.

So this year when my almost 3 year old grandson was ready for bed on Christmas Eve, I took him out to the porch and pointed up to the night lights to show him where Santa was coming from tonight. He immediately flew up the stairs and was asleep in 5 minutes. And the next morning, he awoke everyone in the house and came down the stairs to find his adult magical memory- Santa had bought him a large fire truck! I don't know how Santa got so lucky and knew what Logan had wanted - Santa had found it at Costco several weeks before. Logan had only told us the night before what he wanted from Santa- a large firetruck with a big ladder. See - there is magic!

Collecting beautiful Santa's has been a passion of mine for many years. But this year, I met a new artist that created life size Santa's for Romancing the Home. We sold six of them this year to create a little magic for the customers that purchased them. Next year, we will have them again and customers can customize them to fit their home's decor. All of the Santa's I have in my collection have been made by artists that I have found during the past 30 years. Many of them have been customized with vintage fabrics and trims that I have collected over the years. Every year I cherish getting them out and placing them in a special spot for the holiday season.