Learning from Mom: Spring Decorating

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’d like to talk about how my mom has influenced my design aesthetic. Growing up, she always had a very good sense of style in terms of fashion and in dressing me. Even today my friends comment how she always looks cute!

In the last 15 years or so I believe my mom has done a fantastic job in decorating and making design choices for her home. What she picked out for her rooms was fresh, classic yet casual and comfortable. I would classify it as sophisticated cottage meets traditional.

Here are a few snapshots of what her old house looked like:

She and my Dad recently moved into a new house–resulting in lots of new fun opportunities for decorating and designing! She is ultra-organized and could easily be a professional in this arena. I hope to devote a whole post soon to the design choices for their new house.

My mom routinely helps me make design decisions when decorating my spaces. I’m not quite as organized as she is and in my design choices I’m definitely more whimsical and a bigger antique connoisseur, but, we share a lot of the same tastes.

Today I’ve decided to share with you some of my spring decorating. This post is being published in collaboration with Balsam Hill, who has generously supplied me with some of their products. They challenged me to decorate my home for Spring even though their company sells mostly Christmas and Holiday-related décor. Here is what I came up with:

dining room mantel

I used Balsam Hill’s Blue Dupioni Ribbon to dress up some pillar candles I had on hand for the dining room mantel. A cheese dome doubles as a little cloche filled with moss and eggs for a sweet spring look. Silver julep cups filled with green moss complete the spring look for the mantel.

My spring dining table is simply adorned with candlesticks, an antique cheese box, and a brown transferware coffee pot filled with cuttings from our yard. To see more of my brown transferware, visit this post. 

dining room table

Since my mom loved using a medium green color in her old house, I was inspired to go all green on our porch for spring. I used my great-grandmothers table linens that match our vintage-inspired metal table and chair set. Looks like a relaxing spot for sipping tea and enjoying some fresh flowers from our yard!

Continuing with the green theme, I gathered lots of fresh moss from our yard and put it in a wire tray with an antique scale and potted oregano plant.

For the finishing touch, we strung these Balsam Hill Globe Café Lights from the porch ceiling to give it a warm, romantic glow at night time. Perfect for a party!

In the living room, I decorated the mantel with everyday things I already had, like old books and a gold framed Paul Sawyier print. I used more of the Blue Dupioni Ribbon to tie up the books like little pretty packages.

In the entryway we have a black iron gate that can be closed. We usually keep it open and it turned out to be the perfect place to showcase Balsam Hill’s Mountain Meadow Kissing Balls. I stuck some fresh  flowers in them to make them look less wintry and more springy.

I’m so fortunate to have a mom who is not only a fabulous stylist and decorator but also a wonderful mom who is always there for me when I need her 🙂  A big thank you to Balsam Hill for providing products and the motivation I needed to decorate this roost for spring!