It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last year at this time, work had been paused on our exterior restoration and paint job, so I didn't do much other than put a wreath up on the door. This year, our house is beautiful once more, and so I wanted to spruce up the exterior for the holidays in a manner befitting our gorgeous antique colonial. The green plaid on the wreaths is what I used on the tree inside our living room, and the antique sled is one we picked up our first holiday season in New England. I especially love how it all looks with our plaque from the Newburyport Preservation Trust. Now all I need to do is figure out where I put the window candles a couple of seasons ago and get them up and we'll be merry and bright.

Read More

Casacaudill Holiday 2021 Living Room Tour

Honestly, it's not much of a tour. We're still rocking the Ikea TV stand we moved here with and have only hung up a few pieces of art in the living room so without Christmas decorations, it's actually a pretty boring room. We have big plans to fix that in early 2022 though. In the meantime, here's Christmas 2021 in this room. 

As you'll see, I ditched last year's buffalo plaid and poinsettia decor for something a bit more whimsically elegant. In theory, I adored the idea of the green plaid, but unless you're standing close to the tree, you can't really see it so it ends up looking like we have a bunch of blank spots on the tree. On the mantel, I went with my broken-after-one-year-incredibly-expensive Balsam Hill (un)lighted garland offset by some battery powered "mercury glass" lights from Target and a gorgeous mercury glass garland I picked up in town the other day while out Christmas shopping. Happy Holidays to me!

As a reminder, this was last year's look in the living room.

Read More

What's Your Style?

When you live in an historic home, your decor tends to be dictated by the style of your house. One of the problems I'm running into with our mid-to-late 1700s antique colonial, however, is I don't want my house to look like a museum, and I'm not really a fan of the primitive style so many colonial home owners favor. 

If I had to put a label on it, I'd say my (our) style is eclectic. The only style I don't really like is what I call cold contemporary (think all-white walls, minimalist, uncomfortable furnishings, harsh angles). What I do like is color, texture, and comfort. I like a home that looks and feels lived in, one that fits the personality of its inhabitants. 

In going through my recent pins, it's obvious that I really enjoy a place that has warm, natural wood, colors inspired from nature, and fireplaces. (It's probably good then that our home has 8 of them, even if most don't work.)

What about you -- what's your style?

Read More