Formal Sideboard Goes Rustic

Hello everyone!  We hope you had a great week-end.  I arrived home from my three-week trip to France on Thursday, and please let me tell you and remind myself how much I L.O.V.E. jet lag.  I have gotten up at 4:00 a.m. the past three mornings and have gotten so much done. It should start wearing off pretty soon, though.

 

 

One of the projects I have worked on is a tablescape for the side board in the dining area of our great room.

 

I might be late to the party, but I have been wanting some antlers for the fall look.  I think I am the only blogger out there who hasn’t gotten her hands on some antlers.  The good things about the ones I scored is that they were freebies from my uncle.  He is a hunter, and I asked my mother to convince him that his niece could put some to good use.

 

I put them in a big wooden bowl I had in the pantry and even included the large wooden paddle.  They were looking lost in the bowl, so I added some packing paper that I kept from a gift basket we received at Christmas.

 

I only had to make two teeny little purchases for this tablescape, and I am feeling pretty great about that.

 

Last week when I was at Giverny, Claude Monet’s home, I bought a few post cards.  I like the brown transferware plate and the touches of orange in this one.  Sitting on a little plate stand gives it some prominence even though it cost less than a euro.

 

The only other purchase was the little pie pumpkin that picks up the colors in the post card.  Those feathers came from an ebay purchase a few years ago.  I only use them in the fall.

 

These junior classics books came from the library’s annual book sale about ten years ago.  The set has all of the primary colors, and they are perfect to pull from when I need a certain color, like these fall colors of green, brown, and orange.

 

My goal when I put this look together was to downplay the formality of the side board.  It was an investment piece of furniture, but our style isn’t as formal as it once was.  However, I still love the piece and can dress it up or dress it down.  The luggage that is stacked under it helps play down its formality.  (And by the way, our floor finish is provencial brown.  I don’t know why it is showing up yellow in this photo).

 

I put brown pillows on the chairs that sit at both ends of the table.  The pillows are satiny, but their wooden buttons go well with the antlers.

 

When I recovered these dining room chairs last year, this fabric was perfect because it has about every color family in it.  The pillows really make the brown “pop”.  During the spring and summer I put light blue pillows on these chairs for a softer look.

 

 

Fall is my favorite season, and it seems as if Mother Nature received the memo because she is sure giving us the perfect fall day.  I think it’s time to get off of the computer and go out and enjoy it.

*****

I want to thank Jordan who took care of the blog schedule while I was off bicycling.  She is the best blog partner and daughter ever.

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