Ethnic Cottage Decor

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

ECD DECORATING WITH BOOKS

I love books and decorating with books so much, I could do endless blogs about this subject! As it is, I'll keep it to a few comments, quotes, and then share some awesome ethnic cottage decor photos with you. Hope you'll find some to give you a little decorating with books inspiration...Enjoy!

"A home without books is like a room without windows." Henry Ward Beecher
ART AND BOOKS GO TOGETHER LIKE PEANUT BUTTER & CHOCOLATE.
"I gave my books their own room. Now they want the whole house."
BOOKS ARE ESSENTIAL. VITAL. NECESSARY TO LIFE.
"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." Jorge Luis Borges
Confession Number I: I read past my bedtime.
"The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read." Abraham Lincoln
I personally don't believe in "book wallpaper". I believe in BOOKS! However, I have included one incredible example below if you are in love with this style.
"She is too fond of books and it has turned her brain." Louisa May Alcott
I'm not crazy about the decorating trend of covering your books with matching paper so your bookshelf will have a certain look. But if you like this fad, there's a cool website for you: http://www.booksbythefoot.com/
"Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life." Stephen King
Confession Number II: I am a book hoarder.
"I declare there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing other than a book!" Jane Austen
"The book to read is not the one that thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that." Harper Lee
"The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"The person who has not pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid." Jane Austen
"You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child." Dr. Seuss
"There's nothing like staying at home for real comfort." Jane Austen
"Literature is my Utopia." Helen Keller
Jane Austen knew everything, didn't she?

Bedroom by Los Angeles Architect Digs By Katie | Katie Leede & Company

Pinterest - ONE OF MY FAVORITE ROOMS OF ALL TIME!

Room by Denver Photographer Brenda Olde

Home Office by Seattle Media And Blogs Splendid Willow - THIS IS THE AWESOME BOOK

WALLPAPER you can find at http://www.andrewmartin.co.uk/wallpaper-showroom.php

Living Room by New York Architect West Chin Architect

Family Room by Chicago Interior Designer Branca, Inc.

Living Room by Other Metro Photographer Louise Lakier

Family Room by Denver Interior Designer O Interior Design

Family Room by Portland Interior Designer Jessica Helgerson Interior Design

Living Room by Cambridge Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors

Houzz.com

by Richmond Home Staging Carol Vaughan-Davis

Kitchen by Other Metro Photographer Louise Lakier

Living Room by Chicago Architect Vinci | Hamp Architects

Living Room by San Francisco Photographer Ed Ritger Photography

Powder Room by Norwich Architect Smith & Vansant Architects PC

by Chicago Kitchen And Bath Rebekah Zaveloff

Living Room by Corona Del Mar Architect Laidlaw Schultz architects

Home Office by Toronto Media And Blogs 8Foot6

Bedroom by Los Angeles Photographer Annie McElwain Photography

Living Room by Los Angeles Artist And Artisan Blue Tangerine Art

Entry by Albertson General Contractor Prestige Custom Building & Construction, Inc.

by Columbus Photographer Julie Ranee Photography

Home Office by New York Photographer Rikki Snyder - another ongoing favorite of mine

Living Room by Norwich Architect Smith & Vansant Architects PC

My fantasy bedroom!

ALL UNACCREDITED PHOTOS FROM THIS "BOOK" POST ARE FROM PINTEREST.COM.

Lastly, here are some great books to refer to if you'd like to pursue DECORATING WITH BOOKS. Enjoy!

DECORATING WITH BOOKS - Elle Decor
BOOKS MAKE A HOME - Damian Thompson
DECORATING WITH BOOKS - House Beautiful
BOOKS DO FURNISH A ROOM - Leslie Geddes Brown
AT HOME WITH BOOKS: How Booklovers Live With and Care for Their Libraries - Estelle Ellis
LIVING WITH BOOKS - Alan Powers

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Stuffed deer heads on walls are bad enough, but it's worse when they are wearing dark glasses and have streamers and ornaments in the antlers because then you know they were enjoying themselves at a party when they were shot. Ellen DeGeneres

The current obsession of decorating with antlers, antler chandeliers, turtle shells and taxidermy shows no signs of abating and they're perfect for ethnic cottage decor - faux real. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Maybe Ellen's take on deer heads has me in a silly mood!
After falling out of trendiness for decades, many designers using natural elements in their decors are once again turning to antlers and taxidermy. Just about every antique store you visit has at least one or two mounted game heads or some sort of animal skin available. Nate Berkus has a large faux turtle shell for 40 bucks at Target!

Whether you want to display your passion for the outdoors, hunting or fishing, or you just like the look and choose to go faux, the choices are bountiful. There's actually a website called womenhunters.com. I'm sort of a wimp myself, even though I live in the south where many, many homes have stuffed deer heads and fish on their walls. I especially love the look of the exotic animals' antlers but for me the cast resin antlers are a cool interpretation of the real thing. And I actually like the mounted antlers that are really just twigs and sticks! See, a real wimp. But there are some awesome chandeliers made of twigs and some mounted twig antlers that look real!
There are many ways to decorate with these "trophies" and here are a few:

Mix your mounted pieces with other types of decor to add an eclectic feel to your design scheme. My favorite way is to incorporate your faux or real mounted piece(s) on an art/gallery wall. Below are some great examples of this.

Most medium to large trophies can stand as the main decoration in a room when placed above a fireplace, sofa or bed.

Divide your existing taxidermy pieces by subject. For example, all of your fish mounts can be placed in the bathroom and all of your deer and small game heads can be placed in the living room.

Choose different ways to have your catches mounted. For example, have a smaller deer head mounted between trees on a statue or your pike mounted in a 3-D sculpture of river bottoms to design a view of them in the "wild." Taxidermists are experts and love a new idea and a challenge. Get their input and come up with something unique!

Use some of the pieces as functional decor when doing home decorating with taxidermy. For example, mount deer antlers for a key holder by the front door or mount a fish on a dish that holds mail.

Enjoy this selection of antlers, game, taxidermy and more in ethnic cottage decor!