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A banquette can be sophisticated like this one.

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Or perfectly kid-friendly, like this one.

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If you upholster your banquette seating, make sure it’s outdoor fabric or scotchgarded so crumbs and spills can be wiped up easily.

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You can do dual benches, or one bench with chairs on the opposite side.  The banquette is a major space saver in a small kitchen!

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Or you can even do an L-shaped bench in a corner, then finish it out with a couple of chairs.

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Great place to do homework while Momma’s making dinner!

I’ve always been a fan of the nostalgic breakfast nook, like this one here:

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Which is why I designed this one for my own home a few years back.  I’ll feature the befores and afters in a post sometime soon. 

The Decorologist

You have 2 days left to sign up for The Decorologist’s Free Virtual Design for any room in your home!  Make it happen by clicking here.

To be eligible, simply:

1) subscribe to The Decorologist via email,

2) become a fan on Facebook, then

3) leave a message on this post letting me know which room in your house you’d like me to create a Virtual Room Design for.  

For an extra chance to win, post this to your Facebook page, then make sure you leave a comment to let me know you did.  I will close the contest in a couple weeks, and the winner will be announced on Friday, March 18th.

Good luck!

I love decorating with things that hold meaning to me.  That usually means VINTAGE!

But I also like to change things up.  This year I created a dining room tablescape using mainly green and gold, inspired by my vintage glassware collection.

Remember this chair I recently gilded and reupholstered?  I’ve decided to do the same to three more of these chairs, so that’s another thing on my to-do list before Christmas Eve dinner at my home.

A few vintage Santas on my grandmother’s hutch:

I can’t resist a vignette under glass.  I got this huge bell jar at Marshall’s this year for 19.99!

I piled some necklaces, ornaments, and a vintage card in this apothecary jar. You can see the snow in our yard in the background.

The large tree in our entry, viewed from the living room.

Love, love, love using faux snow when creating tabletop vignettes!

This was taken from my favorite spot in the house, my living room sofa.   I love my old marble fireplace, especially when it’s as cold as it’s been this week in Nashville!

I hope you enjoyed the holiday tour, and now I have a special surprise!  Ruffled Linens, my favorite source for slipcovers and tablecloths, is offering one of my treasured readers this beautiful tablecloth that you see in the photograph below!   Make sure you check out the Ruffled Linens blog and Etsy shop for handmade textiles for your home!

The tablecloth measures about 60 x 77  inches and is made of white linen.  It will look great on most rectangular tables and can hang short or long, depending on the size of the table.  It features a double ruffle along the hem.  This beauty sells for over $100 on Etsy, but could be yours for free!

All you have to do is “like”  The Decorologist on Facebook and leave a comment there that you’d like to win this beautiful tablecloth.  Also, I just started up on Twitter recently, and I’d love to have you on board.   So, all Twitter followers will also be eligible to win!  A lucky winner will be announced on Christmas Day!

Photo Credits:  The Decorologist.

Make sure you check out Ruffled Linens Etsy shop, especially if you need a shabby chic/urban country Christmas tree skirt!

Here’s what you need to do to be eligible to win:  join The Decorologist Facebook page,  Google Connect, and/or post an article from my blog on your Facebook page (or you can just hit the facebook  ”share”  button at the end of the post).   I recently added a Google Connect widget to the right side of my blog, and it’s poorly populated, so I’d especially appreciate it if you’d join there!  Do all three and get 3 chances.  You’ve got 2 weeks to post on Facebook.  Don’t forget to let me know in the comment section which of these things you did.  The winner will be chosen on Friday, Nov 19th, 2010.

Here is something Ruffled Linens recently did for me!  This sofa belonged to my grandmother, and I had it recovered about 20 years ago.  The fabric is still holding up beautifully, but the cushions were shot.  Very uncomfortable to sit on and a bit too formal for me to boot.

Ruffled Linens fashioned a new custom down-filled sofa cushion for me in an easy-care, easy-wash fabric.  This is the new look for my old sofa:

I love the more informal look, and it’s super-comfortable now!  I may even have another slip made for the cushion with more color and pattern.  Variety is the spice of life!  Check out Ruffled Linens and see it there’s anything that sparks your imagination.  Don’t forget to become eligible to win the linen napkins set!

But, under a table I found this fab lucite magazine rack.  Not a cheapo plastic knockoff from IKEA (no offense, IKEA, I love you), but a real-deal high-design model circa 1970.  It was $11.  SOLD!

Now, before you think that $11 was a little high to pay – I checked ebay today (just out of curiousity) and found several similar vintage models for $250 and up!  Now THAT’S a bargain.  And my decor magazines have never looked so good!

The winner of my latest Prize Giveaway provided by Mimi’s Garden Florals will be announced at the end of this week.   It’s a cool set of retro drinking glasses from IKEA.

To be eligible, you need to be an email subscriber to my blog (sign-up is at top right) and post a comment to my blog sometime over this week.  

To increase your chances of winning:  your name will be entered again for every comment you make this week (only one per post will count!) and yet again if you post a link to my blog on your FaceBook page (please notify me that you have done that so I can enter your name again).  Good luck! 

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