Debbie Futhey - Floral designer at Memories of Home

Well it has affected me this year in a really bad way. I have it, the winter blues! Yes, worse than ever. I don’t have a temperature, drainage, cough or diarrhea. It’s just bad. I have the mid-winter blues. Today is a little better. At least I could bring myself to sit at the computer and develop this newsletter. But the last two weeks have been real “bummers” for me. I was supposed to have surgery and be recuperating right now. However, I had to cancel the surgery because I developed a sinus infection. Ugh!

But, today I was finally able to start thinking about decorating again. Perhaps it is because I was able to pretty much get all the holiday decor down both in the shop and in my home. So, I thought I would share with you some of the thought process that goes into picking products for the store. And I must confess, it’s not rocket science.

First of all, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but so many stores are remodeling now. I think it’s because we are entering a new decade. I know I threw so many things away that I had held onto for several years. I figured if I haven’t used this in 2 years, I’m not going to. It may be flawed reasoning in some ways, but I just want to move things out. It’s a new decade! However the “stuff” that I kept had a place of heartfelt prominence that I could not bring myself to part with.

We’re seeing lots of artwork that is made to look like antique pictures. I’m seeing them stacked on mantles as well as cabinet tops. I think it’s more of a “comfort food” feel. It takes us back to our grandmothers who we thought knew everything and loved us because we were such cute little grandkids. Remember, in those days, your sweet grandmother thought you could do no wrong. We were just adorable no matter how ugly we were. These antique looking pictures are so reminding me of my grandmother. And when it came to her grandkids, she would brag on how beautiful we were. And then she would say, “Every old black crow thinks hers is the blackest.!” Everything that speaks to my grandmother’s influence in my life is a true winner.

And even though my grandmother did not live on the farm and have a barn, there’s just something about an old barn that makes me feel peaceful and calming. There’s just something that says “let’s go on an adventure” when viewing a barn. Those were the simple days we used to live in. And then I could imagine we would run to the house that owned the barn and have a delicious, ice cold lemonade. My husband’s grandmother had a barn like this. And she always welcomed us to her home. She made the best fried chicken in the world. If she wanted to have fried chicken for Saturday dinners for the farmhands, she would go out in the morning and grab a chicken by the neck—and well–the rest is history. The chicken was always fresh and delicious.

I’ve always loved to mix looks. While this little bench may not be antique, it definitely brings those modern farmhouse looks up to a new level. And then we’ll add this glass bottle to add a more upscale look to this vignette we’ll be creating for our spring open house. These new light fixtures will find an interesting place in this look. Do they remind me of anyone I’ve loved? Not really. They’re just pretty and I love pretty.

And since we’re taking a trip down memory lane, remember the houses that had these types of accents on the outside? These houses were so intriguing to me. Just to have a little piece of this history in my home makes my heart beat faster. I always wanted to buy a house with these accents and remodel it. I know my husband could do it, but he already has a job that he loves. And besides that–we decided to build a new patio last summer. It should only take us about 3 weeks at the max we thought. So after three long, hot, humid, rainy months–we finished. Not weeks–months. I told my husband we’ll never do that again. I hope I stick to my words. I can’t wait to see this architectural piece in a home to remind us of the house we were going to remodel.

So after sharing all of this with you, I’m excited to get out to the shop and start staging. And you know what–I can’t wait and I think I’ve got a start on getting rid of those mid-winter blues.

Our first spring event is March 24 – 28. Can’t wait to see you all and “get this show on the road.”

Best wishes to you all!

Debbie

Debbie Futhey - Floral designer at Memories of Home