It’s Friday. Time to put our heads up, just for a minute, from those desks, computers, tables, wagons, or wheels. Browse some soft and pretty goods. It’s also the time of year when our hemisphere might start to think about spring, even if the season is a ways off. One might even want to spruce up the house a bit, right about now.
One very simple way to do this is with cushions. High WASPs like cushions. We tend to furnish our houses well, once, and spend the rest of our lives living in them, fixing up what frays. Cushions have a convenient habit of doing just that.
A few years ago I bought several hotel room’s worth of Pottery Barn furniture – for the aesthetic reminds me of nothing so much the pieces in a 4-not-5-star hotel. As a result, until recently I had this cushion arrangement in place. Along with a Pottery Barn chenille throw. Because good hotel rooms always have a nice blanket. Have you noticed that?
These worked well, back in the small apartment. I had one wall painted deep red. To the building manager’s head-scratching, but no matter. But this Christmas, my daughter gave me a second red throw blanket, this one cashmere, from Restoration Hardware.
“Mama,” she said, “Last time I was home I noticed there wasn’t room for all of us under the one blanket. So I got you another one. You can choose a different color if you want.”
As you might understand, I didn’t want to change a thing about her blanket. But I felt, now, in need of less red. Luckily, the red cushions had begun to fray. Time, at many levels, for a change. No need to go hunting everywhere, no need to fork over funds that I’d prefer to spend on Erdem. Back to Pottery Barn. While High WASPs pay great attention to the nuances of what we wear, we’re more relaxed at home. Is this the perfect, hunt for ever, cutting edge, my-life-distilled-into-a-vignette look? Um, no. But it’s more than good enough. Stuff your kids give you is always more than good enough. Should anyone ask, we’ll call it, um, relaxed eclecticism.
We’re pale blue and green around here now. With enough throw blankets for everyone.
Have a wonderful weekend.
*Note: No consideration was received for this post. But at ~$25/pillow, on sale, I didn’t mind. And this link is the emotional background to the High WASP house aesthetic. I also put in the post above, just because.
**Never Knowingly Undercushion®, trademark, Faux Fuchsia.
27 Responses
Love Pottery Barn as well no matter what certain interior designers say! Iam not sure if I can justify any more cushions though! Ha!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
are those your photogenic heirs on the wall, lisa? how i want to zoom in on them, like david caruso on a florida license plate. i detect cute children.
That is the sweetest gift.
My house is very well suited to Pottery Barn, which is funny, given that we have nothing from there, except some curtains. All their stuff looks like my stuff, or is it the other way around?
Playing with pillows and throws is fun! My eyes glued to the foot of your table lamp. Really nice!
Love the blues – and they look great with the lovely red throw. And on this frigid day your cozy slippers are even looking pretty appealing as well!
I love that you tradmarked FF, I’m sure she’ll appreciate it!
I like the cushions, but I”d like to see more of the rug!
“We tend to furnish our houses well, once, and spend the rest of our lives living in them.”
Which is a good enough explanation for the hand-crafted Amish furniture we’re slowly but surely collecting. I don’t EVER want to buy anything else.
I need to think more about the cushion issue. Our sofa and love seat are cream leather; Beloved’s beloved recliner is hunter green and our drapes are gold, green and burgundy. Would the dog just use them to sleep on? Probably, but I’ll have to mull it over…
Sometimes Tiffany blue is JUST the thing, isn’t it? How did they know? They were smart and got dibs. Fortunately, we are allowed to use it wherever we like. :)
I, too, have pale blue and green in my home. This is after having the burgundy/navy/hunter green palette in my prior house with the wasband. I find the transition to pale blue and green to be so calming and tranquil – a wonderful respite to come home to after a hectic day at the office. I complete the look with drapery and cushions from Pottery Barn and cashmere throws found on One King’s Lane, all in shades of ivory and camel. I love that Pottery Barn has the requisite quality but not so expensive you can’t change out the colors every now and then.
“Room for all of us under one blanket” says it all.
Is the sofa suede? Gah, I’m envious… And it is probably not high WASP to admit that.
We don’t have Pottery Barn in Australia. I did once look search for it online, after reading a novel that seemed to mention it a lot (nothing like spending valuable time researching aspects of what was obviously a classy novel…) and it made me wish we did have it here!
I love the story about the blanket your daughter gave you. Snuggling under that blanket would make you feel cosier than other blankets I think.
I am in the market for new pillows. My old decorative pillows are looking a little sad. Pottery Barn here I come.
xoox
I love your rug Lisa…and the comment about not enough room under one blanket can make a mother weep…honestly, your adult children are precious.
Gosh, that couch looks so inviting right about now, i do love the colour.
You have a wonderful blog here, I’m going to go look around now :)
K xxx
http://www.thoseblissmoments.blogspot.com
We have the same slippers, so comfy!
I’m so glad you said that about decorating once well. I watched a show the other night where a woman was saying it was the norm to totally redecorate every 8 years. I felt sick with her trendy consumerism
I love pretty pillows. I would make some, but my children take their other name, “throw pillows,” too seriously . ..
love the blues…
have a wonderful weekend!
Lovely. Such comfort. . . your kids obviously know what’s important in a home. I love the aqua-and-red combo.
Mm. I change cushion-covers all the time. It’s a very quick update. They get a lot of wear (and washing) because the dogs love to sleep on them, so frequent changes are in order. But I make my own, and it doesn’t take much fabric or time…and it’s a great way to mark the change of season!
Karena – Perhaps we can rehabilitate the Pottery Barn brand. Full speed ahead!
Lauren – That they are. Wouldn’t a glass table for zooming in on life altogether be grand.
Patsy – She and I were both very happy with the blanket:). My guess is that Pottery Barn modeled themselves after you, precisely.
Mette – Thank you so much! You have such perfect taste.
quintessence – Oh yes, a good sofa, some pillows, and a pair of slippers? What better!
Laura – One ought always to recognize talent:).
SewingLibrarian – OK. You got it. I only wish I were more educated, but I will tell the story.
Jan – Hand-crafted Amish – ooh I’m jealous. Patterns are expressly designed to bridge colors and hide dog hair:).
Someone – Yes! What prescience. And it is one of my favorite colors. Especially with red.
BethAnn – Wasband? Wasband? How did I not know this term? Your house sounds lovely. I too like above all for my house to comfort and calm.
Duchesse: ;). So it does.
A Farmer’s Wife – That blanket will always be the cosiest. Is there a Pottery Barn equivalent?
La Belette – Oh, please do a Freudian something about pillows. Please.
Hostess – Thank you. I will dive into the rug further in future. My kids are precious, and also everything else 20 year olds can be;).
Katherine – Welcome! And I thank you. That couch is my spiritual home, I believe.
Terri – Oh, it’s pretend suede. And High WASPs are envious all the time. Why do you think we left England and Scotland in the first place:).
Tabitha – Those slippers are my friends indeed. And every 8 years? Gah. Too much work. Since I value comfort most, the comfort to style ratio would be out of whack.
Miss Cavendish – Bwahahahahaha. That makes me laugh every time I read it.
Design Elements – Thank you! And welcome to the blog:).
Mater – They watch us, right? And learn?
Charlotte – Now that must be fun, to make pillow covers to suit your mood. I am craft-challenged, so can only dream.
Love the aqua and red, and pillows and cushions of course. Comfort and warmth and cuddling up on the sofa is what it is all about.
I’ve taken to scouring eBay and etsy for new pillow covers. This allows me to change fading pillows without tossing the old ones. Feels virtuous and green, and keeps the embedded cat fur in the family.
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