New Year -- New Interior

Something about January inspires me to redecorate. Maybe it's because once the Christmas decorations are put away, the house becomes a clean slate. I have so many Christmas collections on display all over my house, I have to pack away my usual accessories! Before I bring them back out, I really look at each room to determine where or how I can make quick and easy changes. The weather in Wisconsin will be cold and dark and snowy for several more months. I need something new to keep me going until the spring thaw.
This week I will tackle an upstairs bathroom. Since we need new towels anyway, why not change the shower curtain, window treatment and even the walls? The room was previously decorated in the "Lodge Look" style. Pine branches painted on the walls, an oar and fishing tackle accessories, blue/green plaid tab curtains. It worked well and suited the boys in the family. But now I'm on my French kick. I have a beautiful fabric leftover from another design project that will be perfect for the shower curtain and window. It's a watercolor design featuring French doors with rustic shutters and iron balconies. Every house and apartment in France has them. Every single one. It is such a charming look. I would love to replace my bedroom window with a narrow French door that opens into the room and add a beautiful iron railing. But that's another project!
For the bathroom I will color the walls in a soft buttery yellow. I will look for old shutters with peeling paint for the window. If I can't find them right away, I will paint them right on the wall in green. I already collect architectural cast-offs, so I have several iron pieces to choose from to hang as art. For Christmas, my mother and aunt each a painted water color picture of French windows with shutters for me. Neither knew the other was doing it and neither has seen my fabric. What a wonderful surprise. Since we all traveled to France together last fall, they were well aware of my new found passion for anything French.
Blue and green towels and some new rugs and a few hours to paint and sew and the room will be complete. Then I will move on to another room. I could use a new chair in the family room and my office needs shelves and artwork and...