Hi everyone! I decided to pull some things together and share an Americana style country summer tour for the 250th Birthday of America just using things I already had! I have plenty of red, white and blue, even though I don’t normally use those colors together.
I layered a quilt from a friend on the sofa, then added pillows I had, including some pillows I made from feed sacks from granddaddy’s store.
The suitcase radio (on grandmother’s trunk) is from the 1940s, and this is the radio my great grandmother and my daddy listened to President Roosevelt’s funeral on in 1945. Family photos, books and windows from the old house here dress up this corner.
A collection of books about America my Aunt Jody gave me, seemed perfect for the coffee table.
Beautiful magnolia blooms from mother’s yard are the centerpiece.
I kept the mantel simple with the red velvet scarf I made, my grandmother’s candle holders and an oil pastel by Louis Rowell (in 1909) of the view out the front of my great grandmother’s home here nearby.
In the kitchen, I brought out the floral sink skirt and curtains I made last year. So perfect for this theme!
I made all the feed sack towels from granddaddy’s feed sacks.
I really wanted to use the Blue Willow china my Mammaw Chandler bought for me, a piece at a time, at the grocery store in the early 90s. These are really special, and such an iconic pattern for Americans – even though the scene is Chinese, and they’re normally made in England🙂
I love reusing these vintage calendars for the corresponding current year.
The Brown drip cookie jar is actually from the Bicentennial in 1976, and I keep coffee in it.
On the table, I used a red check runner I made from a tablecloth, oil lamps from the old house and some flowers from the yard in a pitcher I borrowed from mother.
The 1880s American organ was inherited, and I do play it every now and then😊
In the bedroom – there was a BIG change!! I found this Walnut Eastlake antique bad on Marketplace for $100, and I could not pass this up. It was too beautiful, and I’ve always wanted a full wood bed. I put the iron bed in my girls’ room😊 It works perfectly with the other antique furniture I have in here.
I used my usual white linens, and added some vintage pillow cases my great aunt gave me and my great-mammaw Laney’s quilt.
I made the ticking stripe pillow for Christmas one year.
My Mammaw Laney also made this quilt, and it’s so perfect with these colors.
I used some of the art my granddaddy’s cousin Ruth painted many years ago. I usually have these somewhere in the house, but thought they would work so well with the reds and whites in here.
I’m so happy with how everything turned out, and so glad I decided to go for it and get these things out of closets, cabinets, etc., and put them together. This is definitely not a typical “patriotic” tour, but for me this is just perfect and reflects my family heritage here.
I have a video up where I’m sharing some of the stories of the people these things came from, so be sure to check that out!
Thanks for stopping by, and Happy 4th!
Anita
