Once upon a time in a land far away, there stood an ivory tower, amid a frozen sea of ice and snow...
Oh, okay, so I live in a semi-detached house, but I am nothing if not imaginative! It has been a very busy week of revamping my home and turning it into a wintry wonderland. I've got lots more lovely things; pictures, candle holders, faux furs and such like. I wanted to make it like a silvery forest and I had two images in mind as I gathered items together - Narnia and Scotland in the snow.
My mum bought me a big picture of a king stag in a snowy setting. Like the winter woodland picture I got last week, the stag is also shot through with silver thread, making it glimmer like a magic spell. I bought some silver cushions with stags on the front to go with the silver tree cushions from last weeks shopping trip. I also found some gorgeous tea light glasses in frosted white glass with sparkly gray squirrels on them.
It was starting to look very much like the Highlands in winter, which is what I wanted, but I also wanted to give a nod to the place I actually live which is Yorkshire, so I got a stunning picture of a long stemmed winter white rose. It has a mother of pearl finish and it gleams in the light. I love it. It has replaced the pink rose picture that featured in the home shoot; that one is now hung in my bedroom. The pearly finish gives the white rose a nice warm glow and a white rose is the sigil of Yorkshire.
It was important to me that the room didn't look too cold. I wanted it to have the essence of winter, but with a certain cosy glow about it. The whole point of my doing a wintry theme was that I can no longer enjoy deep winter like I used to because my thyroid illness makes the cold a lot less bearable, even dangerous, to me. So I chose things with a silvery, glowy finish. To add to the cosy feel I got a few faux fur items to snuggle up in; an Arctic Wolf hearth rug and some creamy Snow Leopard cushions and throw, which go nicely with the Silver Wolf throw I got last week. So now there are lots of soft, cosy textures to add warmth to the room. As I said, I feel the cold and it can quickly make me ill, so I do need throws to snuggle under when I'm reading a book or watching a film.
The cream faux suede curtains and silver tree voile panels look great, with the panels diffusing the light so that it looks like a snowy day, even when it's not! This was a lovely surprise. I also got two beautiful mirrored silver tree tea light holders for on either side of the piano. These look stunning when the candles are lit inside and set the branches glimmering. Another lucky find was a pouffe/footstool in champagne velvet, buttoned with diamante - it was on sale and just the right size for the space. I do think that the right things just come to you if you are open to receiving them. You just have to go shopping with an open mind and a sense of gratitude. It's the little finds that finish the job too; the new snowy owl and white filigree heart coasters make a cup of coffee more special and enjoyable somehow.
The final touch was another gift from my mum and it's a lovely dress-form but unlike the kind dress-makers use, this one is decorative and already wearing a cream frothy tutu and a string of pearls. I adore her and I've named her Odette, after the Swan Queen. I raided my jewelry box and added a couple of strands of beads, my bridesmaid pearls, my grandmothers double tier crystal necklace, a little diamante bow broach and a replica of Anne Boleyn's 'B' pearl choker, so now she looks all dressed and ready for the ball. She is like a little snow queen, standing in the corner of the room.
So after a week of hard work, creativity and imaginative design (not to mention taking advantage of the January sales!) I now have a beautiful winter wonderland room that glimmers like a silver forest. A place where Highland stags roam, trees glitter and a snow princess awaits her prince...a fairytale in frosted sparkle and winter white.
I've fallen in love with my little nest all over again and I feel like I want to hibernate. Winter has come to my house, bringing a touch of the Scottish Highlands with it and I can now enjoy my favourite season all year round, without fearing the Cailleach's bite. It is my own version of Narnia, where it is always winter, but never cold and deadly! And I couldn't be happier with it.
