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Friday, December 5, 2008

SHARE A SPACE SATURDAY


I am so excited to have Christine as my guest for Share A Space Saturday. I have "met" a lot of cyber friends, but Christine is the only one whom I have met in person, and she is as sweet and as cute in person as she comes across in her comments. You may have seen her elegant decor on Rate My Space and Micasa, but I asked Christine to share with us some facts about her beautiful furnishings and lovely treasures. Before I ask Christine to take us on a tour, I am going to share a picture of the two of us when we met in person. Christine is the young-looking one with that gorgeous long dark hair.




Christine is going to take us on a tour of her fabulous dining room, which is decked out for Christmas and for a dinner party she is having.
Thanks to Rhoda's tutorial over at Southern Hospitalitiy, I think my pictures are now "clickable".
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First, I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It is so sweet of Laurie to invite me to showcase our dining room in her blog. Although I am nervous about it, especially after following Vanna, Laurie and Connie's gorgeous home posts, I couldn't possibly say no, for Laurie is a dearest friend. As a matter of fact, she is the first and only one I met personally out of all my RMS cyber friends.

Now on to the tour: The front entry will lead you to the foyer. But don't go straight which leads to the family room, or you will be challenged to a game of Scrabble. Both dh and I are very competitive and we've actually memorized all the 2 and 3 letter words. LOL!

Our carolers greet you along with some presents that I wrapped and put in a wooden box.


Turn left and here before you is the dining room with its bold wallpaper. On the wallpaper are peacocks, although I think they are Birds of paradise (if there is such a thing). I mentioned that first, for you to understand where my peacock theme idea of the tablescape started.


Going clockwise, to the left is a small corner curio cabinet. My dh bought it at half price from a store in Jackson which was closing. They sold mostly wooden furniture from Thailand, India, Indonesia and Singapore. This particular one was made in Indonesia. Serving pieces are stored at the bottom shelf and on the top shelf are my jar collection that I buy from different countries we visit. How do you like the peacock lampshade? I bought it from Amazon.com. The centerpiece is one of a pair of Meissen lady compotes that we won at a recent estate auction here in town.



Here is a closeup of the Meissen centerpiece and a little peacock figurine I bought at 1/2 price in a local shop. I added ribbons and placed Christmas balls on all the compotes to make them look more festive.



Here is an overview of the dining room looking in from the foyer.



Between the windows is a French buffet server that I bought on ebay from an antique store in NY. I believe it is Louis XVI style with bronze ormolu and a cherub medallion. I keep more serving pieces in it, some stemware and in the top drawer is where my Siam flatware set sleeps. BTW, I have a complete set of 24 servings and they can't fit there so half of them are still in their wooden case in the garage.
On top of the buffet is a Meissen 4 season compote, a figurine of 3 angels that was one of the first ones we purchased from an antique shop here when we first moved and a bird. The 3 angel figure was only $15 and I grabbed it from a table in the back room. Also on top is a buffet lamp and a small lamp I bought from Lynne (decorator 101). I really love this lamp, in fact I keep it on all the time. You can change the sleeves for different seasons. The painting above is another one I got from ebay from the same NY antique shop. I think I am one of his favorite customers. He calls me every now and then.



At the left far corner is a little curio pedestal I bought on line from Home Decorators. Yes, I shop a lot on line but then again, I shop a lot off line too. LOL! As you can see, I keep more stemware there and above it is the another Meissen Lady compote. Hanging on the wall is a gold ornate mirror I won on ebay from a NY antique shop. Most of the things we buy are really not true antiques, merely reproduction. We just like the look.



On the right side of the wall is a French provincial cabinet that dh kept admiring every time we went to Red Door in Baton Rouge. It has very unusual multiple doors that are made of bronze or brass, I am not quite sure which one. It was like a ritual. Every time we went to that store, he would pull me out of the area where I would be shopping, to take a look at this cabinet. After a year, the store had reduced it $600 and dh again pulled me to it to show me. I told him that if he really likes it, he should get it and we will make room for it somehow, so it ended up here. I did not appreciate it at first but once I used it to store more servers, tea sets and dinnerware pieces, I was glad we bought it. Above the cabinet, we stored 3 porcelain pieces that we won at an estate auction. The one in the center is Victorian with stag, hunters and hounds and it's quite large, 23 x 17 and very heavy! We had a tough time lifting it up there but we have no other place elsewhere to put it. The other 2 are celest blue Meissen vases. The door next to it leads to the kitchen.

A closeup of the centerpiece and lidded vases.





This tree was in the family room last year but I decided to put it here cause I found my white tree which I thought will look better in the family room.


Notice the 2 peacock ornaments? I bought one from Amazon.com and the other from JC Penney's.





This is one of my favorite furniture items in the house. I love how the glass is curved or concave. And yes, I found it on ebay from a Pennsylvania antique shop. I couldn't find anybody to move it cheaply so we waited 6 months before it was finally delivered, but it was well worth the wait. The inside light can be turned on just by touching the outside hinge. I was in FL when it came but I could tell dh was in love with it by the way he described it to me on the phone. In there, I keep my good Bavarian formal china with gold and silver borders, which I picked so I can use either color of servers.



I added wreaths behind each chair.




We are actually having a dinner party on Monday so this tablescape is not going to be wasted. I used 2 kinds of stemware, a Princess house goblet with a poinsettia design and a green wine glass I bought from TJ Maxx. I bought the tablecloth with the napkins from Grand Cayman. I don't know why but every time we go there, I end up buying 1 or 2 tablecloth sets and we go there every year so you can imagine how many sets I accumulated. The lidded server is another princess house item. I like to serve noodles in it.


Just another view of the table.


The dinnerware was actually recommended to me by Laurie. She thought it will go perfectly with our wallpaper and I think she is right. What do you think? You have seen my flatware from my Fall tablescape. My cousin gave me a 12-place setting. They are from Thailand and they have "Siam" inscribed on the handles. They are made out of brass or bronze (it's hard for me to tell which is which) with mahogany handles. I liked them so much that one day, I searched on ebay and found another set of 12 which I bought, so now I have a complete 24 place setting. You must know by now that I am an ebay seller's dream. LOL!



Another view of our 8 place dining table

Do you see the big peacock centerpiece? I bought this from a local frame and gift shop at half price. I tried to bargain with the owner but she would not let it go for less than half. I think it looks good there, don't you think? I usually keep it on top of the buffet but since I am doing a tablescape with peacock dinnerware, I thought it will complete the look.




Laurie, thank you for the opportunity for me to share our dining room with your readers. I hope we don't scare them away. For the readers, I appreciate you putting up with reading my wordy descriptions.
~~~~~~~~~~

Christine, thank you so much for this tour of your elegant dining room. If I haven't scared everyone away from my blog with my postings, this gorgeous room certainly won't scare anyone away.
Thank you for stopping by my blog for Share A Space Saturday. laurie

47 comments:

Tomarie said...

Christine~~you have the most GORGEOUS taste!! Your home is absolutely stunning! And I'm sure you're the Hostess with the Mostess! I could never pick a favorite because all your things..and rooms are so beautiful! (Although, I'm REALLY fond of the peacock ornament! :-))
Thank you Laurie and Christine for sharing such an amazing home! Christine, it is obvious you seek and find items with intricate detail and beauty..and that says something about YOU!! :-)

xinex said...

Awww thanks Laura! That is so sweet of you! Laurie, thanks for featuring our dining room. You're so nice!...Christine

DESIGN BY CATHLEEN said...

Hi Laurie,

Loved your comments about MY COTTAGE! LOL
You are really funny! It's hard to get a sense of people, but I can tell your a character! Sounds as if we have a few other things in common (besides the cottage) My father and his family ( last name Caudle) moved from Arkansas, Hope or a little town near that. Look forward to blogging with you! :-)

Ho, Ho,
Cathleen

lvroftiques said...

Wowser-O-ramma!!! Christine your home looks spectacular!! And girl meissen is meissen! It doesn't get any better *winks* You have such gorgeous pieces! I would have beat you to that cherub comode if I coulda girlfriend!*winks*
Laurie you are doing a cruel thing for the person on the next Saturday share! Lol!! This is gonna be a tough act to follow!Lol!! Vanna

Kat said...

This is just gorgeous. I loved this room when I saw it on Micasa. Thanks to Laurie for having you share this, it's nice to be able to see more detail. You have such wonderful things and such a knack for displaying them. Kathy

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

WOW!! it just one word...BEAUTIFUL oh Laurie and I am so excited to see Christine DR here,,and that one Compotes I just love it..the China, flat ware everything just goes so wonderful together..Love the wall paper..and C/X hope you have a great dinner party wished I was once of your guest...it all beautiful..thanks so much Laurie and Christine for sharing your wonderful room with us..hope you both have a great day...hugs and smiles Gloria

Glenda said...

Laurie I agree with you. The china is a perfect addition to this wonderful space. I can't imagine anything that would have been better.
Everything in this room is dead on the money. The flatware is absolutely gorgeous as is the glassware. Your guests will be talking for months about their dinner at your house.
Thanks to the both of you for sharing this amazing room.

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

WOW !!! and double WOW!!! This is truly gorgeous Christine. You've out done yourself. I love all of your beautiful china.. and your peacock treasures are screaming my name.. But then again alot of things in your beautiful room are screaming my name.. I know your dinner party will be a huge success and your guests will enjoy sitting at this beautiful table.. What time did you say dinner was? Thank you Christine and Laurie for sharing your friendship and beautiful home..hugs ~lynne~

Anonymous said...

OM goodness!!! I am breathless!!!! How exquisite is this??? The dinnerware is amazing and PERFECT for this room, the tree is gorgeous..and I ahve a very good friend who would LOOOVE to have that peacock centerpiece, she has peacock wallpaper as well in her dining room! I LOOOVED the tour, thanks so much! Christine, thanks for sending me over here, you are SOOOO cute!!! Hugs to you and Laurie! Pinky

Bridget said...

I loved seeing more details of Christine's dining room. I've loved it since seeing it on RMS a looong time ago! Those dishes are gorgeous!!!!
Bridget

Melissa Miller said...

~Beautiful~ Thanks for sharing. :)

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Oh my goodness, I thought this was wonderful when I saw the pics on Micasa, but to really get the detailed tour is out of this world. I think everything is my favorite. Also so wonderful to see your picture, you'r gorgeous. Thanks Laurie for asking her to share. What a wonderful treat. Hugs, Marty

Anonymous said...

Christine, I have loved everything you do on RMS, but to get a close-up of this gorgeous room and all the beautiful facets is such a treat! You have such excellent taste and everything is so unique! I couldn't say a favorite thing, it's all my favorite! However, the peacocks are so beautiful! Connie/puddin07

Salmagundi said...

WOW! The furniture and dishes, etc. are just beautiful. Thank you, Christine and Laurie, for sharing this gorgeous space. Sally

Four Paws and Co said...

Thank you Laurie & Christine! This is amazing! ♥ Diane

Anonymous said...

Laurie, I'm checking to see what my username will come up as, I just got a new Google Account. Connie/puddin07

squawmama said...

Wow Thanks Laurie for this awesome posting... Christine’s house is beautiful... so elegant... Thanks for sharing with us... I love your home.

(((HUGS)))
Donna

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hello Laurie...

Oooohhh...what beautiful "eye candy"!!! Ms. Laurie I'm just elated that you did "Share A Space Saturday" showcasing Christine's magnificent Christmas dining room!!!

Christine, your home is sooooo very beautiful! I just fell in love with your dining room when you did your Autumn decorating...I really couldn't imagine "topping" that but you have!!! Your dining room looks so grand and regal all dressed in it's Christmas finery!!! Your tablescape is really one of the prettiest that I've ever seen!!! You have so many exquisite things! What a beautiful job you've done...I'm anxious to hear how your Monday dinner guests respond to all of your Christmas Wonder! Please let us know...okay? Thank you Girlfriend for sharing your dining room with us...and thank you Laurie for the tour...I loved it!!!

Love ya Sweetie...
Chari

Carrie said...

Oh, Christine, you have a stunning dining room! Your decor is exotic in an elagent traditional setting. The dinner plates aer a fabulous design. Where are they from? What is the design name?

Kathysue said...

Christine, another lovely room. I can only imagine how that looks in the candlelight. I love the peacock centerpiece. He looks so grand and regal.All of your pieces have a regal look to them.What lucky guest to be sitting at such a beautiful table.I just saw a pict of you for the first time. Girl you are even more gorgeous than your home. You are quite the exoctic beauty. Laurie thankyou for this great tour on your blog. Hugs to both of you, Kathysue

Pug1 said...

What a beautiful home!!! I enjoyed every bit of this well written tour! I hope the gathering goes well Monday night! CHEERS! Michele

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Laurie...Thanks so much for sharing Christine's space. I didn't know that you had met in person! That's so cool! I think we should have a convention in the middle of the US one day so we can all meet each other! Christine...Your dining room is beautiful! I love all of your peacocks! The lamp is gorgeous and the centerpiece is incredible! I would enjoy your dinner party even if you didn't have any food!...Beautiful....Debbie

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Laurie...BTW thanks for noticing my tablerunner, napkin and my cup! We love our Quimperware, don't we? lol Have a great evening...Debbie

Anonymous said...

Laurie thanks so much for your Saturday tours! They are so much fun- Christine has a beautiful home!

I have to agree with Vanna- these houses are gonna be a hard act to follow for anyone!

Well I did get my real tree decorated today finally- it seemed every set of lights were not working!!! I ended up throwing 5 sets away!!! I had to end up using colored lights to have enough for the tree and I am not real happy with it as I like the white light look- We live in a tiny town with not alot of selection so I cannot be picky I guess!!

blessings
mary

nikkicrumpet said...

So fun to see all her treasures and her beautiful home. I loved that peacock ornament! Everything looks so elegant!

Anonymous said...

Wow, absolutely fabulous. It looks great. Thanks for sharing!

Tardevil said...

Wow Laurie, thanks for letting Christine show us her house...is it beautiful, or what??? I'd like to see all that stuff in person. Love the dishes you suggested for her too & her corner hutch she waited 6 months to get. Have a good weekend!

Anonymous said...

WOW! I'm SELDOM "breathless", but I am now! What a beautiful read, w/ fab pics of a stunning home! Such a treat to see! THANKS you both!!! Hugs, Linda

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

Laurie...thanks for coming by my PINK Saturday girl..sorry it took me so long to get back to you...been here laying down in my Old RED robe girl!! have a great day dear friend...hugs and smiles Gloria

Anonymous said...

Where and how do I begin to comment after such a glorious post? I've poured over every inch oogling Christine's amazing finds. It's interesting that she mentions hunting reproductions, ebay acquisitions, auction winnings and the like because this epitomizes her pursuit of the unique, exotic and most often exceptional finds that makes her home so charismatic and facinating. As I lust from item to item, one morsel that I most adore is the whimsy of the peacock ornament with fanned tail. It so reminds me of my personality-filled friend, Christine, whose home reflects fine living and remarkable taste.

Laurie - Decorating Fanatic said...

Oh what an absolutely STUNNING room! So richly elegant! I love the wallpaper AND the matching china!! how perfect is that?! And filled with all that beautiful furniture and Christine's husband actually LIKES TO FURNITURE SHOP!? It doesn't get any better than that! Just a perfectly decorated room...Thanks for sharing! ~ Laurie

Anonymous said...

Simply breath taking. Words fail me... this is so beautiful Christine. Opulent without being over the top, warm, welcoming, everything one would dream of in an elegant and stately home. You are doing an amazing job. Thank-you so much Laurie. Love, Cindy

Anonymous said...

CHRISTINE,I'VE TOLD YOU BEFORE,BUT YOUR HOME IS AWESOME.EVERY LITTLE DETAIL IS AWESOME.YOU HAVE DONE WELL MY FRIEND,YOU HAVE DONE WELL...ANN

xinex said...

Thank you so much, Cindy! I am really glad you like our dining room and I appreciate your kind words about it...Christine

Cami @ Creating Myself said...

Your home is stunningly elegant Christine! And what a beautiful table you set!

niartist said...

Oh Laurie! Thank you for featuring Christine - I've always loved her style, and you made a great choice picking her to feature here on your great blog! Hope you're well!

CIELO said...

The House in the Roses is having a party!... Come to the “World of Treasures” and show your lovely treasures... Come see!

Cielo

Cyndi said...

Thanks for inviting me over Christine(I hope you don't mind me just popping in Laurie)I love your home Christine,you really are a great decorator.Just amazing,is all I can say.I am sure your guests will be very impressed,have a great time tonight! Cyndi

Lady Katherine said...

How wonderful the tour is of your home. I love the peacocks, I used to have 5 real ones outside! The peacock ornament, just beautiful. The centerpeice, all your collections are very lovely. Laurie you did a great job, the dinnerware is perfect! Thanks for the tour, I love the tours, I do not have to drive for miles and just sit and relax and I am there in a new home each week.

Anonymous said...

loved this post laurie, You and c/x look so cute in the photo. I am a huge fan of christine and her beautiful home. vickydarnell

Kristens Creations said...

Christine, your home is beautiful! It has such a warm cozy feel to it, and yet it's very elegant. Thank you for always leaving sweet comments on my posts. I really appreciate them. You and Laurie come over and register for my blog givaway! Kristen

The Kramer Angle said...

Hi Laurie and Christine,

I really enjoyed this post. I could move right into Christine's house and feel right at home because it's very "welcoming".

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

Laurie, thanks for swinging by.. I'm usually not lucky enough to win anything..so please go ahead and enter. I'd be happy for anyone that wins...hugs ~lynne~

Lady Katherine said...

Hi Laurie, I not sure how to get back with Christine. She wants to know if I live near her, I live about 85 miles from her. Thanks for the hosting your blog to tour other homes its such a great idea! But remember we love your home too.! Had any celbs in town? I know only one Leann Rimes. She lived a few house from us when we lived in town and played with my girls and my hubby grew up with her mother and Aunt.

Anonymous said...

Laurie- Thank you for the compliments on my dining room- I am so surprised at all the thumbs up for that wallpaper!!!!!! It makes the room look so very dark and I have no idea how to hang pictures in that room for some reason!!!

Guess I need to take a second look at it- Though sage green walls have been what I have envisioned for this room- I would love to paint everything shabby chic white too but DH would die!!!
Blessings
mary

Kathleen Ellis said...

OH MY!!! This was a feast for the eyes! Christine, your home is beautiful and your tablescape is magnificent! Just magnificent!
thank you so much for sharing!

Merry Christmas!

Chandy said...

Laurie, you chose a good one to share today. I enjoyed reading every little bit of it. Thanks!

Christine, your home and dining room is just exquisite! Your cabinets are all darling and I'm glad that each holds your tablescaping treasures. That always makes the price so much worth it. I love the whole peacock theme and you did flawlessly. What a grand Christmas that must have been for your family and guests!

I enjoyed the whole tour!