The Painted Christmas Cottage

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by. I generally share my garden and the inspirations for my paintings with you. This year I was so honored that Cottages and Bungalows magazine shared my home in their Easy Seaside Style issue and  have requests from some of their readers to  have a peek  inside my cottage to see how I decorate for Christmas with my art. So . . . . . I decided to re-post and update a previous Christmas home tour. My front door is always open for you to come in and sip a cup of tea while I share with you my painted cottage.

This year the wreath on the door has one of my little snowmen paintings on the wreath.

My Studio Assistant, Bentley is eagerly waiting for you at the front door.

Directly past the entrance is the dining room. I collect blue and white china and you will see it throughout my home.  It reminds me of my childhood summers spent at the family beach cottage at Wrightsville Beach, N.C - the charming cottage was filled with my Grandmother's mismatched blue and white china, old quilts, white wicker, and flowers - all the things that I love to paint.

The painted blue table is on of my favorites and displays a little Christmas painting of my red front door and Bentley. The mirror behind the table reflects the outdoors.

Bentley loves to "photo bomb" my photos!

I like to keep Christmas decoration simple using greens, berries and seas shells in keeping with my coastal cottage style of decorating. I collect vintage table cloths and have several lovely ones with reds that I save to use at Christmas time.

The living room is to the right of the dining room.  It is a large room filled with wonderful natural light and is hard to photograph due to the light. The next two photos photos were taken from the dining room looking into the living room.  I switch out the throw pillows according to the seasons and use the red and white check indoor/outdoor pillows for Christmas and Fourth of July.

The painting over the mantel was sold to one of the magazine readers and has been replaced by this painting.

The flag painting in the dining room recently sold and was replaced by this one.

Bentley in the dining room looking into the living room.

The mirror is opposite the fire place and I love the way it reflects my art.

Christmas ribbons are tied around shore birds for festive look.

 Decorations are natural and simple with sea shells, nests and greens.

I tuck my small whimsical painting in among seas shells and plants where I can find room for them!

I bought the blue cupboard at a garage sale -it was used for tool storage and had a vice bolted on top - it has wheels and I paid $25.00 for it and wheeled it down the street to my house!!

We have a living Christmas tree that lives in the garden during the year - it is especially meaningful this year as it survived our terrible drought in Southern California. We decorate the tree with flags and sea shells and keep decorations to a minimum.  A star fish tops the tree.

The staircase has a lovely landing with a tall window that lets in lots of light and is a great place to grow ferns and Christmas plants as well as  hang one of my large paintings of a California vineyard.

The landing is also one of Bentley's favorite places to hang out.  Simple green garlands with red berries and sea shells are wrapped around the banisters.

My office and bedrooms are upstairs.  The large Flower Shoppe painting hangs in my office that is a loft room over looking the living room and side garden. I like to mix old painted furniture with primitive wood antiques as the unpainted wood tends to anchor the room.

Another California vineyard painting of our beautiful central coast vineyards.

Our guests love staying in this room and always comment that they feel like they are in a beach cottage. It has another one of my large paintings of a local scene and porch overlooking our beautiful Newport Bay.

The painting over the bed was sold to another of the magazine readers and was replaced by this one.

Little Christmas paintings are left out for guests to take home.

Let's go back downstairs. The kitchen is to the right of the dining room. It is very sunny and has a large window, greenhouse window and French doors leading to the kitchen patio where I grow herbs and some vegetables in containers.

Two of my little Rooster paintings are on the wall. I have fun painting my personal art to match my decor!  Roosters rule in my kitchen thus the Rooster art! The blue chair is a favorite place to sit and read with a cup of tea as it gets the morning sun.

Herbs thrive in the kitchen window.

Bentley loves to hang out in the kitchen waiting for a taste of Christmas baking.

The jelly cupboard and plate rack  are beside the French doors overlooking the kitchen patio. 

This shot has another of my small Rooster paintings.

Thank you for stopping by my painted cottage.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for visiting my blog, leaving me lovely comments, e-mails and those following my blog.

Wishing you and your family a Merry and Blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year.  I will see you again in January 2018.  Blessings,  Erin

            " When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding joy."  Matthew 2:10

Fall Gatherings

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of tea for a few minutes. I am updating and re-publishing last years post as each year the week before Thanksgiving we start our "fall gatherings" and gather up all of the pumpkins and Fall flowers to take to our  church to use to decorate tables for the annual Community Thanksgiving dinner for anyone in need of a meal.  Most of the pumpkins are donated to our local food bank or to the soup kitchen to use for pies and soups.

                      Bentley, my Studio Assistant, is waiting in the garden to help gather.

Thank you for stopping by.  I sincerely appreciate your visits, comments, e-mails and those following my blog.

Wishing you and your family a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.  Erin

"They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of you righteousness."  Psalm 145.7

Favorite Fall Garden Places

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by. I am re-posting one of my most popular Fall posts .My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax for a few minutes with a cup of hot apple spice tea while I share with you some of my favorite Fall garden spaces.  We have finally settled into beautiful Fall weather in Southern California after a severe heat wave and are enjoying glorious blue skies and nippy evenings. We are also expecting much needed rain later this week.

"Art in the Kitchen"  - another one of the little paintings I taught at Sherman Gardens "art in the garden" series.

Let's have our tea in the kitchen and then  join Bentley, my helpful Studio Assistant, in the garden where he is waiting to show you around. I use the old vintage wagon to keep small pumpkins and pots of Mums in for  guests pick up a few to take home with them - we call it our "welcome wagon".

Every year I decorate a vintage ladder with Mums and pumpkins.

The vintage metal cart is decorated each season with something new - this year I used pumpkins.

                                         This is one of my favorite corners for tea. Blossom faithfully keeps watch over the garden.

Love how the blue furniture looks in the Fall with oranges and yellows.

                                    This is another favorite spot where I like to sit and sketch.

                              Another cozy spot to sit and work in my watercolor journal.

We support our local farmers by buying lots of pumpkins at the beginning of the season and either share them with friends in our "welcome wagon" or donate them to our local soup kitchen to make pumpkin pies that will be served at the community Thanksgiving dinner for those in need of a meal.

One of my favorite containers for Fall bouquets - an old rusty funnel with a glass inside to hold flowers.

I love using seasonal signs to create little vignettes and  add interest and

A little " art in the garden".  My class at Sherman Library and Gardens painted this little pumpkin.

                                         Another favorite place to have morning tea.

It is starting to sprinkle so I will stop our tour and finish it after the rain.

Thank you for stopping by  I sincerely appreciate your visits, comments, e- mails and prayers for my continued recovery from a re-occurring auto immune issue. 

Have a lovely week.  Blessings,  Erin  I saw this quote on FaceBook and loved it so much I wanted to share it with you.          "Lord, let them see you in me."        


                   "With God are wisdom and strength, he has counsel and understanding." Job 12:13