Liz Fourez - 2/101 - Love Grows Wild

Peonies from my Garden

11 Jun

I wish I could say that I picked these beautiful flowers from my garden on a gorgeous sunny day without a care in the world… just enjoying the beauty of spring all around me and the warm sunshine on my face. I wish I could say that this past year hasn’t been one of hardest in my life and that I haven’t been desperately trying to make sense of the chaos around me. I wish I could say that I haven’t laid awake at night alone and crying, wondering what we could have done differently. I wish I could say that we made it. And most of all I wish I could say that I never had to have that excruciatingly painful conversation with my children and hold them while they cry.

But the reality is that we didn’t make it, and I picked these peonies on a day when life felt overwhelming. I had a million things I needed to do, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do any of them. So I walked outside to the yard I’ve been learning to take care of all by myself this spring and found my peonies in full bloom… a gift from nature that couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

I carefully picked them all and brought them inside to my kitchen. They were stunningly beautiful and full of life and made my soul feel at peace. I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures… it felt as though their beauty was coming through the camera lens and into my heart… replacing the hurt and loneliness with inspiration and love and the desire to create again.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Little Bits of Love Tagged With: Little Bits of Love

by Liz Fourez 49 Comments

French Country in the Dining Room

11 May

I hinted a few weeks ago that I was thinking about making some changes in the dining room, and it all started with wanting new dining chairs to replace the black metal ones I had. Well, I found the perfect chairs that I totally fell in love with, and I should have known that one thing would lead to another and another… and another! That’s just how I roll apparently. After weighing quite a few chair options, I settled on a pair of chairs with a traditional French country feel to them, which I think fits in beautifully with farmhouse style. I was so inspired by these gorgeous chairs that I ended up making a few other changes in the dining room to reflect more of that softer, feminine, romantic French country look, and I’m loving the way this room feels now. What a difference!

[Read more…]

by Liz Fourez 2 Comments

My Decorating Essentials: Throw Blankets

2 May

Every time I work on a room makeover or style a space for a photo shoot or even when I’m just tidying up the house before having company over, I’ve noticed lately that there are a handful of items that I almost always use to decorate with. Sort of a decorating “formula” I’ve played with and fine tuned over the last five years of writing this blog, and I thought the other day that I should start sharing my tried and true decorating essentials here on the blog. Whether you’re just getting started and need some design inspiration or you’re looking for those little finishing touches to make it finally feel like home, I hope this look inside my decorating process will give you the tools you need to pull a room together perfectly. In this decorating essentials series, I’ll show you how I use these go-to items in my own home and also give you a bunch of examples that you can shop for right from this blog post!

Today I thought I’d start with an easy and mostly inexpensive item that is both pretty and practical… throw blankets!

I have a mountain of throw blankets (probably way more than I need) that I keep all around the house. When the boys and I are curled up in the living room watching a movie, everyone wants their own blanket (even the dog does), and I like to have extra blankets in the bedrooms too for chilly nights. The practical purpose of a throw blanket is pretty obvious, but when you want to make your home feel more cozy and welcoming, adding blankets around the house is a great way to do that. Visually they add softness and a casual, inviting atmosphere and make you want to curl up and relax for awhile. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Home Decor and Design Tagged With: Decorating Lessons, Design, Design Board, Home Decor

by Liz Fourez 4 Comments

Spring Master Bedroom

29 Apr

I think the last few times I’ve shared my master bedroom here on the blog was during the holidays or sometime when it was all decorated for a certain season. So I wanted to share a little update of what my bedroom currently looks like in everyday life, plus a few updates I’ve made in here recently… bedding, wall art, plants, and pillows to name a few!

My bedroom is probably one of my favorite rooms to photograph in the house because it has quite a few features that really make the photographs pop… the soft, romantic lace curtains hung from a (faux) wood beam, the lines of bright white shiplap on the walls (which we installed with this tutorial), the contrast of the strong iron bed frame against all the white in the room… it all comes together beautifully through my camera lens. But the camera also points out what the room is lacking when I upload the photos on my computer and start to edit them. For a long time I’ve just had a basic white quilt on my bed and usually an extra throw blanket draped over the top. But this winter the thin quilt wasn’t very warm, and in photos the quilt all by itself looks very flat and hard. At the end of a long day when you want to crawl into your bed and sleep, you want it to look soft and cozy and plush, not like a hard cot with a tiny blanket.

So to add an extra layer of softness and warmth to my bed, I bought a down alternative comforter and a feminine ruffled duvet in white. What a HUGE difference this made! It feels like I’m sleeping in a fancy hotel bed every night, and the soft ruffles make the bed look so much more cozy and inviting.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Home Decor and Design Tagged With: Design, Home Decor, Master Bedroom, Spring

by Liz Fourez 6 Comments

DIY Vintage Sign for the Dining Room

5 Apr

Hi, my loves! You may remember last week when I shared the current state of our dining room and the floral-inspired decor I have going on in here right now for spring. If not, you can check that post out here! I’ve slowly been working on adding a little more personality to this pretty plain space, and I spent a couple hours one night making a vintage-inspired sign to hang on the wall behind the dining table. I’ve made quite a few hand painted signs like this over the years, and each one always seems to have its own unique look and personality. I’ll usually start with the basic idea of what I want the sign to say and the colors I want to use, but then once I start playing with fonts for the lettering and the way I paint and distress the piece, it sort of takes on a life of its own. That’s my favorite part about creating art… there are no rules or wrong way to do it. Let the canvas (or in this case, a piece of wood) do the talking, and often times I find that the finished product is even better than the original idea I had in my head!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Home Decor and Design Tagged With: Dining Room, DIY Projects, Home Decor

by Liz Fourez 2 Comments

Spring in the Dining Room

29 Mar

Warm spring weather is so close now in Indiana that I can almost smell and taste it, and I cannot wait to see the trees in my yard covered in beautiful blooms. The sun stays up till almost 8pm now, and I am loving all the extra sunshine and warmth! I’ve slowly been bringing little touches of spring into the farmhouse lately, and I wanted to share our bright and cheerful dining room with you today for a few reasons. First, I made some new artwork for the wall that I want to tell you about (you can find that tutorial here!). And also, I wanted to document the current state of how this space looks because I’m thinking about changing some things around in here soon. I know, I know… always something going on around here! Decorating our home is a constant process for me as our needs as a family change and also as my style evolves over time. Even though this house may not be my perfect dream home or as large as I’d like it to be, I get so much enjoyment out of decorating it and creating spaces for our family to enjoy and make memories in. And right now my mind is thinking about new chairs for the dining room table! But more on that soon… let me show you what our dining room looks like today!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Home Decor and Design Tagged With: Dining Room, Home Decor, Spring

by Liz Fourez Leave a Comment

Favorite Farmhouse Benches

22 Mar

Hi, sweet friends! The last few weeks I’ve been talking about the changes I recently made in our entryway (here and here), and I’ve gotten a lot of questions and comments about the little wooden bench that sits next to my front door. Remember this little sweetie?

As you may or may not remember, I actually made this bench from an old door we found in the basement of our farmhouse, and it is probably one of my most treasured pieces of furniture I have. Not only is it a piece of our home turned into a beautiful piece of furniture, but I also just love the panel details and the little bits of chippy white paint that’s left and the sweet curves on the sides that give it the feel of an old church pew. You can see how I made this bench here!

But if you don’t happen to have an old door laying around or don’t feel like going the DIY route, I’ve rounded up a list of my favorite farmhouse-style benches that would be perfect in an entryway! I have actually used benches like these all over our house… at the foot of a bed, at the dining room table or underneath a window, for example. Some of the bench options are tufted, some have backs, some are wood, some are metal, some have beautiful curves and details, and some are simple and stunning. I can’t wait to hear which ones are your favorites! Happy shopping, my loves…

[Read more…]