Saturday, September 22, 2007

Little Miss Muffet


...might have sat on the needlepoint tuffet I bought for 99-cents!

My mother gagged at its harvest-gold-and-mushroom palette, not to mention the pom-pom fringe. I, on the other hand, just couldn't resist. I think it adds whimsy to the room.
I love decorating with an eye to nature--every room in my house holds birds, fish, ferns, field guides. These secondhand finds lend themselves to a traditional style with layers of pattern and color.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

What lovely handwork, whoever made it would feel good knowing it is being used and appreciated. IMHO, it goes great with the home style you have created for yourself but who knows what memories of by-gone decorating eras it brings back for your mom. I vow that I will never bring "country blue", a la the '80's and my mom's house, into my house, but someday it may look fresh to me in contrast to the rich beiges, yellows and reds in my house now.

Amy said...

These are really pretty! I always love a whimsical touch :o)

Anonymous said...

I think it is very nice, but I think I would remove the trim. It is just not something I am drawn to. I have been known to buy pillows at yard sales etc. and remove the trim. Sometimes I will add new trim, but more often than not I remove the trim and leave it plain.
Roxie

Meredith said...

Alison, you're absolutely right. My mom had the avocado green and harvest gold house, and it brings back very bad memories for her.

My least favorite dated colors? Mauve and teal. Yuck.

Meredith said...

Roxie, thanks for the input.

Anyone else? Leave the pom pom fringe or cut it off?

Carrie J said...

Pom Pom all the way. It is whimsical and fun.

laurel said...

I adore pom pom fringe. I think it is so sweet. I definitely vote to keep it.

Anna said...

No, no, leave the pompom! This cushion is all about being over the top in bad taste. Let's not pretend we're reaching for classy by ditching the pompoms! :)

Anonymous said...

I am sitting here, laughing, wishing all of us ladies could have this conversation together! Meredith, I could just see your mom gagging at these, but I am like you- I think they're cute, I love the colors, and I love the pom-pom fringe. I think that's what makes them quirky and cute! And it's funny that you said something about the mauve and teal....those two colors were EXACTLY what I was thinking would make me gag, too!! Yuck!! No 1980's color palette rewind for me!!
Susan

Wendy said...

Don't change a thing! I love it just the way it is.

nannykim said...

what, no frogs??

3boysmama said...

I think it takes a special touch, like yours to make a chair like this work.

It would not work at my house, that's for sure!

Jenn @ Frugal Upstate said...

That is so ugly that it crosses the line and become cute again. I have a shirt that is like that. . . .

Anyway, I'd leave the fringe on-that's what (in my humble opinion) takes it back over the edge to cute again. . ..

Missy K said...

now, see, that is just the kind of detail that I think gives a home personality!

nancyr said...

Your mother and I had to endure the "harvest gold and avacado green" era of the sixties and early seventies!
Those of us who lived through the "overkill" of those colors may never be able to like them again!
I do think the chair and needlepoint is very cute, however.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I was of the avacado, harvest gold, burnt orange era as a bride myself. I even have a few corningware dishes with those colors on the side--with mushrooms! But once you live through it there is no going back.

Least favorite lived-through-it-colors: seafoam green and peach, mauve and blue, green, gold and brown.

I vote leave the fringe!

Ruth

Anonymous said...

Meredith,

Of course, the cushion (with fringe intact) looks great in your home - but I'm having flashbacks to those Weight Watchers recipe cards. Must be the mushroom motif. . . .

Susan in San Antonio

Anonymous said...

I was a "tween" when MUSHROOMS were the latest thing...my mom decoupaged mushroom images on wooden box purses, painted them, sewed me a pinafore of mushroom print to be worn over bell-bottomed jeans. She has a similar reaction to the colors and mushrooms as your mother!

The icon I'll hate to see return would be the geese and bows of the early 80s... In about 10 years I"ll have mom's stash with which to thrill some future thrifter : )

deb meyers