In celebrating our nations freedom this month, I decided to call upon Becky to share with us her beautifully decorated patriotic home. A member of the Modesto Garden Club, and past recipient of their Garden of The Month award in April of 1999, Becky has resided in her Modesto, Ca home with her family for the past 12 years.

 

Becky describes her decor as "Cottage Eclectic". There is a little bit of kitsch, whimsy, shabby, English, beach and garden style that is used throughout her home. Each room has it's individual personal style, yet the rooms flow together nicely. Mary Engelbreit's style of decorating and her collections are of great appeal to Becky. Little touches and the use of "cute" things just make a home feel warm and fuzzy. It was important to Becky that her family live comfortably in their home. Thankfully, they have been very understanding and appreciative of the things that make a house a home. Becky's favorite saying, which is on a sign in the entryway is "A house is made of bricks and beams...A home is made of love and dreams." That sums it all up!

 

Becky's decorating influences have evolved over the years. Her Mother and Nanny were huge inspirations for her. Afterall, Becky's Mother was (and still is) a decorator, an artist, and an avid garage sale junkie. Their home always had her Mother's personal touches, with antiques and lots of fabric swatches to look at. For Becky, trips to her Nanny's home were always a treat, with her love of sewing and coordinating fabrics. Becky learned to sew and appreciate textiles at an early age. As Becky says, "Growing up around these creative women has helped mold me into who I am today, to appreciate and use things in my home that have meaning, depth, humor and just plain sweetness".

 

Becky loves to read magazines and books that offer ideas and inspiration for decorating. Some of her favorites are: Cottage Style, Country Home, Country Living, Romantic Home and Home Companion. Becky says "My mind whirls a million miles a minute when I am reading them". Just recently, Becky has discovered the world of blogs, and finds great inspiration from the women who write them. There are several different links she frequents that offer a view into homes of women who share her same passion of decorating, cooking, gardening and cherish the idea of creating a wonderful environment to live in.

 

When Becky first started sharing with me some photographs of her home, I appointed her with the nickname "The Queen of Vignettes." As you can see in her photos, she puts it all together in such a way, that it takes a trained eye to pull it off so beautifully, and she does just that. Becky enjoys grouping things together, especially enamelware trays, antique mirrors, silver trays, and finds vintage doilies handy for little groupings. She finds keeping items in the same color range creates a more pleasing display. Becky suggests moving things around and changing decor for different seasons. This will keep rooms from becoming boring and will also appear that you have new treasures. Another great tip: use pillows to add texture, color and softness to a room. Since Becky sews, she uses vintage embroidered pieces, chenille, feedsack fabric, barkcloth, vintage tablecloths and pretty cottage style fabrics in the pillows that she makes. She suggests, "Move them around, too. If you get tired of one on your bed, move it to the couch...that is if it matches".

 

Among Becky's many collections, she has been collecting Scotty Dog things even before owning their own precious Scottish Terrier. She also enjoys collecting vintage clocks, Occupied Japan figurines of children, antique green tint pictures with children in them, Victorian Criss-Cross frames, vintage textiles, ironstone, white matte pottery, things with blue birds, toleware pieces, antique etched mirrors, vintage talc tins, motto prints, vintage cross-stitch samplers, white funeral baskets and old globes.

 

When shopping for treasures, there is an abundance of antique shops in Modesto, as well as towns close by. A few of Becky's favorites are: Crow Trading, Remember When, and Laura Bells. Antique Avenue in Manteca is fabulous, as well as Hubba Hubba in Stockton. For a great road trip, she suggests trying out Summer Cottage in Petaluma, Ca. An avid flea marketer, Becky loves to visit Alameda and the Turlock Flea Market. She says, "I have never walked away with nothing at either one". Becky also finds wonderful things to buy on eBay. If you are looking for something in particular, usually it can be found there. Even though she sews, Becky loves to buy pillows from women who sell their wares on eBay.

 

Becky sells on eBay, under the user name cottage*dreams (formerly Sweet-Cottage-Dreams). She proudly offers unique homemade Cottage pillows and other unique cottage finds. -JG

 

(Photographs courtesy of homeowner. Article by Jennifer Grey, owner of The Old Painted Cottage)