Snow at the Homestead!

Love how the snow glistens on the architectural details, making then stand out even more!

Here at the Brayton Homestead,  our house particularly shimmers with this lovely white coating in the recent snow storm. Historic houses like ours, built in the Federal period, have architecture that features clean simple lines and are symmetrical in design.

Thanks for visiting the Brayton Homestead...

Presented at FORT ADAMS, my 2nd fashion show

Hi,  I am excited to tell you that my Brayton Homestead Collection of clothing I designed was featured in another fashion show! The setting was perfect for my military style presentation at the famous FORT ADAMS in Newport, Rhode Island. I am just back for vacation (after the show) so I will post more photographs later.

thanks for visiting the homestead,

Karen

Skates, my favorite winter door accent

We are anticipating over a foot of snow here in Massachusetts. We expect that at least once a season in New England, but that does not mean we welcome it. It is charming to look out the homestead windows.But someone has to shovel it!  In this post I am sharing some older pics where I decorated the homestead with ice skates. My go- to winter icon in decorating my doors is vintage skates. My front door here boasts black skates with a plaid scarf , silver balls and silver stars. The silver reflects nicely with a spot light directed on it. 

I painted these skates picturing a snowman on a blustery day for my friend for Christmas a few years ago.A bit of fur and glitter sparkle placed in front of the fireplace. 

I am not a gifted skater but plan to try it again this winter. I should probably stick with watching the skating competitions, but am going to try.

Here, I simply added big red pompoms to the white skates. They remind me of  the red fur pompoms I had on my skates as a girl. A little fake snow was attached with a glue gun and accented with red check ribbon bow. A great bonus for decorating with ice skates is that you can keep them up all season long.

Stay warm and

thank you for visiting the homestead.

Karen

Linking with these great blogs:

Savvy Southern Style,

Elizabeth & Co.,

Dwellings the Heart of the Home,

My Uncommon slice of Suberbia, 

Coastal Charm

my Tutorial to make a Patriotic table centerpiece

Happy Fourth of July from all at the Brayton Homestead. 

It is an especially fun holiday to decorate for. This season it started with the bottom half of my dad's

rusted tackle box. If you do not have a tackle box, a wood box, ceramic dish or white

ironstone tureen would be great.

I have held on to that box for decades! A few pots  of pansies right in their plastic containers went in first,  white then red then white, 3 square pots in all.  

Then I added dollar store flags in each pot. Not liking that I could see the plastic of the pots, I cut a strip of read check gingham cotton fabric and places it around all three pots, tucking it in a bit but not enough to get wet when I watered it.

I forgot to mention that I took a few plastic cups of rocks from my stone driveway and placed them in the bottom of the tackle box. I would recommend using clean rocks, white or grey, available by the bag in many craft stores. 

The homestead, circa 1796 begs to be dressed with red white and blue, and is easy to

decorate. A small addition of color as in this tackle box patriotic arrangement could fit in any room in your home.

Hope you enjoyed...

Linking with these great blogs:

Thank you for visiting the Homestead,

Karen

Memorial Day at the homestead

Greetings from my homestead! 

I have been so busy for the last few months. It has been a whirlwind of excitement since my home was featured in the Home Tour edition 

COUNTRY SAMPLER MAGAZINE... 

My Memorial Day weekend was quiet but nice, mostly planting flowers and getting ready for a season of outdoor entertaining and fun! My decorating this year was very simple. My favorite woven planter on the ed 

front door with all white petunia flowers. All in one pot, placed easily in the wicker basket.

My old buggy/ sleigh seat that usually goes out only in the winter months found it's way on the front steps.

My copper trim under the door is aging with a great verdigris patina. Because the

 original base trim is 216 years old and cannot be removed I covered it with copper

to protect it. The trim is partially underneath the original door frame and would be very 

difficult to take out, and of course I would not want to. 

Have a great week!

Thank you for visiting the Homestead,

Karen

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Can you see me, Krumpet with all the gifts?

Mom has been wrapping all day and she is still not done! New gifts

nestle with old toys she collects... 

I think I am waiting quite patiently. Blue paper for one nephew, pink for a niece. I got a new toy too! 

Our tree has ornaments old and new, mostly old. Many handmade treasure from Doyle over the years.

An old fashion tree with a jumble of colors and materials works best in our living room, well that's what I was told.

Glad you could visit us, I think I am going to get another treat now, 

so bye and Merry Christmas.

You should visit these great blog parties too.

Krumpet and Karen

Worlds of White

WHITE

can be relaxing, inviting, enveloping and can conger up images

 of sleeping in a French chateau

it can also whisper a of a time gently passed...

Thunder with beauty all the while,

Graceful.

White can lead you to blissful new places,

or at ease in your own home...

Happy White Wednesday friends.

Karen

PAINT YOUR OWN SKATES: easy tips to paint YOUR HOME portrait

It is very cold here in Massachusetts! Only had a sprinkling of snow last week, but enough to make me reminisce and want to grab my ice skates and go to the Somerset marsh and skate.

Here are the basic steps I use to create the skate.

These are my handpainted ice skates., painting of the Brayton Homestead, of course.  I painted them in a primitive style- aka- giant snowman the size of a house. 

 First I painted the skates entirely with white paint, including blades and lace openings. I sketched the house on one piece of paper, the snowman on another, cut around the edges of 

each and kept moving the shapes around until I liked it. Then traced the shapes.

I made a straight line with a little curve for the snow, painted a deep blue around the house and snowman, even the lace openings, the painted in details. Remember in this naive primitive style, you are not looking for perfection! I glazed over the snow and the snowman with a thinned out gold paint and completed the skates with a gingham check fabric scrap for laces and a hand painted bells as snowmen.

Try painting your house! 

You can always take a photograph and trace it-

 Let me know if you have any questions.

stay dry and warm and thanks coming by the homestead.

Karen

IMAGES: all Brayton Homestead Interiors

FALL_ AT MY HOMESTEAD

Well, The Frost is certainly on the pumpkin in Massachusetts!

finally posting pics of the homestead dressed for Fall

and it snowed here the other day!...

I just painted my door red, It is less pink in person.

I used the same stain that I covered the fence I had made

last year- see post.

I have also added copper along the bottom of the house. 

The original wood work form 1796 was getting bad and it cannot be replaced as in it part of the base of the house. I love the verdigris patina it is developing. 

Linking with:

IT'S A VERY CHERRY WORLD

  THE HOUSE IN THE ROSES

thank you, 

Karen

IMAGES: Brayton Homestead Interiors

HEY LOOK: I found a beehive oven under my fireplace mantle!

Hope to complete my Homestead project like this

with the inclusion of my new find

  A Beehive Oven!

It looked like this (below) -loved it, but needed love

yet easy to decorate for the seasons...

but

Bored with no electricity during the weekend storm

we decided to tear down the boards on my kitchen fireplace,

and discovered the original fireplace

 



dating to when the Brayton Homestead was built in

1796.

I already knew there was a brick cubby for wood,

it had a door out of the same boards as the fireplace.

Have wanted to take down the boards for such a long time but knew it would

it was any one's guess to what would be lurking behind ...

voila!

first found a great cupboard with a cool round latch

but still have not concluded what was it's use...

then found the beehive oven -originally known as a baking oven. now called

beehive oven because of it's shape

a peak inside the beehive oven... 

the jagged bricks are intentional for the heat of the fireplace to be transported to the oven.

here original wood piece and very old wallpaper...

an original kitchen like this would have been called the keeping room. 

This is what I have left to work with,

what a challenge!

I have a few ideas- do you have any?

Karen

MY COUNTRY KITCHEN: WILD FLOWERS

What is it about red and white check that is so perfect for summer?

Here in my homestead kitchen, checks perk up my

fav darker tones... 

the brick has been painted white and glazed and all complete...

(sorry for the blurriness)

my next wish is to add wood beams to the ceiling

which is old barn board...

wild flowers from an admirer add a touch of nature,

and lots of red appliances !

hope you enjoyed.

visit Transformation Thursday

Tablescape Thursday

Show and Tell Friday

and

Vintage Inspiration Friday.

Karen

Celebrate the Fourth

Wishing that you and your families' Fourth of July holiday is just

MAGICAL.

wishing that you have an opportunity to relax amid all the

FESTIVITIES. 

hoping you have many reasons  to

SMILE A LOT

 as my son's beautiful  fiance does...

and visit Debra at

COMMON GROUNDS'

lovely patriotic party.

it will be a wonderful time.

love cooking for my family and friends at the

HOMESTEAD 

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

to you and your family!

Images: red plumo, google, Brayton Homestead, Common Ground, Brayton Homestead , my vintagedchic shop