Furnishing a French Home

Veranda Magazine devotes a couple of pages this month to the....world of DOOR KNOCKERS! How did they know the stress this had caused me?  Seriously, the French have these glorious and beautiful door knockers on their doors.  After my first visit to Paris, I came home and decided to paint my side entry door a colorful green and found a Lion's Head knocker which was gorgeous. It was one of my most favorite purchases ever! I decided to leave it on the door when we moved recently, just because.  I wanted to take it but I kept thinking of the holes it might leave as irreparable! So....my quest to find a new one led me to Restoration Hardware online and I found the perfect one for our new front door! This brings me to other changes in our new place! Several pieces of our furniture just won't fit. Two of my daughters have shopped for furnishings at a restoration hardware outlet and we too found an outlet near Austin, Texas! My first find was the door knocker I had seen! I purchased it at a bargain price, along with the chairs I had hoped to buy at regular price in grey. I settled for the wheat color instead and was thrilled to find them.  Our dining area is much smaller but I still want an elegant French look! 

I purchased these four chairs at the outlet for what one of the hostess chairs would have cost at regular retail prices.  It pays to wait if you live near an outlet. 

 The Door Knocker is one of the first things people see when they get to the front door step, "a knocker sets the mood like nothing else can."  VERANDA.  As I stated earlier, my home, though French inspired has a modern twist. The door knocker is perfection! 

Our front door has detail this will fit well with and complete the look!

I don't want to give too much away about the finishing touches, in case something changes but from the moment I saw this industrial inspired over the island look, I was hooked!  There will be two.  We debated about three but they are 14 inches in width and three would have made the space look crowded. They are lovely! 

Our home building has been special for us. We love spending time together and now that our family is self sufficient, we have learned how important joy and happiness is in this time in our lives. My husband and I both have lots of hobbies and interests. I love making the pillows, soft coverings for the bedrooms, and the window dressings. He loves building things such as mirrors and tables and I have one project for him already just as soon as the tools are unpacked. Life is good.....even while we are waiting for all the craftsmen to finish!  We hope our home will be one always filled with laughter! Everyday is a GIFT!