The End of our St. Marys Story - The Dusty Victorian is FOR SALE - NOW SOLD

Dear Blogging Friends of the Dusty Victorian, 
Spring of 2018 will mark our tenth year anniversary living in St Marys. 
Opening our home to travellers was a little venture we very much enjoyed; we had the opportunity to host the most delightful people, enabling us to finance the restoration and preservation 
of our 129-year-old home. 
A new year always brings new opportunities, challenges and adventures. 
Sadly, 2018 will mark the beginning of the end of our time in St Marys as Brian and I have decided to put our beloved Victorian villa up for sale. There are always more than one reason for making such a life-changing decision, but being closer to family is the most important one. Living and caring for a lovely antique house, in beautiful St Marys, has been a most rewarding experience. Now it’s time for the seventh owners to be guardians and custodians of this Victorian villa. 

We offer heartfelt thanks to all the kindred spirits who have supported us with kind words and left encouraging comments through out the years. 
We will look back on these many posts with much fondness.

The End


THE DUSTY VICTORIAN HAS SOLD
July 2018

Three Bedrooms at The DV

From the outside, The DV appears dormant, but wintertime is a very busy time for refreshing the inside of the house. Astrid and I have been working on three of our four bedrooms,

In 1889, when the house was built, planning more space for the owner's bedroom was not a popular concept. All three bedrooms in the DV are about the same size. The English Study which serves as Brian's office with a single bedroom, is actually a little larger than the three other bedrooms because of the bay window.

Starting with ours, "The Master".

In one of the corners of the room, I painted this mural inspired by the pattern on my duvet.

Tree peonies and two birds in the Chinoiserie style.

The original light fixture in our bedroom was very similar to the one seen in the guest bedroom, but the bowl was cracked so it was replace with this contemporary chandelier to match with the curls of the metal wall ornament and fabric patterns.

The Guest bedroom with a hint of Japanese accents, has for a headboard, the doors that used to be the exterior front doors of the DV.

It is now furnished with antiques that once 

belonged to the second owners of the DV - The Harstones. 

The chest of drawers with vanity mirror and the small washing cabinet with towel bar adds warmth to the room.

This light fixture most certainly was installed when electricity became popular.

Last but not least, Astrid's bedroom.

A dream bedroom for many little girls. Astrid is now twenty (can't believe it).

Eastlake antique bed with a made to measure mattress. 

She did not outgrow the bed length, but very close.

The matching chest of drawers with vanity mirror where many hours are spent. The bedroom set also includes a washing cabinet (not seen) which serves her computer needs.

This gorgeous antique chandelier also came with the house and makes for the perfect 

"Princess Bedroom"

Exterior Flower Box Arrangement - Welcoming the Holiday Season

Jumping from Halloween into Christmas. Where does time go?!

My house colours lend themselves well to those of a traditional Christmas.
Here is a flower box I purchased at my local thrift and vintage store Pass It On a few seasons ago. You can see the before and after transformation here.

Replacing a summer arrangement with a winter one.

Remove all the wilted and dead plants and shrubs from summer, but leave the hearth. Cut a piece of chicken wire about the size of the opening of the box, but add a few more inches all around. Fit it in the box above the hearth so it bellows upwards. Both the hearth and the chicken wire will help support and secure the branches of the winter arrangement.

Fir and yew greenery cut from our trees and shrubs was the foundation of the arrangement.

I added faux frosted berry branches...

 pine cone blooms...

sparkly branches... 

 sparkly cherries and

red peonies.

Many of my accessories are handmade and recycled from previous years, others are found at second-hand stores and redesigned to suit my needs. A few are purchased new at clearance prices.

Add water to keep the greenery fresh; it will freeze as winter gets colder. This will make the arrangement withstand the brutal winds we often get during wintertime.

A welcoming sight for the holiday season.

🎄