The lighting you choose creates your ambience.

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In your haven, the lighting you choose, will not only create a unique mood but it will enhance each room with beauty and charm. The wonderful thing about the way you decide to light your home and the methods you chose to bring about an ambiance of charisma, enchantment and warmth, is that you can use a myriad of diverse ideas to change them when your desire arises. For instance, you may want to create a more  intimate lighting for a romantic dinner, soft lighting for a girls night out or an enchanting illumination, (candles and twinkling white lights) for a suspenseful, Murder mystery party with guests arriving in costume.

Let The Sunshine in.” Natural sun light is one of the most becoming ways of showing off the beauty of your room. By using lace curtains pulled back with a decorative tapestry tie,  a ribbon of vintage lace or a swag of dried flowers, you will bring in a gentle and dreamy light. In hanging sheer white curtains or choosing to use a ‘curtain free’ look, the appeal and loveliness of your home will come forth even brighter. Using a variation of whites, creams, egg shell and soft greys along with sheers, creates a large room, exudes  the aura of a clean fresh look as well as creating a very festive mood.

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Choosing miniature, twinkling white lights amongst topiary trees, entwined in garlands upon your stairwell and mantle or interlaced in decorative trees within your home is a wonderful way to create the mood of ‘romance,’ as well as blissful charm.

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 My village collection when all lit up with glistening white lights is not only magical but is captivating and fairytale like.  We have chosen this way of lighting within our home and we love it. (Except within my husbands manly office, in which he does not allow me to decorate, even one  little bit.) 🙂 (Okay, maybe a miniature, nautical tree with lights, as that is his ‘room theme,’ but besides that it’s hands off.) 🙂   Not only do we feel pampered, celebratory and peaceful, but we have created a coziness and richness within our home that is perfect for all types of wondrous gatherings, such as wide screen T.V. ‘movie nights,’ long talks over a robust and ‘bouncing’ cup of coffee with family visiting from afar and for our evenings when we are entertaining good friends and sharing an intimate dinner.

Overhead lighting is also a wonderful way to bring ‘just the right’ light into your room. Whether a chandelier, ceiling fan lights, or strip lighting in the kitchen with dimmer switches, you can chose the amount of light that you would like to shine upon ‘the center of attention.’  Whether it be soft lighting for romantic cooking for two in the kitchen, a birthday dinner celebration or a brighter light to read by, this type of lighting is versatile and  very becoming within your haven. chandilier

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Ah the beauty of candles. In my personal opinion, candles are the most alluring, inviting and charming way to light and accent a home. There is nothing more entrancing than a roaring fire with its bright hues of golds and reds accompanied with the warmth it so graciously fills all of our rooms with. Whether you chose to use an abundance of candles or just a few, you are sure to bring alive a cozy and fetching berth. In our home, I keep candles burning all day and night, (well, except when we are off in slumber land.) 🙂 I love the tiny tea light candles in different colored glass votive’s as they flicker on my hutches, bedside table and fill the counter of my bathroom as I allow Calgon to ‘take me away.’   For our special dinners around our dining table, I love the tall, taper candles, whether in our candelabra, or ornate candle stick holders. I adore reds and hunter green tapers during Christmas and, shades of soft amber and rich browns for the autumn season. For the summer and spring season  we choose fresh linen white  and refreshing sage green. The nice thing about candle light in your home is that you get to choose the size, quantity and colors that you desire.
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Some people feel that ‘less is more’ while others feel that ‘more is more.’ My motto has always been , “To much of a good thing is fabulous!” 🙂

THE DISTINGUISHED QUOTE CORNER: Adorable Baby Boy in Suit on Cellphone

“Light can be gentile, dangerous, dreamlike, bare, living, dead, misty, clear, hot, dark, violet, springlike, falling, straight, sensual, limited, poisonous, calm and soft.” ~ Sven Nykvist

“Moonlight is sculpture.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Firelight will not let you read fine stories but its warm and you won’t see the dust on the floor.” ~ Irish Proverb

“There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” ~ Edith Wharton

“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows shall fall behind you.” ~ Maori Proverb

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” ~ Aaron Rose

“Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all others were making ships.” ~ Charles Simic

 

Let your home be a showcase of IMAGINATION, (on the inside and out.)  Don’t be afraid to bring forth the dreams in your heart to reality. The more I began to create, the fear dissipated and I had so much fun creating ambiances my family and guests would love.

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Enjoy trying out some new home looks with your lighting ideas!

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About The Author

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I am a woman whose fervor and zeal, (ever since I was a little girl,) has been to write. I adore kids and attended college, (in my single years,) to obtain a teaching certificate. While in school, I worked at the YMCA, directing day camp and day care, then taught preschool.dog1 I realized during this time, that what thrilled me more than anything was  all of my English classesdog2 and writing creative stories, thus I began doing a lot of reading, studying and writing.   Can you guess my second passion? Our home. I really do consider our home to be “our castle.” The one place we can be one-hundred percent ourselves and the place we are able to create our own atmosphere of joy, bliss, warmth and magic. Everywhere my husband and I have lived, whether in the desert of Arizona, the city of Alexandria, Virginia, the beautiful countryside of South Carolina, the breathtaking village of Mystic Connecticut, or our current home in Delaware, our home has been “a cottage home with highlights of Shabby Chic, Victorian, country and Vintage.”

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I have been married 23 years to a wonderful, patient, fun loving man. Besides being my very best friend, he is also my number one cheerleader as I have attempted many a time to create and make changes in our home to bring our haven alive. Even when my sky blue Faux  painting upon our crisp white bathroom walls, my efforts at stenciling an old oak tree with birds atop the branches that I did in our bedroom, (free handed I might add,) and my year of painting stripes in our living room, did not come out ‘quite like we expected,’ he still smiled and said;  “Your getting better hon, keep at it!” (Hey practice makes perfect, right?)graham102 We have a very furry, rather large dog who still captures our hearts like he did as a baby 12 years ago. He is a Briard, (A French herding dog,) and boy does he herd us around this house  all the time. He is the joy of our hearts !susan and Kit

I adore cooking, discovering new cuisine, am a dreamer at heart, a story teller with a great imagination and an avid writer (like  my mom.) I enjoy exercise, (yes, I really do,) and getting together with my family and friends, enjoying delicious food and fellowship.  We love to visit quaint eateries for dinner or brunch and on Sunday afternoons, snuggling up  together with our dog Grantham, (all three of us sharing a delicious appetizer or two) and  lighting lots of candles to create the mood to watch movies. (Especially a good mystery, scary or suspense film.)  (But not to scary.) 🙂  My husband and I are both Christians and share our love for God and our faith together. My ‘better half, ‘being a Web designer, is also the one who is teaching me to create this site from scratch. (Remember when I told you he is a  man of patience? 🙂 Believe me, he needs  forbearance and tolerance for me. The good Lord gave me an ability to write and create but a ‘Computer whiz,’ I am not! 🙂

It is my joy is to share, with you my readers, the wealth of ideas inside of me to bring forth a more beautiful home as well as life, that have come through much reading, studying, practicing and learning through “trying and experience.”  I believe that it does not matter if your home is a cozy, tiny cottage or a prodigious, roomy estate,) you can create your haven to be the most blissful and resplendent home possible, filled with all the things that you love. It is also my hope to bring forth inspiration with many thoughtful and new ideas of ways to bring about more beauty, peace and felicity to your lives and the lives of those you love.   I hope you enjoy this site, are inspired and that you will share your own ideas as well!

I look forward to our journey together. 🙂

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LINKS  If you would like to learn more about the purpose of the newly added links to Living Winsomely, please read the blog “WE NOW HAVE LINKS,: in the category file.

“Bon Appetit.”

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Part of the felicity and gladness in gift giving is KNOWING when you have chosen a special treasure for your loved one and then, getting to witness the blissfulness in their face and spirit as they unwrap the package.

My brother and his partner surprised me this Christmas, (knowing how much I love to cook and create,) with my handsome and charming, “Mr. Chef,” who just happens to be holding a large chalkboard to share in depth each evening’s cuisine. This in return is a gift to my family and each guest we entertain, that just keeps on giving daily.  Our new chef is a welcomed addition to our home as each menu starts the palate salivating and brings a smile to every tummy. (Except when I have Liver and onions on the menu .) (Which I never do!) Even our beloved Briard dog begins drooling if he sees the word ‘Salmon’ written down amongst all the other menu items he doesn’t understand.  (Just teasing…) But if he could read…:)

This is a perfect gift for any dining room or kitchen with all the joy it brings! After I got my new chef, I began adding to my chef decor, ( not this big of course,) 🙂 but I have small chefs for the kitchen counter, wall decor, accent towels and even made a chef tree with tiny white lights! It’s a creative and festive ‘muse’ for your kitchen or dining room theme.

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My Chef dining room table….They are such cheerful little guys, aren’t they? 🙂 Best_Table_Picture

Additional Link(s): Gourmet Cookbooks | Decorative Chefs

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Inhancing your home with “FRAGRANCE.”

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     One of the most memorable things that my friends and family have shared with me   after and “Afternoon Tea,”  luncheon or dinner party, is that my home was invitingly warm, cozy, enchanting and smelled; “Oh so good!”  The fragrances we choose, creates a mood which brings forth an august and lovely atmosphere all around us.  Different fragrances bring up past experiences and many smiles thinking about our childhoods, as well as a diversity of emotions and happy memories opalescent as light. Did you know that even our expectations of smells can help and promote our moods as well as our health?

Each fragrance brings with it a very special gift to our senses. For instance, the fragrance of Bayberry creates a feeling of warmth as well as rejuvenation. The aroma of  chLavender flowererry exudes an ambiance of romance. Citrus, (one of my very favorites,) brings forth refreshment and uplifting to our souls. We all love lavender as it creates an atmosphere of being soothed and well balanced. (Something we could all use now a days!) 🙂

 

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“Fragrance speaks the loudest on a subliminal level.”~Marian Bendeth

“An idealist is one who, on noticing a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes it makes a better soup.” ~ Bertrand Russell

“You are never fully dressed without perfume.” ~ C. Joy Bell C. (You could say the same about your home.) 🙂

“Charisma is the fragrance of the soul.” ~ Toba Beta

” A good fragrance is really a powerful cocktail of memories and emotions.” ~ Jeffrey Stepakoff

“Perfume is the KEY to our memories.” ~ Kate Lord Brown, The Perfumed Garden

 

There are a wealth of ways to enhance our beautiful havens with warm, exhilarating and delicious smells. My number one choice for our home is scented candles or oil burners. (And of course what is cooking on my stove or in the oven!)  🙂 I change the scents of my candles  to fit the ambiance I am creating for whatever the gathering at our home may be. In the summer time, when friends come over for a bonfire, throwing the Frisbee to our dogs and a BBQ , I swing by Christmas tree Hill in Lewes Beach and buy a Yankee candle or two, (sometimes 3!) The fragrances I pick? ‘Sage and Citrus,’  ‘Pink Sands’ or ‘Pineapple Cilantro.’Z-3015

Bed Bath and Beyond carries lovely candles and ambrosial sprays as well. I especially love Elizabeth Ardens Spa Collection for spring. It is the season of introducing change, new life and fresh beginnings, the sounds of birds singing, the air is cooler and our Azalea bushes and Mimosa tree begin to bring forth a rainbow of delightful colors.autumn-porch  When the autumn leaves begin to fall and the air begins to tickle our faces with it’s chilly breezes and all our neighbors are putting out their lively and animated  scarecrows, bales of hay and pumpkins,  off I go again, this time on line to buy my Yankee candles. I love their ‘Super Sweet Pumpkin,’  ‘Apple,’ and ‘Autumn leaves crackling.’  With Christmas being the most magical  time of the year, it seems all the boutiques and shops are doubled up on special wintry fragrances. You can’t go wrong with  ‘Christmas Cookie, ‘Balsam and Cedar,’ and ‘Sparkling Cinnamon.’

There are an abundance of scents you can create right from your own kitchen without buying sprays, oils or candles. There is nothing more inviting and heart warming than a fresh apple pie or fudge brownies baking in your oven. The smell of onions, fresh herbs and garlic simmering in virgin olive oil and butter upon the stove top as well as freshly baked breads, create a “welcome home” feeling, like no other aroma. (And I know there is a smile within one’s heart as they anticipate that first bite of hot bread with decadent melted butter! ) 🙂

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Delicious and heartwarming scents in your home will enhance any party, gathering or just one of those cozy-stay in evenings alone with that special someone. Hey, did you know that they even have “Man scent” candles now on the market?  (Perfect for the office or your ‘mans’ study at home.) Some of the most popular scents being ‘ First down,’ Riding Mower.’ or ‘Man Town.’

However you chose to add delightful fragrances to your home, I encourage you to try it for a special gathering or birthday dinner, ladies luncheon or BBQ for the guys. See for yourself how much of a difference it makes.

HAPPY CREATING!

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