On today's Journey I'm taking you to my Friend Carol's other Shop COTTAGE GARDEN 1 for some Christmas Magic.
You see, this Shop is nestled inside a small Quaint Historic Cottage that I just Love.
And the rooms are very cozy, yet small in dimension.
So Carol, Meilan, Connie & Monica have accomplished Christmas Magic and the remarkable task of making a small space look larger than Life!
Though my Historic Home is large in square footage of the entire structure, one of the challenges we have in decorating it is that the many rooms are cozy and small in dimension too.
I rather like that aspect of it actually, but it does make decorating & Styling of each room a challenge for someone like me who has difficulty editing.
You see, I want and need to display a LOT in the small spaces and to do so you need that Magical Touch... of making a small space look larger than Life.
And it can be done with the right Inspiration and Vision.
I Believe that the COTTAGE GARDEN Team accomplish that Vision and execute it Beautifully every Season.
Carol has Sourced a wealth of amazing Treasures for each Holiday and showcased it all with the creation of Christmas Magic at the Cottages in a limited amount of space.
Lets face it, a Mega Store can create a Grandoise look quite easily when they're working with unlimited square footage and larger than Life SPACE to do it in... but how many of us actually own a Home similar to those enormous dimensions?
Though I might totally be in awe of a 20+ foot Tree decorated to the Nines with Lifesize Angels strung from the Ceiling and a working Train the G-Kids could actually ride cruising around the Tree Skirts... it's just not gonna happen at this Ole House no matter how Grandoise my Vision! *LOL*
So I need to be able to recreate something that APPEARS Larger than Life but actually FITS into my small rooms without totally overwhelming the Space... a Lot packed into a Little and yet done in such a way that it WORKS and Transports us to a Magical Christmas Wonderland within our own Home!
So my True Inspiration for the Holidays almost always comes from those Dear Friends in Retail that not only have a Gift for Styling, Vignettes and Display, but do it within the confines of actual size spaces that are comparable to the spaces many of us have to work with at Home.
Or... are even Smaller... less square footage... and yet, made to appear larger and more Grandoise, giving the illusion of so much more than you're actually working with.
Small rooms that still manage to take your breath away and give you a sense of Wonder and Awe when you behold them and walk in.
Because that is what I want to attempt here at our Home... our very own Christmas Wonderland.
So that each Day leading up to the Holidays we can be enveloped in the Wonder, the Magic and the Fantasy of it 24-7.
Now to be sure, Photographing the Magic of a smaller Space is a particular challenge too... and sometimes you just have to BE there and experience it firsthand, which is what I strongly suggest at Carol's COTTAGE GARDENS Shops 1 & 2.
Because alas, my attempt to Photograph the fabulous full sized Christmas Trees in their entirety didn't do many of them justice and so I've omit those from the Post.
Along with the Full sized Trees there were the slender Apartment sized Trees and even the Upside Down Tree and they all looked beyond amazing!!!
And after visiting both Cottages I have come away Inspired and with the Creative Juices flowing...
And now... now my only delimma is to decide...
Whether to go with the Romantic Ethereal Vision...
Or the Whimsy Fun Vision here at this Ole' House?
Or maybe... in True Bohemian Valhalla Queen Of Excess Style I'll meld it ALL?!? *Winks*
Decisions... decisions... decisions...
Dawn... The Bohemian