The Oasis at Home Series

We live in our houses, but we thrive in our homes.  A house is a great place to live but amid all that goes on there, it’s nice to have an area or two where we can just relax and recharge our batteries – a place that makes us feel happy and at peace. 

Yesterday I read Mom Gone Mad’s post about the special areas in her home that she creates as a source of inspiration and comfort.  I’ve decided to jump on the Oasis at Home bandwagon and share some of my favorite spots at home.   Having recently moved, I will be posting pictures of my new digs soon, but today’s area is from my previous house in Florida.

This is a view the hall that leads into the master bedroom.

Here’s why this area was so special to me.

1.  The dark brown rectangular moldings in the living room (looks like giant picture frames) were one of the first projects that Hubby and I tackled when we moved into the house almost 10 years ago.  It was the first time I used a miter saw and it helped us fill the walls at a time when we had no furniture and no art to hang on the walls.

2.  The house pictured above has very high ceilings so I created the three panel blue painting specifically for that hallway.  Maybe it’s the Pieces in me, but I had to have something blue and water-like to balance out all the earth tones in the room.  The picturecanvasses are over seven feet tall all together.  It doesn’t quite fit in our new house because the ceilings are considerably lower.  I’ll have to rearrange and repurpose it, but it is one of my favorite artistic endeavors.

3.  See the house plant in the lower left hand corner of the picture?  That is my favorite house plant EVER.  I love it’s architectural shape and its minimal water requirements.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have room for it in the car when we moved so I planted it in the yard before we left.  I hope it’s faring well, but as a former house plant, I don’t know if it can handle the intense Florida sun.

4.  The splash of color you see in the far left of the photograph is another large picture that I painted (inspired by a painting by Paul Jensen).  It was made specifically for the large expanse of wall that it is seen covering.  When confronted with the high cost of art, I decided that buying the canvass and making my own paintings would be more cost effective.  Not only did it save money, but it was so much fun!   And art is personal, it’s ok if you’re the only one who likes it.  Knowing my limitations I went for colorful contemporary art that is open for interpretation.  That is another reason that these paintings are so special to me.  I can look at them today and see one thing and look at them  again tomorrow and see something totally different.  Here’s a better view of it.  The canvass is 5ft high by 4ft wide.

Please join the fun and post your favorite household “feel good” corners.  I look forward to visiting with you.  See you next time!