30 DIY Spring Wreaths – Ideas for Spring Front Door Wreath Crafts

Nancy

Nothing says “welcome home” like a well-dressed front door. Now that you’ve made it through the cold winter months, lean into all the much-needed cheer that the season has to offer — budding blooms, lively color hues, and vibrant greenery — by adding a spring wreath to your door. Keeping your time, budget, and crafting abilities in mind, take a look through these DIY ideas or store-bought options to find a seasonally-appropriate wreath that best matches your home’s overall spring decor. You’ll find classic boxwood wreaths embellished with garden-fresh florals, door signs offering well wishes, and inventive DIYs that call for watering cans or baskets instead of wreath forms.

While some of these ideas are better suited on particular front door colors (a sunny lemon wreath really pops against a navy door, for example), all of them are packed with the same level of charm that’ll usher in brighter, happier days. Best of all: Most of these wreaths can be left up through Easter (unless you’d prefer to DIY something specific to the holiday) and well into the summer months, so you can really enjoy your handiwork or Amazon buy for months to come.

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Yalamurra, a “garden of survivors” in South Australia offers Texas inspiration

Nancy

January 14, 2021

Yalamurra garden, the creation of Australian gardener Kurt Wilkinson. Photo by Kurt Wilkinson.

Want to know what’s inspiring me this week? It’s the South Australian garden of Kurt Wilkinson, a professional gardener and topiarist in the Adelaide area. Kurt’s work came to my attention via a Danger Garden post about Gardening Australia, a TV show from Down Under with episodes viewable online. The “Yalamurra” episode about Kurt’s garden caught Danger’s eye, and boy, did it grab mine as well.

The first thing that struck me about Kurt’s garden is a feeling of sympathy with our own Texas Hill Country landscape. Hilly, rocky, scrubby, and hot, his property northeast of Adelaide presented him, he says, with the necessity of ditching familiar garden plants and experimenting with tough natives and roadside weeds to see what would live. Sound familiar, my fellow Texans?

The second thing that struck me is his use of clipped topiary to add structure and punctuation amid airier, dry-loving plants that grow in a meadowy matrix with native grasses.

Here in central Texas, with our sauna-like but drought-prone summers — unlike Kurt’s dry Mediterranean summers — we can’t always successfully grow the fabulous maroon

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13 Boho Bedroom Ideas – Decorating a Bohemian Bedroom on a Budget

Nancy

One Kings Lane

Bohemian decor follows the “more is more” philosophy. Beyond rattan and fringe accents, this eclectic aesthetic calls for a mix of contrasting textures, vibrant wallpapers, and global-inspired patterns. While this carefree aesthetic works well in living rooms and other gathering places in your home, boho bedrooms tend to be more challenging to put together. Your bedroom is the place where you rest and recharge, so it’s important that your space feeds your soul with feel-good paint colors, inspiring patterns, and cozy fabrics that invite plenty of Sunday snuggles. Browse through these bohemian-style bedrooms to find inspiration for your space, whether you’re looking for ways to spruce up your master bedroom or infuse more personal style into your small bedroom.

There aren’t many rules to follow, which is why you’ll find rooms with a range of color schemes, from warm, earthy neutrals to eye-catching jewel tones. The same applies to the different fabrics and textures found in these spaces, everything from natural wood furniture to linen bedspreads. Just make sure you do your research before incorporating certain symbols and artwork into your home, since some hold deeper cultural significance.

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Snow day in Austin, Texas!

Nancy

January 12, 2021

The biggest snowfall in a decade turned Austin into a floofy white wonderland on Sunday, January 10. All day long, fat snowflakes floated down from the sky, as if the clouds were having a pillow fight. Sure, this may not look like much to you northerners, but it’s a pretty epic snow for central Texas. Two inches piled up in my garden, although with temperatures at or just above freezing and warm soil, most of it didn’t last the night.

My kids are grown and out of the house, so I didn’t witness any snowball fights or snowman-rolling, alas. The snow was a novel experience for the pup though! Enlarge the video to get a better look at small, white Cosmo against the snow.

I’d moved my tender potted plants into the house, and I’m not worried about other plants because it just didn’t get very cold — down to 30 degrees F for a couple of hours overnight.

Nothing a squid agave can’t handle with good-draining soil.

It really was a magical day!

This will be the snow Austin kids remember for a long time to come. When asked, I tell people we get a little

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22 Best Reading Nook Ideas

Nancy

Eric Piasecki/Otto

There’s nothing quite like unwinding with a good book, whether you prefer to read in bed or curl up on your living room sofa. Plus, now that we’re all spending more time indoors, it’s the perfect time to join a virtual book club (GH just launched one, and each title is hand-picked by our editors!).

But finding a comfy spot to read to your heart’s content isn’t always an easy task. It really depends on the amount of space you have, the room’s layout, the style of furniture you gravitate toward, and just how much quiet you need to enjoy the page-turner of your choice.

That said, we’re sharing some decorating inspiration to help you craft the reading nook you’ve always wanted. These design-forward reading nook ideas are full of practical and affordable tips to complete your space.

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Chic Chartreuse

Sometimes, all it takes is an unexpected color palette to breathe life into a space. Here, chartreuse in varied tones pulls this reading nook together.

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Natural Touches

Natural accents, including a wood paneled wall and woven storage basket, bring warmth to this white reading nook.

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