As this yearly cycle comes to an end and another begins, many of us will take the time to reflect on our habits, health and happiness;  perhaps scrawling off a list of resolutions to improve upon. May I suggest one? Learn to relish time in your own home. It’s that simple. Most of us spend a great deal of time and money honing its luring qualities but few of us really revel in it afterwards. Our rooms and our things only take on meaning and history through our LIVING in and among them.

As an example, I recently read an article in the Milwaukee Journal about the emergence of tea rooms in our area and I admit that I felt equally excited and disheartened. My sorrow comes from the nudge that we must once again leave home, drive somewhere and stand in line in order to savor something  that could have become part of a revered ritual in our own homes. Haven’t we already seen this with our coffee houses? Have we lost the art of elegant social gatherings for coffee, tea and conversation? Have we relinquished the ritual of high tea and coffee klatches to historical BBC television programs? Why wouldn’t we have a pot of tea warming over a candle every night just for ourselves? Are we to become consumers of everything on the run and served in a disposable cup?

My spirits were lifted when I was staging a client’s home for Christmas and she offered me a drink. I asked for water and was delighted when she handed me my water in a Waterford  black cut crystal tumbler and then shared the merry history of it’s procurement.  This is the spirit! Get out the tea service you have tucked away in the butler’s pantry, pull out the collection of tea cups from your grandmother, use the wedding flutes that you haven’t seen in 30 years and heat up the finest pot of green sencha tea within the walls of your most sacred of places – home.

Let  this be the year that we learn to create and find repose in the place called home. It is only in this living that our house becomes a true home . And whether you share it with laughter or savor the tranquility alone, it can only add to your health and happiness in this new year.

For those of you that know me, I enjoy the outdoor rooms of my home as much as the inside; certainly more so in the summer

months when this born and bred Texan can warm her bones.  As I write this, my vegetable garden is not yet blanketed in snow but rather layered in the washed out golds and coppers of Fall’s  confettied leaves. The pale, vertical stalks of brocolli still offer tiny, silvered florets for one last harvest while the whispy green ferns of the asparagus bed and yellowed vines of squash remain neatly edged in the royal purples of robust, round cabbages.  I know this landscape will soon leave behind these warm colors and take on the chiseled characteristics of an Ansel Adams still life.

What makes a garden hold its beauty when all the color has been removed is the architecture itself – the teasing of past perennials with a white dusting, the arch of an arbor, the invitational reminder of gates, patterns of picket fencing and lattice, softening evergreen boxwoods holding the curves in place, the courtly concrete sculptures left to critique winter’s  canvass.

Take the time to study your gardens now and note how and if your outdoor rooms still have the power to beckon and fascinate the eye. If not, we can change that come spring.

If you have an active household like I do, consider slip covering dated or worn furniture. I know you are probably familiar with the looser, “pre-made” versions available at big box stores and they do serve a purpose. But I am referring to custom made slipcovers made of lush velvets, silk blends, woven wools or blended linen weaves that have been typically reserved for formal rooms. Use these gorgeous fabrics as slipcovers and you will have a high-end look with the added ability to dry-clean yearly not to mention the bonus of having reserve cushion covers on hand should you need them quickly.

Custom slipcovers are measured in the home, cut and pinned on the piece of furniture and then installed with zippers for an extra tight fit. Slipcovers from French Country take about 2-3 weeks from the time the fabric arrives to installation. The price will depend upon the grade of material you choose. Make two different slipcovers and you can switch out a room from summer to winter. Add 30″ down filled custom pillows and you can take a 1970’s sofa and turn it into today’s showpiece. Have the bottom cushions rewrapped if looking flat.  Tear off an outdated skirt and add turned legs for a cleaner look. Add some decadent corded fringe at the bottom and you will have a classic jewel.