I love the serene energy in this shabby chic weathered Georgian home. This looks like a rustic country house buried in brambles and bushes, but it's located in busy London! What a charming, gentle house. I love the worn, lived-in look, the pale palette, and the historical features. The stairwell banister, the living room ceiling medallion, and window hardware make me swoon with delight...the cozy, comfy decor hits the spot too!
All Photos: Shoot Factory
Terri, I can't see you in such a place without working your special magic. It truly is rustic, but the bones are good. Very good bones indeed.
ReplyDeleteHey! What lovely pics!! I like the tranquility in them, very sober!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend!
Susanne
This house I imagine in a quiet place, close to the beach. I like everything about it... except for the splotches on the floor. They must look too much like messes the kids used to make! Vee is right; if that were your place there would be a touch of pale grey or green as a final touch that would make this charming place truly outstanding!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog! I, too, had a very challenging upbringing... in fact I always said I'd be a terrible mother because of the bad examples I had. I also felt guilty about bringing a child into this troubled world. But what if it is YOUR child who makes the difference? Who changes the world and makes it a better place? Change always starts with one person and an idea. I never used to believe that one person could make much of a difference but years of seeing just that have made a believer out of me.
My son is not the brilliant Asperger's. There are the 2 types; the high I.Q. and the rest. Mathew has tested as Slow Learner. While I'm not one for I.Q. tests, I do appreciate how they reveal strengths and weaknesses in a person's ability to undertake learning, etc. In Mathew's case a few areas stand out as a concern because that part of his brain just doesn't fire the neurotransmitters properly! His fine motor skills are truly a challenge, even after 4 years of Occupational Therapy. His ability to copy down ANYTHING from the board is almost 0% and he is unable to multitask. Yet, even with all that information, the testing and a lifetime of experience behind us, I am forever working with his teachers because they feel he isn't putting in enough effort. He's in grade 9 now and I could pull my hair out sometimes. We've run into this particular problem AGAIN even though I met with school officials and teachers less than 2 months ago and we talked about these weaknesses. I had to send his last psychoeducational assessment to his teacher and point out his inability to take notes...ESPECIALLY while she is reviewing other material!!
It has also been a struggle as to how to best teach someone to "fit" in society. I do not try to teach my son to "be" so-called normal, but rather show him how to act normal, so he doesn't draw as much attention to himself in public. It is more of him learning to act in the same way that actors play a role of someone else in a movie or play, etc. I have chosen not to jazz life up or explain away the cruel world; instead I have taught him to recognize when he is being treated badly and how to handle it. I started that by the time he was 6 because kids are great at picking up on "different" and used to invite him out to play just to pick on him. He learned early on that he would rather not play with kids like that, rather than go along just to have a friend.
Does it break my heart? Yes. Like any other parent I want my child to have friends, fit in, and enjoy life. Has this child of ours stretched this family to the breaking point? Most definately. We had some terrible years where we tiptoed on eggshells because anything and everything set off violent rages in him. Sometimes I despaired of ever seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
I always kept going however because I recognized that Mathew himself, is not a "bad" or evil child at heart...rather, he was lost in this big world of ours and he needed someone to hold his hand and guide him. It surely didn't help that it took 8 years for a concrete diagnosis out there in Alberta. Without a diagnosis by a medical professional, qualified to make such a diagnosis, there is very little help available to either child or family.
I always did tell Mathew that if he ever deliberately hurt his sister, then we would have to consider removing him from our home for her safety. I told him that as much as it would tear my heart apart and I would totally crushed, that it was my role as a mother of more than just 1 kid, I had to ensure the safety of all my children. Other than that there is just no way I could make him leave our home for anything; not even a weekend of respite. When I was 11 I came home from school one day to find that my mother and stepfather had removed my younger brother from our home. No warning and no discussion. I wasn't allowed to visit or talk to him. I cannot begin to tell you the effect that had on me. As a parent and older adult (43) if I felt I would get an honest answer, I would really like to ask my parents what gave them the right to do that. He was inconvenient, so what? you just get rid of the problem? My parents would just tell me to mind my own business and that that was just the way it was back then. My brother was adopted though...and the other thing I would ask, is if they would have given him up if he'd been their flesh-and-blood.
My apologizes for the looong comment...I don't like to post too much negative on the blog because Mathew is sensitive to what is said about him. There are many good things in our lives and I try to focus on that as much as possible.
I have had counselling (therapy?) at different times in my life when I felt I needed expert guidance in identifying the traps of my upbringing. I have grown as a person and learned about my own boundaries and what I will or won't do as a parent ~ I am a much better parent than my parents ever were. My children are growing up loved and secure in that knowledge. In spite of all of our difficulties both of them are well-adjusted teens growing into beautiful adults. Kristen has self esteem and self-love and confidence ~ things I never developed due to my childhood. Those are gifts she may never recognize but I see them and that is what I am most grateful for, as a parent...that we were able to nurture that in our children. That is why I believe it might even be my kids who bring about change in our crazy world!
So if at some point your desire for a family exists, worry not as to what kind of a job you'll do. I see by reading your blog that you are a thoughtful, reasonable woman who comes across as confident. Just the awareness alone that you don't want to repeat history is the biggest start to ensuring a new chapter is written.
Have a great weekend! We are expecting more snow and rain, so I'm going back to hibernate now. Let me know when it is spring!!
It has been far too long since I've had a chance to sit down and really check out your blog -- I'm in the midst of changing jobs and the last one really kept me from having time for my blog world :-)
ReplyDeleteThe images in this post are so gorgeous and make me feel so relaxed, I love the furniture. I do hope that you are feeling well! I upped one of my meds a few weeks ago and think it may be increasing my pain slightly, gotta give it a little more time before I can really tell if it's the medication or not, woo hoo.
Happy friday, friend! :-)
-J
Oh, I want to read that comment...must return before day's end.
ReplyDeleteTerri, I have an award for you with no strings attached!
i too TOTALLY love the window hardware! i think if i saw that in someone's house i might embarrass myself fawning over it. too cute.
ReplyDeleteLove it! The floor is gorgeous...those wide, old planks. Have a lovely weekend, Terri!
ReplyDeleteGosh, so lovely! I could move in there right away.
ReplyDeletelove Poppins
Oooh, love the rooms in this place. The colors are so soothing and peaceful. If I had no children or pets, that would be my home, lol.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful home/house and the photos are stunning. Here in the north parts of scandinavia we still have loads of snow and it keeps falling, I have heard birds singing one morning so that is a good sign that spring is soon here, but who shall take a way all this snow :-D
ReplyDeletehugs
Katarina
That place has some gorgeous features, that window hardware and the banister...ooo, so much to love and work with!
ReplyDeleteHappy day, Terri!
xoxo
Melissa
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