The Remodeling Project, Installment 2: The Inspiration

Back in, oh, I don't know, maybe 1984 was the debut of an absolutely gorgeous magazine called Victoria. It was filled with beautiful photography, literary quotes, vintage clothes, china, tea and tea menus, gardens, books, travel (mostly to the Holy Land--and by that I mean England), art, and all manner of beautiful things. My mom and I eagerly awaited each issue. It's not a magazine you just stand at the kitchen counter and flip through; you must get a cup of tea, put your feet up, and enjoy. One of my favorite issues each year was the June one--the blue and white issue. After seeing it year after year, a dream began to form--a blue and white bedroom.

Sadly, Victoria stopped publication around 2001 maybe, and in the interim we contented ourselves with Martha Stewart Living, which is nice, but...very intimidating. Martha always makes me feel guilty, as if I should be up at 4:00 a.m., tilling the soil in my yard so it can breathe better, decanting all my liquid soap into antique jars, precisely folding all my fitted sheets, and creating my own shoe polish and shining all the family's shoes with it. By 7:30 a.m. Victoria just required me to be lazy and drink tea and dream. Well, I can do that, no problem. So, imagine my joy when I read that due to reader demand and a new editor-in-chief, Victoria was being reinstated this year! I ordered my mom and I both a subscription, immediately. It used to come every month, now it is every other month, but it is well worth the wait.

Now that we've decided to redo the guestroom, I've finally decided to go for the blue and white. I love toile (that's a whole separate fabric post), and I love this:

So, these were going to be my inspiration. Then I got an idea and dug up an old blue and white June issue of Victoria (I haven't kept all my copies, just some) to see if I could get any more ideas. Here's the issue I found (1996):

And here is a picture I found inside:

See the beautiful blue and white teacup? That's Shelley fine bone china, the Dainty Blue pattern. And here is something the currently resides in my dining room. Look familiar?! (It was my grandma's.)






I'm thinking this tea set may have to find a new home in the blue and white bedroom. They're made for each other. Victoria says so.

As Darren and I engaged in a (friendly) argument, er, discussion over paint chips last night, I said, "I really really wish the latest Victoria would come in the mail tomorrow. It'll be the blue and white issue, and we can get more ideas." He said, "How do you know they'll have a blue and white issue?" (Oh, silly, silly man. Do not question my woman's intuition and the great spirit of Victoria.) I said, "Because it will be the May/June issue, and they always do blue and white for June." Lo and behold, when I went to my mailbox today, look what was there:

I love it when I'm right. So, Lucy is at school, Elaine is taking a nap. I'm thinking it's time for a cup of tea and some more decorating inspiration right about now.