A Few More Pictures from the Durant House

A festive swag on the front door of the Durant House.

I took a ridiculous number of pictures at the Durant House yesterday, and take the liberty of posting a few more. From the Something for (almost) Nothing standpoint, there are lots of easy ideas for Christmas decorations here that  we can borrow. Pine boughs, sprays of bittersweet, dried weeds with interesting seed pods, apples and oranges piled in old china, gingerbread men in bowls and perched on windows, garlands of cranberries, and garlands of popcorn all create a festive air. And when the holidays are over, these decorations can be given to the birds, or go in a compost heap.

Any blue and white china–it doesn’t have to be rare and precious–looks pretty filled with some Christmas greenery.

Oranges in a footed bowl. A pedestal cake stand could also be used.

A bird’s nest, pine boughs, gingerbread men, and old cookie cutters decorate the window.

My friend Susan is showing a visitor an old dough-rising pan. It has a lid and is kept near the stove so the bread dough can stay warm.

Some beautiful old spice tins.

In a little room just off the new kitchen.

A beautifully crocheted little bag.

Children’s toys, ready for Christmas morning.

Apples and gingerbread men–we can do this! And the mice will be happy, too.

Christmas at the Durant House

Closeup of the parlor Christmas tree.

The Durant House was built in 1843.

Every holiday season I look forward to visiting the Durant House, a historic home in a forest preserve on the outskirts of St. Charles. To walk through the door of this house is to walk into another world, scented with woodsmoke and the smell of gingerbread baking, and I just love it. I almost titled this post, “If Only I Were a Mouse,” because if I were a mouse I could live at the Durant House, and who would know? So here are some pictures I took–a mini tour of this beautiful place. Here is a link to their website, if you would like to learn more: http://www.ppfv.org/durant.htm.

Here’s the old kitchen, where meals were cooked in the fireplace. Ginger cake was being served.

A cupboard in the old kitchen filled with beautiful china, and adorned with greenery.

A little side bedroom adjoins the old kitchen. By the bed was this little table with an old book and a butterfly cut from paper.

The Christmas tree was in the parlor. A young man was playing the violin–“Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”

All through the house are lovely vignettes.

An upstairs bedroom.

What a beautiful quilt–you can also see a bit of a woven coverlet.

A new kitchen addition was added in the 1880s.

The kitchen table readied for Christmas.

A Christmas bread.

Jams in the kitchen cupboard.

If only I were a mouse!