Yellow Cottages and White Picket Fences:
I've always had a weakness for yellow houses. When we built our first home in Jacksonville, AL, we chose a soft (exterior) yellow color by Benjamin Moore called "English Ivory." Looking at this pic below, if I were building this home today it would have 3 or 5 dormer windows across the front. Wouldn't that be perfect? Wish we had thought of that at the time, but I guess it's a good thing we didn't. We were young (23 and 26) and had already upgraded so many features, we really didn't have it in the budget to add anything else to the design.
We did include a screened in porch...you can just barely see it there on the back of the house. I've had a warm spot in my heart for screened-in porches as long as I can remember. This house also had a large deck on the back. I'll have to dig out some of my old pics (interior and exterior) and share more about our first little house some day.
I just realized, you can see the mountains in the background in this pic. The Jacksonville, Anniston, Oxford area is down in a valley and surrounded by mountains. It's a beautiful area. We lived in this house for 4 years while my husband was stationed at Ft. McClellan as a JAG officer. This is the house we were living in when our son was born. After that tour, we moved back to our home state of Georgia. Speaking of our servicemen, Lana, whose husband, Tom, just deployed to Afghanistan, has written a beautiful tribute for those who serve our country, HERE.
This was the home we bought when we moved back to Georgia. It had just been built so we were the first owners of this home. The builder had painted it white with bluish/gray shutters and door. It was a two-color paint scheme and was pretty boring. When it needed painting after about 6 years, we painted it yellow, too. We went with Benjamin Moore, English Ivory once again. The shutters and door were painted a dark green called Essex Green, another Benjamin Moore Color. And the trim was painted white...don't remember the exact color of white, now. This house would have looked cute with a red door. I hadn't discovered red doors, yet.
We lived here seven years and then moved to the home you see on the BNOTP blog today. That's Chip in this pic below. He was probably around 6 or 7 years old. Miss my little boy. He grew up, went off to college and moved out. Still not sure how that happened. ;)
I've always loved yellow houses. Even today I'd be totally happy in an adorable, storybook, yellow cottage with a white picket fence, a large butler's pantry, a pretty garden filled with foxgloves and a big screened-in porch. Oh, and a cat or two in the garden would be nice, too. ;) Yep, that's my idea of the perfect house.
About a year ago, Emily, (talented designer of The Blog Fairy) and I started scheming on a design for a new banner here at Between Naps on the Porch. I asked Emily to include a house in the banner since BNOTP is about decorating and all things house and home. She e-mailed over several little houses she found online at iStock. One was yellow with a white picket fence. It was love at first sight.
As we began planning the banner, I came up with this crazy idea of changing it for the seasons and holidays. Emily is so creative and patient. She and I have had so much fun planning and conspiring to create the banners you see throughout the course of the year.
This was the first banner Emily created for BNOTP.
This year we revised it a bit by adding a big pile of leaves and a basket to the field. We also added a rake leaning against the tree on the right.
Once Halloween and Thanksgiving have passed and fall makes way for winter, it's time to break out the snowy Winter banner. Love the red cardinal in the "O" of the word, On. Do you see the kitty in the window? We tried to include him in every banner.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, it's time to decorate for Christmas. I love the little touch of holly Emily included on the "O" in Porch.
Emily even made a Chrismas banner with flashing lights. :) I can't enlarge it for this post, but it is as large as the others when it's actually in place across the top.
Once Spring arrives, this is the banner that goes up and stays up all throughout the spring and summer. Notice the cute little bird inside the "O" in On.
When a patriotic holiday rolls around...it's time to bring out the Red, White and Blue. Even Mr. Birdie's house gets a flag.
New Banner for Halloween:
About two weeks ago, Emily created a new banner just for Halloween. It will be going up this afternoon, so if you have a minute stop back by later today and check it out. I think it will put a smile on your face. :)
Update: Here's the Halloween banner. Did you notice the bat coming out of the O in the word on...and the owl in the tree. Love those fun details.
If you would like to chat with Emily about a custom design for your blog, you can reach her via e-mail: emilyattheblogfairydotcom. Or, visit Emily's site: The Blog Fairy.
InLinkz: For Bloggers
Are you a blogger? Be sure to check out the new InLinkz Link Manager. It just recently launched and you'll find a great video explaining all about how you can use it, HERE.
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