“I think what you notice most when you haven’t been home in a while is how much the trees have grown around your memories.”
― Mitch Albom, For One More Day
manners count
“Home is a notion that only nations of the homeless fully appreciate and only the uprooted comprehend.”
― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose
I couldn’t understand what he was saying to me!
“I believe that one can never leave home. I believe that one carries the shadows, the dreams, the fears and the dragons of home under one’s skin, at the extreme corners of one’s eyes and possibly in the gristle of the earlobe.”
― Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter
South Haven, Michigan
“How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home.”
― William Faulkner
South Haven pier
“I live in my own little world. But its ok, they know me here.”
― Lauren Myracle
Elli flies a kite in South Haven
“In life, a person will come and go from many homes. We may leave a house, a town, a room, but that does not mean those places leave us. Once entered, we never entirely depart the homes we make for ourselves in the world. They follow us, like shadows, until we come upon them again, waiting for us in the mist.”
― Ari Berk, Death Watch
For many people who are living in another country, far from home, I believe it becomes important to bring a little big of the “old home” into the “new home”. Sometimes a little familiarity makes you feel more grounded, puts you in a better mood or just makes you happy. I’m inspired by my Dutch friend Patricia’s home in Israel, by how she has made it warm and friendly, beautiful and very Dutch by decorating it from her heart!
The kitchen is the heart of the house
The kitchen is the heart of her home; here we gathered for a light lunch before we headed for the beach.
Patricia and Roni in the kitchenKnick Knacks and kitchen essentials
You can always find interesting doo-dads in Patricia’s house from boutiques and flea markets. You’ll find oodles of donkeys and hearts hanging and sitting around because she collects these and the colors turquoise blue with accents of red are characteristic of her special decorating sense.
Yummy foods in the kitchen!
Laura asks Patricia: “What did your home look like growing up?” Patricia says: “I grew up in a home with a huge garden and lots of animals. My home had enough room for my four brothers and two sisters. The house was kept very clean and organized, everything had it’s place, but sometimes my mom liked to change the colors of the walls or curtains. We lived mostly in the kitchen, everything happened around the circular kitchen table.
looking through the kitchen to the front door
Laura asks Patricia: “How important is it to you that your children have a sense of their Dutch side as they grow up in Israel. Do you feel that the look of your home contributes to this at all?” Patricia answers: The children mostly have a sense of their Dutch heritage from our visits to Holland and of course the Dutch language which they also speak. It is important to me that my children feel connected to Holland, my Dutch “ways” contribute to every level in our lives, it’s just there without trying. I’ve always liked to be out of Holland and then explore what I like about being Dutch. I do feel that our home contributes to “feeling Dutch” because of all the flea-market treasure that I’ve brought back from Holland.
music and song
Laura asks Patricia: “What is your favorite room in the house and why?” Patricia says: “My favorite room in the house in the kitchen/dining room. I like to cook and sit around the kitchen table with the kids while we talk, do homework, have tea or bake cookies. I also love to be outside, so my favorite patio (we have 3) is the one off the salon where the view of the dunes is the best and you can feel the sea breeze.
The children's bedroom
Laura asks Patricia: “What’s your definition of a comfortable home?”| Patricia says: “To me, a comfortable home is one that allows a certain privacy for all members of the family; also light, a nice view, easy to clean and room enough to move the furniture around so the rooms are still spacious; all this is important. Also, a comfortable home is easy to entertain in.”
children's toys and paintings
Laura asks Patricia: “What would you add to your home if you could?” Patricia says: “I’d probably add a swimming pool if I could.”
a restful placehearts and flowers adorn the bedroomold Serbian armoir in the bedroom; it was a wedding armoir, the writing reads for Maria and Joseph 1914
Laura asks Patricia: You have a lot of outdoor space now, what do you intend to do with it? Patricia says: “I’d like to have a nice garden and some chickens. By next summer I’d like to plant big sunflowers all along one outside wall.”
the living room, for resting and entertainment
Laura asks Patricia: “What do you think is most important about your home to your children? To your husband?” Patricia says: “For the two little ones, it’s important that they have spacious surroundings and a yard to play in. For the two bigger kids, their room are important to them. My husband likes our bedroom because it’s separate from all the others and he likes having his own shower! I think it’s important to all of us that the house is very family oriented and you can be together or apart if we wish.
children's patio chairs
Laura asks Patricia: “Have your homes always had the Dutch look to them?” “If someone wanted to also decorate their home Dutch, what tips would you give them?” Patricia says: “My friends have always told me that my homes, past and present feel/look Dutch. I would recommend that people decorate following their hearts and roots, with things that they like, from their own backgrounds. All the personal items in your home make it special and really yours.”
mini gardening tools
Laura asks Patricia: “What are your favorite home magazines to browse through?” Patricia says: “I like the Dutch magazine Home and Garden, but honestly I like to get ideas everywhere I go. I like the site Eclectic Gipsyland and flea markets are always a must-visit!”
old sink
Laura asks Patricia: “What more do you have planned for your home in terms of decorating?” Patricia says: “I still have some ideas about renovating some old cupboards, painting in some nice colors and working in the garden…”
