Manor House Perfection

Every once in a while I come across a home, in person or in a photograph, that absolutely speaks to me.  I LOVE this house. 

"Manor House"

Photo credit: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I envision stepping into a foyer simply but elegantly decorated, a blooming Amaryllis on an antique entry table. A warm fire crackles in the parlor (because this house has a parlor). The smell of bread baking wafts through every hall. From the inside looking out, the cold, wet, harsh, snowy exterior quickly becomes simply a festive and homey backdrop to the warm, joyful, inviting interior.

A family lives here.

The snow will eventually melt and reveal a wide, green lawn for games of tag and kick the can and football. Borders of flowers will bloom, carefully and loving selected and tended: tulips and daffodils in the spring, giving way to cosmos and daisies for the summer heat, that soon make room for delphiniums and mums to linger into fall.  The maple and alder leaves will put on a fiery show, and a grand holiday meal will be meticulously prepared come November.  A passerby will hear laughter and shouts as the clan gathers around to watch the Cowboys and Lions. Snow will again fall. Wreaths and garlands and trees will be placed.  Decorations will be dragged from the dormered attic, and children and parents will giggle at forgotten treasures of years past now again found in dusty boxes.

Sounds perfect, right?

We can't all have this sort of perfection.  I'd venture to say that no one really has this sort of perfection.  Our "manor" might be anything from a 4000+ square foot McMansion, a modest ranch house, or a cramped apartment.  The family might not always be able to gather for the football and the feast.  There might not be enough money for the grand meals, the antiques and decor, or even the simple flowers bulbs out front.

But no matter the circumstance or the setting, time will pass and memories will be made, good or bad. So today I commit to do one thing each day to make my humble home a Manor House.

What are your favorite tips to give your house a Manor House feeling, especially when funds (or motivation or energy) are low?