A Subtle Valentine’s Display

I have been informed by a certain spouse that it is too early for Valentine’s Day décor to be put up. But I’ve also been informed by said spouse that I shouldn’t let my son play with Barbies and walk around in my heels, and that soup doesn’t count as a meal, and that getting into a tickle fight with a toddler doesn’t count as daily exercise, and I haven’t paid any attention to those gentle heedings, so I’m not going to start now.

My little table in my entry room looked so boring after I took down my Christmas décor. I left it empty for maybe 4 days before I couldn’t take it anymore and started to put together a little Valentine’s display. I loved the sort of natural, woodsy feel of my Christmas vignette, so I used that as inspiration for a simple, subtle Valentine’s look.

This may be obvious by the direction I took for this very neutral display, but I am not insane about the traditional Valentine’s look . . . the pink and red, the glitter, the sappy hearts . . . don’t get me wrong, it’s fun and zesty, but I’m not sure it’s the sort of fun and zesty I could look at every day for a month leading up to a holiday and still be happy about living with. So I took a very understated route instead.

I left the book page garland and coffee filter wreath up from the Christmas display—I really like them over that window. They may become permanent fixtures. The little owl Scentsy warmer seems to have also become a permanent piece on this table for two reasons: so far, it has always fit into my table displays, and it is also (so far) out of the reach of little fingers.

I made the little ‘love’ letters and am rather pleased with them. But do I like the look of the wreath-y ‘o’ in ‘love’ right there next to the big ‘o’ that is the coffee filter wreath, like a stinky little copycat? No. No I do not. But does it bug me enough to go back to the store to buy another letter, get out all the paints and supplies I used to dress them up, and replace it with a painted ‘o’? No sir. Regardless, there will be a tutorial for the excruciatingly difficult job of painting and faux-distressing those letters next week. Prep yo.

I tossed in a vase full of sticks gathered from the backyard and crocheted some little heart ornaments to hang from the branches. I worried that the crocheted hearts would be cheesy, but I actually really like them. They add another touch of rustic-y homespun coziness. On Monday, I’ll have a step-by-step photo tutorial to help you make these little hearts. I think they’re so cute and fun, and they’re so quick and simple to make. So if you’re a little rusty on the ol’ crochet skills or are just starting out, it should be enough to ease you in with a speedy little Valentine’s project.

And as you may know, I have developed a weird lampshade embellishment disorder. I don’t know why I feel the need to accessorize a lampshade, which kinda, if you think about it, already is an accessory to the lamp, which is an accessory to the room, so I’m accessorizing to the third degree here. But now that I did it once, it feels too naked without something, so here we are.

One more little crochet heart to tie in with the branches on the other end of the table. I was going to use my fancypants removable lampshade accessory trick to attach it, but I popped it onto the lampshade to see if I liked it, and it stuck on its own. Very thoughtful of you, Mr. Heart. Will you be my Valentine?

So there you go. My neutral, understated, not very Valentinesy Valentine’s display. I like it, and I especially like that it’s not so bright and loud that I’ll get tired of looking at it. What can I say, I’m a boring, beige sort of person.