{Giveaway is Closed}
What makes a house truly a home?
It’s not always buying the latest trend or popular things of the moment, decorating a home merely to make it beautiful. But more so, it’s surrounding yourself with the things that make you and your family feel comfortable, loved and special. We all have those fond memories and family treasures that we want to surround ourselves with.
If you enjoy family photographs, heirlooms, and having special things around your home that express who you and your family are, you’ll enjoy this book.
Written by Monica Rich Kosann, it’s a beautiful book filled with treasured memories of her spaces, as well as many of her clients. Monica is a nationally recognized fine-art portrait photographer who has worked with many prestigious families and celebrities, as well as a designer of jewelry and home accessories. Her work has been profiled extensively in national print, such as Town & Country and Elle Decor, as well as television media.
Photos from Monica’s website, Fine Art of Family. Monica believes that we should all live with what we love and find ways to incorporate those things into our daily fabric of life. I couldn’t agree more. 
{Photo: Monica Rich Kosann}
Instead of hiding away the family photos, Monica has clever ideas for displaying them stylishly and showing them off to visitors, without having them in the way. I love her ideas on grouping silver frames with cherished family photos. 
I too, love to display family photos. We have them sprinkled around the house, from the master bedroom, to the living room, my office and my husband’s office, with our family members displayed and enjoyed every day.
Monica also believes in living with and loving collections by displaying them in an artful manner to enjoy every single day. I couldn’t agree more. I enjoy my plate and dish collection grouped on a wall or on the sideboard. That’s living with what you love. 
Insulators grouped together make a collection in that beautiful shade of turquoise.
Did you know that 3 or more of something is a collection? Begin with a few and build from there. So what is it that catches your eye? Collect it and have fun displaying that collection. 
Pretty books grouped together can be enjoyed as beauty or literature. 
A basket of shells and driftwood captures memories from our visit to the beach one summer. Priceless and sweet memories of walking on the beach, picking up every one of these salty treasures.
Monica sent me my very own copy to treasure and she has generously offered to give a book to my readers too ($30 value), so if you’d like a copy for yourself, just leave a comment on this post, telling me what your favorite treasured collection for your home might be.
What is that special thing that you love and are living with too? Cherished family heirlooms, family photos, or pieces that you have collected yourself?
Are you living with what you love? I hope you are!
{Giveaway will be open until Saturday evening.}
Thanks for stopping by! I'm Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn't have to cost a fortune and I've spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yardsales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I'm here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won't you join me? 
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Wow Rhoda, now that I think about it I have many collections, such as , cookbooks, crosses, nutcrackers, Santas and small clocks. I also want a plate wall but don’t know exactly where or how to start. I have not been able to find ironstone plates anywhere.
My favorite collection is really only for me right now. The year I got married i started a recipe journal. I’ve written all the recipes of our favorite meals and also added ones I wanted to try. I try to write little things like “Pa loves this fudge because it reminds him of his mothers.’ I try to send it to him on his birthday every year. He was born 12/18/29.”
I like the idea that one day my children will be able to look at all the recipes of foods they grew up on and read little things I have to say in my own writing.
My books for sure, unless a collection of pets counts! Thanks!
I get so much joy out of my collection of bird’s nests. I live on a farm and every so often find an empty nest on the ground completely created with the woven cream and black and chestnut hairs of my horses tails. I love that they are made of something so personal to me and that the birds are so practical. Tail hair makes a very sturdy and water-resistant nest! I display them around the house and they never fail to elicit comment from my guests. Thanks for the blog!
We have antique lanterns on each side of our windows, hung on iron hangers. Nice looking and useful in power outages!
A favorite? Lots of favorites especially now that mom has moved in and we are merging households. Would have to say dishes and cookbooks and family photos are the top 3! Sounds like a great book.
A few of my favorites are family photos, books, and antique creamers.
I collect dolls,books,magizines,tv’s and much more.
hmmm.. Books. Love books. They are so comfroting. If three or are concidered a collection I guess it is looms. And photos ’cause I am a photographer.
Blessings!
Being an anglophile,, I have items from my trip to England on display,,,,and a few teapots in the breakfast nook on display. I also noticed while looking to see what I have collections of,, Longaberger baskets here and there, and they are being used for storage.
Hi Rhoda! Just recently started following your blog and I LOVE it! I too am from the south and just recently bought my first home. I don’t have very many heirlooms but anything Blue and White, especially china pieces catch my eye. I even have a guest room with a blue and white spread. I added antique blue and white plates to the wall in the attached bathroom!
My favorite thing to collect is dishes. All kinds, I just love ‘em. I have a little addiction.
So glad I found your blog! (I’m also in your “decade” although have only been a Midwest and Northwest girl.) The book sounds great! My favorites are white pitchers, family photos, and books (adult & children).
This is such a great post and a very welcome giveaway! I have a collection of very old family photos from when my mother and her siblings were children and I intersperse pictures of my siblings and myself when we were children in the 50′s and 60′s….everyone who visits loves to see the old pictures and always comments on how wonderful it is to “see everyone”!!!
I’m not sure what collections I have, but I really treasure some pieces handed down to me from my grandparents. My grandfather enjoys woodworking and stained glass as a hobby and I have a spice cabinet that he made for me for my wedding, a cradle he made for me when I was born, and a couple of his stained glass pieces that I always loved as a kid. My grandmother gave me a set of her wedgewood dishes when I got married that I always enjoyed looking at when we were eating Thanksgiving dinner. Most recently, at my baby shower, my grandparents gave me my grandmother’s rocking chair that she got for Christmas when she was two-years-old in 1930 that my grandfather had refinished. Those are the kinds of pieces that I love to decorate around and enjoy seeing every day in my home.
One of my favorite things a hutch that my father made. It resides at my parents house still but I want it in my home so badly. We also have other handmade pieces from grandparents and great grandparents. Also a very old Singer sewing machine that still works (foot pedal) in the drawers are old car keys that belonged to my great grandfather, who I never met, he was a car salesman. It makes me feel like I knew him.
I have a collection of a certain brand of Santas that I collect and love to display. I also have a set of dishes that my grandmother gave me that I have added pretty much all of the serving pieces to and really cherish these. I have recently found your blog from another blog that I follow and I look forward to reading it everyday!
Until I starting following the bloggers, I never experienced such beauty that some of your bloggers have brought into their homes. I was in this same “box” that I had always been in and things never changed. I sometimes rerarranged things from time to time, but never experimented with new ideas and really freshened things up. I am slowly moving out of that box and with the help of a lot of you, like Rhoda@SouthernHospitality, I hope that I can change my style of decorating and begin to live with things that I love!! I would love to win the book you are giving away this week!
Thank you all for all of your wonderful ideas and for sharing them.
I certainly treasure a single vintage Christmas ball from 1951 (the first Christmas my grandparents were married). Since receiving that one ball, I have collected others. I yank them out as soon as I possibly can and often keep them displayed until I switch to spring because they are so warm, beautiful and treasured!
Books, seashells, fabric, cups and saucers…to include a few. But I have to edit them and try and find a way to use them all in our house. Also, my tastes are changing a bit. I’m getting to be more in the uncluttered yet classic look. How does one incorporate Chintz into that?! Very carefully. But it can be done!
Pictures, books, recipes… and I hope to start a collection of vintage aprons soon!
My favorite treasured collection would be all of the little glass animals my mom used to have on her shadowbox on the wall.
yarns, fabics, books, magazines… they are all collections not junk
Yes I surround myself with the things I love….sometimes just a glance at one of them puts a smile on my face. They always catch my eye. I have so many things…..roosters in the kitchen, a collection of old cameras, books, pictures.
Nice post….
Kathy
I have so many collections it’s hard to narrow them down to one! I love the collection of pictures of my family, both present and past. I also love my collection of all things avian…it makes me smile when I see all my little birdies. : )
I’d LOVE to win a copy of the book!
I collect rocks. I have baskets, vases, dishes and crocks, filled with rocks of all sizes, shapes and colors. I think my facination started when we would hunt agates as children. I decorate all over the house with them. Funny how, now my grandchildren even have an appreciation for rocks
I make a habit of picking up rocks from our journeys, a very affordable souvenier!
My favorite item is my antique wicker couch that was my great great grandmothers. I am in love with it.
faeriesmak at gmail dot com
My books are definitely my favorite collection!
I collect cookbooks from all the areas that we’ve lived in (Amish cookbooks from Ohio and cajun cookbooks from New Orleans, etc). I also collect little things that remind me of my home state of Ohio; a little cardinal here, a buckeye there, etc. Finally I collect Christmas ornaments. My entire tree is covered in ornaments that have been given to me or were crafted by myself or my kids. I also have a few that I purchased to commemorate a city that we’ve lived in (can you tell we’ve moved a lot?) or an event such as the birth of a child. It’s an eclectic tree, but I spend hours every holiday season admiring my tree and remembering.
I’ve had many collections through the years and still love them;
little hinged boxes, cookbooks, cookie cutters, snowmen….but my favorite things tend to be things handed down from generation to
generation.
Collections! I have too many:) I adore fabric. If I find a fabric I love but it is too pricey to do a lot with, I will buy a swatch and staple it to a canvas and display it behind a tablescape or vignette. I have fabric boards all over the house. I even do it with pretty tea towels. I also LOVE colored glass bottles, especially blues and greens. I’m looking for a vintage cabinet to display them in. Love your blog!!!!!
I love, love, love displaying photos! It’s so much fun, and friends and family enjoy seeing themselves when they come to our home. I like the wooden frams and the silver ones she used. Will have to garage sale for some of those!
I have a wonderful collection of books.
I have a collection of books, budha statues, and I Love displaying family Pictures
I have many collections of family photos around our home. I also enjoy displaying dishes many that were handed down to me. They are things that bring me joy as I see them in my home & share stories about their history with guests.
Quilts, antique books, dishes and more dishes, yellow creamware, silver and even nature gifts like tiny pine cones, empty cocoons, bird nests, driftwood, shells. Guess thats all my house is about….what I’ve picked up over the years.
My treasured collection are my old childrens books, Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Happy Hollistors. I want one day to have complete sets. I’m close!!
I have a small collection of favorite family photos on my nightstand. All are in silver-toned frames. I enjoy having these treasured pictures nearby.
Now that I know the definition of “collection,” I have many collections. My all time favorites have to be my coffee cups…requirements….a handle large enough to slip four fingers through and thick enough to keep the coffee warm until it is gone. I too collect seashells and sea treasures. My husband kinda huffs and puffs ever summer as I haul them home. “More shells?” I just smile and push them into the van. Love them all!
Love this giveaway. I am obsessed with photos, especially ones of my parents and grandparents as children and young adults!!! They are some of my favorite things in my house
Mallory1031 at gmail dot com
I am starting a bottle collection. So far I have an old large French wine bottle (a splurge but I love it) and a couple of handmade bottles. I would LOVE to add a seltzer bottle but they have been way too pricey so I will just have to keep on looking (—not much of a chore for someone like me and a reason to shop all the flea places!) I love your blue collection on the mantel–who couldn’t love that spark of color!
My favorite collection that I have started is my patch/pin collection. Whenever I go to a new place a get a patch or pin and display it in my home.
We love family pictures on display everywhere. We have been married for only three years and have a one year old son, so wedding pictures, baby pictures, hiking pictures, and everything in between!
I have a wonderful collection of cookbooks. I also collect Dept. 56 Snow Babies.
I have a collection of souvenirs and photos from a trip I took to China with my father.
camialane@gmail.com
I have several collections (dishes, Christmas carolers, old family photos, books), which I love, but 2 of my favorite collectibles are things that I inherited. I have several Lladro figurines, which I inherited from my mom. The porcelain is so beautifully crafted; and I just love the colors and the flowers! Perhaps even more special, though, is a Russian samovar (a metal urn, used to heat water, for tea), which belonged to my father’s great aunt. My family came to the US from Russia in the early 1900′s. They were peasants, so they had very little in the way of material goods; but most families came with a trunk, which they filled with the things they would need the most. A samovar was a highly prized possession. I always imagine the samovars, probably wrapped in blankets or clothing, then placed carefully in the trunks, where they would be safe. My samovar is a small brass one, with a rooster-shaped spigot, to dispense the hot water. Whenever I see it, I am reminded of the journeys of my ancestors, the losses and hardships they faced and the courage they demonstrated in coming to a new land. It reminds me that I am strong enough to face and meet the challenges of my life! I have been updating my house (my mom’s decor, from the ’70′s) so my samovar has been put away for awhile, but your blog and others like it are motivating me to begin living with the things I love, once again! Thank you for inspiring me!
My favorite collection is my cookbooks. Couldn’t live without them!
I would love this book to add to my collection! My fave collection in my home would have to be…..my roosters and my empty picture frames. Stop on over if ya get a chance Rhoda! I have a book giveaway you may just love as well! I am giving away How To Create The French look by Annie Sloan. Have a great weekend!:)
My great Aunt Frances in Greensboro, NC always displayed her collections-and to this day I love doing the same! Her home seemed cluttered to most people, but to me -a treasure trove of all things family and all the things that she loved the most. I would love a copy of this book-it just screams ME; and my husband would finally see that YES, there are people out there like me.
How Nice! Thanks. I have a few treasured collections, but one very cool set comes to mind. I have portraits of three of my children’s great grandmas (so, my husband’s and my grandmas) in very similar postions and dress and age, taken in the 20s, and framed beautifully. We cherish them!
My collection has become black and white photography of family. We have a wall of old black and white when you enter our front door. It keeps growing.
I think my favourite of all my little collections would be my old cameras. I’d love to get some real antiques in there. Some day I hope to find a great glass front cabinet, and build a natural history collection, like the Victorians did, instead of having rocks and feathers scattered all over.
I have several collections, but my favorite, most cherished are my antique linens that belonged to my great, great maternal grandmother. Would love to win this book!
I try to only use things I love in my home. I love family photos. I have been collecting ironstone, some milkglass and other older white/cream dishes for a couple of years now and love them spread throughout my home. And of course in the summer I have lots of shells from beach trips through the years.
I am a avid collector and I love to display as much as possible. I do rotate things with the season. To name a few, I collect Madame Alexander dolls, family photos, sea shells, heart shaped rocks (my grandson & I go on adventures to find them), Wallace Silver Bells for each anniversary, Christmas ornaments from our travels and also watercolors from our travels, angels, Hummel figurines that include a dolly, wooden potato mashers, … I could go on & on& on. I am very sentimental.
Hi! I just landed here via Twitter and I’m so happy to have found you! I’ve recently become a Southerner (ATL) so I’m looking forward to see what I can learn.
I collect a lot of things but my favorite has to be art. I try to pick up a piece – high and low – from all my travels.
The only collection I have are my Christmas ornaments from every vacation we have had. I have family photos plastered every where though!
elkmeese at yahoo dot com
I live with all sorts of collections that I love……my 1930′s grater set from my grandmother; antique clocks from my great-uncle, uncle, aunt and father-in-law; Christmas ornaments from the early 1940′s and 1950′s; and a large collection of cookbooks……
Sounds like a great book. Thank you for the chance to win!
Starting ‘real life’ next year after grad school and travelling through 50 countries. This would really help me!
Thanks for the chance to win!!
I would LOVE this book! Right now I’m trying to incorporate old, old family photos and my collection of Hawaiian Koa wood pieces into our home. meg.wilkerson@yahoo.com
Great giveaway! I’d love to be entered.
Please count me in. Thanks.
avalonne83 [at] yaoo [dot] it
I just packed one of my favorite collections away this morning: my seashell collection from my Grandmother. She was originally a midewest gal who moved with her young family to Florida. While working at the “Shell Factory” she fell in love with seashells and was a collector throughout her life. For Autumn I’m bringing out her collection of carnival glass. Grandma’s seashells will re-appear next spring!
Thank you for the chance!
I have too many collections probably:) But my most favorite and oldest would be my jadeite dishes. I started collecting them when I was in college and still can’t say no when I see any in a store.
I think the collection I am using the most in our home is the plates I have collected here and there, several are Homer Laughlin. I have several hanging in different rooms and keep finding more. The book sounds like it would be a treasure.
I collect the letter “G,” Willow Tree Angels, insulators, globes, and old games…
I have two bookcases of cookbooks. Read them like novels.
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