{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? 
{ 167 comments }
I have several old green rutile pottery Rebekah pitchers…love them…move them around the house, but always keep them together for the impact they make with all their varied sizes.
My collection is holiday specific. I collect the German Nutcrackers. They are a important part of my home decor for the holidays. They actually go up before other items do for the holidays and they stay up for a bit longer. I started this collection when I was in my teens and it just flourished.
I love my vintage family photos, my quilts, and my vintage kitchen utensils and gadgets! I have a pretty nice collection of all of these things.
This will sound weird, but bear with me. Both my husband and I love all things creepy and Halloween-y, so we’ve decorated our house over the years with goodies from the Halloween sales. That means we’ve got bats and skulls and vampires galore. Most everyone in our lives finds this weird and thinks we live in a crazy fun house, but it’s what makes us happy.
I’d say my family photographs. I have pictures of my family everywhere and I’d like to find creative ways to display and arrange them in collections on the wall.
I love displaying my family photos and collection of shells and things found at the beach.
I’m in love w/ my slipper chairs that have been stuck in storage for years and are about to get recovered.
I don’t have much that my family has given me. I’m newly married but I do have a lot of baskets from longaberger that my grandma gives me every year for Christmas. I love green and red and decorate my house like that, but keep it from being too Christmas-y!
I have a growing collection of transferware that I just love!
I’ve recieved lots of beautiful, mismatched stemwear from my grandmother, aunt and mother. Most of it is tucked away in a cabinet, but I try to find wears to use some pieces around the house. I keep make-up brushes in one in the bathroom, for example. If you have other ideas, please let me know.
OK…this is weird. At this moment, I have shelving, plates and pictures all over my floor trying to decide what to do with them…so I went to your blog to see how you used your plates, shelving etc… AND I FIND THIS. WOW!
I love to have things around that remind me of family and days gone by. They may not always be my decorating style but I have found if I combine them with newer items It works!! I am a firm believer in surrounding your self with things you love!!
Sentimental favorites are definitely my way of decorating. Family photographs are, of course, a favorite – displayed in various thrift store frames. But my very favorite collection would be wooden Santas handcarved by my dad….not just for Christmas by any means!
Hi Rhonda! I love living with what I love and that is my family. I have family photos through out my home.
Thank you for sharing your ideas and a portion of your life through your blog. I would be thrilled to have Monica’s book too!
Thanks,
Glenda
I want this book!!
I just finished typing a blog post (out tomorrow) where I just typed the very same thoughts you wrote about … A collection is 3 or more…
… LOL!!
great minds think alike
Loved this post!
Rhoda, It has to be my blue and white transferware. I started collecting at age 17 and the transferware has been with me through twelve moves. When Hurricane Ivan was headed toward our home I carefully packed every piece and took it with me. Our home was hit hard by the hurricane but luckily my transferware was saved. I would love to win this book!
Hugs, Sherry
My favorite is anything sunflower.
I collect many things but one collection I truly enjoy and display throughout my house is vintage postcards for different holidays, etc. I keep them in an old sewing drawer and go through them to choose what I want to display next! It is ever changing.
Wow…it’s hard to narrow it down to just one collection. Right now, I think I’m hung up on my vintage pottery planters in blues, greens, (beach colors). Also quite fond of vintage santas and vintage glass. Love the blue transferware and wallpaper, even though I’m more of a green person. The blue in those insulators is pretty awesome too. It’s all in the thrill of the hunt/find though.
I love any blue and white dishes, pitchers, bowls, etc. They just seem to fit in anywhere. I also collect roosters and Santas. It’s amazing how quickly a collection can grow when family knows what you want.
Love your blog, would love to own this book.
My absolute fave is my mason jars! LOVE EM!!
My favorite collection would be family photos … vintage to modern. I also have a small new testament that was given to my great grandfather before he went off to the Civil War … he was a mere 16, and would like a creative idea of how to display it. The book looks very interesting … would love a copy. Thanks for doing this , Rhoda!
What a beautiful book! I love the pictures and the way you’ve interpreted the ideas into your home! Your blog is one of my favorites!
My favorite thing to collect these days is old, tarnished silver.
Thanks, looking forward to your next post!
Glenda
Lately, I’ve been picking up old wooden tennis rackets at yard sales and displaying them in different spots in the house. I also collect yellow and turquoise ovenserve ware, and use it every day. I have some salt and pepper shakers from some of my grandmothers, too.
I love to collect family photographs. My favorite thing to collect is seashells. We have a home on the coast and it seems to be something the whole family enjoys. We can go out on the boat and make a day of it. You never find the same thing twice!
I also agree with Monica, I do decorate with what I love, so many things we have hold such special memories of someone or somewhere. Memories are not to be stored away in box, they live in our hearts and in our home. So yes indeed, I have fulled my home with memories and things that make me smile and give me comfort.
I really enjoyed your post today..
Have a sweet day, big hugs~Elizabeth
Old family photos and dishes have a special place in my heart! I do need help in figuring out how to “live” with them everyday! This book sounds wonderful!
My favorite collection is neither old nor of a sentimental value. I have no clue on how to go about displaying them without them being “in your face”. They are Krystonia figurines — fantasy and fictional characters.
I love old photographs of family members. I have a whole gallery wall up my stairs and I love looking at all of the fun pics and hearing stories about them. That book looks wonderful!
Hi Rhoda,
I have been reading your blog for about two years and so enjoy it! Thank you!
It is hard to pick just one of my collection addictions as my favorite, but I am going to go with vases and urns. I love to arrange flowers to decorate with or give to friends so I am always buying vases and urns. Lately, I have been trying to find a way to display them since I am running out of room in the closet where I keep them!!
Thanks again!
Thanks again for your blog.
I totally agree, Rhoda! Unfortunately, I put a lot of those things away last year when we put our house on the market and thinking we would be moving. I really miss them, too. All my family pictures especially. That would have been the first thing I set up had we moved, too, with a vinyl saying about family and then my pictures around it. We are going to try again in a few months, so hopefully they won’t have to be packed up for another whole year!
What a lovely post & give-away, Rhoda. It’s difficult for me to list just one collection. My father and my grandfather were Renaissance men…thus, they each had quite the collecting bug. I’ve just realized that, at this very moment, I am standing in the middle of a triangle which consists of my bandmaster grandpa’s Schweizerhorn, clarinet, and snare drum. For me, in decorating, my heritage is of utmost importance.
I hope that you are having a beautiful September 1st!
: )
Julie M.
Ok, so I don’t really have a lot of “collections” per se, but my favorite things around my home are the ones that have a lot of history, be it my side of the family’s or my husband’s. Our kids rooms have a lot of things that belonged to us as children and it pleases my heart to see them find a new place to belong!
Vanessa
http://southerninmyheart.blogspot.com
I love my family pics, quilts my grandmother made, my MIL’s original paintings & her brushes, and my new collection of old white dishware. Linda
Love family photos or a family heirloom. We framed our children’s art for the dining room. We always get compliments. I also have a wall of photos (black frames & white mattes) with only family displayed.
I would love to say I have a chocolate collection, but I can never keep chocolate long enough for it to become a collection! I have a collection of old Bibles that I love very much. Some are family Bibles and some I have found at antique stores.
That sounds like a wonderful book to have! I like family photos and anything to do with words/letters.
How delightful! I’ve always loved decorating with my personal family treasures and photographs. Monica’s book is now on my wish list!!
I Love family photos – old and new – so I mix them together and have a beautiful display on both sides of our main hall. My hubby and I were married in Bodie, CA (now a state historic park) were his family owned most of the town. We have a lovely collection of pictures of the church and we proudly display those in our living room… I guess pictures would just about say all!!!!
I don’t have a lot of collections, but I’ve recently been collecting vintage white Pyrex mixing bowls. I can get them for a couple of dollars at the thrift store and it’s fun to find one that’s just a little different from the others.I’ve also started collecting vintage children’s books.
That looks like a lovely book!! I am sure it is filled with ideas !
Head vases! I love the pretty little lady heads, popular in the ’50′s, and have about 50 of them displayed in the corner cabinet of our family room. That book looks yummy and I’d love to win it! Thank you, Rhoda!
I have several collections that I really enjoy, but my favorite is a porcelain dog collection that once belonged to my Dad. My Mom gave it to me after he passed away, and I cherish it (and display it!). Some of the little dogs were his as a young boy, and I love to imagine him playing with them.
One of my favorite collections is my family quilts from both my family & my husband’s. I love using them.
Three hobnailed vases are my favorite heirloom. My father always came in from outdoors with some flower or branch and mom put them in one of these small tabletop vases. I know I got my love of vignettes from seeing something always on display in these vases. Everytime I put a stem in one I think wistfully of them. Peggy from PA
Would love to win a copy! I have a collection of my late grandmother’s china that I’m still trying to figure out how to incorporate/display the best way.
I have a collection of small porcelain shoes that I absolutely adore! My first shoe was a gift from my aunt when I was a child. It was not a porcelain one though. It was a tacky plastic shoe with small colored sea shells glued to it…..at the time I thought it was the most beautiful shoe in the world. I still have it and am very sentimental about it even though it is UGLY. HA. One more thing worth noting….when I met my husband-to-be, he had a collection of shoes that his grandmother had given him. I knew then he was the one!
I love really old pictures of my family members in their teen years….especially my grandparents’ teen years.
I have momentos, photos, letters, handmade vintage baby dressetc., from my grandparents that I would love to be able to display creatively. I hope to win this book! It’s been on my wishlist for months.
This seems to be my current crisis. I have too many collections and I can’t seem to pare down and so I don’t have the joy of seeing them because there are too many. I have and love: quilts my mother made, pottery, white ironstone pitchers, jadite dishes, old baskets, handmade candles, paintings, etc. I need help. I want to learn to let go so I can enjoy what I have.
Would love to have this book; it looks divine!! One of the things I collect are angels…of all sorts, materials, styles, etc…and they are displayed thruout our home. Additionally, I began years ago collecting Nativity sets and during the holidays, every room in our home has at least one on display.
I have a family collection of angel figurines that I absolutely cherish.
i love this post. it may be my favorite of all;& there are several that i just thought were favorites. what is building a home about if not about love? as well as what expresses you to your treasured guests whom
you share your home with from time to time. that is the ONLY thing that is most valuable – love. so why not fill it with expressions that reflect back on the nester ? smile – i love photos diplayed in vignettes along with treasures of all types of value that have been loved on by meaningful people in my life. if you are looking at Mary Carol Garrity ‘s style – you are looking at old & new, trash & treasure.
hugs, p
I worked in a spinning yarn mill for 26 years, then they announced in Nov. 2009 that they were shutting down the mill.
I was always drawn to spinning bobbins due to the history I share with them. I found my first one in a can of sliver about 20 years ago and was hooked. I love to find the ones with painted tops – this was done so they could tell the yarn apart – I can only imagine who touched and worked with these bobbins in a yarn mill so many years ago.
This looks like a great book! I collect several things but right now I would have to say my favorite is a collection of vintage, silver-plate Ronson table lighters. I have about 15 or so and try to keep them shining all the time! This is a great give-a-way!
Family photos from yesteryear and current – I love watching families across generations, makes me all daydreamy to look at old photos, and wondrous of the passing of time! Also seashell/seaglass from various trips to the beach (we live in the Midwest, so this type of thing seems so special and rare in our home). And I have a beautiful collection of femine ceramic hinged boxes, which I display on one of my mother’s old mirrored trays that I remember her displaying perfumes on when I was a child. Collections are so special & unique, I enjoyed reading everyone’s responses!
What beautiful photos! I love displaying photographs, I have some beautiful old photos from the early 1900s – 1950s. I have packed many of them away for safety since Katrina, but I am begining to bring them out again.
I collect books. My small house is overflowing with books but I know someday I’ll have a library with built-in bookshelves that can comfortably hold my collection. Most of my books have some sort of memory connected with them, either I was reading it on a trip or I used to listen to a certain CD or band while I was reading that book and the two are linked, or I can remember the person who gave me the book or recommended it.
and… love what you have. thanks for sharing!
I would love to be living with MORE of what I love. But, I do proudly display a painting done by my grandmother. I also live with (and use regularly) her old cooking gadgets. I think of her much more than if I just had them displayed on a kitchen shelf! She is still alive, and I love talking about our fun kitchen memories.
I love OLD photos, even if I don’t know the people. Yes, I know I’m a sick woman!
I also like to display Red Wing pottery (dishes, vases and the crocks.)
I’ve collected green & white McCoy pottery before it became expensive! Hard to find now even if I was willing to pay the high price! I have so many treasures from family or things I have accumulated that this book would certainly be a big help! Thanks for the chance to win!
I love birds! (decorative birds, that is) I have them sprinkled throughout my entire home. And I love photographs of my two sons (ages 22 & 20)… candid shots are always my favorite!
Thanks for the opportunity!!
I collect primitive dolls – especially the ones my mom makes. I love their simpleness and their expressions.
I have shell, rock, fossil, pottery and several other collections. My aunt did some tracing of our family tree and put photos of my ancestors in a binder. I took them, copied them and put all of them in ornate silver frames and have them grouped in a bay window near our dining room table. I look at them often, a real treasure.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
I too love to live with what I love. I have several collections of things I love to create vignettes around. My favorite by far is English transferware. I group it in wall displays and hutches and make practical use out of it everyday.
This looks like a wonderful book full of great ideas!
Nancy @ Nancy’s Daily Dish
What a nice giveaway! My favorite treasures are a collection of little boys I have running around my house! They have temporarily caused the removal of all my other little tangible treasures….aside from that most certainly my photographs. Your blog is lovely! K
Rhoda,
This book is on my amazon wish list! I love my collections of metal dog figures. My reading room (I call it that because it is where I sit to read) has a collection of bronze and other metal dogs I’ve collected from eBay and other places.
Karen
I love having photos everywhere. I also collect cookbooks, crosses and heart shapes. I think if you don’t choose to “live with what you love” you are missing so much!
Thanks for this opportunity to win! THAT is my mantra for a comfortable home! If I love it, it will work! I have china I inherited from my aunt, the 75 year old cedar chest my father built by hand for my Mom when he asked her to marry him, many pieces of authentic Polish crystal he brought when he traveled back to his homeland. I would love to see how the book suggests incorporating these formal elements into my less formal traditional/transitional decor. Thanks for the chance!
I love my collection of Spode china. I only received one place setting of my Buttercup pattern for my wedding, but since then I’ve decided just to gather a collection of teacups, saucers, dessert plates and sandwich plates all in the wicker design with all different flower patterns. I finally have a set of 6 designs with the teapot, sugar, creamer and serving plate in the original Buttercup. I’d love to receive a copy of this book!
My favorite treasure is one of the past. When my boys were little and we lived in the country in AR. We would take walks and pick up bird feathers that we found. Once home, I would push them into a medium sized styrofoam ball. After a couple of years, the ball was completely covered and hung from the ceiling. It was really pretty! Sad to say, I never thought to take a picture. The feather ball was lost in our West Coast move 4 years ago, but your suggestion immediately brought this item to my mind. Thanks!
I love reading your blog, I love mirrors, American flags, and crosses. I had a collections of crosses in my master bathroom, but when hurricane Ike hit us, they are now on our fence by the pool!!!
I love family pics, crosses, and my kids art. I frame my kids’ art or put their scultures around the house. I have crosses everywhere and family pics in black frames make me happy
Mirrors are one of the things I love to collect. I love the way they reflect the light. Fiestaware is also a favorite, specifically, old Fiestaware. It’s a family thing. I love taking it out and serving with it and eating from the dishes.
I am in love with black and white photos and love to hang them in groupings. I am also a sucker for just about any pretty dish or platter that I can hang above doorways or display on little stands.
I think I will really enjoy reading/seeing all of the suggestions in Monica’s book.
Thanks so much for making her book available to the rest of us
I love to cook and have a collection of misc. kitchen items from my mother and grandmother’s kitchens–a cookie jar, a canister, an over-sized wood spoon, a small cast iron skillet, etc.
I love living with my books, plants, crafty things I made myself from found or thifted treasures.
But most of all I love living with my loved ones! They are my most valuable treasures and they decorate our home beautifully with their presence!
Hi Rhonda,
What a wonderful post. I would love to see that book, it really looks wonderful. I love all of your collections on display.
I could not live without my collection of venetian and etched mirrors.
I also love little chairs and benches and so many other things.
Family photos are a favorite too.
hugs
Sissie
I love my photos and need a book like this because I kind of have them all clumped in one place, but would love to know different ways to display them in rooms all over my house. I thank you for such a wonderful giveaway!
I collect and display flower frogs, white pitchers, hearts, Fostoria American pattern glass, picture frames, old bottles and cans, and sea glass or any other treasure from the beach. probably other things that I can’t think of….all of these things mean something special to me.
I collect a few different things, bright colored glass, books, etc. However, dust seems to be my biggest collection currently.
I have a wonderful collection of old photos of our grandparents and great-grands. I was also excited to get a Bible that belonged to my great-grandmother. I also collect old books–especially children’s stories. We have books everywhere in our house. Thanks for this chance to win.
Blessings!
Marilyn
Years ago my daughters, along with their father, started purchasing a single Brighton silver frame (each has a heart motif somewhere on it or is in the shape of a heart) for Christmas. Every year we insert the girl’s Christmas picture. It enables us to see how much they have grown from year to year. It started when they were around 6 and 10, they are now almost 17 and almost 21.
My most favorite treasured collection would have to be all the dish linens my grandmother left me. They’re really amazing, and since they’re from her, it makes them even more fantastic!
My favorite collection is an outfit that i had framed for each one of my 4 kids when they were infants. They are so sweet and they make me and them happy everytime we look at them.
My most treasured possessions are family photos! Running a close second are the paintings and drawings done by very talented mother and grandmother during their lives. I miss them both so much and I love the idea that my children have grown up in a house decorated with family photos and art created by their grandmother and great-grandmother.
I collect china plates from our travels, small china pitchers, and heirloom linens (mostly tablecloths), some from family and some secondhand. I use all of them in various ways throughout my home, but I’m always looking for more ideas. I would love to win this book!
My shell collections are my most cherished. They remind me of the beach and spending time with loved ones.
Rhoda,
I enjoy old photos. I too love the way you have displayed some of your old family photos. I would love to win this book.
My collection of silver trays, my obsession with lamps and an antique plate collection my mother in law had started for me when I was in my early twenties.
I too love your plate collection…I have a vast collection of Hummels, started way before you could buy them in so many places as now. Guess one day I will give them to my children—-I hope them will want them!
My mother worked in the small, local Post Office from the time I was a few weeks old, until she retired many, many years later. Right before she retired, the town built a new, larger Post Office. Most of the “furnishings” were moved to the new office, but a few things were retired. One of those things was a large oak mail sorter. It sat in our out building for years, but when we built this house, we found a perfect spot for it, right in the living room. We kept it it’s original Federal Steel Blue color and it still has all the address labels stuck to the front. We definitely get more comments on that mail sorter than anything else in this house!
I like things that remind me of my childhood——old pictures, etc. I also have been displaying some plates and white/cream ware.
I love alot of the things in my home. I have old family photos as well as my favorite collections of crosses, roosters and my sand collection. I decorate my home with what makes me happy and for my family and for myself. If might not be for everyone but it works for us.
Hi Rhoda, I need help in the area! I have a hard time displaying accessories, but love the idea…would love to win this book and try some of the ideas in it! Thank you for the chance!
Definately my quilts that my nana and my husbands grandmother made, family photos,and my scrapbook my mom made me of my life and all my big moments. I love this book and have been wanting it.
My current treasure is my grandmother’s old cookbook, something I am trying to figure out how to preserve and share with the other women in the family.
My favorite collection has to be our family pictures. I try to limit them to one wall in our home. Would love to see how others display their collections!
I enjoy your blog very much!
I collect tea cups and tea pots. I have a collection of turquoise Ball jars and the insulators too. I would love to have this book!