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fsuadamson
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I was going through each room doing an analysis (thanks to Holly Pierlot's book) and I have come to the sad realization my home does not reflect the faith that I love so deeply and try to live each day 
I am ready to make this summer and time of putting "new wine into new wine skins". Does anyone have some ideas or recommendations of a good book (or two) on how to decorate your home so that it reflects a Catholic 'domestic church'? I would love ideas for bathrooms, laundry rooms anything...
I'm not looking for a Southern Living look just one that reflects a Catholic home instead of a protestant / secular one.
God Bless,
Leslie
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MacBeth
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How about Ann Ball's Catholic Traditions in the Home and Classroom? It might not be magazine style, but it'll get you started.
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God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
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MaryM
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This thread on a Catholic home might be helpful. It has some good ideas.
I call Faith and Family magazine a "Catholic Martha and Mary Stewart Living" magazine. It occasionally has decorating type ideas.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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Sarah
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A crucifix in each room.
A nice Sacred Heart in a high profile place in the main room--usually above the mantle. It should be in a place of honor.
If you can find a complementary Immaculate heart, it can be placed next to the Sacred Heart. Or some other beautiful picture of Our Lady should be put in a place of honor.
Icons, statues, and a hanging thing for rosaries placed here and there.
Polish Madonnafor laundry room or bathroom, or a place the mother works. There are many sizes of this to choose from.
Innocence
Holy Water placed by the door
St. Anthony--lovely
St. Joseph
Immaculate Heart
Nice Sacred Heart
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MacBeth
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Oh! You could also visit Alice's blog for home and garden inspiration. Don't miss the current photos for the month of May!
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God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
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fsuadamson
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Thanks MacBeth!! I actually own Ann Ball's Catholic Traditions in the Home and Classroom. I'll have to pull it back off the shelf and take a look.
And as far as Alice's blog goes that is going to take me a couple days of browsing. Alice is so incredibly talented!! 
Again, thanks!
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Leslie
dh Dave; dd19; dd17; ds14; dd12; ds9; dd7
Knotty Pines Academy
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fsuadamson
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Oh Sarah,
Your lists and website posts were very helpful. I am most grateful for the allposters.com website. I just knew I could find prints at a cheaper cost than what I am finding at our local stores but in all my googles I never came across this resource -- thanks!!
I was wondering do you have any favorite crucifixes? I am not fond of the St. Francis ones that were mentioned on one of the other lists. I can proudly say I have a large crucifix in our dining room and 2.5 inch ones over the door thresholds but I would like to get ones for the kids rooms to go over their beds.
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Leslie
dh Dave; dd19; dd17; ds14; dd12; ds9; dd7
Knotty Pines Academy
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MichelleW
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I have the "Veni Creator Spiritus" in Latin by the front door. My dad printed it out in a beautiful font in red and black and framed it for us.
I would put the Prayer of St. Francis in the laundry room. That is one place where I need to be reminded to be a channel of God's peace...
The rosary that my grandmother gave me for FHC is hanging in the sewing/craft room. She was a seamstress and every time I see it I think of her.
Michelle
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alicegunther
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fsuadamson wrote:
Thanks MacBeth!! I actually own Ann Ball's Catholic Traditions in the Home and Classroom. I'll have to pull it back off the shelf and take a look.
And as far as Alice's blog goes that is going to take me a couple days of browsing. Alice is so incredibly talented!!
Again, thanks!
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Let's just say I am beyond grateful to you and MacBeth for this. THANK YOU BOTH very much. You are too kind.
And MacBeth, thanks for mentioning the blog and not the state of my basement in that post.  
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Love, Alice
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Brew yourself a cup of tea, and come for a visit!
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teachingmom
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Over the years we have collected so many Catholic items that I think you can stand in just about any room of my house and figure out that we are Catholic!
I'm afraid I can't help with a book title, but here are some ideas from my own house:
Each bedroom has a crucifix, and dh and I have a number of icons in our bedroom too. Also each of our girls has a statue of her name saint on her dresser. Our upstairs hall has a framed picture of the Madonna of the Streets.
On the main floor, our entryway has a beautiful handmade wooden prie deux passed on to us by an in-law's father which holds a large family bible and has our most beautiful crucifix over it. We also have an icon of the Madonna and Child on a different wall of the entryway. The entryway is visible from both the dining room and living room. Our dining room has a framed photograph of Pope John Paul II that I got while in Rome many years ago. The sideboard in the dining room holds the Salerni crystal rosary boxes that one of my closest friends has given to each our three older girls for her First Holy Communion. Our living room has a framed cross-stitch that I made for dh when we were first married. It has the quote from St. Teresa of Avila that begins, "Let nothing disturb you . . ."
Our family room has a crucifix and another Madonna and Child icon. On the mantle are images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary and a statue of the Madonna and Child that I inherited from my grandmother. A print of Christ wearing the crown of thorns hangs on the wall over the mantle. Dh gave me that print for Christmas. I finally got it framed during Lent. I hope to someday add other art pieces to reflect the liturgical year that I can rotate through in that spot over the mantle, but for now I have just the one. All the art in the family room can be seen from the kitchen, plus our refrigerator holds some holy cards and religious magnets (along with lots of other stuff!).
The basement rec-room and office are the only two rooms without Catholic art, I think. We haven't decorated those walls at all yet. But we have so many Catholic theology books on all the bookshelves in both basement rooms, that it's still obvious down there that we are Catholics!
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Elizabeth
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We have many of the things mentioned above and last Christmas, I bought dh a painting of the Last Supper for the dining room. We also have a framed photo of JOhn Paul II with the other family photos. Thnking about htisnow, we odn't have a picture of Pope Benedict. I'm having a little trouble transitioning . Have to do something about that. We have several icons all over the house and there is one for every child's patron saint.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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stacykay
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We have the Crucifixes in each room (in our dining room I have a San Damiano cross.) The boys each picked out their own, and since they all share, their Crucifixes are hanging over each bed. I also have an icon of The Last Supper in the dining room. Our boys each have icons of the saints for whom they were named in their bedrooms.
We have sacrament photos grouped in collages (all the boys Baptisms in one, and adding in First Holy Communions in another, and just separate photos hanging of the two oldest at Confirmation.) Our wedding photo is in the dining room, also.
I have a beautiful Madonna and Child in my kitchen. I don't know the name of it  (a gift from a friend) but it has over the images SS. Mater Boni Consilii Ora Pro Nobis Jesum Filum Tuum. And I have a Madonna in our bedroom (again, don't know the name, gift from same friend who gave me the kitchen one, but truly beautiful.)
We have a Holy Family figurine and Bavarian Madonna on the mantel in our family room.
In the kitchen, I have a little nook with shelves and have some saint statues there, plus the refrigerator magnets of saints, and Mary and Jesus.
I agree with Elizabeth about missing our former Papa. Still get teary-eyed!
I hope some of this is helpful. I am anxious to check out the links for more ideas.
Oh, one last thing- outside, in the backyard, in a "nook" made by our two pine trees we have the Blessed Mother (painted concrete statue that my bil found at someone's curb on trash day!) She needs some touch-up, but don't know what to paint the concrete with, yet.
St. Francis is a common one for outdoors, but we haven't made that outlay.
God Bless,
Stacy
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marihalojen
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A friend antiqued her recycled/rescued gaudily painted Blessed Virgin statue with shoe polish, I think. It really toned down the awful paint job quickly.
My Grandmother grew moss on her outdoor statues and they were lovely! Very organic and subtle.
Just two ideas...
Grow Moss
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The Mari Hal-O-Jen
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Christine
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We have been blessed with family members who have great taste in religious art and like to share it with us.
As you enter our house, if you look up, you will see a large picture of St. Thomas More. To the right, hangs a picture of Christ crucified (it is the same print Blessed Mother Teresa had hanging in her convent). Above the door, hangs a crucifix. On the side of the door, there is a holy water font. A statue of St. Theresa stands in the corner.
In our kitchen, we have little statues and pictures of St. Joseph and St. Anne with Mary, in our garden window, along with a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus painted on a plate. The wall has a picture of Our Lady of Fatima, painted on tile. As of last Friday, Our Lady Star of the Sea also hangs on our kitchen wall (please see Alice's description, for instructions on how to make this craft).
In our dining room, we have a carved wood picture of the Last Supper, hanging on the main wall. Individual pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary hang on another wall. Above the sliding doors, we have a unique crucifix (it is named after a saint, but I can't think of which one right now). Our china cabinet, displays various statues of Mary and one of St. Theresa.
Our living room contains a bust of Our Sorrowful Mother, two bronze statues of Mary, a bronze statue of St. Michael, and a religious item sits on our mantle (this is changed, depending on the time of year). A painting of the Last Supper hangs above our fire place and two pictures of Mary hang on two of the other walls. Some friends refer to this as our Marian room.
All of the bedrooms, have a crucifix above each bed. A statue of Mary stands on each dressing table. Our boys' room has a statue of the Infant of Prague, standing on the chest of drawers. We have a holy water font by our bedroom door. My sons' room has a couple of religious pictures on the wall (the oldest requested that they be hung in his room).
Our family room has statues of St. Joseph, two of Mary, and one of Jesus. Pictures of Catholic, Irish knotwork hang on two of the walls. A celtic cross hangs above a window. This is our Irish room.
The downstairs hallway has various religious items hanging on the wall. Our old learning room, contains a statue of Mary (probably not surprising at this point), a picture of the Madonna of the Chair, a crucifix, and a couple of other religious pictures.
Our bathrooms contain framed, inspirational words (i.e. the downstairs bathroom has 1 Corinthians, hanging on the main wall).
Sorry, for the tour, but I thought it might be helpful to hear how various people have decorated their houses with religious items. The look of our house has developed over the last 5 1/2 years.
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Christine
Mommy to 4 girls, 5 boys, & 2 in God's care
Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
Pretty Lilla Rose
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fsuadamson
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I'm loving all the ideas and all the links and resources to go with them! You all are really helping me out more than you know.....
On a funny note I had to get the old thesaurus out and google search many of the suggestions that are not part of my everyday language like 'sideboard' and I didn't even know what 'icons' were . Anyhow thanks for the education.
Right now our fireplace is 'bare' I have been wanting to put something on the wall there but the space between the mantel and the ceiling is about 36 inches (not a whole lot of room). Several of you all mentioned sacred heart and immaculate heart icons and a crucifix. How would I do that in such a small space?
I actually was thinking of putting a tapestry of some kind. Does anyone have some good links for Catholic tapestries?
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Leslie
dh Dave; dd19; dd17; ds14; dd12; ds9; dd7
Knotty Pines Academy
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fsuadamson
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Oh yes, several of you all mentioned 'statues'. Where do you purchase your statues?
There are some real tacky looking statues out there so I do not have many in our home (just two of Mary).
I love the idea of getting icons of the saints for whom each child was named in their bedrooms. I'm thinking I could do either a statue, holy card or icon. One problem I am having right now is my second daughter's name day saint... Her middle name is Suzanne so her saint would be "St. Susan" and we can't seem find anything on this saint  Can anyone help us here? This is really beginning to bother her lately 
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Leslie
dh Dave; dd19; dd17; ds14; dd12; ds9; dd7
Knotty Pines Academy
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lapazfarm
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In our schoolroom there are pictures of St. Joseph and St. Francis, (our family and school patron saints)and a San Damiano Crucifix, and several of ds copywork of religious quotes, esp. St Francis and Veni Spiritus Sanctus, with which we start each day. In the living room is a Marian Icon and another of unknown origin, and a cricifix. In the dining room is a ceramic plaque of the last supper and our little altar with a crucifix, Marian picture and flowers. Over the kitchen sink is a Polish Madonna and plaque in beautiful white and gold along with a copywork by ds of Saint Francis' "Salutation to the Blessed Virgin Mary." In the bathroom is copywork of the act of contrition, and over each bed there is a crucifix. In dds rooms there are Marian plaques and guardian Angel prints. In ds room there is a San Damiano crucifix and a St. Michael print. On the back of the front door is copywork of the Hail Mary to remind us to say it as we leave home (As you can tell, I really like to hang dc copywork around the house).Last of all, St Francis is in the garden.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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teachingmom
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fsuadamson wrote:
| Oh yes, several of you all mentioned 'statues'. Where do you purchase your statues? |
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Most of our statues have come from The Catholic Shop, a local store. They also have an online store, but I can't seem to get the page to come up so they may be having trouble with their site. I bought our most recent statue for dd#3's recent First Communion at GetFed.com. Just look under statues and figurines. Her middle name is Therese, so she received one of the Florentine statues of St. Therese. (She already had a larger statue of her first name saint given to her by her Godparents years ago.) I've seen these Florentine statues only in the past couple of years, and I think they are beautiful, for the most part. (By the way, I was really pleased with GetFed.com. I was ordering very late and wasn't sure the statue and gold cross necklace would get here in time for the First Communion, but they arrived quickly and in perfect shape.)
I also saw some nice statues here.
fsuadamson wrote:
I love the idea of getting icons of the saints for whom each child was named in their bedrooms. I'm thinking I could do either a statue, holy card or icon. One problem I am having right now is my second daughter's name day saint... Her middle name is Suzanne so her saint would be "St. Susan" and we can't seem find anything on this saint Can anyone help us here? This is really beginning to bother her lately
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I didn't have much luck looking for a St. Susanna statue, but I did find some St. Susanna medals here. I couldn't get a direct link to work, so just type "St. Susanna" into the Power Search box and you'll find three options.
Is there any other saint associated with her first name? I have one dd who has a non-saint middle name (it's dh's mother's name) and an Old Testament first name. Since Hannah is a version of Anne, St. Anne is her name saint and the statue on her dresser is this one.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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teachingmom
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teachingmom wrote:
| Our living room has a framed cross-stitch that I made for dh when we were first married. It has the quote from St. Catherine of Siena that begins, "Let nothing disturb you . . ." |
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It suddenly struck me tonight that I credited that quote incorrectly. It is from St. Teresa of Avila. Sorry!
Off to edit the other post . . . .
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Dawn
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Oh, this is a wonderful thread! I hadn't read it till just now. This is something we are working on now ~ reflecting our faith through our home. I am eagerly reading all the suggestions here.
We have a crucifix in each bedroom. Well, youngest son has a small Marian altar (I posted a picture on my garden blog). Next to the the statue of Our Blessed Mother (which belonged to my great-grandparents, originally) is a porcelain Holy family and a small carved wooden Madonna and Child. Both were gifts from my husband's grandmother when our sons were born. I treasure these.
In our living room we have a brass crucifix my maternal great-grandfather made displayed on the bookcase. I would like to get a beautiful family Bible to display here too.
In our dining room we have a framed print of St. Francis but I would like to add something else. We also have the rosary shelf we made (a la Alice ) still on display in there, and I just can't seem to move it into the boys bedroom, because I love having it where we can all see it!
In the kitchen we have a Celtic cross over the windows and I keep a small Irish crystal votive candleholder on the stove; it has a cross carved in the front and we light little tealights through the day, especially if we are praying for something particularly special that day.
Our front doorway has "20+C+M+B+06" written in chalk over it. Funnily enough, this gets the most comments/questions!
In the family room, I have a stained glass suncatcher of the Divine Mercy in a window over the family computer.
And finally, in our garden we have St. Francis and just this year a Blessed Mary (Our Lady of Grace) statue which is also a birdfeeder (same post as mentioned above).
My current goals are to find a family Bible to display, a portrait to hang in the dining room and I'd like to set up a more permanent prayer corner in the family room.
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Dawn, mum to 3 boys 
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Decorating your home?
