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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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May 3, 2014

Parade of Homes Tour ~ Hymns and Verses

We are so thrilled to have another beautiful home for you to tour today as part of our ongoing Parade of Homes Series here At the Picket Fence!

hymns and verses home tour

We absolutely adore our friend Doreen from the blog Hymns and Verses. Not only because she inspires us daily with her inspiring creations, but also because she exudes grace and beauty and her faith in God shines through in all she does.

Now, grab that cup of coffee or tea, sit back and enjoy taking the tour of Doreen’s gorgeous home!

at the picket fence parade of homes

 

I’m so excited today to be here At the Picket Fence!  I’ve followed these two girls since before I began my own blog!  I was so excited to meet them in person last year at the Haven Conference.  I was lucky enough to sit near Vanessa while she watched Heather’s presentation!  She was so proud of her sister!

I’m Doreen and I blog at Hymns and Verses, a DIY and home decor blog. Hymns and Verses is also the name of my Etsy shop where I sell home decor items based on song lyrics.   I love it when you listen to or see the words of a song, you remember all the memories that go with it!
My home is in Lancaster County, PA, where I live with my husband and my three sons.   Last spring we painted the front door and shutters.  I have to say, I’m still in love with my blue front door!

My living room was one of the first rooms I made over when I began my blog.  The barn door sign that hangs above the sofa is one of my favorite projects.

There is a lot of DIY decor throughout my home – like this hymn page wreath.

I love to decorate with natural elements – like this wire vine topiary on my mantel.

This is a shot from the living room into the dining room.

This is another project piece that I love and we actually use!  It’s an old door turned into a family message center.  You can see all the details here.  This song kept running through my head when we had our first real taste of spring a few weeks ago and I decided to write the lyrics on the chalkboard.

This little cottage style buffet has a real trash to treasure story – isn’t the power of paint amazing!

Some of my favorite pieces of furniture are those that have been passed down through my family.  The corner cabinet belonged to my grandmother  and my dad had his first meals at the yellow high chair (although it wasn’t yellow then!).

This past winter we did some work in the kitchen area.  We updated our cabinets with some trim and paint, build the range hood,  and made over the formica counters with concrete.

This eye chart is one of the newer items for sale in my shop!

This is a view of the other side of the kitchen – my antique bucket bench decorated for spring.

Off the dining room is my favorite place this time of year – the screen porch!  Last spring I found the vintage glider and chairs!  They were in pretty rough shape, but I took them to a local shop to be sandblasted and powder coated and love them!  Where the back yard ends, the farmer’s field begins.  When I’m outside late at night, I can hear the horse drawn Amish buggy’s clip clopping down the road.

I love the outdoors and my back yard almost seems like an extension to my home.  Here’s my potting bench made from an old door.

My sister’s Schwinn bicycle circa early 1960’s.


My potting shed shutters and window boxes are the same blue as my front door!

Thanks, again, Heather and Vanessa, for having me today!   If you’d like to see more of my home, I’d love for you to come by for a visit at Hymns and Verses.

Doreen

14 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Parade of Homes

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Comments

  1. Holly says

    May 3, 2014 at 9:08 AM

    L.O.V.E. it all!! Ü

    Reply
  2. Kerry Purcell says

    May 3, 2014 at 9:15 AM

    What a beautiful area and a wonderful inspiration! Thanks so much for sharing . . .

    Reply
  3. martina says

    May 3, 2014 at 9:38 AM

    Fabulous tour ladies…love Dorren’s beautiful home!!

    Reply
  4. FABBY says

    May 3, 2014 at 11:36 AM

    Thank you so much for the tour, it’s great and I enjoyed it so much! Very charming, lovely and cozy home!
    Enjoy your weekend ladies!

    FABBY

    Reply
  5. Shannon @ Fox Hollow Cottage says

    May 3, 2014 at 4:19 PM

    Hi girls! Love seeing Doreen over here with you. Such a treat to get to see lots of her pretties in one post. I don’t recall seeing her porch or that darling patio set before. And her door turned mail station is an all time fav in all of blog land!

    Happy weekend 🙂 Shannon

    Reply
  6. Barbara from 21 Rosemary Lane says

    May 3, 2014 at 6:20 PM

    Oh what a fairy tale home!!! And such beautiful photos to boot. I love Lancaster Pa…it is where I went to college back some 30 years ago and never stopped loving all of the captivating farms and countryside. Truly a very special place indeed. The porch and its view are really spectacular! Thank you so much for sharing. Have a wonderful weekend!!
    XO Barbara

    Reply
  7. Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says

    May 3, 2014 at 7:24 PM

    I just recently found Doreen’s blog and have enjoyed seeing the pictures of her home. She has done a great job! So nice to see her featured here today. I have to go back and check out her concrete counters post now because my husband and I were just discussing some way to update our kitchen counters.

    Reply
  8. Ginny says

    May 4, 2014 at 5:56 AM

    I too loved this tour! What color is your front door?I am redoing my kitchen and would love that on my walls!

    Reply
  9. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    May 4, 2014 at 2:33 PM

    I so love Doreen’s home…the details in her home are so wonderful and I love seeing her outdoor areas…the property is beautiful and such a beautiful sense of serenity…Her home is one that from the moment you approach the front door says a very loving family lives here!!

    Reply
  10. Jane @ Cottage at the Crossroads says

    May 4, 2014 at 6:03 PM

    Loved seeing more of Doreen’s home here today! I think I realized how talented she was when I saw her home decorated for Christmas! And I was so delighted to actually meet her last year at Haven.

    Reply
  11. Yvonne @ StoneGable says

    May 5, 2014 at 6:44 AM

    Heather and Vanessa, you picked one of my very favorite bloggers! I adore Doreen and her home! Couldn’t you just move right in! What a wonderful, God centered home!!!!

    Thanks so much for Parade of Homes! I love seeing every guest’s house! And you picked such a lovely lady and a beautiful home this week!

    Love to all 3 of you!

    Reply
  12. Julie says

    May 5, 2014 at 7:57 AM

    Beautiful Home! Loved everything, Doreen!

    Reply
  13. Sharon says

    June 22, 2019 at 10:24 AM

    I love that your home reflects both your unique decorating style and your faith in God.

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      June 24, 2019 at 3:26 PM

      Thank you so much Sharon! Your encouragement words mean so much!

      Reply

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Happy Independence Day!! 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙 M Happy Independence Day!! 🇺🇸❤️🤍💙

May we never take for granted the freedom given to us not by earthly authorities but by the ONE true authority. And may we live in such a way as to honor those who fought for and protect freedom and liberty. 

“Independence Day, freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” Dwight D. Eisenhower
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I hope your summer is off to a great start too dear friends! 🪴
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Happy first day of summer dear friends!! I can’t believe it’s been so long since I posted something new here but life has been crazy. I’ll have some new photos of house projects and life events to share with you soon but, got now, I’m just going to enjoy this gorgeous first day of summer after our ridiculously long, wet spring. ☀️
“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. Th “It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” (Maud Hart Lovelace) 

Welcome June!
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Grateful today and every day for those who were vigilant to the point of death in the preservation of our freedom. May we honor their sacrifice by being vigilant too. #memorialday
“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10
This is one of my most favorite projects from my b This is one of my most favorite projects from my book Life in Season! 

Because, if heaven has a fragrance, I’m fairly certain it smells like lilacs.

I think that somewhere along the way the verse in the Bible that said, ‘heaven will smell like lilacs’ just got lost in translation. But it HAD to have been in there at some point, right?

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It seems like I wait forever for my lilac tree to bloom. Every year I anxiously watch as the buds begin to form on the branches and then when the blossoms finally burst forth I begin that agonizing process of deciding the absolute perfect moment to snip them and bring them inside.

And then, after all of that waiting and watching it’s just over…done. Because, unlike heaven, lilacs don’t last for an eternity. So, making my own lilac room spray seemed like the perfect way to enjoy their fragrance long after the blossoms have faded.

Here’s how to make it! Ingredients: Water, Vodka, Lilac fragrance oil. Directions: Fill spray bottle with 50/50 ratio of water to vodka. Add 12 drops of lilac oil. Give it a shake, spray and if the scent isn’t strong enough, simply add a few more drops of lilac oil.

Once you’ve made this lilac scented room spray you will be very tempted to spray it in every room in your house. And someone may want to use it in the bathroom to cover up other less…ummmm….pleasing aromas.

But, do not, I repeat do NOT, let them.

You’ve captured the fragrance of heaven in a bottle and you wouldn’t want to go and tarnish it now would you? 😉
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What are your favorite plants that you look forward to seeing in the summer?
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