Violets are Blue

The Victorian era was generally a romantic one, I believe, and women were able to express their feelings discretely to a loved one by carefully selecting a posy of flowers to send to them. Each flower had a meaning and so a secret message could be conveyed without the woman verbally announcing her feelings, which would have been frowned upon.

A very popular flower during this time was the humble violet. Its tiny size was more than made up for in its sentiment, which, depending on the colour, was:

VIOLET - Modesty, Virtue, Affection
BLUE - Watchfulness, Faithfulness, Love

WHITE - Let's Take A Chance On Happiness

It is still possible today to find pretty treasures dating back to Victorian times and to accumulate a small collection of finds to create a pleasing display for not much money.

So, as promised, I thought I would start to share with you my collections over the next few weeks, starting with my violet inspired items, which I just happen to showcase in our downstairs loo!
A latest find, which I just had to keep, was this pretty hand made crochet doily. I adore the vintagey colour scheme, even if it is somewhat kitsch in style...

For now it rests amongst our linen hand towels which I store in a French fabric lined basket when not in use.

There's a pine shelf which runs along the top of the toilet cistern where I display some of my collection...not all of it is Victorian, and not all of it is decorated with violets, but most items echo the purple colour scheme and feature springtime flowers.

The porcelain backed hand mirror and brush came from the States a few years ago.

Above the shelf is a French glazed vitrine which houses the bulk of my treasures. I love these little cupboards as they keep the dusting of the contents to a minimum, thus prolonging their lifespan, as well as the fun that can be had from changing the arrangements around and adding to them ;-))

On top sits one of my favourite pieces of china. Its a lovely rose bowl made by Crown Devon with transfer printed violets on both the inside and outside of the bowl, and green blushed edges. The tiny jug is a treasured gift from a friend.

Open up the doors of the little cabinet and waft of parma violets streams out, provided by several bars of soap that I have been bought as gifts, and some that I have brought back from France. There are lots of other bits and bobs, all jostling for space on the three shelves...

Velvet millinery flowers and hats, perfumes and tins...

And several postcards vie for attention! Vintage hats (mostly from the 1950's) are a bit of a weakness of mine and I have lots displayed around our home...which will have to be a post another time...(I'm still looking out for an open shelved dresser for our kitchen, so that I can more practically store our everyday china. This will free up a large glazed cabinet which I'd like to move into our living room to properly store and display my hat collection.)

On one wall is an old framed advert from the 1950's next to the window with some vintage Laura Ashley curtains.

And on the door hangs an old oil painting which hubby and I bought at a street market in France.

Hope you enjoyed the quick tour of our smallest room.

Have a happy week,

Niki x