Print |
E-mail to a friend
LIFE
Scott Depot home decorated with patriotic theme
Toby Gilkerson of Scott Depot has decorated her sun room with a patriotic theme.
Purchase this photo
SCOTT DEPOT, W.Va. -- It doesn't have to be July 4 for Toby Gilkerson's friends and family to enjoy the red, white and blue.
Visitors are welcomed on the front porch of her home by Uncle Sam spinning in the wind, a large barn star and a spirited heart-shaped patriotic door decoration. These are just a few of the Americana enhancements she has used to set the welcoming tone of her 26-year-old home.
"I like the Americana theme on the outside of my house," Gilkerson said.
She continued the patriotic idea as she decorated her enclosed back patio room.
"It used to be just a patio, then we wanted a hot tub, so we partially enclosed it and then decided we didn't want the hot tub anymore and we finished enclosing it," she said. "I've always had this theme even before we enclosed it."
Now her family can enjoy the atmosphere without the bug factor.
Gilkerson is the first to admit that she has had lots of help putting the room together. Friends and family have helped her paint and fix, plus given her lovely gifts to enhance the room. For example, since the back patio room was once an open space, there was a prominent water faucet that she had trouble covering.
"My brother built a cabinet around it so I wouldn't have to look at it," she said.
He also built a favorite bench that's lined with folksy pillows and a teddy bear.
One of the key ingredients for any Americana room are stars and Toby has incorporated them hanging from window sills, sitting on benches and just dotting the walls here and there. She has stenciled them along the upper wall near the ceiling in an interesting tangle of muted red, white and blue. Just as important to Americana decor are flags. Not only does one wave above her garage, but they are also displayed on tables, cabinets and benches.
"If it has crooked stripes on it I did it because I don't use a straight edge, I just free hand it," she said with a laugh.
The comfortable blue and white gliders weren't handmade by family members, but instead are the result of good shopping strategies.
"We looked and looked for just the right thing and finally just gave up, and then one day I was at the Huntington Mall and there they were," she said.
An added perk is that they are made of recycled materials and are weather resistant.
Toby's husband also was handy with a saw.
"The little decorative pieces my husband made," she said. "He cut them out, and I would paint them. We always made extras so we could use them for gifts."
The results are sweet angles and Uncle Sams standing here and there along with other cut-outs made to suit the room. Added to the homemade items are baskets, dolls, an antique pump and, of course, a little red wagon filled with bears. All these ingredients meld together to present an Americana room where one can sit long, talk much and laugh often.
Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony 
WVSO presents "The Wonder of Love" 
FOOTBALL: Marshall University vs. Southern Miss 
Daughtry 
Gary Allan with special guests Jack Ingram and Eli Young Band 
FOOTBALL: Marshall University vs. SMU 
Festival of Trees and Trains 
Imagination Movers 
FOOTBALL: UTEP vs. Marshall University 
The Rat Pack Is Back 
