Practice in Virtue and Home Decorating

Have you seen this awesome curriculum from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia out of Tennessee? We've been using their Virtues in Practice catechesis program for the last two years and I absolutely love it.  The program is divided by grade level and then there are three years for each grade level.  There is a year devoted to each of the three cardinal virtues and then each month is dedicated to a particular Christian virtue.  I'm hoping my two kiddos working through the program are internalizing some of these good habits.  This year we've read stories of Saints who exemplify hope, studiousness, humility, patience, and fidelity.  Anyhoo, I thought I'd share here in case you are looking for a great home catechesis for your family that is free, simple, and can be used across age groups.

Speaking of virtues, I've been redecorating our kitchen recently.  You may ask, "What does home decor have to do with virtue?" Allow me to enlighten you ;)  I have quite a bit of space above my cupboards and pantry and much of it has remained empty and rather boring.  It has taken me some time to find the inspiration to decorate in these spaces.  This fall, I filled the empty space with pumpkins, gourds, and Indian corn and I really liked it's seasonal look.  For Advent and Christmas I redecorated with red candles, red lanterns, a wooden angel sculpture, and several miniature fake evergreen trees and then added real evergreen branches here and there.  I loved this look too.  Unfortunately, I really don't want to be redecorating that space every season.  I wanted something more permanent--although I will change out the decor in the fall and around Advent.  I also did not want to spend a whole lot of money on kitchen decor.  I found a few do-dads I really liked at the local craft store and then I took a black lacquer wooden plaque and applied some chalkboard paint to it.  My kitchen space is inspired by the cardinal virtues, which are written on three separate plaques, and then the chalkboard I will use for inspirational quotes.  I'm hoping we all find motivation in the decor to always remember we are Christians in this home and we are working on becoming good and virtuous people at all times.

What strategies do you use to instill Christian virtues in your family?

These were my craft store finds and my blackboard.  This is the space above my pantry.  The quote is from Robert Half (no idea who he is) and says, "Hard work without talent is a shame, but talent without hard work is a tragedy."  This may or may not have been inspired by my last post regarding Special K and our struggles with each other regarding her school work ;)

The "Home" sign is a new find I paired with my G.E. Henn basket collection.

I found the Faith, Hope, and Love plaques at Hobby Lobby.

It doesn't look so empty and blah.  I'm thinking of painting my pantry door, but I don't know what color would look right.  I know black lacquer doors are fairly stylish now, but I don't think black is the right color here.  Any suggestions?  Our interior is mostly earthy tones of browns, yellows, reds, and greens.