Excerpts From Our House

When we were working on our 100 year old house we carved out a small home office/library from the original kitchen. My husband built floor to ceiling bookshelves (which I’ll show later) yet purposely left some wall space for me to arrange my collectibles.

Above the antique oak cabinet are a lithograph and a watercolor of my mother-in-law’s home town- Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The model VW Beetle was a gift to my husband who used to own one. And the Haywood Wakefield school chair…shhhh… I pulled that out of a dumpster.

(Blocks from House Industries. Photo by Martha B.)

Fall Picnic

Wouldn’t it be fun to have a fall picnic under some colorful trees? You could cover a picnic table with a wool blanket and use heirloom pumpkins as the centerpiece. Other details include- leaf fabric for napkins, guests’ names on pressed leaves, colorful Bakelite flatware and glass mugs for plenty of hot drinks.

List of supplies and sources-

Plaid wool and stenciled leaves- both materials at Joann Fabrics

Basket weave edged plate- Conrans

Bakelite flatware- similar on eBay

Glass mug- William-Sonoma

Antique woven chair- from my living room

(Photos- Martha B.)

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Collecting Glass Negatives

I picked up this 19th century photograph glass negative at the Brimfield Antiques Fair a few weeks ago. What made it special? I was fascinated with what the group of girls were wearing-  traditional Dutch clothing and wooden clogs.

What are the things you love to collect?

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Lil’Pix #99: Quilts

As newlyweds I loved decorating our first apartment. Back then I used a lot of rustic country pieces including a collection of family quilts. I displayed them on my antique iron beds and hung some on the wall. When my interests changed so did my decor; away went the quilts into the nearest closet, until now. Perhaps it’s the new surge in craftmaking that has me appreciating them all over again.

(Photo- source unknown)

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Seasonal Sofa Cover

I don’t know about you, but I get the terrible urge to change things with the seasons…usually in the spring and fall. In the fall, it’s all about layers. For example, I love the idea of throwing something over our living room sofa. Here a handmade Indian quilt covers the normal leather. And I’m a big fan of pillows too. All of these were made of left-over fabric from past design projects.

(Photo- Martha B.)

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Bloomingdale’s Model Rooms

As part of my training for a degree in Interior Design, I had to fulfill four internships. An internship meant that I worked for either an individual designer or a design related business. One of my favorite internships was working for the design service offered at Bloomingdale’s in New Jersey.

They had on staff several well respected designers who took on clients usually through the purchase of furniture and/or accessories. The store also had created four large model rooms where every few months the designers would work their magic using Bloomingdale’s collection of furniture and accessories.

No detail was overlooked. Trades people were called in to do the carpentry, painting, wallpapering, and sewing. Many times there were special orders for custom pieces and antiques- solely to suit the room’s decor. While the rooms were under construction, curtains hid everything from view. Then like theater, when everything was in place, they were pulled back to reveal some pretty amazing spaces.

And like a dope, I never bothered to photograph any of them. So…when I came across this book ‘Bloomingdale’s Book of Home Decorating‘ I was elated. No, there aren’t any pictures of the rooms I had been a part of- it predates that. But it does have plenty of inspiring ones done by the author/designer Barbara D’arcy for the NYC store.

Collecting Postcards

Most people collect postcards for the photographs or illustrated fronts. I save them for the messages on the backs. I can’t help but wonder who the senders and the recipients were. What were their stories? How were they connected to each other? And where are they now?

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Collecting Book Plates

I’ve just started collecting old book plates- labels pasted inside books indicating ownership. It’s a challenge though. Many times they are  damaged or missing. These three plates managed to escape that fate.

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Garden Post #55: Terrarium

I thought you’d enjoy seeing a terrarium I made as a gift for a gardener friend who is moving away. It’s about 18 inches high. I think the cement  mushrooms are a fun addition, don’t you? I hope she likes it!

List of supplies and sources-

Clay pot and plants- Metropolitan Plant Exchange

Glass bell jar- Pottery Barn

Cement mushrooms- Madison Ave. Gifts

Moss- My back yard.

A great book to use for inspiration is ‘The New Terrarium‘ by Tovah Martin and Kindra Clineff.

(Photo- Martha B.)

Spring Wedding Windows

As part of the Nordstrom window display team, I would periodically make trips into New York City.  It was a blast spending the whole day looking at the handiwork of other stores’ teams. I don’t get into the city that much now, so I appreciate having Rudy of Another Normal and his ongoing posts of window installations. He covers windows from Barney’s, Bergdorf Goodman and Lord & Taylor- to name just a few. He also has friends who occasionally contribute images from other countries. These two photos showing designer Douglas Hannant’s bridal gowns are from windows in London, England.