Living Room
This is for Pam. I told her I was planning to use all our old furniture in the new house, and she was skeptical when I mentioned using the western-style twig porch furniture in the living room. In fact she was alarmed about it.
So this is for her -- here is the living room. It's the room you walk right into from the front door.
Everything is from our old house. Nothing new. It's obvious we need some art or something over the couch on that long blank wall, but other than filling that space, everything here is familiar and well used from Connecticut.
(A neighbor came over yesterday and said with some surprise, "wow, your New England furniture looks so . . . um, western.")
I particularly like the half-wall bookshelves and fireplace, where some of my most loved old items found a home. The fireplace is to the left as you enter from the front door. Rather than a single large painting in that tall space over the mantel, which is what the former owner had, I like the collection of smaller items, bringing the eye back down from those tall ceilings.
For height, we hung the brass balloon I got from a friend in 1974 and moved to every house I have ever owned. It's flying from one of the high beams next to the fireplace.
For the collection on the mantel I used the watercolor paintings of the Big Horn mountains that I bought one year at the ranch. The big blue and green pot is one Sue S. made for me, hand thrown on her pottery wheel on Cape Cod.
The other little ceramic pot on the right was given to me by Becky years ago.
I bought the felt kachina mother and baby doll at the first Santa Fe Indian Market that Pam and I attended back in 2011. I've saved it for the right location for 6 years. I think it belongs here finally.
All my favorite books made the move and are now on the bookshelves.
My tree books are here, my Laura Ingalls Wilder books and even some of my Russian textbooks from college, unreadable now but vaguely familiar. There's a brass cricket on the hearth, assuring good fortune for any home.
Jim's Dad's service flag, presented at his funeral, has a place of honor on a top shelf of the half wall.
My balalaika made it and sits at the bottom shelf.
Here's a view from the back patio slider, looking toward the front double doors. You can see the porch furniture is a little worse for wear and the rough bark frames, which have grayed, need some wood oil. Jim says he'll get it looking spiffy and rich brown again.
The blue upholstery needs refreshing, so I'll get the cushions recovered in a fresh, new material, but probably will keep the same deep blue western pattern. Even though this furniture is very rustic, I think it works just fine with my red Oriental rug and the burgundy leather chair.
Behind the couch, next to the sliding door to the patio, I put the old black TV entertainment armoire. It doesn't hold a TV anymore, it's now my china cabinet for extra glassware and dishes and placemats.
Over the armoire I set the Maude Lewis black cats picture that used to hang in our stairwell in Connecticut. Maude Lewis is sort of the Grandma Moses of Canada and we got this years ago in Nova Scotia.
Except for that blank wall, and needing to refresh the blue upholstery and oil the wood couch frames, I think it all looks the way I wanted, and it all looks familiar even in this new place.
I'm not sure Pam would agree from these pictures, so she is going to have to come here and see it in real life.
It looks good in real life.
So this is for her -- here is the living room. It's the room you walk right into from the front door.
Everything is from our old house. Nothing new. It's obvious we need some art or something over the couch on that long blank wall, but other than filling that space, everything here is familiar and well used from Connecticut.
(A neighbor came over yesterday and said with some surprise, "wow, your New England furniture looks so . . . um, western.")
I particularly like the half-wall bookshelves and fireplace, where some of my most loved old items found a home. The fireplace is to the left as you enter from the front door. Rather than a single large painting in that tall space over the mantel, which is what the former owner had, I like the collection of smaller items, bringing the eye back down from those tall ceilings.
For height, we hung the brass balloon I got from a friend in 1974 and moved to every house I have ever owned. It's flying from one of the high beams next to the fireplace.
For the collection on the mantel I used the watercolor paintings of the Big Horn mountains that I bought one year at the ranch. The big blue and green pot is one Sue S. made for me, hand thrown on her pottery wheel on Cape Cod.
The other little ceramic pot on the right was given to me by Becky years ago.
I bought the felt kachina mother and baby doll at the first Santa Fe Indian Market that Pam and I attended back in 2011. I've saved it for the right location for 6 years. I think it belongs here finally.
All my favorite books made the move and are now on the bookshelves.
My tree books are here, my Laura Ingalls Wilder books and even some of my Russian textbooks from college, unreadable now but vaguely familiar. There's a brass cricket on the hearth, assuring good fortune for any home.
Jim's Dad's service flag, presented at his funeral, has a place of honor on a top shelf of the half wall.
My balalaika made it and sits at the bottom shelf.
Here's a view from the back patio slider, looking toward the front double doors. You can see the porch furniture is a little worse for wear and the rough bark frames, which have grayed, need some wood oil. Jim says he'll get it looking spiffy and rich brown again.
The blue upholstery needs refreshing, so I'll get the cushions recovered in a fresh, new material, but probably will keep the same deep blue western pattern. Even though this furniture is very rustic, I think it works just fine with my red Oriental rug and the burgundy leather chair.
Behind the couch, next to the sliding door to the patio, I put the old black TV entertainment armoire. It doesn't hold a TV anymore, it's now my china cabinet for extra glassware and dishes and placemats.
Over the armoire I set the Maude Lewis black cats picture that used to hang in our stairwell in Connecticut. Maude Lewis is sort of the Grandma Moses of Canada and we got this years ago in Nova Scotia.
Except for that blank wall, and needing to refresh the blue upholstery and oil the wood couch frames, I think it all looks the way I wanted, and it all looks familiar even in this new place.
I'm not sure Pam would agree from these pictures, so she is going to have to come here and see it in real life.
It looks good in real life.
Comments