Welcome to my home: Vignette 1
In my home, I love contrast: black and white, textures, patterns, old and new, basic and eclectic. I love unusual and beautiful things, and love bringing new life into a space.
This vignette does a great job of showing little aspects of myself to those who enter my world. This photo shows my sentimental and artistic side, as well as my love of contrast and quirky finds.
This trunk came to the United States from Nova Scotia by way of my mom’s grandmother in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s. When I got my hands on it about 15 years ago, it was the color of rust: the canvas was brown and all the metal was rusted. This is a wood trunk, covered in canvas with leather straps. I spent hours trying to restore this trunk: I painted all the canvas black, and hand polished each little stud and bracket with marine jelly and a Dremel. I sanded down the wood slats and primed the interior with white Kilz. To this day, it is one of my most favorite pieces in my home: it is a family heirloom, I put work into restoring it and it’s black, one of my favorite colors to decorate with!
The item on the floor to the left of the trunk is something not many people have seen in their lives. It is a camel saddle, all the way from Saudi Arabia. My grandparents lived in Riyadh for 9 years when I was a kid, and they brought back all kinds of treasures from all over the Middle East. This saddle is beautiful: I don’t know much about how my grandma acquired it, but my guess is this was more of a decorative piece with it’s polished wood and inlay throughout. I doubt this saddle ever sat on the back of a camel, but I love it dearly, regardless.
The three baskets on the wall above the saddle I found while I was at a rummage sale with my mom. I love rummage sales because it’s like one big garage sale: lots of stuff in one place! I always find treasures at rummage, estate and garage sales and always enjoy the hunt.
The painting adjacent to the baskets is a watercolor painting done by my grandma. She was a watercolor artist, and this was one of her paintings. I don’t recall where this painting lived in her home, but I’ve had it since she passed and have moved it around my home until finding this resting place, for now.
To the right, there are two oil pastel rubbings from Thailand. Again, another one of my grandma’s treasures. When I got my hands on these, I instantly adored them. They were so unusual and pretty. They’re done on a very thin paper, like a tissue paper, and when I got them, they were rolled up. I ended up mounting them on stretched canvas with spray adhesive so that I could hang them on the wall. I remember having these at least 10 years ago and they’ve been in at least three of my homes with me.
Down sitting on the trunk is a beautiful ZZ plant that is quickly outgrowing it’s container. While I love the plant, the crock it sits in is actually the biggest thing of value to me. That crock is from my mom’s childhood, she remembers it being in her home as a young girl. It’s American-made which is unusual these days, and I just love it. So simple and understated. The wooden holder it sits in was my grandmas as well, something she’d collected from her travels. My parents have a couple of them but I managed to sneak away with this one!
The photo in the middle of the trunk is a photo of my kids and my twin brother’s three kids. The cousins. They love each other so much and it’s been such a joy to watch them all grow up. This photo is about two and a half years old by now and I treasure their little faces from that time!
Next to the family photo is a black ceramic horse. This horse (which has a broken leg, a la my son when he was a toddler that has since been glued back on) was a gift from my uncle. Back in 2010, I was in Los Angeles for about a month and was staying with my aunt, uncle and cousin. My uncle is a master collector and loves the hunt for treasures more than anyone I know. This horse was something he’d found at a sale and picked up to sell at the flea market. On one Saturday, I helped him sell some of his treasures at the flea market and commented on the black horse and how I loved it. Later that day, he gave it to me as a thank you for helping him at the market. I was devastated when my son broke it but luckily I was able to fix it and still enjoy it to this day.