Decorating with Antiques in a Bedroom

This bedroom is in a little guest house at my daughter's house.   I just left this morning and thought I would share all the antique touches in the room.

The photo below was taken from the doorway into the room.  It is very welcoming.  I love the dramatic impact of the monster flower painting and the beautiful toile drapes.  The toile fabric is a vintage print, I know I've seen it in the Colefax & Fowler book.

The bed is covered in a white metalasse spread, great in the hot summer.  There is a really cute quilt done in tiny postage stamp size pieces that is nice if it gets too cold.  The giant snake pillow is a wonderful peice of french tapestry, the background of the tapestry is a gray blue.

The lamps on the nightstands are new, they look like trees with birds on them.  The house is in the country and this is something whimsical that works on this country guest house.

To the right of the nightstand is a wonderful little Georgian fire screen, and a needlepoint bench for your clothes or robe.  There are two wonderful blue and white German plaques that echo the cartouches in the toile drapes.   I remember my antique dealer friend telling me the story of how she dragged these back in a carry-on after purchasing them on Portobello Road in London.  Room was made for it on the plane, lucky for me they didn't get kicked to pieces underneath a seat.

 I can't get enough of that fabric. Isn't it a wonderful shade of blue!   I love having so many things to look at.  Some people call it cluttered, but I think it is fun.  There is a wonderful Berlinwork needlepoint with a girl and her parrot.  The glass on the front makes it hard to photograph.  There is a little writing desk in the corner to the right of the door.  It is stocked with note cards and note pads in case you need to make a note of where you are going the next day.  (remember this is a guest house).

Above the needlepoint is a lovely carved shelf, with what else but a cute piece of Staffordshire. Staffordshire is also sitting on the right nightstand.

 To the right of the desk are a couple of oil paintings, transferware plates, and an old piece of French gilt tin roses.

 I know, it's not minimalist, but my decorating with antiques has never been minimalist.  My daughter left this more English & German than the French that she usually does because she knows how much I love all this stuff!

Below is more of the German stuff in the room.  On the wall are Berlinwork needlepoint slipper pockets.  There is a dog, horse and monograms.  There are lots of other needlepoint pieces on the wall.

Above the nightstand, (an English chest of drawers), is a rack with a display of Austrian handmade antique petit point bags.  I sometimes use them when I dress up for special events.  It also follows one of my principles of collecting.  Mass similar items together for a more effective display.

To the left of the bed is this lovely turtle chair with dutch marquetry.  It is covered in Fortuny fabric, (when it is not covered with my bath robe!)

My nightstand has a couple of German hats on it.  There is a black one, very old.  The grey one my dad wore.  (See my German coming through, the verb at the end of the sentence?  I was an ESL kid here in the U.S.)    I didn't do anything to stage the room, so WYSIWYG.  

Ok, so here's my quick go to items on the nightstand.  I have  a silverplate tray to hold Jo Malone perfume, Secret, L'Occitane lotion (great stuff), Chapstick, L'Occitane lip balm.  That teacup is a fabulous handpainted teacup that I like to use for necklaces and rings.  I have a photo of my awesome daugher at work, framed in a black forest frame.  I use the little shaving mirror to put on makeup. The crystal Gallia picture frame of me with 4 of my sisters.  I was the bald baby on the end.  Mom made all the matching red and white dresses (yes it is a B&W print.  I just happen to recall wearing each and every one of those matching dresses.  I grew out of one, and into the other, wore that dress for 6 years..!!)

Below is a photo of my dad wearing the little grey hat.   Last spring when we were in Germany we saw a farmer all dressed up, or so we think, wearing said hat, riding on a tractor.

At the foot of the bed is a lovely antique French bench with stretchers.  Notice the carving on the front edge of the bench, beautiful!  It is covered in grey linen. 

There is carpet on the bedroom floor.  It is soft and wonderful to get out of bed and step onto carpet.  I know everyone loves wood and tile floors, but I am partial to comfort when it comes to getting out of bed and stepping onto something comfy.

Below is the bedroom set in a room before I moved.  We downsized so I had to figure out what to do with the set.  Storing it in the guest house is a great idea!  I get to visit it once in a while.

I think I like the fresh look of the new room, brighter colors.

The other room was quite large and the look more monochromatic.  This room has a cozy (ok small) feel to it, and is fun with all the stuff in it.  I think it would be boring edited down.  If other company stays in here they must know it was done for me!!

Don't be afraid to use antique items for accessories.  I get really tired of all the pieces of coral and shells that I see in all the stores and decorating magazines.  So have fun antiquing and replace something new with something vintage or antique!

A Herd of Staffordshire Cows

 I saw my first real staffordshire cow in 2004, that is, cows in the pottery making region of England.  We were driving on a country road.  I think we were the only car that had ever been on that road, as they saw us coming they all ran over to the fence.

My family teases me because I always have to take photos of sheep and cows when I travel.    I am most famous for chasing sheep up the mountainside trying to get photos

Anyway, back to cows.   Here is a photo of a beltway cow in Scotland.  Aren't they interesting!

Cows in Ireland

Cows in the Cotswolds.  They obviously have enough to eat, all laying down!

 I can't forget my trip to Germany and the Almatreib festival (driving the cows from the mountain pasture at the end of the summer)

Fabulous headresses, gigantic bells, pretty cows!

I'm always saying sometimes it is better to group collections together.  Well, I wandered all over the house and put all my staffordshire cows in one spot.  Quite a herd, don't you think!

 Below are creamers with milkmaids.

It cracks me up the way they all have their mouth open-- because that's how they look, moooo!

Here's a bunch of orange cows.  some are spill vases.  They probably were pairs at some point, but I only have one.  The bottom shelf is a cute pair.

I tend to like the figures with milk maids, as you can see below.

Every time I look at my cows, I remember a childhood story my dad would tell.  He would say:  "when I was a boy, I was a cow boy.  I had a cow, and I would take him to the pasture for the day.   He spoke with a very heavy accent "ven I vas a boy.."  Not being from this country,  a "cow boy"  was different to him than the cowboys of the wild west.  I mean, in his world, the horses were being used to pull plows, if you were lucky enough to have a horse.  Then, the young boys would take the cows to the pasture for the day.

He grew up in Ukraine and was working by the time he was 4 or 5.  His older brother was taking him to the field as a toddler and taking care of him.  As he got "older" he would go out on his own.   He is the little guy on the right.

He would talk about how he would spend the day in the fields "watching" the cow, playing in the stream, trying to catch fish and laying in the fields, watching the clouds roll by.  It sounds like some of the very few happy memories he had as a child.

I've grouped them all in a display cabinet off the kitchen.

You can see why so many staffordshire cow figures were made.  They were an integral part of daily life back then.   Now they are part of mine!

Displaying a Collection - Staffordshire Animals

If you really want an impact, display a collection together, in one place or room.   Recently I picked up all the staffordshire, mostly miniature sheep, lambs and a few poodles, to display all in one place.

This vitrine, with a lovely scene with sheep, is a perfect home for the collection.  The curve of the glass is reflecting in the photo, sorry about that.

The collection was tucked all over the house, but I think I like it better all in one place.  You actually realize I have a staffordshire collection.

Office Update with Paris Map on a Budget

I have been working on staging the office off the entryway.  I have a wall that I really don't want to put furniture on the map wall, but I didn't like a blank wall.  My solution was a $69 map.   It is a map designed by Turgot in 1739--so it is pre Hausmann.

It comes in 25 pieces that you have to tape together.  I've read on the internet how to print them out and trim them--but for $69, this seems like quite a deal.  You can read about it on Pigtown Design's blog, and even download the map.

The detail is quite nice.  It is nostalgic for me as we went to Paris quite a bit when my husband was working.  I think he was there every other month, although my daughter and I would join him once a year.   When my nephew was 12, he went with us.  He would scare me by standing too close to the trains.  We still giggle about him sawing his pizza in a Louvre restaurant with a plastic knife.  He wore out the blade, so we finally let him pick it up and eat it with his fingers (much to the amusement of the french lady at the next table).  What fun we had!

Back to the subject at hand....

Some of my other projects in the office were:  covering books with script paper, and I got some moss balls which looks great with the pale green walls of the office.   Confessions of a plate addict  wrote about some great deals on moss balls from the dollar store.  Alas, none in my town.

Moss ball is sitting in a lovely old piece of Moore Bros porcelain.  It is from the 1870's.  Moore is very distinctive because the porcelain is very fine, and (fragile) tends to have cherubs with some kind of fauna/flora.  Cactus are the most common, but I have one with hydrangeas.

The office is off the entryway, and we had a second office in the basement.   This really didn't look like a functional office, but a great collection of antiques.   The downstairs room need the modular furniture removed so we could strip the wallpaper.   Below is a "before" photo.

Office "Before" the great furniture move

Office "After" the big move

Moving the modular office furniture took a day.   We had to unload it and figure out how to get these units up the stairs.   Unfortunately, we spent quite a bit getting nice, solid cherry.   Being married to an accountant and being a computerholic myself, purchasing modular furniture seemed like a great idea years ago.  It really is very functional, but not my first choice in decorating.  The great part is you can have it installed without a carpenter moving in, building a custom library.  THAT would have been my first choice.  Wouldn't this look great as a built in library?  Oh wait, that's what the owners had in here when we bought the place...except it was a complete nightmare with amateur cabinets.   We tore it all out in 1985......  My husband says someday the house will look just like it did when we purchased it.  (Except I don't think I'll ever own the fabulous Astor breakfront that was sitting in the dining room!)     I didn't put all of the modular furniture in the new office.  I had desks all across the window, but decided I like to walk to the window, and other people might like that too.

I've added a center table, which is actually quite handy in addition to looking good.   There is a swedish mirror to the right, which I wrote about here in November.   I have an oil painting next to it, but I'm not really happy with it there.  I feel like I want a set of 4 prints next to it--I just need to find the right prints.   (That will be my next mission.)

There is a second door-to the right that goes to the kitchen (and garage, and staircase)

Almost all of the accessories came from estate sales, with the exception of the mirror and a chair, which came from an antique shop and show, respectively.  Below is a bronze camel lamp with some green antiquing or patina.  That was $45.  I added the riser and linen shade.  The shade was probably that much.

Estate sale lamp

The drapes in the room are my favorite, even though they are years old.  They are done in a chintz fabric by Mario Buatta.  I wish I could still get this fabric.

Mario Buatta chintz fabric drapes and
an estate sale staffordshire cottage $150, and fancy bracket $65

For some reason, I love portraits.  I don't know why.  Instant relatives?   Someday I'll share my favorites.  I notice that portraits of women and children are more expensive than men.  Ugly people don't cost as much either, hee hee.

Estate sale painting $300 is a copy of a famous painting.  The face is nicely done, but look at those
spider hands!  The hands always give it away! I suppose I should have that hole repaired...

This edwardian chair was found at an antique show.  The needlepoint above it is one I made.
The chair was expensive, I can't remember how much, maybe $4-500?

I love painted and inlaid furniture.  This chair is 1900-1920.  That ribbon with swagged flowers,
who can resist?

The needlepoint is a copy of an antique beaded piece I didn't win on Ebay in 2003.
I thought it was an interesting subject, so I decided to do it myself.  I used an interlocking mesh canvas, 12 stitches per inch, with Appleton wool.  My favorite wool, a great value compared to all the fancy yarns available today.  The frame was from an estate sale $65.  I didn't put glass on it, because I don't like the glare.  

This is the original photo that I copied.  The entire piece was done in beaded needlepoint.
Wish I'd bid higher.  The piece was from Germany.

Victorian needlepoint chair.  I love the color and thought it was an interesting design--not to typical.  It came out of an estate sale less than a mile from my house.   It was $250, and I complained that I overpaid.  It's very sturdy and comfortable as a blogging chair!

I hope you've enjoyed my office redo.  The very pale celery green wall paint is Sherwin Williams 6414 Rice Paddy. I'd strongly advise you to do samples.  That was my third color.  We live in the NW where it is cloudy and dark every day, so color is important.  This shade really is quite lovely, even Mr. Antiquestyle loves it.  The room faces north and needs lights on most of the time.  The color couldn't be better!  I don't say that too often! 

The estate sale items were "shopped" from other rooms in the house.  If it had a hint of celery green, it came to the office. I should go to more estate sales, but with the price of gas, and horrible traffic, I've been preferring Ebay.  I hope I've encouraged you to do some antiquing to add something interesting to your rooms.

Now I'm off, I have wallpaper to strip out of the old office!

OMG, isn't this scary!  I've loved my red office, but it's been about 20 years.   I hunted for photos and  this was the only pictures I could find of the old office. The glass went  to auction, we had too much and lost interest in it.  One of these days I'll have to do a post on displaying a collection!

Wish me luck.  Dif wallpaper remover is my best friend.  Our realtor should be happier with both rooms.  Have a great week and .... Happy Antiquing!

A Staffordshire Dog Followed Me Home...

This weekend is a work weekend.  We're stripping wallpaper that was hung in the kitchen and family room in 2003. ( I put it up for my daughter's high school graduation.  Relatives came in from all over - and we proceeded to have a wonderful weekend with family.  My daughter calls it her Big Fat German Graduation! )

Friday night I got the idea that I needed to change the kitchen.  I stayed up til midnight, and got 1/3 done.  The rest was stripped yesterday.  Today is spackle & sand, and prime.   We're dealing with a room that was added on 3 times since 1940, so you can bet walls are not even.

My pretty kitchen - before I destroyed it.  Toile in the kitchen, blue stripe in the family room.  My inspiration was those fabulous Diamond Baratta rooms. (edited per realtor, sigh)

My destroyed kitchen...

Yesterday, my husband comes in from his post office trip and says, "you're missing an estate sale a few houses down"...   so off I went...., wallpaper glue sticky fingers.... and found a little poodle, who enjoyed the walk back to my house!

The Staffordshire poodle is sitting on a bunch of Marvic toile fabric samples that I am contemplating..
for something.. I don't know what, I just like them!

So when my husband asked me Friday if I was going to estate sales this weekend, and I said no, I didn't realize I would be called on to provide a good home for a homeless poodle!

Staffordshire Lion

Here's an antique gem to brighten your day.

There's nothing like the internet to do some "shopping".   I love using staffordshire because it is so whimsical.  I've done the decorating with the expensive antique porcelain, but pottery is what appeals to me the most.

Making staffordshire figures was a cottage industry in England in the 1800's.  The idea that some family was running a kiln at home to feed the family, and kids helping mom and dad paint the figures gives the pieces such a feeling of history.....love it!  Meissen is lovely, but I'm in a staffordshire phase.

from
http://madelena.com

Wouldn't he look great on a stack of books?  or anywhere!

  I've purchased from Madelena before--although I prefer my scavenge-bargain hunting prices.   Sometimes you have to jump in and get the rare stuff.  They were great to deal with, packed well and overnighted the piece to me!    

I'd love to buy the piece, but my mind is on other things right now--sometimes I can't make an 'expensive' decision. It drives my husband crazy!

If you don't want to spend $1500 on a piece, here's a few cheaper options.  bbjoylove on Ebay are reputable, check out this cute auction.  Only $325 for darling sheep?  (make an offer for 10% less)

 http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-STAFFORDSHIRE-PAIR-ROYAL-CHILDREN-SHEEP-/400158381672?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d2b4c5668

 I think these figures are in a bit better shape, the paint is not so chippy.  Auction starting at $275,   

http://cgi.ebay.com/PR-VICTORIAN-STAFFORDSHIRE-SHEEP-HIGHLANDER-SHEPHERDS-/300473421516?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f59c8ecc

Be sure to always look at the paint jobs for chipped paint, and for reglued limbs, ears, etc.   Although when I'm decorating, I've been known to buy a $25 piece of chipped staffordshire because it "looks right".

Have a great Wednesday!