Dining Room Inspiration

This photo from the home of Wisteria catalogue founders Andrew and Shannon Newsom featured in the March 2008 issue of Veranda is my favorite dining room. It's light, airy and pretty, and as with most homes featured in Veranda, it's full of expensive antiques. The interiors were done by Newsom's mother, designer Jane Moore. The other side of the dining room including more beautiful antiques!

I browsed websites to see if I could duplicate this look on a budget. This is a compilation of furnishings found and not surprisingly, it's a challenge to copy this look at affordable prices. The Mora clock, sideboard, and French steel dining table are out of my reach, but I have a similar sideboard that could be repainted. The chairs are pricey, too, but less expensive ones could be substituted. The French round steel dining table really makes this room. Wisteria sells the oval steel "Campaign" table, which is less expensive than an antique, but it doesn't have graceful, scrolled legs of the original table. So, here are the details:

Petite French chandelier, circalighting.com Steel dining table from Paris, 1stdibs.com. Warning: prepare for sticker shock. $4,000 Steel table from Wisteria.com, but a little plain in my opinion and described as a "folding table", so not sure how stable it is for dining.

$1,000

Steel base from finegardenproducts.com. Curvy enough, but the price only includes the base. One would have to find a top, glass (which doesn't quite make it) or otherwise. $2,165 - still expensive, but includes free shipping (if that helps).

Dining chairs, okadirect.com. Pricey still and with the exchange rate they're about $500 each, but look similar to the original chairs.

Wisteria chairs at $379 each, but I prefer the straight lines and nail head trim of the original 19th century antiques (of course I do). The straight lines of the antique chairs balance the curves in the table and lighting fixture.

Chinoiserie print, art.com.

Antique lanterns, 1stdibs.com.

Pottery Barn lanterns. They're affordable and could be antiqued with a faux paint treatment.

Antique blue painted sideboard. You've probably already guessed this is from 1stdibs.com.

Antique Mora Clock. You know where to find it (other than Sweden).......... White ironstone tureen, ebay.com The roses are my own--a gift from someone special!

So, this was not much of a budget friendly solution to a very expensive dining room, but it was a fun project and has given me some decorating inspiration and ideas for my own dining room.

Plain and Simple

The air is hot and heavy in Boston these days. Less is more both in and outside the house. These bathrooms look so cool and fresh which is so appropriate right now. I'm trying to enjoy the heat while it lasts....

All images zoominteriors.com

Zinc Topped Tables

haus-interiors.co.uk

Years ago, I bought a pine table on a whim that was sold to me as an "antique", but my suspicisions have lead me to believe it was a newly crafted table made (not all that well) from old wood. When I think of what it cost me more than ten years ago, I cringe. It was less than $500, however, it seems to me that it could only fetch about the same price today. Not much of an investment, for sure. It's too small for a dining table and too large for a desk. But, the table had an appealing "look"--soft old mellow pine complete with cracks and beetle holes.

patinagreen.typepad.com

The top, split from years of alternating dry and humid conditions, frankly looks terrible and it's too embarrassing to post a photo of it here. I should throw it out, but can't bear to do so since I paid more for it than it's worth and it's a useful place to unload groceries and fills empty space under a kitchen window.

somethingsunique.com

So, I am on a mission to make it look better. The top sports a coat of new gray paint in an attempt to dress it up, but the cracks, holes and chips can't be covered by paint and the table still looks.....well, shabby.

Southern Accents Magazine, Jackye Lanham The solution it seems is to cover the top with zinc. A soft, pliable and (I think) easy to work with metal that will hopefully transform the table from an eyesore into an attractive piece of furniture for not too much money.

lyttonandlily.co.uk

The zinc sample sheets have been ordered and shipped. I've convinced myself that this will be an easy, thirty minute project--tops.

wildflowerorganics.com

Once the finish (the company offers a pre-weathered zinc) and the proper thickness of the zinc sheet is determined, I'll order enough for the table top along with a few basic tools. I hope the project lives up to my expectations. I've already got my eye on the dated counter tops in my kitchen.....

Country in the City

Country Living magazine has a feature each month or so called "Country in the City" and I remember years ago as a CL subscriber, always looking forward to that feature to see typical city dwellings decorated with softly patterned fabrics, large pieces of wood furniture and plates hung on the wall.

These photos have nothing to do with Country Living magazine directly, but the phrase "Country in the City" popped to mind upon seeing these images. The home is an apartment on New York's 3rd Avenue designed by Heiberg Cummings, whom I've posted about before.

There is something about the juxtaposition of antiques with slightly contemporary touches that gets my attention every time, even though I don't like contemporary design.

But, I can say that I admire a skillful contrast of textures, styles and finishes that make not only a beautiful, but also interesting room.

Calla lilies always seem like a contemporary style of flower to me, if there can be such a thing. I always pass them by in the store. They look even more austere paired with this antique silver candle stick.

Maybe I'll give the lilies a try one of these days. I certainly have a few silver (plated!) candlesticks around the house.

All images Heiberg Cummings Design

The Portrait of a Lady (or two)

I am always intrigued by interiors that feature dramatic portraits from the nineteenth or eighteenth century, with dark backgrounds and serious, dignified looking ladies. I cannot get enough of theses in museums and upon seeing a portrait I have to get up close and see the brush strokes, the thickness of paint, the blending of colors and wonder how the artist was able to paint such realistic flesh tones and capture the richness in the fabrics of the women's dresses.

Lady with a Fan, Francisco De Goya (1746 - 1828)

So, it's only natural that I have started to long for a portrait of my own to hang in my home. Although, I look at some of them and wonder if I could tolerate a pair of inanimate eyes looking at me from all angles of the room. Would this bother me, get on my nerves just a little.....?

Girl with Racket and Shuttlecock, c. 1740, Jean-Baptiste Chardin

......a slight scowl on her face making me uncomfortable, seeming to chastise me for sitting on the couch, eating ice cream and watching TV instead of emptying the dishwasher or vacuuming?

Hanna Voss, Kittery, Maine c. 1795, John Brewster

Or, would I just get accustomed to her and appreciate the chance to look at a beautiful painting everyday.

Portrait of Emily Rush, James Peale

Mind you, our family has no ancestral portraits lying around, being handed down from generation to generation--just the usual collection of old black and white family photos with names and dates scribbled on the back in pencil and a few with no names and dates at all.


Portrait of Madame Regnault De Saint-Jean D'Angely (1775 - 1857), Francois Gerard

Which means I'd have to buy a reproduction portrait (okay, fake) within my budget of a complete stranger to hang in my home. Although, if doing so gives me the chance to appreciate beautiful art, why not?

Please leave a comment with your opinion of buying reproduction art. I'm curious as to what the consensus is out there!

All images Art.com

Antique Vanities in the Bathroom

Although we all know that trends come and go, one of the few that I will never tire of is antique chests and bureaus turned into bathroom vanities. They add warmth to what can be a cold, hard space and even though fitting the sink requires the loss of the top drawer, the remaining drawers provide ample storage space.

Orrick & Company

This vanity is one of my favorites, featured with an antique gilt mirror and sconces. Something like this could turn a boring bathroom in a new home into a pretty room.

Southern Accents

I recently discovered this photo in an old issue of Southern Accents magazine (January-February 2001) and it still looks fresh. It's featured in a home designed by Amelia Handegan.

Sarah Richardson Design

The round somewhat contemporary mirror provides contrast to this antique vanity.

Sarah Richardson Design

A close-up of a mahogany chest of drawers. This style is common in both antiques and reproductions. I've seen many in antique and second-hand shops over the years and the reproductions are fairly inexpensive.

Sarah Richardson Design

A long sideboard topped with a marble counter top plus crystal sconces, crystal chandlier and Farrow & Ball wallpaper add elegance to this bathroom.

Orrick & Company

A country pine dresser is topped by a driftwood mirror. Obviously, you don't need me to tell you that this would be fun in a beach or summer house, but I've said it anyway!