Cottage8: The Living Room

It is in our Living Room where the accessories probably change the most. Being an avid collector and owning my own online shop, things come and go through my fingertips rather quickly. I’m currently obsessed with old cameras, which have cleverly worked their way into my vignettes. I’ve also developed a growing fixation with books that have dark covers and spines. My collections are very important to me, and I gather much inspiration from them. I love everything about vignettes, from creating displays to the stories they seem to tell.

 

This is how my Living Room currently looks as of yesterday. I bought the old library table from my friend Melody over the weekend. It was in need of a bit of TLC and a good scrub down. The paint on it is old and original, and a bit chippy too. For the time being, I just used some wood polish on the top and called it a day. I still plan to use some wood wax on the top and base and possibly a burlap runner for the top…we’ll see.

 

 

This small collection of books on the far right (below) are old French bibles, and the books to the left are actually faux decorative books. The wire dome cloches can be found here.

 

  

I love this small camera. Something about its boxy shape and little carry strap just speaks to me.

 

 

Visitors often ask me “where the heck is your tv?” For those that don’t know me well enough, I’m all about living without the appearance  and interruption of technology, wires and cables. So much so, I designated one of the bedrooms as The Media Room (a.k.a The Man Cave) on the other side of the house. The room where the fancy plasma tv coexists along with the surround sound experience, mega speakers, stereo and basketfuls of dvd’s. And just to prove how much detest the appearance of technology, I have hidden wireless speakers in my living room that pipe music in from The Media Room.

 

 

I’m often asked about the finish on this enormous mirror against my living room wall, below. If you can believe it, the frame is PLASTIC and when I purchased it, it was solid black.

 

 

First I primed the plastic black frame with Kilz primer, then I applied one coat of Behr’s Seaside Sand paint. Once dry, I applied Varathane premium gel stain in Dark Walnut, purchased at Home Depot. When you apply this stain over a white painted surface, you get a great grain effect, much like wood.

 

 

The old French grain sack (below) was a Rose Bowl flea market find. It is authentic and won my heart over big time. I love the graphic and textural quality it brings to this little corner. And if you fancy the ruffled burlap pillow on my sofa, you can find that here.

 

The maidenhair plants (on the left) are the only living plants I keep in my house. I have two cats that have great appetites for greenery and it’s best to keep live plants either out of reach or in the garden outdoors.

 

 

Of all things, I probably get questioned about my floral tufted loveseat the most. You can read its brief little back story here.

 

 

I’m also asked about this old barn wood frame quite often. You might remember it from our old house, also coincidentally hung above the fireplace. I purchased it years ago from my friend Karen. It was painted white and had a mirror framed inside. I knocked out the mirror, replaced it with an old burlap grain sack and stained the frame with my favorite Varathane gel stain.

 

 

I love both the texture and richness the dark walnut stain adds to this room. 

 

 

Ah, the birdcages, lots of inquires about these. My fireplace wall is composed of old and incredibly dense cinderblock. If you try drilling into it, it just crumbles in big clumps, so I used Command Hooks to hang my cages. Inside the cages, I placed great big vintage prints of Paris from an old souvenir book I had. The birdcages can be purchased here, with Free Shipping!

 

 

I also seem to get a lot of questions about my swinging kitchen door. This is just a standard french pained door, purchased at Home Depot.

 

 

First I painted the door in Behr’s Seaside Sand, then I added brushed nickel push plates to encourage less fingerprints on the glass.

 

 

This heavy duty brass hinge, purchased at Home Depot, is what gives the door the capability to swing freely in both directions. I really wanted anything but brass, however, it was the only finish it came in.

 

 

The piece below is an antique child's armoire. The appliques and glass knobs are all original. I’m still good friends with the man I purchased it from years ago. Nothing like a beautiful piece of furniture to spark a lasting friendship.

 

 

This mirrored hall tree I purchased from my good friend Marcy. She’s been a customer of mine for years, but I always seem to buy from her too. We have very similar taste. This is one of the tiniest hall trees I’ve seen, and it fits perfectly in this space.

 

 

While visiting one of my favorite antique stores last week, Bungalow, I couldn’t pass up this old cast iron 8. {We refer to our house as Cottage8 which represents our home, the 8th house we bid on and finally won}.

 

 

I’m not sure why, but I seem to be drawn towards an equestrian theme in this area right now. The trophies and awards have been acquired at flea markets over time. Also displayed although not pictured, I have an english riding hat and riding boots.

 

 

I just love how the years make things even more beautiful.

 

 

Sort of a vignette of the moment, if you will. The alabaster cake stands and paper roses came from Pam Anderson’s estate {not even kidding, you can read about that here}. Old books, cloches, urns and trays are among my current fixations.

 

 

The layered effect.

 

 

The flash cards, below, were purchased here. I simply used linen paper for the background and put it in an old black frame. It makes me smile every time I enter our home.

 

 

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