The Living Room Tour

 

When the concierge helped me carry my new area rug from the mail room to my apartment I joked before opening the door that my apartment is where all knickknacks come to retire. I may not have the most knickknacks on campus but I'll bet I'm a top contender for the having the most seashells and I still have another box in storage that won't get unpacked until I get tired of the ones I put out. (You'll see more when I do a tour of my half bath.)

While my niece was staying with me to take me to my eye surgery and follow-up appointment the next day she unloaded the area where the rug belonged, put the pad and carpet down and moved everything back to where I wanted it. (Yes, that included all the books.) I wasn't allowed to bend over because it causes pressure on the eye so my niece made me sit in a chair and supervise---she's a keeper. The photo at the top shows the results of her hard work and it turned out exactly like I'd been visualizing for over a year. Yup, it plain to see I don't like living with a lot of color.

Sorry these photos looked washed out---too much light coming into the windows. But I wanted to post them now rather than wait until my eyes get in better focus for me to manipulate the images in a photo editing program that I haven't even put on my new computer yet. It also seems pointless to do photo editing until I get my new eyeglass prescription which won't happen until mid December. By the way, my right eye turned out better than the left with the macular pucker. By evening the same day as my surgery I could actually see the difference in colors and, a color change never happened in the other eye. Doctor says they are both right where they're should be, though, and I see her every week until I'm past the critical point when an infection would show up in the pucker, if I'm going to get one. Enough digressing... on to the tour details:

I've had this little steamer trunk since circa 1945 when my mom found it at the Salvation Army and all through my childhood it held doll clothes that she made. Later in my twenties my dad added the removable legs so I could use it as an end table. The trunk was originally made to hold toiletries, etc. for women travelers. The original handles on the sides and the inside tray are long gone. That's my new middle-century La-z-Boy chair behind the trunk.

The teddy bear I made and I've had the camera since early teens or before. The folding deck chair the bear is sitting in is a Victorian Era child's toy. The frame of knots and the postcard of the sailor need no explanation other than I've had the sailor forever and the son-I-wish-I-had gave me the framed knots a couple of years ago because he knew I'd love it.

Below is the top of an inlaid coffee table that I've had since the '70s. Imagine my surprise when I stripped layers of paint off it and found that lovely inlaid. The sunbather is modern kitsch, the ceramic convertible was handmade by a local artist who is known for his whimsical pieces.
 

This bookcase holds my art history books and on top is my marble collection, all sorted by type and age. The slab-built and fired sculpture was made by me and his name is Toe Joe.

The next three photos are part of the window wall at the far end of the room...two photos of shells and other kitsch in the deep window sill, and my Arthur Singer birds print is above a wicker planter that belonged to my husband's mother.

 

I didn't photograph the art easel corner as that was covered in another post but on wall across from the furniture grouping on the rug is my entertainment center. Inside the cabinet is my TV and boxes of photographs. A few days before the move I took a bunch of movies that used to be inside that cabinet to Goodwill so I could fit the TV inside instead of the original plan of mounting it on the wall above the cabinet. I'm glad I did.

That ladder on the left is metal and I have no idea what it came off from but the minute I saw it I knew I wanted it. It's hard to see in the photo but I've got a vintage linen piece hanging on one of the rungs of the ladder and it's hiding a hideous, red emergency wall plug that is connected to a generator for power outrages. We can plug in a lamp, phone charger, TV and a space heater or fan, if needed. Originally I was going to hang that ladder sideways on the wall over my desk in the den, but that ill-placed plug changed the game plan. I will probably find some more vintage linen to hang on the ladder. Who knew I'd start a new collection after moving?

On top of the entertainment center is an assortment of old lamps. The two square ones on the right are candle powered from the Colonial Period. The round one on the left and back is a tiny stove and was powered by whale oil. The top becomes a cup to put on the stove. The others around stove and the bigger, round-based one on the right are also whale oil lamps. The two wire candle holders center front were used in coal mines. The end with a loop was used to carry it and the other end was jabbed into the wall of the mine when you got to where you were working. My grandfather was a coal miner so its history is an area of my interest.

 

Next to the cabinet are two more relics from my childhood...the wicker chair, and the crude little shelf that houses jars of stones and shells was built out of an orange crate by my dad. I had a whole set of kitchen "appliances and cabinets" each made out of fruit crates and they were set up in an attic dormer. This piece is the only one that survived past my childhood. 

 

The photo above is of the furniture grouping taken from the other end and it better shows my new La-Z-Boy (which powers back to a lay down position). The antimacassar at the headrest was embroidered by my mom. 'Antimacassar' is a new addition to my vocabulary compliments of my niece who ran across it in a book she and her grandson were reading. The following is from Wikipedia:  

"An antimacassar is a small cloth placed over the backs or arms of chairs, or the head or cushions of a sofa, to prevent soiling of the permanent fabric underneath.... Macassar oil was an unguent for the hair commonly used by men in the early 19th century. The fashion for oiled hair became so widespread in the Victorian and the Edwardian period that housewives began to cover the arms and backs of their chairs with washable cloths to prevent the fabric coverings from being soiled. Around 1850, these started to be known as antimacassars. They were also installed in theatres, from 1865."  Aren't you glad you know that bit of trivia? I was. ©