I think I like it.
I definitely like my saddle. I was going to make a stand for it out of antique barn wood but why make a stand when you have a chair you can throw it on.
And after 10 years I still love my white lacquer buffet from EQ3. Which is why when I moved it from the dining room I was hoping it would fit in the foyer.
That monstrosity fits a LOT of stuff. Plus it balances all the old in my house. My chandelier, my floors, my doors, my skin.
The one thing I wanted to do was to make the foyer a bit more useful somehow. I mean, it's fine for the elite of this world to have an entire room dedicated to the lost art of accepting calling cards but those people probably also have an entire rooms just for their car. And maybe even a second bathroom.
The answer was to just drag a couple of chairs into the room. I can actually sit at the front hall table now and do stuff. A puzzle was on it for a while but I wasn't getting anything done because every time I walked through the foyer I sat down and stared at the puzzle. I didn't actually *do* the puzzle you understand, I just stared at it. But still. It was a time suck.
When I mentioned to a few people that I was half thinking of getting rid of the buffet (I wasn't sold on it in the foyer to begin with) they all said NOOOOOO. They said it like they meant it. They said it like it was a crypt holding the remains of any and every person they'd ever loved.
Clearly I had to ask Why such a strong reaction, weirdo?
Everyone said I had to keep the buffet because I love displaying things. And I love to change those displays. A lot.
The current vignette configuration consists of my favourite Picasso print (given to me by my Uncle because I always loved it as a kid even though it totally creeped me out), a modern vase with white tulips, a lamp from Homesense I painted white, a slightly beat up dessert tray I got at a flea market, a carved wood bowl and a little potted fern.
Next week it might be two huge midcentury modern lamps, a hunk of petrified elephant poop and a crystal vase. You never know. The point is I can change it all the time and it'll completely change the look of the room. Which for someone like me is a very, very good thing.
This is the room I look at every night when I'm in my living room playing Monopoly by myself. So I'm staring at it for a good 9-10 hours a day. I'm really enthusiastic about solitary Monopoly. Because I spend so much time viewing this room I really wanted it to be something I didn't hate. Something I maybe even loved. And it is.
I'd like a slightly bigger table in the centre. Maybe something antique. Wood. My number one choice as any of my old time readers know is the marble topped tulip table, but with the white buffet against the wall that would be a bit too same/same.
Gigi
Totally had to search to find the tulips!!! My eye just kept passing over it to the Picasso. What is the large white shape behind said Picasso?
Lovin the tarnished silver server,
(No time for stinkin polish!) and that he is bare. Not stuffed and over propped. Drum sticks hiding in the corner sure are interesting. I'm a new convert to black lampshades. Can't explain it; like noticing strangers teeth, or their shoes or whether they tuck their hair behind their ears; I always check out the lampshades in rooms. Couldn't describe the lamp or it's color but know the shade is not black. Surprised, as you're such a lover of the always chic and cool, ebony.
Janelle
I like so many things about this space. I love the mix of warm metallics and textured surfaces against cooler, shinier surfaces and light fabrics. I like the pops of colour that don't scream "WE ARE POPS OF COLOUR"! If that makes sense.... I like how the sculptured furniture shapes play off of the living, organic pieces like the leather, the hide and the plant. I like that it's mostly light, but with enough darkness to ground the space. I could see someone strumming a guitar in there, or sketching or anything that doesn't involve wires and connection and screens. I agree with you about the scale of the table being a bit small, but the amount of space around the current set up is nice and airy, too. Mostly I like how you can't really nail down a theme in the room, which is encouraging. I'm building a house and in a lot of design blogs and magazines, it's "here is mid-century modern" and
here is modern farmhouse" and "here is industrial"....blech. Anyhow...well done!
cbblue
Love the chandelier and the little bottles. You are a seed saver are you not?
Andrea
Perfect answerand ...very true! Still can't wait to see what you do next!
Andrea
Hi Karen...Love the tulips...the saddle...the old tier dish displayed and the chandlier make me drool...and the little bottles I love love....plastic chairs nope...I just find them too modern and take from the cozy welcoming effect you got going on with the saddle and wood floors....table cloth nope.....colour is too subtle... and just me hate pooIing of fabric...it collects dust and gets sucked in the vacuum... think the table should be your dramatic focus...sharper lines...so slashed edged lace table cloth in black or dark gray for contrast?? Its mostly the chairs...they are...ummmm cold looking...if they were cloth same shape not so bad....I want you to know I love 99% of your designs and decorating...so it could be just me.......maybe a cow skin on on the clear plastic chair or a feathery pillow to warm it up. Totally love the white buffet too. But the switch up idea to display stuff is awesome! Especially seasonal stuff!
Karen
Well, as it turns out I don't like your ideas, lol. So. Good thing I am living here and you are not. Conversely ... good thing I'm not living in your foyer either. :) ~ karen!
Ei Conklin
Please, if you haven't done it already, could you provide a quick sketch of the floor plan/layout of your first floor? I always get confused about which room flows into the others and my imagination has trouble filling in the blanks. Nothing fancy, mind you, just a photo of something scribbled on a paper towel would do. Hash marks for window and door placement perhaps?
Kim from Milwaukee
I think...it's missing a black item....the room needs grounding. :)
SusanR
That was my sense, also. Replace the wrinkled linen one that's too large, anyway, with a soft black one. Or even a cloth with a black skirt and some other color top.
Karen
Nope. Sorry. A black tablecloth in the middle of the room would be be a big gaping hole and way too high contrast. A black bowl or black vase is one thing. A black tablecloth throws the entire balance off. ~ karen!
SusanR
Your house, your rules, but in my view, it would depend on the black. A very dark black, yes. There are many, many shades of black, and depending on the fabric texture, also, a lighter black wouldn't look like a big black hole.
Jody
I love it--the mix of old and new. I'm confused about your house though. Your foyer seems more like a full on room. If the house is close to 200 years old what was the purpose of the foyer originally since the house has a living room, dining room and kitchen. Perhaps it was the ballroom in the mid-1800s.
Amanda
I have to know what is in the bottles... I'm guessing seeds to start sewing indoors for this year's gardening? The suspense - I'm dying over here : ) LOL
Madeline
It's lovely to have a foyer, especially as a ceremonial space into which to welcome guests and a threshold between the inner and outer worlds. I like the way you use your home as a plaything and a laboratory for discovering and expressing your inner life, and your generosity in sharing. Whenever I see an email from you, it feels like a little treat. Thanks.
Lois Baron
Love the chandelier. I want a crystal chandelier in my powder room, but to manage that, I'd have to raise the ceiling and that would be really awkward for the room above it. lol.
Jan
I'm glad you kept the buffet! Storage is always needed, but the ability to change up the top display on a whim is really great. The saddle on that particular chair is definitely as good or better than a saddle rack, although I used to have a very cool antique one that would have worked. The only thing that doesn't work for me are the 2 plastic chairs. I know I shouldn't call them plastic, but they just are. But it's my own quirk that plastic and most acrylic offends me for some reason. I love the rough linen cloth and the cowhide rug. See what you mean about a slightly larger table. Could you cut a larger top for it and place it over the existing one?
All in all, a very pleasing redo!
Cathy
I know we Ohioans have some strange kind of accent but honestly I do know how to spell "wood". My iPad not so much.
Cathy
I just am wondering about the little bottles and boxes that they're in. Are the cloth or wold?
I have scads of little medicine bottles that I have saved from work and I used to paint them but now they're just a cluttery mess and I'm thinking of dumping them. Anybody want them for the cost of shipping ?
Amy
Hmmmmm. You lost me a little on this one. Although I get eclectic, this is a stretch for me. Seems downright incongruent. But, if it makes you feel good, hey.
One idea leads to another though, and you just gave me another one with the saddle. I have one of those adjustable saddle stools that roll around. I use it at my easel when I paint. My hairdresser has one she rolls around her clients' chairs when she works. Wouldn't it be great to attach your saddle to the base of one of those so that you could actually USE it wherever you want? Of course if you are using your saddle for real, you'd want to find a spare somewhere for the project.
Elissa Burda
For a wonderful desk or other cool pieces: contact Analia Pastori (analian@analiapastori.com) - she has a studio in San Diego. She salvages furniture and refinishes it - does an amazing job! I got an old farm table for my office. Had it shipped to Michigan for about $200 and it's a showpiece.
On another note: love all the little bottles!
Mary W
The clear chair is awesome. The sun will tend to dry out and eventually crack your beautiful leather saddle. I'm NOT into puddly because my grandkids would be forever playing fort and disturbing the elephant. BUT the first thing I thought was how cool, the puddly tablecloth flows into the white fur on the floor and looks so cool. Just like looking at a frozen waterfall. The elephant is causing me to guess, which of course is not going to be anywhere near truth. Are you concocting your own perfume? Are you providing testing services for animal fertilization? Maybe a vodka tasting? Maybe seed germination tests from your own plants? I love a good mystery! But I love a great wooden box full of tiny glass jars even more. I'd keep it on the table just to make people wonder.
Ev Wilcox
All those little bottles are for your potions, right? I had a horse years ago. So wish I had her saddle, but I prob would miss her even more than I do now. Puddling does not "do it" for me-never has. But if you like it-good for you and well done! The lacquer buffet is amazing!
Kitty McCarty
OOOh, to have such a place to display "things"! Also, love the way your curtains are tightly pulled back at top and flair out as they hang down; so much better than just being perfectly straight.
Marilyn
That chandelier......sigh