Daily Dreaming

Lately I'm preoccupied with feeling the need for a new beginning. Until I get the go-ahead from Mr. H to fold up the proverbial tent, I will be dreaming of a place like this, a spot to make an uncluttered fresh start with only the necessities and none of the baggage:

It is a regular source of fascination to those around me that I am happiest when the weather is cool, gray and damp so this early 20th-century house on the edge of the Trorod Forest north of Copenhagen, Denmark would suit me perfectly.

photographs by Johan Spanner for the New York Times from an article by Alison Gregor.

Words To Decorate By

"Decoration is really about creating a quality of life, and a beauty in life that nourishes the soul, that makes life beautiful. That's what all this is about..." Albert Hadley

House Beautiful

Simon Pearce Photo Shoot at Church Street

Last Spring while I was writing about his paintings and photography, Glenn Suokko, who is the artistic director for Simon Pearce, asked me if he could photograph some new products at Church Street. Glenn and his wife, Ann Billings, who assisted in styling the shoot, arrived on a morning in June with a treasure trove of Simon Pearce glass and pottery and set to work.

Samples laid out on the floor of the garage.

Floral props in the kitchen sink.

Ann arranging flowers.

 

Food styling.

 

 

 

Setting the table.

 

Glenn at work in the dining room...
 

 

and in the kitchen.

 

 

Some out-takes from the shoot.

 

It was a great pleasure to watch Glenn and Ann at work and see so much of Simon Pearce's beautiful glass and pottery in the house. The day was a thrill as I have collected the company's cream colored dinnerware since I arrived in Vermont, newly-married in 1995, and my mother-in-law began my collection of Simon Pearce glass with a generous gift of a dozen wine and water goblets. While the new designs are fabulous and an exciting direction for the company, the original pieces still have a lot of appeal, not to mention longevity. 'Timeless' is truly a fitting description.

Would You Rather...?

Following my previous post on Ralph Lauren Home's current antique-inspired RLH Collection I received an email from my friend Bonny of Bonny Neiman Antiques in Summit, New Jersey with a photo of this beautiful, 19th-century step-back cupboard,

It is a near twin to the RLH Jelly Cupboard, inspired by a circa 1850 design from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, pictured below.

It raised the question...if you are considering the purchase of high-end furniture, would it be wiser to invest in antiques ? (As an aside, Bonny mentioned the authentic antique cupboard lists on her website for a fraction of the RLH reproduction cupboard's suggested retail price.)

Let's make a few more comparisons and play Would You Rather...?, the adult version. (The adolescent version of the game, inevitably played during the last hour of a long car trip, being trying to determine the less awful of two revolting alternatives.)

From Cupboards and Roses in Sheffield, Massachusetts, one of a pair of Swedish rococo-style armchairs, circa 1900.

The RLH 18th-century Swedish-inspired design:

From Sugar Barrel Antiques in Vancouver, a solid oak, Scottish gateleg table, circa 1910.

The RLH mid 18th-century-style pine table:

From Architectural Anarchy in Chicago, a circa 1940 hand-painted wood and metal bucket.

The RLH reproduction Dutch colonial tea stove:

From Tone on Tone, a French painted end table with cabriole legs, circa 1900 to 1920.

The RLH late-18th-century-style table with cabriole legs.

Also from Tone on Tone, a Swedish Klismos-style painted chair, circa 1890-1920.

The RLH Neoclassic dining chair inspired by a design from the early 19th-century.

From Columbus Architectural Salvage in Columbus, Ohio, a large, vintage turned-wood architectural finial, and from Charles Spada Antiques in Boston, an early-20th-century French triangular-shaped sculptors pedestal.

The RLH covered urn and four-legged sculptor's pedestal.

From Epoca in San Francisco, a carved English Georgian-style ivory painted and parcel-gilt circular mirror circa 1860.

The RLH bull's-eye mirror inspired by a mid-19th-century French design:

The only piece from the previous post that I left out was the upholstered frame sofa. That is something I would likely buy new. And of the pieces here, with one exception, I would chose the antique in every instance.