Paring down inspiration folders

Do you have inspiration folders that are specific to looks you want to recreate or that contain elements you would like in your home?

I'll show you a few of my inspiration images along with how they have turned up in my house.

I wanted the painting above to be in a casual family space in my house.

my house

Can you whittle down a massive folder of inspiration pics to one or two per room?

I absolutely had to pare down the inspiration and have one file of ideas I will use and another, massive file of images I really like.

Dining room inspiration #1

Dining room inspiration #2

The images I choose offer general style cues for me instead of an exact look to recreate.

My dining room

Most of my rooms are a work in progress. The dining room needs more on the walls and perhaps an artful setting to fit the look of the inspiration pics. My living room is waiting for items to arrive but in the mean time I have put together my inspiration for the room.

inspiration from Lonny

Lonny had a wonderful image of a bombe chest with a modern painting above. 

My bombe chest

My vignette will include the painting shown, above the chest flanked with Brno chairs.

My huge file of images is still a go to when I just can't think of a way to put something together.
Keeping these photos of other people's houses helps me to define what I like, love, and absolutely hate in decor.

Friday finds

HERE

It is no secret that I have a passion for collecting art. I love art of all kinds and I am looking to round out a staircase gallery wall and add a little zing to my traditional living room.

I just love the piece above and I almost bought it but I had committed to the one below and I've been getting a little crazy in the budget department. It is painted on glass--so cool.

my new painting

I just bought this one for a small space in my living room.

Check out these faves of mine from Etsy.

Elvia Perrin has lovely minimalist etchings and intaglio prints. Some are in the $25-$40 range so there is no excuse not to own original art.

Her work is high on my list of must-haves that I am staggering into a collection.

T Kafka

Tracey Kafka has quite a few abstracts in her Etsy shop that I would not mind owning, especially the one above. The whole shop is worth a look. Go check it out.

I also like Sarah Molyneaux's shop Oatmeal Arts for very afforable, original abstract art.

Happy Friday! I am off to the 6x6x6 art opening in Fredericksburg at Liberty Town Arts where I have three paintings in the show.

Fall mantel

This is my mantel decor--for now. I am sorry but I'm just not feeling the pumpkins and gourds this year.

On the far left is one of my favorite possessions with a story. My great-grandmother grew up in a small village outside of London at the turn of the century. Nearby was a hunting lodge, on the grounds of Swakeleys, that had been built by Queen Elizabeth I and my Granny was friends with the caretaker. During some renovations some sort of cupboard was exposed and that Jacobean candlestick was on it. It was a farewell gift to her upon her leaving for America to marry.

The plate was made by a friend of the family in a classic Japanese horse eye pattern. I love the crack in it.

The painting was an Etsy buy by fabulous artist, Sally Kelly.

I also have a vase of rhododendron braches and a landscape that I made the other day when I was bored. It is inspired by a drive in the country near Culpeper, Virginia

I think the pumpkins will have to reside on the front porch this year.

Thumbs up OR down?

Whaddya think?

This is the new painting above my mantel in the family room.

It replaced this painting of a little girl done my my grandmother and hated by my husband and children.

I was after the mood of this painting (below), not the room. Can't remember the photo credit, so if you know help me out.

 Again, what do you think?

Crazy lady on the stair

OK. This isn't actually about a crazy lady, unless you count me.

 This is about a square of crazy quilt made by my great-greatgrandmother in England. She made this 18"x18" bit of loveliness by hand, presumably for a pillow. I've been meaning to frame it for years and finally got to it this weekend.

For someone that adores fabric like me this is heaven. I can't help but wonder what these scraps were originally part of. Did Mrs. Andrews outgrow a dress in her middle age? Or take down the outdated drapes. I can only imagine the stories that go with each tiny piece.

A seamstress I know thought this was machine made until I showed her all of the handwork on the back.

I began with a 20" x 20" frame and covered the mat with cotton sateen so that the ancient fabric would not be in contact with the acidic paper. I ironed it after I covered it.

I also ironed the crazy quilt square very carefully as the fabric is quite delicate in places.

I placed the square on the covered mat and did nothing else to hold it in place knowing that the frame would be tight.

I decided to leave the edges raw honoring the handmade, unfinished work of domestic art.

Next came the decision about where it would go.

I don't have a ton of wall space in my house. There are an inordinate amount of doorways leaving few places to group frames.

The items on my staircase wall were lovely but incongruous. So, I changed everything.

The map and architectural print were given to my grandparents by me for Christmas many years ago. The antique silhouettes, a prized possesion, I inherited and had a conservator restore and frame them. It has taken me months to find a place for them.

Its a refreshing little change in my house. Now I need to find a home for the the poor sad little paintings that were there before.