Designing Women

OK, this post is going to go few on words, heavy on the pictures. It's that special time of year when people are moving into new places-- Pammie's got her first solo apartment, and Lou will be moving one of these days. Caleb will need to get sheets for his full bed in his pre-furnished, 420 square feet apartment, and Jeff just moved to a new house. While I am in love with my own place, I always get a touch jealous when I know someone is moving someplace new-- that fresh, clean palette of possibilities makes my brain start running double-time, and my hands itch to help. I guess that's why I was so excited to hang Jeff's clothes in his closet for him the other night. Then he decided to change rooms, and he's got a smaller closet now. But if he'd turn me loose, I could do so much more than color-code his shirts!
Anyway, I spent a bit of time this weekend at my aunt's home in Lake Arthur, NM. For those of you who've been privileged enough to see Sylvia's home in person, you'll see my photographs don't even begin to capture the most-excellent decor, nor do they communicate the warm, comfortable feeling of her home. But for my friends moving to a new place, or just those looking for some inspiration, here are some random photographs--
Sylvia was Steampunk before it was even invented!
A sitting area upstairs:

The desk where the Johnson Farm Payroll magic happens (also, my cousin's room for the next several months as he graciously offered his own home to his church's new music minister and family).

Black toll trays--

Sylvia's study. Love, love, love it! My favorite part of this are the family photos.

Anyone been to my house? You won't be surprised to know my own fine globe collection (as well as most of my furnishings in general) has been provided by my amazing aunt with excellent taste.

Here's a simple idea-- Sylvia saved the pictures that come on a book of stamps and framed them. If it's beautiful, use it again and again, we say!

Going upstairs-- I love the bead board so much! It's one of my favorite interior architectural details. My former high school theatre teacher had it on her ceilings. Someday I might use it in a future house.

This hall is bold and beautiful.

Closeup from what I lovingly call her steampunk workbench:

Plumes--

This vignette is one of my favorites in the upstairs guestroom. Around the holidays, vintage ornaments make you feel like you're living in Anthropologie's Winter Wonderland.

And speaking of Anthro-- anyone see the catalogue before last? The clothes were awful (new cat is much better), but the decorating was inspiring. The large mirror used in all the home furnishing shots immediately reminded me of this one my aunt has behind her bed:

I'm including this odd little shot of Sylvia's medicine cabinet so you can see the green watch (if you can call it that-- not exactly a clock, but pretty big on the wrist) I picked up for favorite auntie in Roswell. She was so good to hook me up with some wicked alarms and photocopies of her antique clock faces, I needed to return the favor (more about that later as you scroll down).

This mat is from Curious Sofa. Sylvia, Uncle Jimmy, and their friend Deborah took off to Kansas City to meet the CS folks after becoming obsessed with the blog.

The master bathroom--

Here's some of my aunt's jewelry. Displaying it is almost as fun as wearing it.

A sitting area in the guest room--

This is one of my favorite area's of Sylvia's house-- the buffet downstairs:

The upstairs guest bathroom:

I guess it's pretty clear Sylvia is one of my strongest interior decorating influences. See the way she layered these frames in the downstairs guest bath?

That display technique later led to this in my own home:

And remember those clock faces she sent me? Anthropologie's catalogue sent me on a frustrating mission to find some, but Sylvia came to the rescue. Here's a closeup of some of her clocks:

...which led to me creating this for the cabin:

The best part? She made a similar-looking coffee table out of the same copies!

Thanks, Aunt Sylvia! You are a domestic diva and the best hostess. I love you immensely! You've done more than I could ever thank you for over the years-- for all of us. So now, thanks for letting me take photographs to inspire even more people.