Another Bedroom Finished...Almost

I am still plugging away at finishing rooms at the guest house after the big project was completed down there.  I've used as much spare furniture as I had in various other areas from The Blog Techs old house to the garage and the basement of the main house.  Some of it is from when we were first married which, at this point, is a long time ago.  As I fine tune the house, I am trying to give some character to the old place. It's fun putting pieces together in a way they were never used before and thus, giving them new life. This particular room has so many stories to tell. I bought this bed in Toronto when we first moved there, it was for The Blog Tech and it went into his bedroom next to his crib for when he was a big boy.  More on this later.  The lamp was a gift from an old friend and it belonged to his mother.  She purchased it in China when she lived there and it is very old and very unique. The dollhouse you see sitting on the floor is a 25+ year work in progress. I even installed electricity in it.  I am hanging on to it just in case I ever get a grandchild...ha! The painting leaning against the wall is about to edge out the fox above it. The fox will be moved to another spot.  Big wall, small fox.  Balance is everything when you are decorating. I always lean in the direction of 'go big or go home'.
 

When I moved the bed to the guest house, I ditched the headboard for the original bed. It was boring. I added this black, hand-carved one which is upholstered in kilim fabric.  I love kilim and decided this was going to be my kilim room.  I bought the headboard and pillows a long time ago in, of all places, Connecticut. I never really had a good place for them until now.


On either side of the ornate Chinese lamp, are two vintage owl TV lamps.  I love these two!  Their eyes glow and the wall behind them is illuminated in a gentile light.


There are 5 large kilim pillows which are not meant to be used on a bed but rather as floor cushions. I like placing things where they are not meant to be.


This is an old bookshelf that holds an antique globe, some hand-blown glass pumpkins, an antique sewing box that just happens to have my initials inlaid on the top of it and a set of doll furniture that my father traded cigarettes for when he was in Germany during WWII. I am patiently waiting for a new kilim chair to find me so it can sit in the empty space.


The better look at the dollhouse which needs some repairs.


Some of the furniture in this room is from Habersham Plantation and has lived in my basement or garage since the 80's. A few of my witches are spending the Spring and Summer here until Autumn calls.  The lamps will eventually be re-homed. The engine and coal car from the train I had as a child sits on top of this chest of drawers.


The color is a bit off in this pic but this new kilim bench, which I was just gifted, matches the rug color exactly.  Hmmmm...this rugs needs to be moved a bit to the right.  If you ever want to see decorating you have done, take a photo, they do not lie!


Also many years ago, I bought this small painting at auction and have loved it ever since.  It was painted by a southern school teacher who enjoyed painting her students in their every day lives.  It's so simple but so powerful at the same time.


And this is something that hung in my daughter's room for many years and has always been a favorite of mine.  Now it hangs next to the black bookcase.


And last, but not least.  When I moved the bed to this room, I had my workers cut off a broken post on the foot board that broke from someone swinging on it.  Could have been one of mine, could have been one of their friends.  Some things just remain a mystery. They had to remove the post on the other side to balance the bed out.  This left me with two blank weird areas on the foot board.  For 6 months, I looked at them every time I walked into this room and I knew i just had to do something with them, but what?  Yesterday, I remembered that I had two green ceramic pentagrams that I bought 30 years ago on Orcas Island in the Puget Sound.  Ta dah, witch bed!

 

Comments

Susan said…
Wall color, pillows, patterns and eveything look great. You really have a gift for decorating and the stories behind everything are what make it very special. Don't think I have commented before but I have enjoyed seeing all the pictures inside and out. Thanks for sharing.
So many lovely things and interesting stories! My faves are, of course, the green ceramic pentagrams on the witch bed!
Mary V said…
Such an inviting looking room, i will call it the Fox Room. You certainly have the touch for bring things together.
Megs said…
What a unique, welcoming room. Love the witch bed!
It is all mesmerizing! It took me a long time to go over the details in all the pictures. Since I love lamps and especially floor lamps, what is the story on the one floor lamp. I have never heard of TV lights.
jaz@octoberfarm said…
i bought the floor lamp in the same shop in Connecticut because it had a shade that looked very much like a kilim. In the 1950s, the first decade of mass television adoption, there was a common belief that watching TV in low light could damage one's eyesight. But early televisions, with their dull luminescence, were best viewed in the dark. So the TV lamp was invented to add a little light to the room and dispel people’s fears.
bornfreev said…
This post answers the question you posited yesterday perfectly! You are unique and comfortable in being so. I am much the same. Your guest room has more memories in it than most folk have in their entire home I'd venture. I admire your creativity!
Guillaume said…
Great pictures, it is a beautiful bedroom.
DrumMajor said…
You have amazing stories for your items. Might want to type that up for each room, and then visitors, or when you're gone, the next owners (kids, grandkids,) will know the correct story. I've "labeled" a few family items or special things I've purchased in life, on their back or bottom, what year I purchased it, and where it's from. Might want to consider another location for your doll house cottage. On the floor, it looks like a guest could accidentally kick it when trying to get between it to the lamps on the owls and Chinese lamp table. A real W would add to decor! Linda in Kansas
Thanks for that information on the lights/lamps. I never heard that before. I cannot watch tv in the dark! THAT hurts my eyes.
Unknown said…
So beautiful, and yet cozy at the same time. I like all the color choices of green and brown. I love those two vintage owl lamps, but my favorite is that beautiful rug that needs to move slightly to the right. Loved looking at everything. TFS.
I greatly enjoy all your postings…this one especially so…I think you have impeccable taste and your pieces of furniture are lovely… I hope you will invite us into other rooms you have decorated or still working on….I am missing pictures of dishes you are making and things you are baking!! Mary in Colorado
Nursejoan said…
Joan from PA, then Virginia & now, Phoenix!

The fox on snow picture to the left of the bookcase - is is signed by John Shaw? Joan from PA, then Virginia & now, Phoenix!
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