Welcome! Come on in and make yourself at home. I love peeking inside other people’s houses, don’t you? Not like a peeping Tom or snooping Sally…I promise I do not care what’s in your medicine cabinet! But I’m always fascinated and inspired by the chance to see how others beautify the spaces they live in.
One of my favorite ways to put my personal stamp on a room is with art. I cringe a little when people spend a bunch of money on artwork they don’t even care about. They just pick up a framed print that was hanging at the furniture store above their new couch or bed. Feels like such a lost opportunity to me, when folks could use that money on a piece of art that holds some meaning for them and lifts their spirits each day.
Since I love taking house tours, I thought I’d give you a little art tour of my home. Wanna see a few of the pieces we get to look at each day? I’ve shown you some of the art in my dudio before, but here are some other treasures from our main floor.
The three you see above are at the entrance to our house. They’re small watercolor sketches of scenes at Lake Harriet, a lake in Minneapolis we used to live near and still love. I got them a dozen years ago at a shop that no longer exists…and I still adore them. {Oh, and I made that frame holding our family photo}
This pair of beauties hang opposite from the little desk above, also in our entrance way. I found them at an antique store – framed and matted – for something like $25 each. Wow. They are subtle – I don’t think most people even notice them when they walk in. But I love having vintage botanical fruit prints at our door – feels like I’m greeting guests with energy that’s nourishing and charming.
Around the corner, in our living room, is another vintage print and one so dear to me. It’s a pretty pencil sketch of a pretty, poised lady walking along a wooded path. I found it at another antique shop and immediately suspected she was French (and I’m in love with all things French….except steak tartar). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat across from this lovely lady, wondering where she’s going, what her story is and what inspired a sketch artist long ago to create her. I have the piece before and come up with nothing, but FINALLY – I just discovered that she was drawn by a oft-overlooked Parisian artist named Fanny Fleury (is that a great name or what!?). There’s very little info about her, but this site calls her a “forgotten master.”
The piece that sits upon our family room fireplace mantel is probably our biggest art splurge since we moved here a few years ago. We found this gorgeous print of a farming mama and her little guy in overalls, picking tomatoes. Then we had it custom framed with two mats (small red, large white). That hard-working mama in the fields has a haunting stare and a commanding presence. I love her.
This is also in our family room – and, yes, that’s a rooster in a pot. I was on a rooster kick a few years ago when we bought this house. Note: my home decor is a work in progress – always has been, always will be. Seems like just when I finish decorating in a certain style, I’m ready to move on. Eventually, the roosters will need to find a new home!
Hanging in our main floor bathroom, this beautiful garden path was a gift from my parents, brought back from one of our family’s favorite places on the planet – Santa Fe. A sweet reminder of a place and people we love.
So. Those are some of my favorite pieces from our main floor, which is pretty traditional. If you liked this little tour, maybe I’ll pull together a future post of the quirkier art in our upstairs bedrooms, basement, etc. Most importantly, I hope you’re feeling inspired to take a second look at the art in your own home – is it time to notice it? update it? appreciate it? uhhh….actually hang it? 🙂
Happy weekend, everyone!
