Welcome to my Living Room. I gave a glimpse of the Welsh Cupboard so here is the rest of the room. Hanging in the front window is a carved trumpeting Gabriel that I carved years ago. She resides in this window all winter long and then I move her outside for the summer. I love the way she looks with freshly fallen snow behind her. We were lucky enough to have a bit of snow last week when I took this picture.
The Welsh Cupboard is the star of the show in this room so I tend to keep the rest of the room pretty simple.
My home is a split entry so the foyer (I say the word loosely). Really, it’s just an entry and very small. Visually it has a big impact on the living room because it does help to expand the space but all the focus is up high.
I have always treated these high spaces like they were part of the living room.
Above the front door is one of my dads ships that he built on a shelf. I usually decorate this area with tons of greens but this year I decided to go a bit simpler with just some berry garland and a fabulous silk ribbon.
If you ever have the opportunity to buy actual silk ribbon do it. When I buy beautiful ribbon I always buy 3 yards at a time. This copper ribbon I have had for at least 20 years and it is still as fresh and beautiful as the day a bought it. There is nothing like the way it feels as you tie the bow and how it drapes with it’s subtle sheen.
One of the things I brought from my parents house was a very narrow apothecary chest with a display cabinet above it that my parents had in their foyer.
These pieces are special because my dad made them for my mom and on the top he carved their dating initials like he did on the trees near the park bench by Minihaha Falls in Minneapolis when they were kids.
How could I let that go at the estate sale? I had many doubts that I was going to be able to find a home for it but I did want to try it in my own foyer. This piece is only about 8″ deep and it fit perfectly. Is it tight when the door is open, yes absolutely. Do I care, not in the least. The only time that door gets opened is when we have company and for UPS!
Rounding out the upper cabinet is of course antique books and my Doulton Gypsy’s series ware from around 1920. Love the colors in this collection, they are rich and moody. Another Swan from my dad rides the upper cabinet with a metal wreath around it’s neck and of course more silk ribbon.
Some mercury glass pinecones drape the 18th Century telescope above the painting, and of course the infamous gold leaf bells grace the newel post.
The top bell picture is with the glaze, and the bottom bell picture is without the glaze. Which do you like better? Stradling the kitchen and living room is this built in that my husband and I originally built with my dads help about 20 years ago.
We call it the cubby. We have modified it with drawers to make it more efficient twice! That’s another story I’ll share later. Again, I kept it simple in here with just the Spode Christmas Tree dishes with Mackenzie Childs Courtly Check Chargers, and a Pipka Santa.
Well that rounds out the kitchen and living room. Thanks for stopping by and giving me the privilege of sharing my stories and my home.
Shelley
