Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Hanging Around


Now that we've remodeled and taken down several walls in our house, finding places to hang artwork, mirrors, or just about anything has become a bit of a challenge.  I have a few boxes of artwork from when we lived in our previous house, which had lots of places to hang things. 

In a way it's been good, it's forced us to weed out and edit some of our choices, leaving us with those pieces that really have the most meaning.  Not all of them are priceless works by the masters, ok none of them are priceless works by the masters, but they are priceless to us because many of the things hanging on our walls are family pieces or special items that have either been given to us or we found along the way.



I picked this old horse pull up at The Vintage Source back in November.  Because we don't have a fireplace and won't until we put the addition on off of the back of the house, I used this little pull to hang our stockings from this year.  



After the holidays I just needed something beachy in the house, so I hung the starfish and seashell garland on it and a few of my crab ornaments.



I love the old wrought iron hardware and how it's worn and rusted in places from years of use.



This beautiful antique Vienna Regulator clock belonged to Mr. Tide's grandparents



We were thrilled when it was offered to us by his family and love the old wavy glass and rich patina of the intricately carved fruitwood. 


 

I love all of the details, like the little winding key, and we hope to have it back up and running once we are able to take it to a professional clock restoration company a few hours north of us this Spring.


 

These charming pressed flower prints came to us by way of my in-laws.  They purchased a set for us and one for themselves.



The deep blue matting really highlights the flowers and makes them stand out.




These hang in a hallway that gets very little natural light, so they provide a bit of color in what would otherwise be a dark and dreary space.


 

This vintage mirror was one of the things I inherited from my parents.  It always hung over the cherry drop leaf table in their foyer.  It now adorns a wall in our daughter's room, and when we moved in almost 3 years ago, each child got to pick out their own paint color.  Although it appears much darker in the photos, it's actually a lovely shade of pale pink with a hint of lavender




Although this mirror doesn't technically qualify as an antique, I love the carving at the top and it's oval shape.



Several pieces of artwork that we own hold a special place in my heart.  This hunt scene I inherited from my grandparents is one of them.  



These hunt scenes have been around for years and many reproductions exist, but what makes this one special is that it was part of a set given to them as a wedding gift back when they married in the 1920's.  It's also special because my grandfather was an avid horseman and our daughter took dressage lessons for years.  The black and gold matte is actually hand painted onto the glass.



We will round out our tour of the Tides Gallery with one of my very favorite paintings.  This picture of Canada Geese was painted by Mr. Tide's late grandfather.  He owned his own plumbing company, but clearly there was an artist lurking beneath the surface.



Thrifty man that he was, he painted it on an old pull down window shade.  I love the vivid blue of the sky and the water and the details of the geese coming in to land.  We have a big field adjacent to our property where huge flocks of geese land, so it's as if both this house and his painting were meant to be together!

What favorite pieces do you have hanging on your walls?

4 comments:

  1. We bought a house 6 years ago without many walls. We have the same issues you do, finding places for what we do have. We have some "beachy" pictures...they make me feel good, an antique mirror...because I love it and a few iron pieces because they really match the decor the best.

    Sue

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  2. Too funny you did a post about art on your walls today as well. You have so many lovely pieces. I especially like that one that your grandfather did. Did he paint a lot? I have some of my grandmother's paintings as well and they are truly precious, aren't they. It is always interesting to see what people have on their walls, and particularily when they are personal and meaningful.

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  3. These truly are family treasures. And the *coincidences* of how they blend so well with your home make them even more special. We have a special mirror that belonged to Henri's father who has passed. A week before we were getting ready to move we were awakened at 2:00 a.m. by the sound of something falling. It was the mirror, but it did not break and we could find no evidence of why it would have fallen. I tend to think it was a reminder for us not to forget to pack it. It was bizarre. ~Lili

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  4. We are in the same boat, downsized our home now not enough wallspace for what we have..so sorting through what means the most to us..funny how our tastes change over the year..top billing goes to the grown sons and the one DIL. have a few other family pics, all in the hallway..in the entry not much, kind of a short squat area..
    Working on it.

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