Maison Decor

Blogging offers the opportunity to easily connect with people around the world but nothing is more fun than finding local bloggers. One of those local bloggers is Amy Chalmers of Maison Decor.  Amy is a designer who loves french country, cottage and vintage styles.  We've often mentioned how our styles are so different but we can appreciate what the other does.  We even joked about how we should open a store with a line down the middle.  Her side would be light, feminine and romantic; my side would be dark, masculine, rustic and industrial.  It would have something that would appeal to every shopper.

Amy not only opened a store without me, she's opened two stores this year...and, although a little envious, I couldn't be happier for her.

Amy's Malden store sells vintage furniture, chandeliers, reproduction mora wall clocks, window treatments and new and vintage home accessories.

Many of the furniture pieces have been given a new life with various decorative paint finishes.

In fact, both shops sell Annie Sloan chalk paint, Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint and a variety of brushes, waxes and other painting accessories.

Amy also offer Annie Sloan painting workshops.  This is a recent class in her Malden shop.

The South End, Boston location has a much more masculine feel.  Note the 1798 Swedish Mora clock and the heavily carved antiqued French armoire mixed with new London tube roll signs and Parisian apartment clocks mixed with a vintage globe...

...and other "mantiques" as she calls them.

I walked away with a cool vintage Kodak camera on a great old wooden tripod.

The tripod needs a little refinishing but I thought it would make...

...and awesome lamp.

Amy's shop can be found online but if you find yourself in Malden or Boston,

stop my Amy's shops at the following locations:

Maison Decor Malden

50 Summer Street

Malden, Massachusetts

(click link for shop hours and more information)

Maison Decor Boston

524 Harrison Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts

(click link for store hours and more information)

Urban Cottage in Cottage Style Magazine

My dining room table

Several months ago, I did an interview with Better Homes & Gardens about my decorating style.  I'm glad it wasn't a live interview because I'm sure I sounded like an idiot...or crazy.

 

The article is in the Fall/Winter 2012 Cottage Style Magazine.

 

 

 

The magazine is a specialty publication that won't be in all stores but  I'm told is available

at Home Depot and other fine stores

but it is also available on-line at the BH&G shop.

 

The article can also be previewed on Zinio.

The article includes some of the same photos from the Cottage Style book along with new

ones that make it seem like a totally different house.

 

It's official.  I think my 15 minutes of fame are about up.

 

All's Well

All's well in this neck of the woods..

...just a few downed trees, localized power outages, missing shingles,

some wind-whipped flowers and a mess of wet leaves glued to sidewalks and streets. 

Thank you for your well-wishes.

Thoughts, prayers and money should

go to the poor people in the NYC and NJ areas.  

Falling

Fall often comes a few weeks later in the city than it does to even the closest suburbs.  The foliage and flowers are all quite beautiful right now.  

Even though this so-called Frankenstorm seems to be taking a big turn around us, we're supposed to be whipped with high winds and rain that is already taking down the leaves and flowers.  

Enjoy the colors of fall.

Each fall, a rug takes its place back in the foyer to welcome wet feet through fall and winter.

I hope everyone in the path of this huge storm stays safe.   

If Jane doesn't lose power, she's having a party today.  I thought I would bring the 

birthday flowers that Shelley surprised me with on Saturday.  They were a 

sweet reminder of spring for a fall birthday.

I'm not sure the party can happen by candlelight so it may be postponed a little bit.

If you have no power, it's okay if you show up late.

Just stay safe.

New Bedroom Projects

I have a few projects ahead me before I can pull the master bedroom together.

I'm going to be pairing the antique Swedish chest with a modern bed.

You've seen the bed before but you never would have recognized it.

In the guest room, I disguised its modern lines with a bright mustard toile bedskirt,

and the headboard was almost entirely hidden by the pillows.

I bought this Ligne Roset bed many years ago when I lived in a modern loft in downtown Boston.  The upholstery is actually a slipcover but it's quite faded so I'd like to switch it out.  I contacted Ligne Roset to order a new slipcover but they're unfortunately no longer selling the bed and they won't make me a slipcover.  Nice customer service.  

I've purchased new drapes for the bedroom and this color just won't cut it.  So I'm going to try to make my own.  I've mentioned before, I grew up with a mom and aunt that made all of our clothes and since I've always been interested in how things work, I learned how to use a sewing machine.  It's been a long time but hopefully it's like riding a bike.  I can always get an upholsterer to make one but I'm up for the challenge.  I think the headboard will be the toughest.

The platform has basically one long strip of material with velcro

on the top and bottom to hold it in place.

And the corners are mitered.

I'd love it to be a handsome, suit-like material maybe like a tweed or windowpane plaid but I might practice with some drop cloth material that could be a summer slipcover if it works out.

I've taken off the bathroom door so I can strip it with The Silent Paint Remover 

I got it as a gift last Christmas.  I have yet to crack it open.

I should have done this during the summer but hopefully we'll still

have some decent fall weather so I can do it outside.

The hinges have gone into a bath of Arm & Hammer washing soda

to strip them and I'll just reuse the old hardware.  

A Room with Two Views

Design:  Steven Gambrel
Photo:  Eric Piasecki

I love a good vignette and this room in a home designed by Steven Gambrel is a really good one.  I know Camille from The Vintique Object also loves a good vignette.  I first analyze the objects in a vignette to see if they fit a theme, tell a story or share the same "language."  Camille looks first at things like shape, balance, texture and how they're actually photographed.  Both are important, we just start in different places.

I thought I would deconstruct the elements of this vignette one by one to share my thought process for analyzing or even choosing items for a vignette.  And I've invited Camille to do a post with her own take on the same room.  A room with two views.  For some people this might be intuitive, but if you have a vignette or particular element that doesn't work, the sum of our two posts might offer a way of better analyzing your own work.

The reflection in the mirror shows a staircase, so I would bet this room is the foyer and this vignette sets the tone for the entire house.  My first reaction is this vignette feels like an underwater landscape.  It would be perfect for a home on the water.

Cape Light painting by Anne Packard

It has the moodiness of a gray and misty day by the ocean.

I believe there's even a seascape painting on the table.

The color palette that evokes things we associate with the beach and the sea.

Each of the elements seem to have an aged, weathered quality.  The table looks like an antique.  The mirror might be new but it has an aged surface.  The lamp--not sure if it's ceramic or metal--also has a patina.  The large bowl seems slightly off kilter and has a finish that looks dull.

Looking at the individual elements, let's start with the mirror that's like a porthole.

The large bowl of whatever--it almost doesn't matter what it is--feels like a sea anemone or seaweed swaying in the current.

In the cloche there appears to be weathered rope that has strong nautical associations.

In the lamp I see a Viking's helmet.  But I also see wind-filled

sails reaching up to a mast out of view.

And how perfect is the wicker steamer truck that lists to one side like a ship in the swells of a stormy sea?  We know this piece has a history.  A new wicker chest just would have the same feel, the same language.

I'm not sure what's in the black case or tray sitting on the table but I think an antique telescope would be the perfect choice.

Careful thought went in to each of these elements and I think they're all perfect.  But I don't think it's necessary to construct a vignette using elements that fit the same theme or share a similar language.  Some of the connections may be purely personal but that's when things like shape, color, balance and texture become even more important.

To get Camille's view on these things, head over and read her post.

To see more of this amazing house, go here.