I know I am bucking the trend when I say I use Tumblr as my inspiration board, and not that other hot pin board site.  I am not always ready to categorize when I see an image.  I just know I like it and so I throw it up on my Tumblr.

My home page is set to my Tumblr and every time I open a new window, I smile.  That’s loads of smiling, folks.  For me, pinning comes later.

Scrolling through my Tumblr, I found that I have amassed a lot of Valentine’s Day related imagery.  Posting them here is my Valentine to you, dear readers.  My greeting is a bit early just in case you would like to buy some of the  gift ideas that I post at the end for that special someone (could be you!).

Before we get started, my friends over at Hooker Furniture Company, have done a great post on adding romance to your rooms.  Since my post is primarily eye candy, when you are done scrolling here,  click over to read that.  And a big Valentine to them for asking me back to the Spring High Point Market.  MWAH.

She looks like a Valentine!

Pink bookshelves, oh my!

Who doesn't want roses for Valentine's Day?

PInk! And a great backsplash for a tropical kitchen.

Perfect table for Valentine's Day.

Tissue heart!

Pefect outfit for dinner out on Valentine's Day.

Soap

Gifts!

Heart bangles, $6.50 for three, people. How can you not buy it.  Forever 21.  

Sweet little love note necklace.  Uncommon Goods.  $175.  

Perfect for your little Valentine–would look great in a nursery or child’s room.  Etsy.  $30.

Your feel good gift.  Tom’s donates a pair of shoes to a needy child for each purchase.  Neiman Marcus.  $125.  

Love U block charms.  James Avery.  $59. 

Perfect blouse for the holiday.  Intermix.  $248.

Loved necklace.  Olive & Cocoa.  $124.  

And, finally, some especially luscious looking sweets for your sweet.  Olive & Cocoa.  $68.  

Photo credits: For the Tumblr photos, keep clicking to get to the source. Other photos from the products’ website.

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• What: country chic dining room.
• Where: designer Vicente Wolf’s house.
• Why: rustic trestle table paired with Saarinen tulip chairs, with added freshness from the white palette energized by all of the wood texture.
  
• Even more unexpected: I have found a new country decorator!  Although Vicente Wolf is typically known for interiors with a sleek sophisticated vibe and global influence, a peek at his portfolio showed many country chic pairings of  rustic wood textures and/or antiques with contemporary furniture or fittings.  

Wicker! paired with sleek, modern kitchen

Rustic industrial vibe in the base of the table and rope banister with contemporary architecture

**************

I think country decorating is trending, with a whole new look. Click here and here to read more.

In this periodic series, I will show you just what I mean. A thousand words, so to speak.

Photo credits: First photo via Visualize.us.  Remainder from Vicente Wolf’s portfolio.

I don’t usually blog about fashion–you can head over to my tumblr to see some snaps of outfits that inspire me. But I simply can’t resist anything to do with creative genius, Tony Duquette.

By now you might have heard that Coach has launched a limited edition of jewelry in collaboration with his estate. The motifs in the collection are classic Duquette. It’s splashy, sparkly and fun, with a big style bang for the buck.

Let’s look at new and old, while I tell you how Duquette came to design jewelry in the first place. First some goodies from the Coach collection, seen above and below:

As a child, Tony made his first piece of jewelry, a necklace, out of clay, for his mother. In the 1930s, he began designing jewelry for friends and relatives, using old Victorian jewelry as a base to which he would add elements such as a citrine bumble bee or enameled flower.

His first commissioned piece was a tiara for Elsie de Wolfe in 1945. While I couldn’t find a picture of that piece, I did uncover this photo of the Duchess of Windsor wearing her favorite piece of Duquette jewelry. I think Coach’s bib necklace seen above echoes some of the same motifs as the Duchess’ piece.

In addition to the Duchess of Windsor, Tony had many other prominent clients including Mary Pickford and Liza Minnelli. According to the book More is More, by Hutton Wilkinson, he considered the necklace seen below worn by his wife Beegle, and created for Pilly Pillsbury, to be his most beautiful piece. The Pillsbury family ultimately sold it and now its owner is no longer known. How would you like to stumble upon that necklace at an antique fair?

In the late 1980′s, Tony created a collection of collar necklaces that he called the Talismans of Power. Wilkinson writes that Tony found the creation of these necklaces to be therapeutic after his beloved exhibition space, the Duquette Pavillion in San Francisco, burned to the ground. This therapy continued—-Tony Duquette went on to lose 3 other properties to fire. As someone who has lost only one home to fire, it is almost impossible for me to conceive of how it must feel to suffer 4 devastating ones.

After each fire, Tony embarked on a trip to an exotic location in the Far East, where he gathered the stones to create his jewelry. Here is a shot from More is More of Tony at his home, Dawnridge surrounded by his jewelry making supplies, c.1990.

Wilkinson says that Tony Duquette liked his jewelry to be versatile. For example, some items had removable pieces that could be used as brooches. In the fish below, the eye can be worn as a separate pin. This piece surely served as inspiration for the fish pendant and fish decoration on the evening bag shown in the Coach collection.

Many of the Coach pieces draw on a sunburst motif. This was a common element though out Duquette’s work. Perhaps the closest parallel is the Canticle of the Sun decoration that adorned the outside of the Duquette Pavilion. It is used in miniature in several pieces in the Coach collection.

The Coach spiky collar necklace also is based on the sun, as seen in these metallic sunbursts set on marble stands, and in the Duquette chandelier that I have in Montauk.

Of course I have my personal stash. Yes I rushed right out and bought my favorites from the Coach collection. The necklace I chose has the legendary Duquette versatililty—I also can wear it as a belt.

If you like something from the collection, don’t hesitate. My necklace is already sold out online. I went to 2 stores in Manhattan before I found it. The 57th street flagship told me I got one of the last 3 copies left in the city, adding that Coach was not making more of these designs. When they are gone, that’s it. Fingers crossed that some of Tony’s prodigious creativity will wear off on me when I wear these pieces.

The Duquette Room in the Baker Showroom, High Point, NC

My trip to the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) on Monday was especially interesting this time around.

Why?  Because I went with someone who was actually buying items for her store.  I blogged about my friend Lisa and her vintage and antiques store , Reposed NY, before.  Lisa plans to add some new home accessories to her mix.

She has a great eye and it was quite interesting to see what items she thought she could actually sell.  Trend spotting deep from the trenches, so to speak. 

We both adored Michele Varian’s booth shown above.  A good pillow always sells and Michelle’s are great. Plus her display was fab.  We loved her new wallpaper shown in the background.  And those vintage plates used as portrait frames –uber clever.  I am hoping  Lisa orders this pillow, so I can buy it for my front parlor! 

If it is shaped like a horse, Lisa says it gallops out her door.

And sea life swims fast.  :-) 

Foo dogs, apparently, also  are so not over. 

When it comes to sunburst mirrors, they can be  a strong seller,  but they  have to be “good” ones.  Lisa liked this particular example quite a lot.  And although she doesn’t sell new furniture, we both loved the pellet, bed and dresser.

She didn’t see a nailhead she didn’t love. 

Lisa finds the most aMAHzing vintage lamps, but she says she can’t find them fast enough!  They fly out of her place.  As a result, she is considering adding new lamps to the mix.  We weren’ t at all surprised that the lamps from Vivify won an ASID award.  

Lisa uses baskets for display, and being able to sell them as well is an added bonus.  Baskets will always be a part of home decor for their texture and practicality, but you really need to be sure that you haven’t got something flimsy.  These examples had unique forms and were extra sturdy.    

When it came down to color, my store owner friend is still feeling turquoise and pink.

With a business at the forefront of our minds, it was a GREAT way to experience the NYIGF!

Photos by Lynn Byrne for Decor Arts Now.

Queen Elizabeth

By Lynn Byrne.  The whole equestrian thing has caught my attention.  What with reading the fascinating book, Elizabeth the Queen, by Sally Bedell Smith (the Queen is an accomplished rider and breeder), and obsessively watching Downton Abbey, I am ready to learn to ride, preferably on someone’s large country estate.  With staff.  And black tie dinners.  I would be a lovely, witty house guest, promise.

Seems I am not alone in my day dreams.

Fabric company Duralee’s Highland Court division just introduced a new “lifestyle” trimmings line, called Sarasota Spring, designed to evoke the “country life.”  The images they sent along in an email fit my mood perfectly.

So if you want to capture some of that “landed gentry” feel in your own estate, you know just where to turn.  Seriously, it is not always easy to find a “masculine” trim, and these fit the bill.  They would look great in a library, gentleman’s bedroom, or office.

Fox hunting anyone?

Mary from Downton Abbey

The Queen riding sidesaddle, circa 1963

Photo credits:  1. Elizabeth, the Queen  2.-5. Duralee  6. Downton Abbey  7. Daily Mail  8. via Design Chic  9. Clarks’ ad  10. unknown

By Lynn Byrne.  I LOVED the town house featured in the New York Times’s home section last Thursday.  Trend-wise, it fits right into the whole “undecorated” look, touted by Dwell Studio founder, Christiane Lemieux.  Plus, the design firm Nightwood used paint and vintage finds so effectively, that I headed right over to their website to see what else they were up to.

I have to share my favorites.  

• In the photo above, the bottom mirror is old, but the designers made the top mirror and faked age with paint.  The ladder is a perfect way to draw attention to the high ceilings.
• When found, the coffee table originally had a laminate top that the designers swapped out for marble.  Smart.  I also like how each stool underneath the coffee table is upholstered in a different fabric.

• Clever how a vintage bar cart was converted into a desk.

• That pattern on the wall is not light shining through a window.  It’s simply painted to look that way.  So cool.

• Take a peek  at this kitchen.  Ya, it’s tiny, but I am drooling over that sink and the juxtaposition of the modern, angular art.  Digging the copper pendant and forest green wall color too.

• More compelling art, objects and furniture, but that black band on the fireplace is genius. 

• In addition to decorating, Nightwood also has a shop in Brooklyn where they sell repurposed vintage finds, art and objects and custom pieces.  Check out how they revamped this dresser. 

• Super cute upholstery on these interesting circle chairs. 

• This desk lamp is an example of one of their custom pieces. 

• Geometric art currently available at the store. 

Be sure to click over both to their website and to the NYTime’s article to see more.  Locals can visit their shop in Wiliamsburg, Brooklyn.

Photo credits: First 4 pictures from the NYTimes.  Remainder from the Nightwood website.

By Lynn Byrne.  After this week’s revelations about my house, there can be no doubt that I am obsessed with wallpaper.

So there should be no surprise that my favorite booth at this year’s Winter Antiques Show is the one held by Carolle Thibaut-Pomerantz.  It is filled with gorgeous wallpaper–most of which looked like papers that are illustrated in her book  Wallpaper.  How fun to see them in person.

That is why I go to shows like the Winter Antiques Show.  I like to see the best of the best.  Goodness knows I can’t afford to buy anything!

For example, the heart of the country girl in me quickened when I saw this pie safe.  I have always wanted one and this was perfect, except for one detail.  It costs $38,000!

Still, having seen it, I will better recognize the best that I can afford.  I will be scouting oversized  letters and numbers at the flea markets too–that 2 cents sign is super cute.

Sometimes I feel like I have stumbled on what must have inspired the works of other designers.  Don’t these c.1950 stoneware vases by Royal Copenhagen just scream Jonathan Adler?

Plus, there’s always the possibility that you will get the ultimate in design-obsessed thrills.  At this show, dealer Liz O’Brien has a slipper chair by Billy Baldwin in the exact upholstery shown on the cover of his collectible book Billy Baldwin Decorates.  Yep, seeing that is how people like me get their jollies.

And, once I let myself go and forget about price tags, there are endless charming objects and vignettes. Here are just a few.

Lighthouse made from seashells--it was sold.

This urn might work at Downton Abbey.

Cool chandi. c.1948

More country charm.

The show runs though Sunday, January 29 and it is located at the Park Avenue Armory at 67 street, in NYC.

I see blankets popping up all over the place as everyone’s fresh new topper.  

New blanket offerings from Schoolhouse Electric

Dwell Studio's latest collaboration with Pendleton

Vintage (1974) blanket cape

But, of course, the Pendleton and Hudson Bay variety have a rich history.

HUDSON BAY COMPANY

The Hudson Bay Company actually preceded Pendleton by more than 100 years.  Hudson Bay has manufactured blankets since 1779 and are known best for its striped blankets in indigo, yellow, red and green as seen in the first photo above, although they do come in other colors.

Native Americans prized the blankets for their ability to hold warmth even when wet and because they were easier to sew than animal skins.  They traded beaver pelts, moccasins, buffalo skins and other trade goods for them. Yep, Indian trade blankets were not made by Indians, they were made for them.

"Pioneer at Fort Garry 1861", oil on canvas by Adam Sherriff Scott assisted by E.T. Adney, 1925. Detail from mural installed in the Winnipeg Hudson's Bay Company store depicting aboriginals, Métis and settlers wearing blankets and engaged in trade.

Hudson Bay Blankets in other colors.

 The short vertical lines seen on the traditional capote shown below, made from a Hudson Bay blanket, are known as “points” and the number of lines denote the size of the blanket.

In 1890, because other companies (including Pendleton) were making similar blankets, Hudson Bay began to label its blankets.  The labels are how most collectors date the age of the blanket.

If you ever spy an unlabeled, round corner blanket, scoop it up.  It could date before 1890.*  Click here for more information on collecting these blankets.  Here is an example of the Hudson Bay label used between 1934-1940. 

PENDLETON WOOLEN MILLS

Pendleton’s earliest roots began when Thomas Kay travelled across the country in 1863.  Kay landed in Oregon and began working in the woolen mills.  But, it wasn’t until 1909 when Kay’s grandsons, Clarence, Roy and Chauncey Bishop, moved the business to Pendleton, Oregon and took over an idle woolen mill located there, that the company Pendleton Woolen Mills was born.  The company still operates a mill in Pendleton and continues to be run by the Bishop family.  It handles all aspects of production from sourcing the wool to the actual weaving of the blankets.

With fabled Indian chief Geronimo as its first celebrity customer,  it is Pendleton Woolen Mills that developed the brightly hued Native American blanket designs.   The company took particular care to learn about the native mythologies and design preferences of its Native American customers.

Chief Joseph, Nez Perce, with a Pendleton Blanket.

That tradition continues today.  Each year Pendleton Woolen Mills, issues a “Legendary Collectible Blanket” that they design in close consultation with Native Americans.  The blankets are intended to be “heirlooms for tomorrow” and each bears a suede patch telling the blanket’s story.  Click here to see the series.  I particularly like the blanket issued in 2010.  Known as as the Lakota Way of  Life, it is intended to represent the Buffalo Nation.

Pendleton expanded into clothing, first for men in 1924, and then for women in 1949.  Fun fact: The Beach Boys were originally know as the “Pendletones.”  Even after they changed their name, they continued to wear Pendleton wool shirts on album covers throughout the 1960s.

The Beach Boys in Pendleton wool shirts.

The company’s first design for women was known as the 49er jacket.  An immediate hit, it was the “must have” jacket throughout the 1950s.  Lucille Ball wore one in a famous episode of  ”I Love Lucy”  called “The Camping Trip” in 1953.  Pendleton still offers them. 

If you are interested in collecting Pendleton vintage blankets, they, like the Hudson Bay blankets, are often dated by their labels.  Click here for more information.

I picked up my vintage Pendleton blanket on Ebay for around $60.  It is warm and cozy and not at all itchy.  I bought it because I liked the colors.  It can’t be that old—the label on my blanket bears the woolmark logo, which was designed in 1964.  

So get snuggly everyone.  Whether I have inspired you to start a collection, or you decide to buy new, wearing a blanket, or accessorizing your home with one is right on trend. 

*When researching this post, I came up with several different dates and makers of the round cornered blanket, ranging from 1890 to 1909.  All sources agreed, however, that a round corner could indicate age.

Photo credits: 1. Marion House Book  2. From Me To You tumblr  3. Schoolhouse Electric  4. UrbanOutfitters.com  5. Dwellstudio  6. Design Sponge  7. Linda in Wonderland  8. Urban Outfitters  9. Pendleton for Opening Ceremony  10. Pendleton Fall/Winter 2011  11. J.Crew  12. Couture Allure  13. pointblanket.com  14.-15. Wikipedia  16. Pendleton via National Musuem of the American Indian, Newservice  17. Pendleton  18. LA Times  19. Sailing Over A Cardboard Sea  20. LA Times  21. Barry Friedman’s Indian Blanket page

By Lynn Byrne.  First, thanks so much to the lovely Emily A. Clark for featuring my  home on her blog, here and here.  I am overwhelmed.  Thanks to all of you who made such sweet comments and tweets.  I truly appreciate it.

Now, for the dirty little secret about my house.  While we rebuilt it, we did not restore it.  Yes, on the outside, especially from the front, it looks much like the original home.

But absolutely nothing in the rebuild is the same as what the house looked like when we bought it, before the fire.  To catch a glimpse of what we were dealing with even before the fire (and to see a bit of the construction process), click here.

Inside, there was no period detail to save or recreate, except for the in-laid floor decoration.  It was all stripped out in terrible “remuddles” over the years. And while we installed an inlaid floor pattern during the rebuild, even that went in differently than how it was installed in the original house.

So when building my home, I didn’t recreate what was there before.  Rather, I imagined what could have been there when the house was built and created those details for the new house.

Here are my top 5 tips for making new construction look old.

1. STUDY UP

I did a lot of research but there are two books I think are a must have, whether you are adding on to an older home, or starting fresh and hope to build new with character.

• The first is A Field Guide to American Houses, by Virginia & Lee McAlester.  This book, with its many photos, will help you pinpoint your home’s architectural style.  It even has line sketches of exterior detail that you can incorporate in your construction plans to help make your home’s exterior look authentic.

• The second book, The Elements of Style, edited by Stephen Calloway and Elizabeth Cromley, is truly a bible.  Billed on the cover as a “practical encyclopedia of interior architectural details from 1485 to the present,” it will help you answer all of the myriad questions that come up in construction.  How to use it effectively?  Identify your house from the Field Guide and then head to the appropriate chapter in Elements.

• So, for example, I have a small vestibule just inside my front door (which, of course, did not exist in the old house).  When it came time to select flooring, my choice was easy.  Elements said that hall floors in homes originally built when mine was built usually were tiled with decorative encaustic tile laid in a geometric pattern.  Bam!  Guess what I installed.

2. PAY ATTENTION TO THE LIGHTING

• If you are trying to make your new construction look old, please, please please stay far away from recessed can light fixtures.  Nothing screams “new construction” more.  Now, I will admit, when I barred this type of lighting in my house, my architect and builder thought I was crazy, especially in the kitchen.  But I was paying them so I prevailed.  And everyone agrees that it made all the difference.  Check out my solution for the kitchen lighting.
• Following from there, choose light fixtures based on the architectural style of you house.  We all know it: lighting has a huge impact on atmosphere.  In some cases, I sprung for the real deal: in my dining room, the chandelier is a period antique.
• Often, however, I ordered new fixtures from companies that specialize in architectural lighting like Rejuvenation and Brass Light Gallery.
• Another tip, I made these new fixtures unique by purchasing period, antique shades on eBay.  These can be had very inexpensively.  You need only pay attention to the shade fitter size, and both Rejuv. and Brass Light will tell you what size each fixture requires.  Here is a close-up of one of the wall sconces in my front parlor: the shades are Victorian, the metal fixture is new.

3. LOOK TO HISTORIC HOUSES FOR INSPIRATION

Yep, I have said that before (just this week even).  I practice what I preach.  My husband’s office was inspired by the study in Teddy Roosevelt’s famed Shingle Victorian located in Long Island’s Oyster Bay (Larry is a big TR fan).  No it is not a replica, but it does have the same feel.  No animal heads ’cause the decorator (ahem) is not into taxidermy, but I did include the fish as an homage to my hub’s other favorite hobby.

4. WHILE I AM ALL FOR THE “MIX”, INCLUDING A FEW ANTIQUES FROM THE TIME PERIOD YOU ARE TRYING TO EVOKE GOES A LONG WAY

That is why I chose a Victorian period hall tree for my entry way.  You get the message from the get go.

5. LET WALL COLOR OR WALLPAPER HELP SET THE MOOD

Color is so subjective.  Still, I think that choosing wall colors from your favorite paint company’s historical palette, does make a difference in how a space feels.  So does wallpaper based on historical designs.  I have a love affair with Farrow & Ball but I also used historical colors from Ben Moore and Sherwin Williams.  All of my wallpapers are newly made but  the designs are from the turn of the last century.  (I am happy to share sources, in response to comments.)

Check out a favorite room in my house: the powder room.  The wainscot is a Victorian wall treatment known as lincrusta that I glazed (sourcing this required a bit of digging).  Above that is a wallpaper named Honeybee from America’s first woman interior designer.  No, its not by Elsie de Wolfe, but rather by a woman named Candace Wheeler.  She worked with Louis Comfort Tiffany.  I promise a future post on her.

I hope you find these tips helpful.  HAPPY BUILDING!

Photo of Roosevelt’s study from  NYPL Digital Gallery.  Room shots by Ellen McDermott.

By Lynn Byrne. Ya, that is how things looked just as we started rebuilding our home. If you have read my “About” section, you know my house burnt down.

Prior to the fire, it was a c.1900 shingle style Victorian and something of a local landmark. It was built by the surveyor of our town Pelham, John Fairchild. A carriage stepping stone, bearing his initial, still rests at the end of our front walk. Here is what my house looked like c.1915.

We did our best to do the old home justice when we rebuilt it. I am thrilled (and honored) to tell you that Emily A. Clark is giving a tour of my new, “old” house, on her blog today. Emily will be doing two posts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

I hope you click over to see it. Here is a link to the first post. I will update later with a link to the second one when it goes live.

And please come back tomorrow. I will have a little secret to share. Plus I will show a few more pictures of my house to illustrate my top 5 tips for making your new house or addition look old.

UPDATE: Click here for part 2 of Emily’s tour.