Inspiration

INSPIRATION is an odd thing, it comes and goes and for some people, it seems to never appear at all. I seem to find it everywhere, whether I'm travelling to somewhere new or walking down one of my favorite streets on Beacon Hill, there's always something in front of me that I get excited about. My vice has always been old homes-inside, outside, they have always held a unique fascination for me. I think that maybe this came from living in a house built in the early 1990's to look like an early Cape with a few neoclassical touches such as  pillars in the front. I've never really called any other building home, not yet anyway, and living in a new house built to look old probably inspired me to see what the real thing looked like.This fascination with old houses only grew when my Grandmother began to take me along to preview the auctions at her favorite local auction house. The time for what she called " box-lots" had passed but there were still some large homes around Springfield that were emptying their attics of beautiful items that I was surprised to find were selling below estimated value. When I moved to Boston I immediately fell in love with the Gibson House Museum, a Victorian Brownstone that hasn't been changed since the late 1800s http://www.thegibsonhouse.org/ as well as the Otis House Museum http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/otis-house/otis-house. But not only am I inspired by historic homes, but also a new fad called Pinterest ( you can follow me at http://pinterest.com/jpvantassel/). Described as a virtually flipping through a home, style, and advice magazine without the ads, I love being able to hold all my favorite pictures together without cutting and pasting from magazines. I also love perusing design websites,especially from local designers such as this one http://www.bostondesignguide.com/files/showcase. I would love to one-day restore old houses, but I suppose I'll have to wait until awhile until the economy changes, and be content now to gather ideas.

Travels and New Projects

As I briefly mentioned in my last post, I went to Italy in March and had an amazing time. I visited Milan, Como, Bergamo, and Venice saw The Last Supper and spent way too much money! Though I have been to Italy before, returning to the country was a totally different experience. After my first trip to Italy, we painted the library terracotta (completely my decision) and, 4 years later, I have no plans in repainting that room-though maybe a few touch-ups are in order! This time, I came back with, not only new design ideas like painting the dining room grey, but also 6 sketches by a local Venetian artist which I plan to frame and hang in my new Boston studio this fall. The spring has gone by so fast and finals are in 2 weeks, with little time to visit my favorite vintage market SOWA in Boston's artsy South End. See the link.http://www.sowavintagemarket.com/

Though I was deprived of my Sunday morning retreat I did try-out the Cambridge Antiques Market in East Market last week.See link http://www.marketantique.com/cambridg.htm I understand that many of these multiple dealer places are hit or miss for some people, but I usually just love to browse and having many dealers in one place is ideal. So, after spending about an hour combing through the 5 floors of antiques I did buy a 3 ft tall miniature suit of armor, handmade and signed by the artist-a perfect gift for my brother in honor of his graduation. Besides the suit of armor and some Liberty Blue dishes, I didn't find anything of real interest and very few unique items. I would only recommend this place for a rainy afternoon with like-minded friends and no antique-agenda.

I mentioned back in December about my plans to refinish an old chair that belonged to my great-grandmother. Well, I have finally had some time to begin the tedious process of sanding off the old stain and now realize that this is not the easy project I thought it would be! Pictures soon to come!

A Quick Recap

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Though I didn't keep-up with my blogging over the holidays, I am ready to faithfully report on my adventures and spectacular design inspiration and findings this semester. As a recap, I had a fantastic Christmas, using gold and copper as my overall theme for the house. The tree was fresh, and expertly lit with many strands by my brother. For ornaments, my philosophy is to mix small batches of many different styles and types all within shades of the color scheme. In this way, the tree looks professional, with a bit of fancy, though isn’t overwhelming.  For the mantel, I took three milk glass compote dishes of varying styles and sizes put them on old books in a grouping and filled them with antique gold ornaments. I wrapped the stairs in evergreen, lights, and gold ribbon. With the fireplace going, a book, and a large quilt I was in heaven!

So far this semester I haven’t done much buying, except for a vintage print of a bust of Madame Du Barry, which I plan to frame for the living room once it’s painted green. At the moment I am looking for a nice studio in the city to make my own, while painting to small canvases in the style of Willem Kalf. Photos soon to come!