no, nothing like *that*. I'm talking about art. Art that you hang in your home & look at everyday.
Many years ago, when Hunter & I were engaged, I was tasked with redecorating our apartment. He was in Kuwait for 6 months & felt the apartment needed a woman's touch. My touch. I poured over magazines, HGTV, DIY, you name it. A friend told me to look in the Penney's catalog, find a page I liked & order everything down to the art on the walls.
Excuse me? The art on the walls? Some random pictures? Just thrown up there, because? Ugh, no.
I grew up in a home where the art that graced my parents walls had meaning. Whether it was the portrait of my sister that my aunt (a very talented artist) painted after my sister died or whether it was a sketch of my grandparents homestead that my brother did in a college art class. When you looked at it, it evoked a feeling. It brought back memories. It wasn't just *there*. It meant something.
Our living room is our "Paris" room. We have an oil painting that Hunter inherited from his grandmother when she died 4 years ago. I remember it being in her home & always commenting on what a beautiful piece it was. She'd smile & say that Hunter did too & that she wanted us to have it, eventually. When Hunter went to Paris years ago, he came home with a sketch of the backside of Notre Dame that graces our mantel. When we went in '08, we came home with two watercolors that represent 2 of our favorite places in Paris: Monmartre & the Left Bank. The Monmartre print has been framed but the price of custom framing has left our Left Bank print rolled up & stored away. I really need to find a Michael's coupon & get it done as the wall behind our sideboard is bare!
This past week we've (I've) painted the kitchen & dining room. This means new art--or updating the artwork we have. Over the summer, I bought a beautiful Katharine Montstream print of Burlington & Mount Mansfield as seen from the waterfront. It's hanging in our kitchen. Several years ago when I was home I discovered a watercolor of the Chateau Frontenac that I bought in Quebec City many, many years ago (1985!!) during a weekend visit in high school. I was able to find a frame to fit & had a matte cut. Now it's hanging in our kitchen as well. We have a beautiful P. Buckley Moss print that MIL/FIL bought us for Christmas 2 years ago that I'm embarrassed to admit isn't framed yet. What is it with me & custom framing? Again, Michael's coupon. Eventually the Moss print will hang in the kitchen.
Which leads us to the dining room. Our china cabinet takes up one wall in the room. We bought a beautiful low maple dresser to use as a buffet/sideboard but what would hang above it??? Don't even suggest random art from catalogs here! I was putting away some yarn in the guest room closet & remembered we have 4 bird prints that once hung in Hunter's grandparents house. Not anything I would buy, but they mean something to him. They bring back happy memories of time spent with his grandfather & grandmother at their home. Would he want to hang them in the dining room? The frames match the finish on the china cabinet as well as our table/chairs so it's really a no brainer.
Today is Hunter's day to replace the chair rail & baseboards. I could kick myself for the whole wainscoting thing, but eh. Live & learn.
Hope you have a great weekend!!
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