It is no secret that, as with my personal style, I consider my home an outlet for creative self-expression. I’ve written about it more than once, and it only becomes more true with time. I thought about this a lot in writing my book, and while I have no desire to rehash my thoughts here, suffice to say that I believe you can understand a lot about a person from the objects they choose for their living spaces and the way in which those objects are displayed and used. I think objects tell stories, and I love listening to people talk about the stories behind the objects they collect. That is what inspired this post.
My house is full of objects, so choosing only ten to highlight here was a bit like throwing darts in the dark and then looking to see where they land. Mainly, I tried to go with variety. You may notice that most of these items are vintage and/or secondhand, and that isn’t an accident. I love old things. I think it’s because, as an immigrant, I have very few family heirlooms; the vast majority of things my parents and grandparents owned when I was growing up had to be left behind, and there were no opportunities later to retrieve them. The things I collect now can’t replace the history I lost, but they provide a way to recreate the atmosphere of my memories, and also to create my own history. For that reason, they are very sentimental to me.
A tour of my house in 10 objects, let’s go!
Vintage Quilt
Everyone knows I love all things patchwork, and this quilt is a beautiful example of the craft. It was the first quilt I found at the thrift store once I started looking for them, and I fell in love with its design and colours on the spot. I mean, I do love a nice star motif. I believe the pattern is called Seven Sisters. According to the International Quilt Museum, the pattern predates the American Civil War and the 7 stars supposedly represented the first seven states to secede from the United States before the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. Personally, I prefer to think of them as the Pleiades, the seven sisters of Greek mythology, daughters of Atlas. These days, handmade quilts are getting harder and harder to find at the thrifts, and I can only hope it’s because people are rediscovering their beauty and holding on to them, rather than donating them. One day, after I retire, I hope to start learning how to quilt myself. Machine sewing has always been intimidating to me, but I’ve got a few years to psych myself up for it. In the meantime, I might take a few baby steps, and explore ideas for incorporating textiles into my embroidery.
Russian Lacquer Box
One of the few family heirlooms I still have, this was a box that used to belong to my maternal grandmother, who passed it down to her daughter, who passed it down to me. My grandmother used to keep her jewelry in it, and I have vivid memories from my childhood of opening it to peer at the ‘treasures’ inside. I’ve always been a magpie, ok? This style of lacquerware is a traditional Russian craft, with the designs reflecting folk fairy tales. It developed from the art of icon painting, which came to an end after the collapse of Imperial Russia and advent of Communism. Instead of icons, the artists began decorating papier-mache decorative objects, like boxes and plates, which were lacquered. The work is beautiful and so meticulous – the artists would often use single-hair brushes to paint some of the tiny details. This box is probably over 50 years old, and sadly its hinges are now broken (and I’m too scared of damaging it further to try to fix them), but it’s still beautiful and, to me, priceless. I hope to pass it down to my own daughter some day.
Vintage Chair
My husband found this single chair on the side of the road in downtown Vancouver. At the time, he was a broke grad student, so he ‘rescued’ it and took it back to his bachelor pad which suffered from a shortage of furniture. A few years later, it travelled thousands of kilometers when he moved back to Edmonton and we started living together. This chair has been around the block and then some! For many years, it lived in our (unfinished) basement because we didn’t have a proper space for it. Still, neither of us ever considered letting it go, because we both love its faded elegance and neoclassical design. It’s something we have always agreed on, style-wise. I’m glad we didn’t let go of the chair because now it does have a space, finally – in our recently updated family room / library. This corner had spent most of the last decade as a storage space for random toy paraphernalia, so this is a big upgrade.
1980s Abstract Painting
This was one of the first original art pieces I thrifted, and it remains one of our favourite artworks in the house. It’s signed “J. Tanner” and dated 1987. I’ve never been able to find out anything about the artist, but that’s ok – a little mystery doesn’t take away its charm. You don’t always need to know everything about a piece of art for it to be meaningful. Art connects at an emotional level anyway. This piece is the centerpiece of our stairway art gallery; its style and colour palette tie everything else together, and it brings me joy every time I walk by it.
West Germany Decorative Plate
West German pottery is one of my obsessions, and this plate epitomizes what I love about it – the uniqueness of the designs and the bold use of colour. It’s another one of my thrift finds; in fact, as with so many other things I’ve come to love, thrifting is responsible for introducing me to West German pottery in the first place, which was one of my entry-points to mid-century modern design. (My husband was ahead of me in this regard. But he trained as an architect and I feel like it’s mandatory to love MCM if you work in that field. Ahem.) Sadly, these pottery pieces are getting harder to find these days, and more expensive; I suppose that’s true for all vintage, and all the more reason to treasure the ones I’ve been lucky enough to add to my collection.
La Mendola Scarf
Among my many fabulous thrift finds over the years, this La Mendola scarf is high on the list of truly special things. What drew me to it in the first place was the gorgeous print – I love botanical designs, and I love cacti in particular. The material is luscious silk, with hand-rolled edges. I knew right away that I would end up framing this, rather than wearing it, because it’s truly a work of art. I did some research and discovered that La Mendola was an Italian fashion label (founded by 2 Americans) in the 1960s in Rome. With prints that rivaled those of Pucci, its clothes were worn by many celebrities of the 60s and 70s, including Elizabeth Taylor. I feel very fortunate to have a little piece of fashion history on my wall.
MCM Candleholder
This is an example of patience paying off – I had coveted one of these articulated MCM candleholders for years before I finally found this one at Goodwill. Ever since, it has held pride of place on my mantlepiece. I love its shape, and it’s a great way to display candles — and I love decorating with candles. Do I use them for lighting? No. Do they look pretty, unlit but colourful? Yes. In the last few years, my appreciation for MCM design has grown by leaps and bounds; I think my husband’s aesthetic sensibilities are rubbing off on me. I also happen to think that this style works well with the neoclassical eclectic vibe we also love, which creates a nice synergy. We hope to add more MCM flavour to our home, especially through furniture, which tends to have the perfect proportions for a smaller house like ours.
Roseville Vase
I first saw Roseville pieces on a vintage reseller’s Instagram account and was instantly drawn to the distinctive floral designs. Florals are my jam, as you all know. Roseville pieces are quite pricey these days, so imagine my delight when (after years of looking) I found this vase for $3.99. It’s my favourite colour palette, and decorated with one of my (and my mom’s) favourite flowers: freesia. I think this vase is something my mom would have loved, so it always makes me think of her.
Pendleton Blanket
One of my interior design inspirations is English country, and what I love about it is the exuberant use of textiles – lots of colours and prints. One of my current goals is to upgrade the textiles in our home – everything from rugs to pillows to blankets, and so on. This is something we’ve never really prioritized in the past, and I want to change that. We’ve been slowly sourcing some nicer area rugs for different parts of the house, and I’ve also been focusing on upping our blanket game. Pendleton is about as fabulous as it gets, in my book, so it’s been on my list for a while. I adore their patterns, and the quality is excellent. I was thrilled to find this Chief Joseph throw blanket at the thrift store in like-new condition; it was not cheap, but totally worth it. A great way to start what I hope, someday, will be an heirloom-worthy collection. And it makes snuggling up on the couch in front of the TV in our (almost finished now, hallelujah) basement extra cozy!
Picasso Poster
In the scheme of things, a poster might not seem like an especially “wow” thrift score … but this one is special. I was thrilled to find it. I’ve seen similar pieces featured on vintage resellers accounts and get snapped up immediately, so I knew I was lucky to find it for a relative bargain. Not only is it one of my favourite Picasso paintings, it looks extra striking at the scale of this massive, mounted museum poster, making it a fantastic focal point. There are several spots in the house where I considered hanging it (and may still do, in the future) but it fits perfectly in this corner of the basement, creating a little tableau that makes me happy every time I walk by it. I love the juxtaposition of the modernist and classical aesthetics here.
Well, that’s it for the tour … if you enjoyed it, drop me a comment and let me know if you would like to see more.
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