Inspiration: Art and Antiques
I had a whole other post ready for today, and then I saw this house on Design*Sponge and haven’t been able to get it out of my mind! I have to talk about it.
If you have been reading for a while, you know that even though we live in an 1890 house, Andy and my styles lean towards midcentury modern — clean lines, cool pastels, no clutter, lots of white. So it’s kind of odd that Hayes Clement’s Second Empire-style home in Kingston, NY would have such an impact on me, since it is none of those things. This house is about as far from that as you can get! Maybe it’s because antiques remind me of my parents and all our time spent going to antique stores when I was little (I mean, SO MUCH time spent at antique stores!), or maybe it’s because fall always makes me crave coziness, but I just love this house. I think it’s fun to find inspiration in a lot of different decorating styles and then try to figure out what specific elements are drawing me in.
I can put my finger on it right away. My absolute favorite thing about this home is the art. The walls are covered with art and then there are vignettes of antiques and collections layered together in such fun ways, which makes the house look so lived in, cozy, and really interesting. Every corner of Hayes Clement’s home is a conversation piece. I generally shy away from a lot of “clutter” and don’t like having a lot of stuff around. I don’t want my house to feel too much like grandma’s house, you know. But nothing about the way this is styled looks fussy or fuddy-duddy to me. Also, how amazing are these purple velvet chairs?! Don’t you want to curl up with a book in one of these chairs? I grew up with a teal velvet couch and it was ah-maz-ing.
The mix of materials — portraits, photography, antiques — all layered together, is especially inspiring to me. Even utilitarian things like the tool molds above and the calipers below look beautiful when displayed artfully. I like how the art isn’t all in matching frames or the same subject matter or even styles, but yet it all works really well together.
So what do you think? Is this house inspiring to you or is it not your style at all? What do you like or not like about it? I’d love to hear someone else’s opinion!
Visit Design*Sponge for the full house tour — it’s totally worth it!
I think I have to go hang some art!
— Kerry
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