I pulled out my recent favorite magazine shots - my friend Cindy's (Queen of Tarte) Home in Romantic Country, Caroline's Home in Country Living, and fell asleep to my other Christmas Present - my very own copy of New 18th Century Style-Rediscovering a French Decor. At the shop, this book is like our fairy Godmothers wand!!! It sprinkles inspiration where it points itself!
Coffee in hand, and Pandora on the computer - my hamster wheel began to wake up!!!! Then Mark turned on TV and there was none other than John Wayne in a movie with Dean Martin. I started thinking at how strange the combination. The first shot of John Wayne with the TV was him standing there, leaning his famous lean, with leather creased in all the right places, hat at the perfect imperfect tilt, character lines on his face. You could smell his ruggedness over the screen. And here was his trusty side-kick. "Mark, is that really Dean Martin?" Never imagining the two a pair, Dean, the rat-pack swooner was also a cowboy but neater, tamer, and more sophisticated. I didn't realize it but I thought it a perfect example at how two Hollywood stars/styles paired so well together for timeless attraction. Here I was, some 50 years later, admiring the pairing with what to me was SUPPOSED to be two completely different examples of style - and yet they worked so well together.
So I used that philosophy today as I work my dining room area and played with my new toy and I encourage you to do the same. Really nice upholstery from the fabric store on the hand painted chairs with chipping paint, my chandelier reflecting on the victorian window and a sign from my collection of vintage fonts, and frames with no pictures in them. Its a start but the family likes it and for the first time in a long time, we are eating our meals at the table.
Don't be afraid to use two things that aren't SUPPOSED to go together because they are from different genres, thats so last year. Its a new decade girls - mix your neat and rugged, sparkle and rust, without fear. Hey, it worked 50 years ago and here it is on TV again - why shouldn't it work for us?!!!
Sandy, The Tattered House
