I don't normally blog two days in a row but when I do it's because I have a 30 pound cat on my lap who is reluctant to move.
I have an image stored in my computer that I was going to share another day, but the lovely Mabel has convinced me that there is no time like the present!
Without further ado...
I present the one time I heeded my blog friends advice!
(Um, kinda).
(Um, kinda).
Ta Daaaa!
I removed the candlesticks and the wings just like you advised!
I also added the cherubs on each side of the chest to give the illusion that the chest was wider. No one told me to put them there. It was pure Andie! LOL!
Still haven't painted it. Obviously.
The front door is three feet to the left of the chest and perpendicular to it. The high railing thingamajig from the last post is to the right and, of course, above. The ceilings are 18 feet high and there is not a shred of symmetry.
The chest and painting together constitute 11 feet of vertical wall space, just to give you an idea.
The library is across the hall from here.
I wanted to take more photos to share with you but sweet Mabel has me anchored to this spot. She has been snoring for 15 minutes now.
I'll take more photographs soon!
Perhaps when I am permitted to stand up...and the blood begins to flow back into my legs...
Mabel in her usual napping spot on the reupholstered Louis XVI chairs. She was literally starving to death when we met on the mean streets of Joliet. I promised her she would sleep on velvet and feathers, that she would eat from from bowls of silver and crystal and she would never be hungry again.
She is such a beautiful little soul. Her nickname is Peekaboo, or simply Boo because she would peek around corners before she summoned the courage to enter a room when we first met! When she meows she sounds like a bird, her favorite hobby is stealing chairs and she is an avid snuggler! Very snuggly indeed! The snuggliest!
I have to go now, friends. I can't feel my feet!
xo
Andie
p.s. Please refrain from making fat jokes about my Mabel. I am the only one who is allowed to do that.
Oh, your post are pure joy! I feel that way to about the animals that choose me to host their lives. I too, make promises of unconditional love, and the best home I can provide. In turn, they have taught me many lessons... I often wonder how many more will come into my life?
ReplyDeleteSharon
@novaraway
I cannot imagine my life without them, Sharon! Nothing in this world is as important as my family and my pets! NOTHING!
DeleteI am grateful there are people in this world like you. It gives me hope for humanity.
xo
Andie
I like the arrangement, Andie. Your home is a virtual museum and I just love the heck out of it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe (probably) Mabel was born in Joliet as was I. She is beautiful, and part of her beauty is she looks like a feline version of those charming, well nourished children climbing about in that piece of art above your cabinet. No, a skinny cat wouldn't fit among all of that grandeur!
XO,
Jane
Looks great, Andie. And I'm with Jane…….a fat cat is a must! Mabel is the perfect ornament for that lovely French chair.
ReplyDeleteOur sweet Sadie likes to snuggle up beside me on chairs. Life wouldn't be the same without this precious girl.
What a sweet post. I'm waiting for my next kitty to find me and I would love to have a snuggler like yours, even if she did pin me down from time to time.
ReplyDeleteA 30 pound cat!!!...just kidding, lol! I personally love what you just did; specially the cherubs on each side, it's the first thing I noticed before Reading anything you said! Sweet Mabel goes so well with the coloring of your gorgeous living room. I need to have a Crown and feel like a queen too. Ok, I really love your decor elements, like cherubs, wings, crown, etc. Have a blessed week.
ReplyDeleteFABBY
I'm glad I found your lovely post as I can't sleep and it's already 3:30am!
ReplyDeleteFabby
Looks fabulous! 30 lbs...no I am not saying a word, my Teddy is right around 100....he is pleasantly plump:) Love the way it all came together, magazine ready!
ReplyDeleteHow come you don't got no plates on your walls?
ReplyDeleteLots of flying babies and wings, but no plates......
Your cat and I are just not tall enough for our respective weights, we don't have to loose a pound, just grow a few feet.
I was on ebay for, like, three whole hours looking at plates. There are a lot of plates in the world, my friend. One cannot simply go buying them all willy nilly!
DeleteIt really looks fabulous!!!! Viewing a vignette or room in a photo really helps to 'see' and ponder what is needed.
ReplyDeleteI have a wall in my home that I am always 'not quite happy' with. Right now I think it looks great.... until I take a
photo and realize it's still bothering me. {note to self: in the future don't put in small windows 6' off the ground even if
they do bring in light.....} Perhaps I should place a photo on my blog and seek advice as you did!!!!
Love what you've done here!
~ Violet
My family and animals are my everything. Your room looks so pretty. No wonder Boo likes it there.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great, but I was hoping you would go with Betsy's advice and paint chest and frame, I think that would be beautiful!! I love your blog and home.
ReplyDeleteWell, Andie, I liked it before -- especially the wings -- but I have to admit it does look better now. Simpler and less cluttered is usually the best way to go, even in a splendid Baroque atmosphere such as you have created, Andie.
ReplyDeleteIf I knew how to get in touch with you by email I would share pictures of my place with you, so we could have the fun of comparing notes. I don't have the nerve to exhibit my house at the blog, because -- unlike very dear and precious you -- I tend to draw a lot of flack from trills and morons because of the opinions I share, which often run against the grain of many people's thinking -- on BOTH sides of the aisle.
I kind of figured out you are not too happy with your "orangey" floors and woodwork. Doing something about that could be a major headache -- or a major expense -- or both.
What would you do, if you ever decided to get into it?
I had a genuine antique house (c. 1830) where I lived before. This is a bigger place and in some ways better, but the original owner cut corners by putting in flimsy "builder's grade" woodwork and VINYL flooring in the bathrooms and laundry room. Ugh! I have redone those areas in nice, off-white ceramic tile squares.
I'd love to replace the baseboards along with the door and window casings with something more substantial and in keeping with the 18th and early 19th century furniture, and replace the wall-to-wall carpet, which is now 25 years old with a newer version of itself, AND get rid of the "popcorn" ceilings, though I have to tell you they've never bothered me all that much, because the layout is very satisfactory and the rooms are so wonderfully well sized. The LR is 25' x 22'. You can do a great deal with a big open space like that, especially when you have floor sockets, which very fortunately came with the house. I would never put in what-they-call "hardwood floors, because with 12" high ceilings the place feel draughty and sound very clattery and echoey, even though I have lots of handmade oriental rugs of varying sizes. I've never liked the idea of living in a barn-like atmosphere.
the changes I'd like to make will never happen, because I'm nearly 73, and the strain of moving out, putting everything in storage, and then moving back in, which is what I would have to do, besides being a huge expense is just too much effort, especially since I have no one I could trust to help me.
The plan, therefore, is to remain here until The Great Day arrives, hopefully decisive, conclusive and arriving in the middle of the night when least expected.
It will be up to the heirs to see that everything is auctioned off by competent professionals. I have that explicitly stated in the will. No one of my surviving family members respects or admires what I have here, so I'm making sure they get none of it after I'm gone. The auctioneers should have a field day, and I sincerely hope others in the future will have at least as as much fun collecting it all for their places as I did for mine.
Now just try to rest and enjoy what you've done -- at least for a few months. It really is very lovely.
PS: I neglected to tell you that Mabel looks adorable. She is so fortunate that you and she found each other. I love rescue stories like that. I feel for children, of course, but there's a special appeal about the animals -- probably because they need our love and care so much. I can tell looking into their eyes, that even though they cannot speak or build temples and drive cars, they are just as sensitive -- and as deserving -- as we are. I really believe that.
DeleteI once had a 28-lb cat, myself. She was solid black, except for a small white medallion on her chest -- about the size of a quarter -- just below her chin. Her name was WHEEZER JEAN, if you would believe. She came to us from a family whose 2 small children had tragically become allergic to her. They were going to have to put her to SLEEP -- until my mother found out about it. Mama took Wheezer home with her that very day without even discussing it with the rest of us. Naturally, it was love at first sight for all of us the moment Wheezer arrived. Don't you love happy endings? ;-)
I can picture you sitting with a fat cat on your lap....pure bliss. I didn't mean fat, I meant voluptuous! Love the chest and the painting and the cherubs. Don't change a thing! Xx Sharon
ReplyDeleteI love the name Mabel and it's perfect for her. She is darling! Those chairs are gorgeous omg!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the chest and the way you decorated around it...perfect! Your home is looking like a castle!!
Pamela xo
Hi sweet Andi! Oh, that Mabel is a looker for sure! Your home is so beautiful and I love all of your vignettes. Your decorating sense blows me away. Thank you darling for thinking of me and your very kinds words. You're appreciated much more that you would ever know.
ReplyDeleteYou are a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
Look at Mabel!! Girl's got fabulous taste like her mama! Beautiful room, Andie. Especially love your Antonio Canova lions. xo Loi
ReplyDelete