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They chose the barn room, so here are a couple of summer photos from this year.  I added several antique Canton ginger jars to the mantel.  The painting under the glaze on the jars is very muted, almost washed out compared to the stronger blue and white colors you would normally expect to see.  The muted tones work well in the room, especially with the antique oil painting.
 The antique coffee table with more blue and white and lots of design books!


To see more photos of the barn room dressed for summer click HERE!
Hope you are having a wonderful summer!
xxojoan

Were did the summer go?!  It went by so fast and we didn't make a dent in our to-do list   Oh well, it's been a fun summer full of puppy love, so that's all that matters in the end.  Thank you all for your wonderful, sweet welcome to Magnolia and Louise!  All the sisters are doing wonderful and life with three dogs is busy, full of love and lots of laughs.

While I am definitely ready for some cooler temperatures (it has been a hot and humid summer and the a.c. has been running full time) I'm not ready to let summer go just yet.  I've loved the summer mantel in the living room and thought I would share it with you before fall really gets here and I change it for the new season.  I also wanted to post it so that I can remember it :) 

Hope you have had a wonderful holiday weekend! 

I had one, and found several more old coral fans early in the season and I love how airy and light they look on the mantel, not to mention their beautiful colors.  The antique French mirror is a constant and shares the mantel top with an orchid in an antique marble urn, a copper tray, antique leather books, vintage and antique Chinese import ginger jars (these were used to import ginger), an antique bronze (of a crane holding a snake in its mouth and standing on a turtle) and a pair of 17th century Italian candlesticks that we found at the Paris flea market.

The hand painted fireplace screen was one of the first antiques I bought some 28 years ago for our first apartment.  Leopard pillow made from a vintage muff.  Love the finish on the large seashell that sits on the 18th century vellum books.  Pair of chairs and table also found in France.

A larger view showing the antique herbariums that flank the mantel.

And, if you were curious as to what the other side of the room looked like when I was taking photographs, it looked like this!!  My photography assistants- Ella, Louise and Magnolia :)

Welcome back then!!!

 I'm so happy to see you!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday and are enjoying the beginning of a very happy new year.  I had a relaxing break and am refreshed and ready to continue our conversation!

We've been having very unusual winter weather here in New Hampshire- on Sunday we were covered in snow here at the farmhouse, and then Monday morning we woke up to the snow being completely melted and had highs in the lower 50's that day.  Yesterday it snowed again!  Crazy, I tell ya!  Between you and me... Dan and I are both very happy to see the snow!  We love living with four seasons, and it is just so beautiful and peaceful, and quiet! 


It's cold outside...

so, come on in and sit with me by the fire and lets chat!


I thought this would be a good time to show you the winter mantle.  We have five mantels in the house, but this is the only one that I change each season.




The antique French gilt mirror is a staple on the living room mantel and it shares the stage with a pair of 17th century gilt and gesso church alter candlesticks that we found at the Paris flea market  (I borrowed them from the dining room, so you might recall having seen them there) along with a favorite oil painting (circa 1922), an antique Santos, an antique Chinese wicker-wrapped earthenware ginger jar, an antique Chinese blue and white dish and an orchid in an antique Russian brass jardiniere along with a trio of mercury glass candle holders from Pottery Barn.





Since I missed my tradition at Christmas of having you leave your calling card I thought I would leave the tray out for the New Year, and ask you to please let me know if you're still here!!

For those of you who are new.... the antique brass tray (it was originally silver-plated, but the plate has worn off over the years down to the brass base metal) is engraved:

As I've written in the past...

  Over the years I have spent hours wondering who was MA?, who were Mary and Nannie?, what was their Christmas like the year this beautiful tray was given as a gift?, where did they live?, and on and on... . 

Just as I wonder about these three people whose names are engraved on an antique tray that has a presence in my home, I also wonder about you, who also have a presence here.

Some of you I know, as you leave me dear comments or send me emails.... but others of you remain a mystery. On my site meter I get visits from places that are near and dear to us, and places that are far away and magical. Dan and I always talk about and wonder who all of you are!

 

As was the custom in the period of this Victorian tray, people would leave their printed "calling cards" in trays at the homes they visited.
Dan and I are hoping that you will let us know that you are still here and will drop your "calling card" in the tray and let us know that you stopped by to visit!  We would love to hear from each and every one of you- those who regularly visit and leave comments, and those of you who usually come and go quietly!!

So happy to be back!

xxojoan

I love blue and white all year long, but something about it in the summer feels so fresh. 

Two antique Chinese double happiness vases share the mantel with a white African violet in a small antique iron urn,  a coral fan,  a piece of coral, a pair of antique mercury glass candlesticks,  an antique English sterling rimmed match strike, and...

a sweet little nest Dan found under the maple trees.

Hope you are having a wonderful summer!

It's Spring, and I'm thinking green...  green with a hint of turquoise!

The living room mantel is the only one of our five that I change seasonally.  I thought these vintage and antique Chinese ginger jars (they were literally used to import ginger) just said "Hello Spring!"  This is only a few pieces in a larger collection, but they make me happy each time I go into or pass by the living room. 

 

Several of the ginger jars still have their original clay tops, and one even has its original wicker wrapping.

The ginger jars share the mantel with a vintage copper tray from India, my twenty-year-old ivy topiary, a pair of antique mercury glass candlesticks, an 1857 leather book, ...

an iron bird, a piece of dried root from the property, and an antique French gilt mirror.



 

With so much going on on the mantel I placed a simple black antique tole tray, leaving it unadorned, on the coffee table.

Today was a bit chilly, so I started a fire for you (margaritas, fires.... ohhh, the things I do for you.  

I must like you! :)

   I wanted to add some warmth and color to the living room mantel for the cold winter months...

Antique French confit pots share the mantel with a trio of antique brass church candlesticks, a large tree fungus "conk", a sculptural piece of a tree root from our property, a bee hive, my 20-year-old topiary, and an antique French horn letter opener.

 

Antique earthenware confit pots were utilitarian pieces used primarily in the South of France (Provence) for the preservation of meats such as duck or goose. The bottom halves of the pots were unglazed, as the pots would be half buried in the ground to keep the contents cool and fresh.  Since these pots were utilitarian pieces chips and imperfections help authenticate the true antiques from the many reproductions on the market. 

I love old repairs on pottery... the wire on the neck of the small pot was an attempt by someone many years ago to contain a crack in the pot.

A copper tray from India commands the coffee table.

I love Fall.

I love that Fall is the celebration of nature;  no bunnies, Santa, or cupids in sight... just the bounty of the earth-  leaves turning colors, pumpkins, apples, and the changing light to illuminate it all. 

My very simple mantel filled with natural treasures is, for me, what the season is about.

My favorite Jarrahdale blue pumpkins with antique mercury glass candlesticks.  The piece of wood on the far left is a portion of a "root" from a huge, old maple stump that we excavated in early Spring.  As we were picking up the debris from the stump I found this piece and loved how sculptural it was.  I worked to slowly clean out and dry the piece all summer. 

One of the largest of my tree fungus brackets (22 inches wide) takes center stage leaning against the antique French mirror.  A wasp nest and a small horn rests on a branch found in the forest that is covered with moss and lichens. 

Antique Chinese blue and white double happiness vase shares a side with another blue Jarrahdale, a miniature white pumpkin, and silvered candle holders.

I wanted to keep the mantel light, clean and crisp for summer.

It just wouldn't say "summer" without coral and shells!






My favorite pair of antique mercury glass candlesticks with an antique English sterling and crystal matchstrike,  a small Chinese earthenware ginger jar, and a fossil shell.  The white Texas-clay pot holds an orchid just starting to re-bloom.

I love that the orchid's first bloom is looking at itself in the mirror!

Fan coral with pair of antique Chinese double-happiness vases and another small Chinese earthenware ginger jar.  Since moving into the farmhouse I've been having a renewed love affair with all my antique blue and white porcelains  (I had them stashed away for several years in Dallas.)  I think blue and white is such a classic design element.
   Antique American herbariums flank the fireplace.

And though not on the mantel;) I love the sunlight hitting the forestwod in the antique iron urn that sits beside the fireplace.

Hope you're having a wonderful summer!