Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Odds And Ends Around The House

My new friend Georgianne, who lifted me to minor and short-lived celebrity status, labeled the room where we sat for our Huffington Post interview as my "cozy kitschy, kitchen". Or should I say "kozy, kitschy, kitchen"? I had thought of my decorating style as rather traditional and dated, but as I looked around at my house with new eyes, I saw variations on that theme.


In my living room I found the red and gold fringed footstool, which flips over to all gold, and the silk, tasseled and mirrored pillows from India. Not kitschy exactly, more late nineteenth century house of ill repute style, I'd say. What I was aiming for, I can't remember, but I liked them.


What to say of the arrangement on the dining room table? The bowl and contents, including brass pears and leaves, but excepting the grapes, cost about $8.00 at a moving sale at a local antique store. The grapes cost $15.00. They're made of marble, and are quite realistic, but they are the heaviest grapes I've ever held. The arrangement looks gay to me, but correct me if I'm wrong, my gay brothers.

 

The photograph of Rodin's "The Kiss", a sculpture which I love, came from the Rodin museum in Paris. I've loved that statue from the first time I saw a picture of it, and I was thrilled the first time I saw the real statue. To me, it's sensuous and innocent at the same time.

When my granddaughter was quite young, maybe four, she noted the picture and said, "They're naked." I said, "Yes. That's art." I didn't know what else to say.

 

The beaded lampshade is a mild example of house of ill repute, perhaps not worthy of the label, because of the smallness of the beads. Of more interest is the Princess phone on the table, a burgeoning antique. They last forever.

 

Finally, the beaded fruit in a quite conventional bowl. You can't hide it. I see your thought balloons: "20th century bad taste" - a thought which you may, or may not, apply to any or all of the above.

Here you have a rare ("House and Garden" or "HGTV" style) glimpse into the household of Mimi and Grandpère. I haven't shown you our many duck pictures, Grandpère's contributions to our decorating style. Those, along with his collection of old duck decoys, once led a visitor to look around and say, "What this place needs is some ducks!" I suspect that the house make-over folks from "HGTV" would love to get their hands on our house.

22 comments:

  1. For South Louisiana, your house seems quite restrained. Your interviewer needs to see more Bayou Baroque.

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  2. Since you do not live in Latin America, you have no idea what kitsch. Believe me. We'll just leave it at that.

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  3. Er, somehow I left out the is after kitsch. This may be because of the brain damage I have sustained from the kitsch I have experienced in the past nine years.

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  4. John, like deer heads and dead ducks on the wall?

    Padre, I realize that mine is a mild case of kitsch compared to Central American kitsch.

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  5. Two types of fake fruit! Wonderful!

    I still have my mother's fake-glittery-fruit-in-a-brandy-snifter somewhere around here...

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  6. BillyD, in my defense, the pomegranates are real dried fruit. And some of the leaves are real, but not edible. I'm quite fond of that arrangement.

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  7. Mimi,
    Please don't worry about such things. You wouldn't want a house that looked like it came out of the local decorators warehouse. These small things make your home interesting. I love to see other peoples homes and see the wonderful things they have accumulated over the years.

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  8. Beaded fruit? I've never seen those before - how wonderful!!

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  9. You should have seen my childhood home around Christmas every year. It would make your home look like Bauhaus functionalist restraint by comparison.

    My mother would go through her periods of decorating enthusiasm. I remember when she painted just about everything green or blue and "antiqued" it (applied a brown glaze that made it look "old"). My father was a railroad enthusiast and had a big collection of railroad antiques and memorabilia, She mounted a lot of those things on old silver gray worn wood planks and remade our house into something resembling the set of Hee Haw one year.

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  10. Of more interest is the Princess phone on the table, a burgeoning antique. They last forever.

    Don't you just love old, Western Electric phones ? Darn things are built like tanks. Really bring joy to my "inner engineer" :)

    Readers who want one of their own can go to Oldphones.com.

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  11. Jan, Airedale, thanks for supporting my eccentric choices.

    Erica, it's a wonder the beaded fruit survived. When my grandchildren were young, they were endlessly fascinated by them.

    CL, your mom sounds like a fun person. Hee Haw, huh? I've never tried that style out. I've been called many things over my lifetime, but never Bauhous.

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  12. David, what a neat phone site. We still have one of the bright mustard yellow wall phones, but we don't use it. The color is just too much.

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  13. A number of years ago I heard someone on HGTV or Oprah herself say, "Surround yourself with things you love." As I looked around my house at that time I came to the conclusion that it was the perfect way to describe my decorating style. Nothing matches, except there is an underlying beach theme, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't choose a new chair because it matches my couch, but because I saw it and fell in love with it. I follow this philosophy down to the smallest knick-knack. Every room in my house is a reflection of me—just a little quirky and off balance.

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  14. dear, dear Mimi

    Please stop trying to second-guess yourself! The stuff is yours, and if it gives you some joy or comfort that should be enough.

    Besides, with all due respect and a few speculative chuckles; would we even want to see the insides of Georgianne's house?

    The best gift of this post was your reply to your granddaughter about the Rodin. Just imagine the great shift in Americans' understanding of intimacy and their nakedness when someone as eminent as you redefines it as art.

    All over America folks inviting their significant others to 'get artistic,' to spend Saturday evening 'artisticaly' or perhaps to 'do a little Rodin.'

    Chere Mimi, I love it!

    I always knew you are a major cultural phenomena!

    hugs

    David@Montreal

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  15. What you need is a tinted picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (or of Mary) with a Palm Sunday palm from five years ago stuck behind it.

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  16. Rhonda, my house is me, except for all the ducks, of which there are many. I don't plan on changing much, except as things wear out.

    Cher David, since the interview, Georgianne has become MY FRIEND. I love that she said that. It's given me material for several posts.

    She also gave me a quote that I liked so much that I put it at the top of my sidebar, "Her blog is fairly successful...." I love that, too. It makes me smile each time I look at it. When I can no longer laugh at myself, that will be a very sad day.

    A major cultural phenomenon? Why thank you, David. Even so, I often second-guess myself. That's not likely to stop.

    Mwahs and hugs back to you.

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  17. Ormonde, I have no Sacred Heart pictures, but I grew up with them.

    Once I had a palm that was two years old and pretty dried out looking, because I forgot the current year's model in the church pew. Gotta have a blessed palm ya know.

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  18. Next time, please feature the ducks! I especially liked the footstool and pillows. Those would fit right in around here.

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  19. Bubs, I'll take pictures and show the ducks one day. I have an Audubon gallery, too, on the stairway wall. Oh, and I have a copy of the Krewe of Zulu's first poster. I should definitely show that. What riches await my readers!

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  20. It's funny, I read your posts and am reminded of my own cajun grandmother's house. The main difference being is they moved recently and painted the new house in bright bright colors.

    Heck, you might know her, living in Raceland, she's in Mathews. Most likely different volunteering circles...

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  21. Candice, thank you. I know a few folks down Raceland-Mathews way. If you'd like to email me with their names, I could let you know if I know them. My email address is under my picture.

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