China on the Wall

As we settle into our new addition, we have been trying to fill the very blank walls.  As I have written in a previous post, collecting antique prints can be quite affordable--and I therefore have stacks of them.  Once it comes to framing those prints, however, things start to get very expensive.

So I have been using more and more china, of which I have inherited oodles, to hang on the walls.  The hardware to hang them costs less than $10 per plate and is available at any hardware store.  If you have underused china in your house, this is a practical and affordable way to decorate, and free up cabinet space.

Below are a few inspiring images of the impact of china on the walls.  The first is Chateau De Drottningholm.  Drama!

I think this arrangement of china over a blue and white bed is beautiful. What really makes it work is the creamy wall color against the plates and blue and white upholstery.  I love the very simple headboards on the bed, too.

And below, Nancy Lancaster's last house, the Coach House at Haseley Court:

And last, this charming arrangement of a few of my favorite things: glazed pottery, antlers, bird prints, and china.

Waste baskets

One of the last things on my list once we had moved into our newly built addition was to find a trash can for every room.  Not a glamorous task, but trash cans are necessary parts of life, and I spent a while trying to find practical ones that were also beautiful.  Here are a few favorites:

The Woodrow Can from Umbra is made of laminated wood, and comes in great colors.  The classic design has a little modern edge, but not too much of one.  I have three by my desk for trash, magazines, and office paper.  Available from The Container Store.  

The Lotus, also available at The Container Store, is made of plastic so it's very practical, but the material looks like tortoiseshell, so it looks very chic--that is if you even notice it.  It tends to disappear in a room, exactly what waste baskets should do!

This is also an Umbra design: the Skinny can in galvanized steel, an industrial material made glamorous by the asymmetrical rim and sleek handle.

Another favorite: the Translations can from The Container Store.  This one is not a workhorse like the others--it's paper mache.  It's ideal for a powder room where it will get only light use, and be a clever little surprise for guests.  The red interior really makes this fabulous.

On Antlers and Taxidermy

My husband is a passionate hunter, and we not only have a chest-freezer packed to the brim with wild game meat, but also several mounted animal heads, innumerable antlers, wild bird mounts, and even a full body mount of a white mountain goat (known in our house as "Billy").  I did not grow up in a house with taxidermy, and it has taken me some time to come to terms with living with these critters.  At first, the only images of interiors with taxidermy that came to mind were from the Cabella's catalog (think: camouflage duvet covers, lodgepole pine furniture).

But lately, I've been poking around, looking at images of antlers and taxidermy in more stylish places, and have found lots of sources of inspiration for ways to live with my husband's trophies.  One of my very favorites is Carolyn Roehme's dining room in Aspen:

I'm particularly drawn to antlers in surprising places, like this arrangement of precious dog portraits, delicate antiques, and glazed green ceramics.  This type of antler mount, called a European mount, seems to be everywhere I look these days--maybe because you don't have to look the animal in the eye!  You can buy the hand-carved, Black Forest plaques to fit the skull and antlers you have to mount.  Or of course, the full mounts are available from auction houses and antiques dealers, too.

I love this antler mount alongside china and silver:

And these mounted African heads in this very clean, Scandinavian interior:

Leave it the French to have the chic-est taxidermy shop in the world: Deyrolle, in Paris.  The shop burned several years ago, but I think I read that someone has revived it.  Here is an image from before the fire.  The mint green walls are a surprisingly perfect backdrop; I don't think any American would think to use a green with so much blue in it for a taxidermy shop--we would naturally be drawn to a mossy green, but I really love this:

Images like these have helped me rethink our collection and my opinion of it.  If taxidermy and antlers were good enough for the chatelaine of the fabulous palace below, I guess I can make do!