On the Rue Blaes

I was in Brussels this past weekend. I am emptying my house of furniture. I will ship some to Vilnius; I have sent some to the consignment shop and some I will leave on the curb side. I hate packing. But I also still found time to look at some Antiques and things.  That dog is so huge, so Ancient...he too is Antique. I think he lives in the store.

 

My favourite discovery are these rugs by JINZU made out of recycled cotton. They are made in Spain. Went mad and bought a few.

An Alabaster Monday

Rick Owens Alabaster Bed

 

 

 

Randy Zeiber Alabaster Lighting

 

Kelly Wearstler Alabaster Sconce

 

 

Alabaster Ceramic Tiles

 

 

1930s Alabaster Sculpture

 

This is a perfectly acceptable alternative and affordable to Italian marble in my book. 

The Alternative Emerald: Malachite

Emeralds are super expensive. When I lived in Barbados I used to go to the Colombian Emeralds store on Broad Street to sigh dramatically over the emerald jewellery. I am not likely to own a significant piece of emerald jewellery soon but I love the shimmery and dense green colours of this precious gemstone when it is set against my skin. On my trip to Southern Africa in April I decided that I could let go of my emerald dreams and live some malachite reality instead. I bought six malachite bangles at Green Market Square in Cape Town. Malachite is a semi-precious gemstone very similar in colour to emeralds and I am sure most of you have seen it incorporated into design.

 

 

Image from Simplified Bee

 

You'll run out to get some malachite when you hear that it brings wealth, peace, prosperity and abundance, healing, serenity and calm.

 

 

 

1stDibs

 

Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

 

Malachite is a Russian favourite. The country has huge deposits of the stuff.

 

 

 

I don't feel the colour is soothing when incorporated in interior décor. I think it's lively and vibrant and I could see how faux treatments like digitally printed malachite slabs are now the rage in Italian productions.  Malachite is also toxic when wet so better go far the digitally printed clay slabs in your bathroom. I also love the wallpaper prints too.

Quand Les Poules Auront Des Dents

When pigs fly! The French expression literally translates to "when chicken have teeth". But the sentiment is the same: the impossible, unachievable, unbelievable, unrealizable. In other words: when pigs fly! Like, me buying an ostentatious piece of Cartier jewellery or a $500 tea cup from Wedgwood and Bentley.

 

I'm not cheap but there are some things I know I will never buy new. I'll never buy chandeliers new; i'll never buy good bone china new; i'll never buy a bergere new and I'll never buy fine jewellery new. I just won't.  I think you can get wonderful teaware at the antiques market (up to 80 pieces) of bone china can be found at a good brocante in Brussels for less than 500 Euros. And, my 32 piece tea ware which I currently use is from the former Czechoslovakia and  only cost me 30 Euros (I have a good eye). As for good jewellery I head straight to German auction house for that. Plus, I feel sure that in this life, I'll never make enough to warrant my spending 500 Euros on a cup. Let's let the 1% have at it.

What is Sexy About 18th and 19th Century Paintings?

 

Portrait by Gabriel Emile Nicolet

 

Just the other day Caroline Donofrio over at A Cup of Joe asked what were our random turn ons-- as in, what do we find sexy in a partner. The answer, according to almost all the commenters on the blog, had nothing to do with sexual stimulus or anything having to do with sex per se. Everyone seemed to agree that what they found sexy was something innocuous, innocent. Like, men in loafers without socks, an eyebrow scar, or visible veins running through the forearm and hands. I myself find hair touching a man's shirt collar to be a turn-on and also shirt cuffs rolled back to reveal a leather band watch and a strong wrist. And, you may ask, what does this have to do with the woman in the painting above? Well, I confess I find her utterly sexy. Yes. I do.

The Love Letter by Emile Levy

I also find this lovely lady, above, absorbed by the letter from her lover to be intriguing...

 

Literary Pursuits of a Young Lady by Alexei Alexeivich Harlamoff

 

also this lady above...

 

Woman Reading by Jacques Émile Blanche

 

And this lady too. Mostly, for me, the lady above is intriguing not so much for her reading---although I would love to know what she is reading--but for the beautiful curve of her neck.

 

A Laundry Lady Ironing by Henry Morland

Of course, you will recall that I have referenced my husband in previous blog posts. So you know that I am married to a man. I am not gay. But if sexuality occurs on a spectrum, then what does my love for the women in these paintings suggest about where I fall on the Kinsey scale?

 

Do you suppose that men find a woman engaged in housework to be sexy? My Mister certainly has a greater chance of currying my favours when he vacuums the stairways and bathes the dog. But I feel quite sure that I would be hugely, monstrously miffed if the Mister finds it sexy when I wash the toilet bowls. For my part, I think no man ever finds a self-sacrificing woman to be sexy.   And a woman having to wash anything is a self-sacrifice in my book. 

 

That lady, the first one with the sexy shoulder, is on sale today via auction at Philipp Serrell.

 

If you were tortured into admitting it, what do you find intriguing about women? A bare shoulder, a woman intensely caught up in a novel, a tendril of hair brushing the neck?

 

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5 Ways to Reinvigorate Old Furniture

Obviously I love old, antiques, brocante and vintage furniture. What I do get fascinated by is the way we live today with things from the past. How do we transform them, re-purpose them, dress them up, or simply find use for them, so they sit comfortably with our contemporary, neo-traditional or transitional décor?  I've brought you some interesting vantage points, hoping to help you gather inspiration for old furniture.

 

1. Multipurpose dining room. I have said this before: breakfronts are not outdated and can still find a place in your home. I love that the one below, from Windsor House Antiques, has been done up to showcase a leather-bound book collection, and also china. But the piece of furniture would work just as well in a home library.

From Windsor House Antiques

2.Upholstering coffee table tops. I cannot tell you how many times I have been to the flea market and I see glass top coffee tables with ornate carvings but with the glass shattered. The tables usually go for nothing because of the broken glass. I love Robert Couturier's upholstered and ornately carved coffee table. Definitely one to try.

3. Transform a walled bookcase with  Columns. I also do see a lot of columns in the antique and brocante stores at Rue Haute in Brussels. What I do hate is the random addition of them to the middle of a room for no apparent reason other than to suggest that "I know and bought a valuable piece of an old building". But I do like the way this is used by Bunny Williams. It definitely upgrades a simple "gyproc' built-in bookshelf.

4. Paint and add a piece of marble to a pair of Old Wooden Brackets. Just like the columns, old wooden brackets are always hanging about the brocante shops. You will find a bunch in Troc here in Brussels, for example. I would use this in a foyer, stairway, bathroom, dining room or kitchen.

 

By Designer Margot Austin

 

5. Re-frame black and whites in gilt frames. You can trip over gilt frames at the flea because they are so plentiful. But also, sometimes you find not just empty frames, but frames with ruined art or art that simply does not appeal. Do not walk by. Buy the old art for the frame or the empty frame and make use of it. I love the way this golden gilt frame holds the black and white of Elizabeth Taylor. The juxtaposition makes for a nice visual effect. You can add your own family's old black and whites or find one of a favourite old movie star.

 

 

By Deborah Buck

 

If you have other ideas you can send them to me. Also, if you found the tips useful, please share the post with your friends.

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