There’s one wall in our dining room that rarely appears in photographs. It’s not that’s it so horrible; it’s just that it has never felt finished.
The furniture—a large black credenza that holds all of our wine glasses and wedding china—is a tad heavy for the room and seemed to fit our style in New York better than in California. And then there’s the wall—which has felt a little empty. On one side of the room, there’s a massive photograph (the photo of the photo of Richard Prince’s famous photo, to be exact); on the other there’s a very large painting. So what to do with this wall? It seemed too much to have another large image. And we’re not sure we’re ready to commit to a new storage piece (that could incorporate shelving). I’d been thinking about installing a gallery wall there for a while and had slowly been collecting a few prints, here and there, to one day have framed. One day… going on two years…
But holidays are a time when—with guests around, with more photos being taken, more meals in that less-used room, etcetera—you tend to see the house through fresh eyes. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s… it’s all coming so fast! It was time to pull out those items I’d been meaning to hang so the dining room could feel a bit more “finished”—before hosting another meal.
I used Framebridge to have everything I’d been collecting (and a few new pieces) framed in one fell swoop: they custom frame your art and ship it directly to you, hanging hardware and all. It made life a lot easier. Framebridge was kind enough to provide some product and sponsor this post; regardless I’d recommend them without hesitation. Here are some more details about the dining-room update and putting together the gallery wall…
Artists are ‘‘the people we designate to open up their lives for examination so we can understand better who we are.’’ They offer up their own stories as ‘‘what Updike called ‘specimen lives,’ ’’ …‘‘Examples of what it’s like to be human.’’
—Terry Gross on why she loves to interview artists, as reported by Susan Burton for the New York Times (a wonderful interview, that made me appreciate Ms. Gross and her 40 years of NPR Fresh Air interviews all the more)
P.S. This morning’s post. Would love to start occasionally posting more times throughout the week.
Our kidless getaway a few weeks back was a reminder: one of the most wonderful things in the world (and most elusive at this stage of life) is climbing into crisp sheets and sleeping in. There is just nothing quite like that heavenly combination of fresh linens, lazy rising, and—ideally—some breakfast-in-bed.
Actually, some friends and I have discussed this recently and decided we’ve been going about the babysitter-for-date-night plans all wrong. The morning is where it’s at! You set out a change of clothes and a go-bag for the kids the night before, and then get up to let the sitter in first thing to take them off for breakfast and a fun adventure. Then—yes!—you go back to bed! It would be the closest thing to actually sleeping in. How awesome would that be?
In my scenario, hotel-quality sheets figure prominently and are, thankfully, easier to come by than the rest of those elements. And I’m a big advocate of elevating the everyday whenever possible.
In fact, I was just introduced to Snowe, a line of beautiful home essentials that’s already been distilled to meet that requirement. I love their approach: a finite selection of everyday items—uncomplicated and practical—made from high-quality materials. Exactly what you need, and not an excess of more.
They’ve put together what they call a Foundation Collection around four categories—Drink, Eat, Bathe, and Sleep (perfect for someone just setting up his or her home—or to gift to someone who is)—with the idea that these are the things you want to have be timeless. White porcelain serving dishes from Limoges and Italian stemware (all dishwasher-safe), milled cotton percale sheets, and so on. (Spoiler: generous discount below.)
