Phillip Jeffries . Seaside Linen . Indigo Nights. Only a 12 yard minimum order I type, my words heavy with sarcasm.
It’s no secret that I love Benjamin Moore. I talk about him ad nauseum, sure there are other paints on the market with clever names, but are they as dependable as Ben? I think not. I know I am not going to be in this condo forever, maybe just a few months more, who knows. However long it is, it feels like if I have to have that bedroom the way it is now, one foot in and one foot out the door, I might just scream.
Benjamin Moore’s Deep Royal . Left: Bungalow 5’s Benjamin Nightstand and Right Serena and Lily’s Blake, Single Drawer.
I’d like to vigorously enforce my right to change it up. I want to paint the moldings midnight blue or soot or blue note. I want to cover the walls in Phillip Jeffries Indigo Nights, and snuggle a couple of Bungalow 5, Benjamin bedside tables, in navy blue, right up next to the bed, or maybe the Serena and Lily Blake Nightstand in blue. They are both grass cloth covered, but the Bungalow has soft edges and chrome hardware and the Serena and Lily is a Parsons knock-off, hard-edged with a gold pull. They are both so pretty, and having a bedside table would mean that I wouldn’t have to get out of bed when I was done reading my book to turn off the light.
Matouk . Joplin Sheet Set
I could get a new year set of sheets. I have my eye on Matouk’s Joplin, it’s blue floral pattern is sophisticated and happy all at the same time.
Oomph . Wilson 4 Poster Bed in Hinting Blue.
Dare to, wouldn’t it be, life is but a dream. Heck, if that’s all it is, throw in the Oomph four poster bed while your at it.
For when you can’t or won’t go there. I have found memories of auctions – specifically a single auction house on 6A in Dennis. My mother and her best friend loved that auction house and would go often. I’d tag along reluctantly for the viewings – I never actually went to any of the live auctions, but I loved the green and white painted barn that housed all the treasures and the fact that I got my very own bed in a winning bid that I still have today. I loved it because it was so high up off the ground and had to have a custom mattress made for it. Not quite a full, not quite a queen, somewhere in between the two and perfectly suited to a six year old. I adore it. There were other big purchases, a kitchen table, a set of French china in pale sage and navy. Was it the thrill of the hunt, the adrenaline that surged through my mother’s chest, propelling her hand with the tightly clutched want in the air, was it the deal? I don’t know, and I cannot ask, but it was a summer ritual for many years.
Recently I was asked to investigate auctions and the practicality of utilizing them as a strategy for furnishing a new home. Always up for a challenge, I began to do my research, and what I found was this: FleaPop – out of business, Furnishly – finito, LushPad – liquidated, KRRB – kaput, leaving me to believe that being an auction house is a tough gig to sustain. I did find that Live Auctioneers is still in biz as is Invaluable, and many other local houses that allow you to bid on-line – essentially during a pandemic, and for those that want to source items from far and wide across the globe.
Invaluable Auctioneers . American Federal Bullseye Mirror . Opening Bid $200.
The far and wide does come with consequences. For those of us that have surfed a property or two on sites like Zillow or Redfin, you know that photos can be deceiving. Buying a piece of property or a home, site unseen is not advisable, nor is grabbing a Chippendale sofa from France via auction. The “deal” you thought you were being dealt, comes with shipping fees, buyers premiums – that’s the cut that the auction house gets for getting the goods in the first place and can range between 25 – 30% of the purchase price, and there are no returns. The term “good condition” is relative. The buyer needs to keep all these things in mind when looking for a special piece for their home, establish a budget, factor the additional costs in their not to exceed column, and don’t allow their emotions to get the best of them.
Live Auctioneers . Danish Modern Arm Chairs . Opening Bid $350. Picture these with a navy ticking fabric in a boat house – dreamy.
As for my good friend I recommend taking it slow. It doesn’t need to be furnished overnight. As long as you have a bed, a living room sofa, a coffee table, your tv, and a good book – you’ll do surprisingly well for a time. Use the auction website to augment your space with special pieces – again, taking your time to understand what it is you are looking for, what spot in your home it will fill, and what you are willing to pay for it. There is a reason site like One King’s Lane and Ruby Lane charge a lot for the wares – they’ve curated them from a time consuming process. Hunting is fun, but can be expensive. If you’ve got the time – an auction might not only provide an engaging afternoon’s activity, it might just bring home a show-stopping sette or Stickley Armchair or some other fabulous find.
Live Auctioneers . French Bed . Twin . Opening Bid $250.
It’s a bit ironic that my very favorite color, the color that makes me smile from ear to ear, and brings cheer to my heart is saddled with an idiom that means the opposite. That’s just wrong. As it turns out I am feeling a little blue. It is the end of the holiday season, which provided such a delightful distraction to the pandemic. What bauble, bell, and holiday whistle doesn’t? As I look longingly at the Christmas Tree that I have put at the bottom of my to do list until now, I feel sad. It really does bring a special glow to my space, and let’s face it, we’re all in for a long winter. The good news is that I wasn’t using my fireplace so that I wouldn’t have to clean it between showings, and now that I am not showing the old gal – she and I can get fired up.
To make extra sure I don’t shed any tears as I dismantle the tree, I went on the hunt for a bundle of blue best ofs to share with you. Since the color blue signifies the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven, according to the color wheel pro, and who wouldn’t believe them?
Chairish . Umbrella Chandelier
As a Cape Cod Gal, it is no surprise that this color calms me and makes me want to take a deep cleansing breath. Just thinking of the ocean allows me to conger the brackish salinity of a Wellfleet oyster and set my taste buds a tingling. The vast expanse of blue sky dotted with gauzy clouds that greet you on a summer day, the blue birds darting through the marsh and bogs in spring, the inky darkness of a muscle shell, the proud hull of a sailboat. Who wouldn’t be made happy by seeing that rainbow of blue hues?
Collins Interiors . Forever in the details and my design heart.
Pull them into your home all year long, or start slowly. Maybe a single gingham cocktail napkin in a pale blue. No one has to know, you can keep it in your pocket or underneath your water glass. Just try and see if it doesn’t make you smile. Go on, we’ll get through this winter together.
Left and Middle: OKL . Etegere and Striped Ceramic Lamp. Right: Christopher Farr Cloth . Book End.
It’s not often that you hear the word concrete and sexy in the same sentence. Pier Luigi Nervi, a famous Italian Architect did such beautiful form work that it earned him the moniker “Poet in Concrete”. Tadao Ando became famous for his concrete structures, exposing the forms rather than hiding them like a pair of dirty underpants. Nood Co.’s Co-Founder Matt Di Costa wanted that undergarment to be the equivalent of high class lingerie – meant to be shown off, and I think he accomplished here. I could throw out a couple of others famous for their form work, but for centuries it’s done all the hard work of holing up its end of the bargain behind the scenes.
Whether Nood is an acronym for New Object of Desire – I have one of those every few days, or the urban hip slang for “nude” or daring, this sink skirts the line between demure and sultry, with her sleek lines, sinus forms and slue of colorful hues from which to select. 14 off the shelf colors, but if your want to be the Imelda Marcos of the sink world, and are willing to purchase 20 at a pop, there are more than 90 color combinations they can develop to suit your fetish – I mean need.
I love contradictions, incompatibilities, incongruities – they please me. Concrete is expected to be tough, and tough isn’t expected to be pretty, and yet the Nood sinks are delightfully so. They invite you in for a peak at their powder perfect finish. Sleek and durable, petal pink or pale baby blue they are as hard as a daisy at daybreak.
If you are planning on incorporating one or two into your next project – start saving now.
