It's Coming...or How Shabby is Chic?

Yes, Spring is coming. We've had a week of remarkably warm, sunny weather. The snow has melted and the creeks are high. Oh yes, in New England we call them rivers and brooks and rivulets. And rushing water is everywhere. I love the sound of the small river that runs by my "house"! The beavers have made a bit of a dam, so the water is falling from it making that wonderful water white noise that calms the spirits. I have a very rustique wooden settee down there, so I can sit and meditate by the water.  Now that the snow is melting from the adjoining woods, I can walk the plank over the rivulet into the woods and lay in the hammock I hung between two trees.

In April and May all seems possible! The things I will grow! The flowers and herbs! Tomatoes and Swiss chard! My 'plot' is half barrels and large plastic tubs. Big pots and a perennial bed on the retaining wall by the edge of the drive. The rest of the yard is paved or a rough rugged lawn. By mid- June the woods fill with sticker bushes and goldenrod, and the blackflies come and hang in clouds around your face and bite your ankles. A screen porch would be nice...

I don't live in a house. It's a ramshackle old building (below on the left) that used to be a hardware/lumber store. The old lumber mill is a museum across the street (right). Our building is an old post and beam structure with some of the old stone foundation still standing on one side. Snakes and salamanders are apt to show up in the basement to surprise us at any given time. My apartment is in the back of the building, overlooking the woods and river. My brother and his son and daughter live in the front and upstairs. The walls are a combination of exposed beams, rough paneling, planks and rough drywall. I've painted some walls and covered others with sheeting. I have 5 windows in all.  On a sunny day, the living room is bathed in light till late afternoon, when the shed area roof shades it, keeping it cool in the summer.

The floors are a joke! They are mostly painted plywood, wavy, up and down over the main beams, higher by the walls. The kitchen is ramped up about 4 inches higher than the rest. Some of the kitchen has old asphalt tiles, other had spray paint spatter finishes of different colors- there was even a section of sticky black tarpaper! I've put a subfloor over that and vinyl roll remnants. At least it is washable now! Other rooms have area rugs. I warn people not to trip on them when they walk through. I always wanted to live somewhere funky, and I got it.

Last Spring, I cleaned out an area of the building I call a shed room. It is uninsulated and has a garage door like a loading dock. I covered the opening with 3 screen doors from Home Depot. I now can open up the garage door and make it a screen porch! I hung sheer curtains over the screens to billow in the breezes. I brought in my twig settee, opened an old army cot for a daybed. I decided on sea-glass colors--I covered cushions and pillows with green, turquoise and blue pillowcases that I can wash when they need it. I covered the walls with white sheets, hung swag lamps and potted plants. Made a very rustique coffeetable from an old barn door, and bought some cheap art to go with a couple of nicer paintings I hung on the walls. I even brought in a table that I can craft on, when I'm not reading or snoozing the evenings away. Folding screens hide the storage and workshop area.

Right outside is a small "patio" where I grow my flowers and vegetables along with a fountain I found at Home Goods.  It's so nice in my shed room, that I spend every evening there when it's warm enough. That whole project probably cost $300 including the cheap screen doors, pillowcases, sheets, art and fountain. Now I have a 3 season room that, when the garage door is open, brings light and fresh air into the rest of the house. The cats are content to spend all their time in there watching the birds and chipmunks play.

How shabby is chic? I can make any space not only liveable, but comfortable and even charming without spending money. I grew up in the house that Dad built and didn't move out till I was 21. I don't know how many times I redecorated that bedroom! Then I lived in so many apartments that I couldn't count them. I can remember at least 35! I lived here in Western Massachusetts till I was 24, moved to Denver and then a log house in the mountains for a while, came back here 20 years later and settled into this place about 10 years ago. I've decorated and cutened up every apartment I had with whatever I could get. Some people might cringe at my "house" but shabby is chic here. I have everything I need and all the space I could want. When I entertain, people "love what I've done with the place."

My favorite place to shop for shabby chic is the side of the road! In the Spring, people start putting things outside with free signs on them. Or they have yard sales and whatever is left is free. Goodwill doesn't drive up here to pick things up, but someone will probably want what you leave! I have found a computer desk, a microwave, many chairs, a retro dinette set, dishes, silverware and countless other thingies on the side of the road. Trisha and I love to go to the yard sales too. I usually set a limit of $5 or $10 for the day and see what treasures I can find. What I don't want goes on the side of the road for free!

Meanwhile, I'm thinking photography classes are in order!

Open the Door

When my brother Jim bought this old hardware store, it was full of junk. It had been vacant for over 5 years, and it was overrun with rodents and sawdust and dirt. You see, it was originally an old lumber yard storage barn. It was made into a hardware store in stages. The old post and beam structure still shows in places. There was lots of structural damage over the years. Everyone who worked here must have tried their hand at hanging a ceiling or adding a wall or a window, because everything is mismatched, and most of it is crooked, unfinished, sagging or stained. The brothers who had run the store had retired and sold it to a farmer, who sold it to my brother.

Jim and his partner emptied it out to build our apartments, and all the wood stuff went into a huge pile out back. Every time I visited, and after I moved in, I gleaned treasures from that pile. Even the nail in my foot didn't deter me from climbing up that pile and digging out old drawers, a picnic table, an old wooden rake, old signs, shelf boards and a piece of an old door. He eventually got permission to burn it all, and my digging days were done.

I hung that old door piece on a beam and welcomed it home. But it was bare, and didn't have anything to say to me. After a couple of years, I dusted it off and made this piece. All the quotes and poetry on it relate to opening the door. I gave it color, personality and a reason to come back to life. That is why I love working with old wood, texiles and photos, to bring the life back into them. When the younger generations look at pictures and recognize no one, why keep them? Things that people discard can mean much more to someone else.

I've always been sensitive to old things. I have a tiny silk baby quilt that my great-great aunt Orril made. She was married in 1902, so it was probably from that decade--I took piano lessons from her in the 1950's. She lived to be 99-what a treasure her memories were! I have a picture of her when she was 17-sweet, innocent and very Victorian. She is my bridge to the past!

I am the oldest in my generation on both sides of the family. I guess it's fitting that I hold the history. I only wish I had more. So I make the connections in my art, slowly, piece by piece.

Keep on Dreaming!