I changed out a few things in the living room to a mix of soft and brighter greens of early early spring in the living room. I meant to post this way earlier as I did this around the beginning of March, as I've already changed it to the pinks for summer. Time is going too fast! I'll post the "latest" living room changes tomorrow (already working on that blog entry).
Above, on the Buddha wall next to the fireplace, different prints from the internet incorporating brighter greens along with yellows and black to pick up the black accents scattered around the room. My elephant lamp and the round glass topped side table also made a reappearance...
To go with the elephants I arranged on top of the fireplace mantel, along with a beautiful carved soapstone image of the ancient Egyptian cat goddess, Bast (she does not show up very well in this photo, alas), my black crystal rock and two obelisks I've picked up over the years (the smoother one is marble):
Bast was acquired from the gift shop in the Luxor Las Vegas in about 2003 and was carved in Egypt. The wood, bone and metal worked black elephant was carved in India purchased from TJMaxx many moons ago, probably also in the early 2000s. The gold colored ceramic elephant is also from India. She has holes in her ears in which I've inserted a pair of sparkling earrings. Like some of the sculptures of ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses, the holes are for the god/goddess to hear one's prayers. She also came from TJMaxx sometime in the 1990s. The marble obelisk was purchased at a pop-up import shop in the former Grand Avenue Mall in the 1980s in downtown Milwaukee. The obelisk on the right was a gift from a friend in Las Vegas years ago. It was a pale terra cotta color (but made of composite) that I painted black when I decided to take it off one of the bookcases in my den/library/office and move it to the living room mantel.
I purchased the two printed green pillow covers from Bed Bath & Beyond last year and saved them for this spring. The other two green pillow covers (one is velveteen and the other is a polyester snub-weave silk texture) were purchased from H&M Home, one of my favorite places to shop for reasonably priced cool accessories online. The black and white pillow cover was purchased 3-4 years ago from Ikea online. Removable and washable pillow covers are a wonderful, easy and inexpensive way to change up your home's look and feel to suit your mood or to suit any seasonal decor changes you want to make. Observant readers may see a glimpse of some pink chairs in the dinette - more about those in an upcoming post.
Arrangement on the sofa table in front of the picture window. I like to mix gold and silver. You may remember the lamps. I purchased them a few years ago online from Target - faux mercury glass. The lamp shades are gorgeous - also from Target. They were purchased separately from the lamps, which come without shades. They are black with a slub weave silky texture and lined in shiny gold paper on the inside.
The carved gold covered wooden box was picked up at Z Gallery at a shopping center in Illinois (day trip with a friend) in the 1990s - it is lined in velveteen and while I don't remember what I paid for it anymore, I remember thinking at the time that it was a real steal. It's one of my favorite pieces. The domed anniversary clock has been stashed away for a long time and I pulled it out toward the end of winter because I missed it so much. I purchased it at Gimbels back in 1986-1987 when, sadly, they were closing down their stores in Milwaukee where I live. I'd moved into my first home on August 6, 1986 and was busy furnishing and accessorizing it. I'd seen a similar clock at my youngest sister's home and instantly wanted one for myself. I bought mine on super clearance sale; I don't remember any longer what I paid for it, but I do remember that it had been marked way down from its original price of around $75.
The eggs have been collected over the years. The smallest egg was produced by Faberge, lead crystal in a "lens cut," and purchased from a gallery at Bally's in Las Vegas in (I think) 1999 when I was attending the FIDE World Chess Championship being held at Caesar's Palace at the time. The brass stand belongs to another egg in my collection. The larger clear egg is made of acrylic and since I don't remember purchasing it, it must have been a gift but I don't remember from whom or when I received it! The brass "egg" is actually not an egg at all but holds a scented candle inside. It was crafted in India and I bought it because it was egg shaped and I have a thing about brass :) I don't remember where or when I bought it, though.
I may end up moving the sofa back in front of the picture window, but for now I'm fine with leaving it where it gets moved for Christmas (in order to make room for the Christmas tree in front of the picture window). You may have noticed that the art between the picture window and the front door has been changed to its pink ID - I did not snap this photo until after I'd already changed the art out from the greens/yellows/blacks to summer's pink (more about that in the next post). The arrangement of the chairs, ottoman and the display on the sofa table has not changed.
The reds and golds and snuggly lush throws and layered area rug have been banished until next Christmas. And here it is, May 17th and I turned the furnace back on because it's so cold and damp in the house today. Sigh.
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