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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Mantel love... part II




Last weekend we stopped into a new, very small antique shop down the street from a regular antique haunt of ours in Keene (home of the world famous pumpkin fest), a small town about 30 miles west of us. As we drove up I saw this pair of antlers in the window, and as a lover of all things organic my heart went pitter-patter. (I love rocks, driftwood, forestwood, shells, coral, horns, tree fungus- yes, I said tree fungus!- trust me your gonna want some!! see photo at bottom!) Then, as I was getting out of the car looking at the antlers in the store front window, it appeared someone had carved something in the horn. Very folksy, and not my thing at all. Heart went plunk, as I like my organics au naturel! We went in the shop to find the dealer has a great eye, and even better prices! I walked back outside to view the horns through the window. I realized that there was nothing carved on the horns, what I was looking at that I thought was a carving was actually a natural formation that looked like a rosebud; I quickly went back inside to see them up close. (Now, if Dan were telling this story he would tell you that he looked up and saw me running into to store. But, for the record, that is so not true... I was just walking very briskly!)



The dealer handed us the horns from the front window. I was starting to break into a sweat when I realized that the pair was marked $40. I would have easily paid $240 as I have never seen a more beautiful rack of horns.... ever! Without even asking (and we generally ask!) the dealer said she would take $30 for them. I was one happy girl, let me tell ya!



When we brought the horns (which are caribou horns) home and placed them on the master bedroom mantle they were perfect! While they are horn, they give off this 'driftwood' feel with their color and curly nature. Up until that moment the bedroom I had planned was going in a totally different design direction, but this was perfect! This was the inspiration that I needed. Then I found this wonderful pillow (made from an old rug) that I used to have in my guest room, and I realized that these were the colors I want in the room: creams, golds, browns, greys, and a hint of turquoise! So this will be my inspiration for the
master bedroom- organic, earthy, soothing tones.




this is a large specimen of tree fungus! see, isn't it beautiful, and now don't you want one too?!!
it measures 22 inches. when Dan was growing up in Oregon they used to call them conks. this variety of fungus is hard like wood. we purchased this piece, but I do have several smaller specimens that we have found.




the inspiration pillow made from an old rug (it's surprisingly soft.) there's a hint of turquoise in it that I will use for a pop of color.

here's another pillow, made from an antique tapestry I found last summer in a local antique shop- I'll also use it in the master bedroom.

19 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! I love dropped antlers...not so much the ones with bits of skull attached. When we lived in Colorado, I always looked for the perfect antler chandy. Never found it.

    Love the color scheme...and how the second pilow losely mimics the shape of the antlers...and fungii!

    Too cool for school!

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  2. A COLOR SCHEME THAT i LOVE AS WELL.
    lESLIE

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  3. A beautiful soothing colour scheme Joan. What a find! A-M xx

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  4. Holy Crap....it is all so perfect.
    you have earned every bit of this fabulousness- is that a word? loveitall

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  5. Now I want fungas too...wait, that sounded bad.

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  6. The color palate for the master bedroom sounds so soothing. I admit, I've done a bit of that "brisk" walking too! When you find the perfect thing, you just HAVE to have it.

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  7. Joan - I love the moose horns - LOVE them. I, too, have various forms of natural things around the house that I can't get enough of - bird's nests, of course, but also wasp's nests, leaves, rocks, shells and tree fungi!! Except I collect the old painted ones - maybe I will post about them or just send you pictures. Great post and so much fun watching you pull your home together, so beautifully.

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  8. Hi Joan: Stunning!
    I love the colors for your master bedroom; very soothing.

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  9. Hi All- Thank you for your very kind and sweet and funny comments!!

    Oh Ann, I totally forgot about wasp's nest!! love them! Yes, please do a post on your naturals!!

    joan

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  10. Love it! Absolutely beautiful colors and the antlers and fungus are really lovely. What a very special room you're creating : )

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  11. ooh I love these antlers, I never thought of doing that, it looks great...

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  12. Gorgeous pillows! Can't wait to see the final results of the bedroom. Deborah

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  13. Joanie--- Love those pillows--they are just perfect--and you already had them ??
    You just had to find the antlers in NH !!-- Not in the Tetons--hum !! But they do look special!! Good for you.......
    Love you, Mama

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  14. * What a fabulous find (& PRICE! WOW!), and it's going to be an even MORE fabulous SLEEPING SPACE! I'm really excited to see it all put together (it seems we like ALOT of the same things, too!)~~~

    AM AMAZED at how well the last pillow pictured will "work" with the antlers~ the pattern rather reminds me of them!!! (MORE "GOOD LUCK", combined with a KEEN EYE, my friend!!!

    Best,
    Linda in AZ *

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  15. * P.S. Your beloved ELLA is a PRECIOUS one!!! Licks to her from our "Belle-girl"!!!! *

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  16. Love your blog. Love New England. Native Texan, Fort Worth. Now live in Hillsboro, OR. Retired one day in Texas and left the next morning for Oregon. Love it.

    Noticed the gray and white dog by your dog and realized we had one just like it for years for our cat. He wore it out.

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  17. I love how you incorporate nature into your rooms, Joan. I can see why they called the tree fungus "conch". It definitely looks like a shell. It's amazing to me how much beauty can be found that is nature made.
    Your pillows are gorgeous too.

    xo
    Brooke

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  18. Love the faded colors of the cushions. They looks lovely . Love your finds

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Welcome! Thank you for leaving a comment; you have no idea how much your comments inspire me to keep writing- I appreciate each and every one. Comments are moderated by me prior to publishing on the blog, so if you don't see your comment post immediately it will be posted as soon as I receive and read it. joan