the reading room today

You might recall that the last time I showed you the reading room we had just found a free antique pedestal table on the side of the road!  HERE.  As much as I loved that table- especially for its story;) I knew it was always a "filler" until the perfect table came along.  

It finally did!

I found this antique, circa mid 1800's, iron table with black marble top in Vermont.  

I adore the table and love that it is around the same circa as the house.  The room is small, so it makes the space seem much more open.

I left the iron base in its current state which is an off-white painted finish with iron rust coming through the paint in the form of spots/speckles.  I'm guessing it spent years in an old barn/shed being semi-exposed to elements.  

I'm going through a "keep it clean" look at present (the kitchen island has absolutely nothing on it, which is unusual for me;) so the table is topped with two antique green glazed Chinese parrots (they are unusually tall and only part of our collection), a piece of white coral, and a demi-john bottle with a hydrangea branch from the garden.

Walls are painted Ashwood OC-47 by Benjamin Moore. Trim is White Dove by Benjamin Moore.  (All my paint and stain colors can be found on my sidebar for future reference.)

Antique brass chandelier purchased 23 years ago in Houston for our first house in Eastmoreland in Portland, Oregon, it was also used for a while in our home in Dallas.

I recently changed out the regular bent-tip frosted light bulbs for these silicone-tipped bulbs HERE from Lumiere Candles.  These have a regular/standard-size base (as opposed to a chandelier-size base) and are 15 watts each.  I just love their bulbish/squatty shape!  They look perfect in the antique brass chandelier. 

Don't  forget that Lumiere Candles offers a 10% discount coupon code for my readers HERE. I love their: real wax sleeves, large diameter solid candle covers (which are so difficult to find),   their silicone-dipped bulbs, and their large translucent candle covers (which are impossible to find ;)  They also have resin candle sleeves and covers when for the times when you need a higher wattage bulb than what is allowable for the real wax sleeves.

(No, I am not being paid to endorse this company!  I simply love their beautiful products and the owners are super nice and they have wonderful customer service.)

I've removed some things from the top of the antique Italian case piece and illuminated the antique oil painting.
The simple French fauteuil chair was found in Marseille, France.  I had it covered in natural linen with a vintage alligator back.  A better photo of the back  HERE.

I moved several of the antique mirrors from a guest bedroom HERE to the reading room.  I love a good stack of antique mirrors!  The antique large gilded mirror in the back is French as is the Louis Philippe mirror in the center.  The small iron cushion mirror in front was found in France. Antique Chinese blue and white temple jar made into lamp and large aged brass ball sits on antique English chest.  Vintage mink muff turned pillow sits on a vintage Louis XV fauteuil (one of a pair.) 

"Mavis" is donning a vintage leopard collar around her waist for the cold winter months:)  You can read a story about her HERE.

On top of the stack of books sitting next to the Martha Washington chair is a book (National Gallery of Art, Washington) that we received as a wedding present 27 years ago from a friend (thank you Sue!)   I have always adored the painting on the cover.  

I like how in this photo you can see what the lamp shade looks like with the light on (front) and the pattern on the shade (in the back)  The story of the bookcase door HERE.  The bookcase is filled with antique books/reference books, small paintings, coral, antique iron urn, part of our collection of antique tortiseshell boxes and more of our collection of antique Chinese glazed terracotta green birds.

The south wall.

We found this antique oil painting in Marseille, France.  We named her Aunt Minerva.  She resonates with me. I love that she is reading a book in the reading room :)

An antique country English Chippendale chair with 18th antique vellum books and a bronze mold of a "nude."

The vintage painting on the east wall by artist Jerry Wilkerson.

Antique English oil painting entitled "Cottage in Devonshire" by listed artist James Poole in original frame. Circa 1850.

To see the reading room over the years and to read more about items in the room...

HERE

HERE

Note:  photographs taken for this post where taken in the early evening with lamps and lights on which casts a different light over the space than the daytime lighting in previous posts.

a favorite detail: real wax candle sleeves (and a coupon!)

God is in the details.... or, is it the devil?! 
Either way, I agree!  It's the details...  the little details that can take a room from ordinary to special.
I have decided to do some posts on some of my favorite design "details."  Most often these are small details that not many would ever walk into a room and notice straightaway, but details that give a space a certain je ne sais quoi. 

My first "favorite detail" for a room is real wax candle sleeve covers for lamps, sconces and chandeliers.






There is just something lovely about using "real" beeswax sleeves.   For a small amount of money you can upgrade paper, or horrors... plastic;) to real wax sleeves.  That one simple detail will change the whole piece.
 I sold many lamps and chandeliers using wax sleeve covers in my antiques business.  When we lived in Dallas I could find them at local lamp shops, but they were of average quality and were expensive.  After moving to New Hampshire and not having a lamp shop nearby I searched the Internet and found a company whose product I love...
 
Lumiere Candles 

Since moving into the farmhouse I have repeatedly purchased from owners Paul and Lisa, who are lovely and wonderful to work with.  All of their beeswax candle sleeves are hand-dipped at their company here in the USA, and drips are then added by hand;   they are not made from molds, so each piece is uniquely different!
I find they have great prices, and their sleeves are the best qualtiy I have ever purchased!

I was thrilled when Paul and Lisa recently wrote to offer me, and YOU a
10% discount off of your order.
This is a permanent coupon, with no minimum purchase!
 When checking out, simply enter the coupon code : FLOH  in the "Coupon" box and be sure to then click "apply coupon" which will re-total your amount.


(I realize I sound like an infomercial;) but I am not being paid for this endorsement, I just happen to love their products, and am excited to share it (as I do all my sources) with you!)

The website is very educational and will walk you through their products on the "product overview" page.  But, here are a couple of things to consider when ordering... first is size.  You need to figure out if you have the small candelabra sockets or regular sockets. 

Next is height.  If ordering custom sized sleeves, be sure to measure twice!   You do not want any part of the socket showing (like in the photo below;)  If the candle sleeve fits down inside the holder I often use a strip of paper, mark it, then measure the paper instead of using a measuring tape, so I can get an accurate measurement.

The beeswax sleeve covers can accommodate up to 25 watt bulbs.

Regarding choosing a color... I have found that

 their "white" is best suited to my Benjamin Moore White Dove, and "ivory" would work well with Benjamin Moore Linen White. 

Lumiere's website is great, so I encourage you to look around!  They also sell beeswax honeycomb covers, large diameter covers (which are impossible to find), lightbulbs and also a resin line if you are going to be using higher watt bulbs.
Thank you to Paul and Lisa for extending this coupon to all my readers!


post script:
The majority of these lighting photos are from the barn room!  We've had a ongoing (two-month- ughhhh) issue with the tung oil floor finish throughout the barn.  It's  boring, maddening, irritating, annoying ... did I mention maddening, and I can't talk about right now.  I bring this up since several;) of you have inquired about the room and hope to see a reveal.  You and me both!
Unfortunately the room sits empty as we work to resolve the floor.   We're close, really close.  The resolution involved our household motto "If you want something done right, then do it yourself,"  - which means that Dan has taken over finishing the floor. 
I "hope" to show you the finished (empty) barn room, mud room and loft soon, but reveals of those spaces are a ways away I'm afraid. 
Please cross you floor-finishing fingers for us!
xo joan