Little Details In The Living Room

This morning the hubs brought my coffee to me along with a solemn pronouncement: Hurricane Gustav is headed our way. I swear I felt like I got hit in the stomach. As usual all the pundits can't predict anything, except that it looks like it will hit anywhere from Tallahassee to Houston. So we're getting ready to pack up and boogie, as early as Friday night. Still don't know where we are going...So please indulge me while I work off a little nervous energy and post a few photos that have been in the camera for the past week.This is a new addition to the new living room. The hubs is actually a graduate of The University of Buneos Aires with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Of course now he's turned into a tango historian, teacher, and dancer. But man, can he wire a lamp, any lamp! I've had this candle base for years, and always thought it would make a great floor lamp.
I had six of them made in Toledo, Spain. They are replicas of 16th century church candlesticks. These were made for several events I organized and decorated in Madrid. They're hand made from tin, and over the years rusted to a beautiful patina.
In Spain, and later in New York, I used them as flower stands. Here I am using olive branches, oranges, lemon leaves, and gardenias. These were wonderful props to have, and apparently someone else thought so too as three were stolen from a loading dock of an upscale party venue in New York. When I left the business, I kept the other three with me. Two didn't travel so well from New York to California to Louisiana, and eventually I sold them on eBay. I kept the one, that is now the fabulous new lamp.
My new blog friend Mitchell (aka Design Junkie, who has the blog Optimism and White Paint) met me for lunch. He stopped by the house to get me, and to get the house tour. His first remarks were that the everything looks so much larger than the photos on the blog.
He does beautiful faux finishes, and was very interested in the nine foot long credenza in the living room. He never knew what the shapes were on the doors when he saw the photos on the blog. When he saw the doors in person, he finally got the reference to Fornasetti (in case the Fornasetti print resting on top of the credenza didn't give it away).
So I thought I 'd take some close-ups for you so you could get a better look. This is piece done by Baker from their Italian line. The piece is very nifty. It comes apart into three separate cabinets, and one solid wood piece fits on top. My friend Sabina always said the the top was made of pecan wood. There is a very clever concealed system of latches to keep it all secure.I think the sun faces look very Fornasetti-like, and I love the heavy ornate hardware.
I found a huge plexi shell somewhere in the house! So I cleaned it up and brought it into the living room, to replace a little vignette of some smaller items. I really like it with the caged glass base of the lamp.
So there you have it - a few more details. I have a Nate Berkus Ikat pillow coming in the mail, and also a new rug that I have been waiting to get for a long time. I ordered it from Pottery Barn, and they delivered it to the wrong address on the 19th! I was just checking the tracking number wondering where it was, and found out this morning. They said another one should be here by September 3. I wonder if we will be here.

Southern Decadence is this weekend, a huge gay Mardi Gras, usually 50,000 people ++++ come into town for this. I wonder what's going to happen with that. La vida limita! That's life in New Orleans!