Could Your Bed Use Some Romance?

If home is an extension of the person, the bed would most certainly be its heart. It is a sanctuary and refuge; an incredible personal place. Where else can we dream, snuggle, sleep, live, and love? With this in mind, check out the two distinct looks for The Romantic, via the ABC Home collection of bedding. Go HERE to see the looks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linens 'N Things

How many of you collect old linens? This is the weekend clipping file for you to enjoy.
The habit, the Jones of collecting "antique" and "vintage" linens came out of necessity. They were once cheap, and unloved. Then Ralph Lauren and Martha Stewart jumped into the fray, and collecting old linens became popular. They made it okay to be a working class stiff with nary an heirloom in your linen press. You could collect someone else's heirlooms and love them as if they were handed down to you.

It was quite the rage back in the 1970's and 1980's and 1990's among my friends. We scrounged around flea markets and thrift stores buying old towels, sheets, pillow cases, nighties. When we went to Europe we had to buy an extra suitcase or two to haul back the linen loot we picked up there.

We loved the thick monograms you can feel, and we didn't care that the initials weren't our own, although when we did find "our" monogram or initial we were thrilled.

In fact we loved writing of all kinds on the old linens and grain, flour, or feed sacks. Better yet if it was in French, which seemed so glam and to die for.

If you could sew a little, you could turn sacks into pillows for your couch.

Mongram towels I found yesterday buried in a cupboard -
I pulled them out for the guest bathroom since we had company

The writing is on the wall -
Cute message board!

This is the 'N Things part of the post -
I just like the wall, and think it would be a good message board idea

Even vintage and antique altar linens came into our homes. These were often the best deal of all, and they made wonderful table runners.

Altar linens

We collected so much of the stuff, that we had to get armories, so we could display our linens in prominent places.

Ticking was a big deal too. Any color from the trad blues and black and grays, to red and green.

Tick tock tick tock - time flies
Ticking in my bedroom past

Bedding was easy to use. You just put it on the bed! It didn't matter if the antique sizes didn't fit modern beds. You just piled it on.

Old Matelasse bedspread used as bed skirt in my bedroom once upon a time

If you had on odd sheet, or tablecloth, or even just a piece of fabric, you could clip it on a rod and it would be so pretty.

It was back when clips were Euro and cool, and not the passe tacky thing some would have us now believe.

My tacky clips

We collected tablecloths and napkins by the dozens. It didn't matter if they had holes or faint old stains. We used our linens everyday. We learned how to launder and iron them, and hold them together as the fabric rotted away with time. I once had a super long linen sheet that got tattered on the bottom edge. I took it to my local dry cleaner/tailor and asked that they cut off the bad part, and make me a nice hem so I could use the good part of my precious piece. They laughed at me, and told me to get that rotten piece of crap out of the store. So I did it myself, and used that sheet as a tablecloth for many years, until it finally did disintegrate.

Shabby Chic was a godsend. We happily slip covered and mixed matelasse, florals, lace, and linen. We found a two new words: Euro sham. We piled on the pillows.

Antique pretties to wear, such has nightgowns, camisoles, bloomers, and dresses also caught our fancy.

If they didn't fit us, we displayed them as a work of art.

Another 'N Things portion of the post - I just think this plastic gown is fabulous!

I collected and wore similar nightgowns from the 1930's and 1940's
and wore them as evening dresses, and learned all about the bias cut -
I got a date with Truffaut wearing a pretty like this

And the most natural thing to do with wonderful old clothing was to display it on the wall.

Antique cami on a glass opalescent tie back on my bedroom wall

Antique dress that belonged to my 90 year old friend Miss Anne

Part of costume I wore in a tango show - We did a number showing tango in the olden days -
The petticoat and cami are antique and were a close fit!

Woo hoo! A dress as wall art AND tons of pillows!

Even a pair of vintage and frayed pink satin slippers becomes wall art in my bedroom

Most of my old linens have gone by the wayside. I still have enough pieces to use once in awhile. Personal style changes as we all know, so I don't have the same places to use and display these things. What made me do this post is taking out those ratty little towels and hanging them in the guest bathroom. I realized how many images I have collected of vintage linens, and voila, another clipping file weekend post for you to peruse.


Images from: Cote de Texas, Velvet and Linen, Apartment Therapy, and that fabulous rabbit hole called Google Images.

Twelfth Night Julie Neill Style

Last night was Twelfth Night, or the twelfth day of Christmas, or Epiphany, or Three Kings Day.



Twelfth Night is also a play by William Shakespeare, with a screwball comedy plot.

Judi Dench and Gordon Reid in a 1969 production of Twelfth Night

Here in New Orleans Twelfth Night is celebrated as the official start of Carnival season leading to Mardi Gras. A Krewe named The Phunny Phorty Phellows ride the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, and heralds the start of the season. Starting today houses are decorated, costumes pulled together, king cake appears in the super market, and the big countdown filled with parties, balls, and parades commences.
Merriment and madcap antics take over the entire population including a tango dancing couple you all know.

Can you guess who this tango dancing couple is behind the masks?

Recently Courtney of Style Court did a nice little piece about Twelfth Night HERE
Though this croquembouche is grand, for us in New Orleans there is nothing that says Carnival like King Cake. King Cake dates back to 17th century France and Spain. It's basically a coffee cake, that gets a purple, green, and "gold" sugared coating. A tiny baby is hidden inside the cake, that is meant to symbolize the baby Jesus. Getting the baby in your piece of cake has meant different things at different times. Once it was the way to choose a Carnival king and queen. In fact The Phunny 40 still use this method to choose their queen. But for most of us, getting that baby means you're expected to provide the next King Cake at the next party.

from a very cute blog: Granny Smith Green

Some of you may have figured out that I am no longer a dead beat tango bum ha ha. I've started working for Julie Neill as the Director of Marketing. I get to do alot of interesting stuff, including styling and taking photos in her store to use for various PR and marketing things.
So I wanted to do a Twelfth Night shoot as a way to kick off Carnival season for me and Julie, and to share some very beautiful things with you from her store.

The store has so many perfect things to represent Carnival. Lots of crowns!
Julie's logo is the crown, and I asked her how this came to be. She told me that she thinks it's a rather mundane story, but I disagree. When her daughter was younger, she made all kinds of crowns for her because she was her little princess. She collected crown images, and they were just a part of their everyday life. She also says that everyone in New Orleans, whether you're a man or a woman, adult or child, thinks they're royalty, thinks (and acts like) they're a queen.

With all the faux Carnival royalty and rituals here in New Orleans, I quite agree. Plus Julie is very much influenced by French style, where crowns are always used decoratively.

A beautiful "sister" store up the block, Leontine Linens, provided all the exquisite linen pieces and pillows you see. They are famous for their monograms, and the large runner has a seeded applique integrated into the fabulous monogram.

I chose shades of purple, gold, and green. These are the traditional colors of Mardi Gras: Purple (symbolic of justice), green (symbolic of faith) and gold (symbolic of power). The accepted story behind the original selection of these colors originates from 1872 when the Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff of Russia visited New Orleans. It is said that the Grand Duke came to the city in pursuit of an actress named Lydia Thompson. During his stay, he was given the honor of selecting the official Mardi Gras colors by the Krewe of Rex...thus, did these colors also become the colors of the House of Romanoff. The 1892 Rex Parade theme ("Symbolism of Colors") first gave meaning to the representation of the official Mardi Gras colors.

I used little crowns as napkin rings, and the napkins are luscious tea towels from Leontine Linens. The bejewelled initial is the place card and Carnival favor.

The white pottery is Italian, done by a company called Abigails, and it has a raised Fleur de Lis on the edge of it.

Don't you love this pale pink chandelier? It looks like a crown, so I placed it in this fabulous urn to create a centerpiece. The star and flower metal crown hanging on the wall (and also used on the table) is Carnival perfection!

The Angelena Sconce (made by Julie Neill) in the back is the JN version of the King Cake baby. I love the drapes in the store. They're heavy ballgown silk. I like the way they're hung in this small window. I know many homes have small windows cut into the wall up high, and I think this is a good solution to dealing with window treatments for them.

The tall candelabra on the table is a Julie Neill piece.

Julie Neill is happy to ship anything in her shop. Just contact Director of Sales Julie Ponze at juliewebmail@gmail.com

All Julie Neill images were styled and photographed by Valorie Hart.

Wish List!
Star and flower crown -$108.
Small crown used as napkin ring - $20.
Jeweled initial - $13.50
Pink tear drop chandelier - $90.
French dining chair - $600.
Antique gold chair - $500.
Julie Neill tall Candelabra - $1000.
Julie Neill Angelena Sconce - $1000.
Abigails Italian pottery $20. - $70.
Faux stone urn - $108.
Vintage silver plate flatware (all 6 pieces) $87.