Edith’s Chair

     We’ve gone over budget on Stellas exterior.. kinda like going in for a little botox in the frown lines and coming out with an entire facelift, a new hair color and style and a chemical peel for good measure.

      AND..we still have the interior.  M and the guys have begun the work but it will be minimal because of the exterior splurge.  Then we need the furnishings to make this house a home and that’s going to be even more minimal because 

DON’TBuyANYTHINGforChriseSakeWe’reWAYoverBUDGET!  @#!*      

    

      A few things will have to be bought new – mattresses (the previous tenant left his mattresses, but I just can’t….. )   a new small range, a small stackable washer/dryer.  The rest I’m going to look around for in thrift stores, etc.  There is a consignment thrift store in Branford called Consign & Design. They’ve got some great deals and a 20 % off sale this week, 50% off all vintage christmas decor too.  I could have gone crazy with the old fashioned Santas, sleighs, books and such….. (my grandmother had a few of these)

but I held back, remembering Stella’s immediate needs and the husbands sanity, hence my own. 

     I found two things that I was pretty excited about, though. A good once-over and a glance at the price and there was no question they were coming to live with Stella.   What a find – a beautiful provincial chair which appears to have been reupholstered recently because there is no wear whatsoever on the fabric…. for $117. minus 20%.    It’s super sturdy and comfortable, the fabric sturdy and capable of heavy use…..the champagne color is perfect for the earthy soft neutrals vibe I want in the cottage.  The style might be a bit fancy but the price makes that perfectly OK. This will do the trick.

     The chair reminds me of Edith Bunker from the long-ago series All In the Family.  If you’re as old as I am you probably grew up with it…Do you remember that show? Amazing what they were able to get away with, great actors covering real issues of the times in a clever way that we all could relate to and have a good laugh over.  I have fond memories of  my softspoken  grandparents chuckles and out-loud laughter every time Archie let out another obnoxious statement as Edith softened the blow.   Edith’s actual chair wasn’t as nice as this one. After all the crap she put up with from that horrible lovable man, she deserved a chair like this, don’t ya think? 

 The milk glass shade on this one is tarnished (smoker? Nicotine stain it looks like) and I couldn’t get it to come clean so I will look for a replacement shade.  The other is still a beautiful milk glass white. 

  While I was collecting these treasures my son met with the stone master who built the fireplaces and stone walls here at This Old House and farmstead.  His Christmas gift to us this year was a fire pit he and Steve will incorporate into the waterfront patio.  The stones will come from our farm and there will be a little bit of custom work that involves quartz Steve has collected over the years – stay tuned.. 

     Stone isn’t the only thing we’re incorporating from the farm – Because we changed the topography some with the patio, the railings on the sea wall needed redoing.  We mulled over the options –  Each cottage seems to do their own thing along the waterfront – there isn’t a lot of continuity.  We wanted a look that wouldn’t be too intrusive to the view or too contemporary.  There are plenty of cedar trees in the woods behind our farm, so we brought some down to the cottage and M drew up a simple pattern. This is what we ended up with…

    and the railing to the water  has been replaced. We didn’t use cedar here, pressure treated wood is necessary as the water comes up to the steps at high tide.  

 This picture taken during extreme low tide, when so many little treasures can be found at waters edge.  The difference between low and high tide amazes me still… the water comes up to the steps at high tide, in a matter of hours. 

         Thanks for stopping by – Till soon, friends….