Chaletmomma

I’m often asked about the styling behind my vignettes. So this week I’m sharing the components of my coffeetable decor. The top of the table speaks to summer with books about art and flowers. It also ties into last weeks post. Start Of Summer 2024.

Only having a few books encourages others and myself to leaf through them. I do worry at times that book stacks can give the wrong message - which is don’t touch.

Here are links to the books and decor if you’d like to recreate this look.

From the bottom: Winslow Homer: His Art, His Light, His Landscapes next is: Water Views: Rivers Lakes Oceans the top book is all about my favorite anytime flower Hydrangeas: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden. The small dish was a gift - here’s a lovely dish by Spode. I’ve owned my lantern for years - here’s a set of lanterns that feel similar. Inside is my delightful Charles Farris candle.

The Stack on the bottom shelf pertain to Manhattan and it doesn’t change; although I did add two new volumes earlier this year. I love the impact of a theme. Here are the titles: New York Civic Sculpture, Murals of New York City, Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City, New York, New York: An Illustrated History, Great Houses of New York, 1880-1940: v. 2 and Metropolitan Seminars in Art, Portfolio 6: Composition as Structure all topped by a terrific Tic Tac Toe Game.

I hope you’ve been inspired or found a title or two to add to your stacks. Til next time be well and I’ll see you over on Instagram!

This week I’m inspired to share some lovely examples of stenciled walls. I love how many different designs there are!

stencil :an impervious material (such as a sheet of paper, thin wax, or woven fabric) perforated with lettering or a design through which a substance (such as ink, paint, or metallic powder) is forced onto a surface to be printed

:something (such as a pattern, design, to print) that is produced by means of a stencil. Merriam-Webster

The origin of the stencil

The oldest-known stencil was found in Spain. It is a hand stencil that is more than 66,000 years old. At that time, the paint was blown over the hand to leave a handprint on the wall. In 2000 B.C., the Egyptians used leather or papyrus stencils for the first time, mainly for decorative purposes.

The Chinese pioneered the creation of a paper stencil around 105 A.D. Soon after, they applied this practice to much more delicate surfaces, such as silks and porcelains. The Japanese improved the technique by joining delicate stencils with human hair or silk. Their method of dyeing fabrics with this type of utensil is known as Katazome.

Much later, in medieval Europe, stencils were used to more easily decorate church walls. In addition, stencils spurred the mass production of manuscripts, playing cards, and illustrations for books, fabrics, and wallpaper. Even armies around the world have used this technique to mark helmets, vehicle equipment, or propaganda.

This technique allows us to save a great deal of time. It is possibly this reason why it is also very common in the world of street art. In the 1960s, artists from the United States and Europe, such as John Fekner, began to practice it. His works inspired the Parisian Blek le Rat, who has been baptized as "the father of graphite with stencil," or the British urban artist Banksy.

Another article you may enjoy: Expressive Embellishments 7.15.2020 Til next time friends be well and I’ll see you over on Instagram!