"Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest."
~ Henry Van Dyke

Friday, January 29, 2010

Inspiration in the shadows...

The shadow of silhouettes, that is. I have mentioned before how I love silhouettes and make them myself.


When we had our floor redone upstairs, we changed my quilt studio and the guest room around. I wanted to be sure this room was cozy to sleep in. But I also had been wanting to create a silhouette wall for some time and thought this room would be a perfect place for it.

To think that a silhouette was the poor man's portrait in the past. And I suppose making them myself means it is the modern day poor man's version as real silhouettes are not for the faint hearted wallets. *wink*

I just adore these shadows of the past. I mixed my wall with a few portraits with them.

There are a couple more needing framed so I can develop this silhouette wall even farther.

One trick to making them look great is to hunt for really good dark (preferably black) and gold frames. I am always on the lookout for nice frames.

My other love in the guest room is my starting collection of Persephone books. If you are not familiar with them, you can brouwse the bookshop site here. They are a joy to behold for any book lover. Since I only order two a year, my collection grows very slowly. I dream of being able to visit the bookshop on Lamb's Conduit Street or Kensington's Church Street in London. *sigh* Do any of you out there in blogland also have a weakness for these beautiful editions?

I do love using books to decorate in each room in my house. Do you have any special tricks for decorating with books? I will show you more of how I use books in my next blog post. Until then, I hope you are having a great day!

21 comments:

Nancy said...

GUEST????room. Hummmmmmmm.
Well, I think MY room looks very nice. LOL. I do share it with Dagi.
LOVVVVVVVVVVE you, Mom

DonnaTN said...

What a lovely vignette you have created for your guest room! It looks so peaceful and serene.

Linda said...

I love your wall of silhouettes.

I have several family silhouettes...each year at the state fair there was and an artist~Colette who created these. We always sat for one.....it was our momento for that year..hugs, Linda

*Ulrike* said...

You have made a very nice room for your guests, and I love all of your silhouettes! While going through the picture stash I found three silhouettes. What a find! I'll need to frame them so I really liked your tip on what frame works best.
Ulrike

Simple Home said...

Your wall of silhouettes looks wonderful, I love that idea. I followed the link and those books sound great too, my kind of books. I try to read most of the old ones I buy, unless they're too fragile, but I love to use them for decorating.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Blessings,
Marcia

Rhonda said...

Hello Heidi
your pictures looks so pretty - I do love silhouettes.
Can I stay in this room when I come to visit too? :)

I've been a little absent from the web, I am fine though and finally did a new blogpost.

Unknown said...

Heel mooi zo die muur met silhouettes. Je gasten zullen vast heel lang blijven logeren met zo'n mooie kamer ;-)

Groetjes van Ria

Carolien said...

Your mother's room looks very nice like this ;)

Have a great weekend & hugs,
Carolien

Elizabethd said...

Beautiful, Heidi. To see them gathered together like that makes such an impression.

Cindy at her Country Home said...

*P*R*A*C*H*T*I*G* lieve Heidi, ik droom hier al van je guest room...zzzz! Oh sorry bleef in deze prachtige droom en wilde maar niet wakker worden in je logeerbed hihi... En wat las ik nou toch voor bericht dat er mensen zijn die je foto's op hun website of blog zetten? Wat is dat nou weer voor iets. Hoe heb je dat kunnen ontdekken?... Gelukkig is er 1 HEIDI en niemand anders kan deze fantastische stijl evenaren, top van je dat je ze hebt aangesproken op hun zeer ongemanierdheid! Gebrek aan opvoeding zeg ik weleens. Zou je me nog even kunnen mailen hoe je de rechthoekige kleine kussentjes noemt, je hebt ze ook weleens aan de deur hangen en in de kerstboom geloof ik? Ben er ook 1 aan het maken, zó leuk om te doen. Dankzij jou lieve Heidi en dank voor jouw inspiratie, HEERLIJK! Wens je een héél cozy en creative weekend (bij de open haard?), winterliefs van Cindy x

Brigitte said...

Beautiful! What a great idea to decorate the guest room with these silhouettes and giving it a lovely romantic touch. Your mother will love it when she visits the next time.

onlymehere said...

I haven't heard of the books but I'll definitely check them out. I love books and read a ton until I got my "over 40 eyes" as my eye doctor likes to remind me! Since I work on a computer I've had to cut waaaaaaay back on reading. I love the silhouettes too. What a unique and fun collection you have on the wall. I would have never thought of this. I don't necessarily decorate with my books but I do have bookshelves and display them. I tend to read and reread books so I buy quite a few. I've always dreamed of having a library in my house! Fun post today Heidi. Have a fantastic weekend!

*Ulrike* said...

Hi Heidi! Thanks for visiting my blog. I get the Wohen & Garten through a company here in the states. Here is the website for it
http://www.germandeli.com/ They have soooo many good things! Lots of magazines, hubby's favorite the senf, bread, all the different juices, apple spritzers, sour cherries in the jar so I can make the cherry soup like my Oma, and the list goes on! Let me know what you think!
Ulrike

Michelle Palmer said...

Stunning! Such a beautiful collection~ I have a small collection of vintage silhouettes... I began collecting after we had our children's silhouettes "captured" at a family event.
Such a sweet blog!
Wishing you all the best~
Michelle

angelasweby said...

Heidi,
What a wonderful display you have created in your "Mum's room"...haha! I love these silhouettes and have still to master making one...sigh!! The tiny portraits of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte are a wonderful addition to the display

I like your collection of Persephone books. I have never seen this publisher before. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day was on the television over Christmas. It was really enjoyable.
Angela xx,

Unknown said...

Your wall is lovely. Everything is framed so beautifully too. I love old books and like to display them too. I'm trying to read what I already have. I've been rereading my Miss. Read books and have really enjoyed reading them again. There are so many books I want to read I wish I could read faster. Linda

Terri said...

I keep meaning to make some of my children. I will have to make time to do that this week. I'll let you know how they turn out!

Sonja said...

Your mother made me smile with her comment on your guestroom!
Zou je van een zwart/wit foto van jezelf (of de gast van je guestroom) misschien ook een silhouette kunnen maken? Of misschien met een foto-bewerkingsprogramma op de computer?

Linda said...

Heidi,

I too love silhouettes! I have around five that I've collected. The antique shops where I used to find them, are all closed down now... There was one that I'm still kicking myself over not getting when I had the chance. When I went back for it, it was gone!

Linda in VA

Celestial Charms said...

Such a wonderful job in arranging all of these. So very charming.
Maureen

Melanie said...

This is absolutely gorgeous.