THAT WAS THEN

So we moved in at the lake almost two years ago.  Of course I had to move everything that I had in our Minnesota home to this home.  

Remember that this home is about the same square footage, but it is an open concept and has less walls to hang things on and put furniture against.  But I tried.  (Now after two sales, I still have things in a storage unit!)

 The French dining table and chairs were here for a year and then I sold them.  The hooded black leather chair in the background went to Arizona.

My pair of French chests that flanked our fireplace in our Minnesota family room became bedside tables on either side of the bed in the guest room.

I filled every shelf in the Living Room area with my Majolica.  It is arranged much better today!

The shelves above the desk had my white pottery, rose medallion, Mettlach vases and my Wedgwood caneware.  It was a total mishmash!  Today it is arranged much better, as well!

My large needlepoint rug anchored the living room for a year.  Now it hangs behind the sofa in our Arizona home.  The pair of Bergere chairs, covered in Schumacher silk, were sold last year.  The square Hickory lamp table is at my daughter's home.  The coffee table with the brass top will be on my fall sale.

As you can see, we had no furniture on the deck!  I still have the French Victorian library table in the back left, but my husband is using it for a TV stand in his Minnesota apartment!  It was suggested by my friend, Jerry Twetten, that we recover the Heirloom sofa.  I am not sure about that yet.  It may get slip covered. The Chapman clock has a new home too.

This lovely French wing-back chair, in Randolph and Hein silk, is now in the living room in Arizona.  The small chair-side table was purchased from J C Penney's 40 years ago.  I still love it!

My Target cubes started out in the den in our first Arizona home.  They are now in the media room on the lower level.  I also borrowed two, from my daughter, so now there are four.

This cupboard/wine rack, from British Traditions, was in the hallway in Minnesota.  It started out in the foyer at the lake.  It is now in the family room downstairs and it still has the chocolate molds in it.

When Wisteria had these on sale a year ago, I thought they would be perfect for in front of the front windows.  Jerry had a better idea.  They are still perfect and kind of in front of the windows facing the lake but they are just rearranged a little differently now.

Of course there is a different arrangement on top, but the bottom is pretty much the same.  They really look like the Restoration Hardware consoles, but at a fraction of the price.

Here is the other side.  I love the swatch hanging in the window.  It is an open stock pattern that I picked up at Pindler and Pindler, but I can't find it anymore.  The big leaf pattern looked great with the majolica.

My husband's antique lap desks and more majolica.

The bench has been sold and the lovely antique botanical has been consigned.  I may take it back!

The majolica has changed...the Chinese birds sold at my spring sale this year.  Notice the two Black Forest pieces mixed in.  I think I need more of these!

I was so excited to move to the lake that I bought lots of fish-themed things.  These Limoges plates are no longer on the mantel...but in the bookcase over the desk.  I actually looked up what fish are in our lake and may purchase vintage prints of each variety to frame.  Wouldn't that make a cool grouping?

I hesitate to include this photo, but what the heck.  When we built our Arizona home in 2005, my husband told me that I could spend very little decorating it.  (That's another story.)  Besides the brown faux leather cubes, this little bunching table set was also from Target.  I brought it up here for this house.  It was Thomas O'brien for Target.  It has good bones.

Oh, and if anyone has Votivo candles in the scent "Night" (discontinued), I will buy them from you.  It is my favorite home scent!!!

Twenty eight years ago when I left Twetten's Interiors to move to Minnesota, I was in love with a Keller iron table, so after I moved, I had a copy custom made.  It has been black, rust, verdigris and it has had a glass top and now a barn board top.  I was going to replace it with the Restoration Hardware brick-maker's table but my husband made this top, and so I couldn't replace it.

Yes, the antique French table and eight chairs gave way to the Belgian look.  This table is from World Market and a great buy.  The chairs are their Koo Boo chairs. Cote de Texas blog did a whole blog on just these chairs!  I have six for the table, but two of the six reside in the living room unless needed.   I love them so much that I have four more around the game table downstairs. Jerry wants me to beef up the cushions and recover them.  I probably will.

 The host and hostess chairs are the slip-covered dining arm chairs from Pottery Barn.  I chose the linen slipcovers.

This is another view of the living room.  I did keep the Room and Board Fauteuil because it is a good size for a man.  It is comfortable and not dainty.  Of course, it is in new fabric now!

I believe that I chose a Kravet plaid. 

The transformation!

So here is how I had the living room arranged.  The sofa back was to the dining area.  It really cut up the space and made the living area look tight.  (The dining chairs filling in for the chairs that sold.)

Jerry had other ideas.

Now the sofa is arranged on an angle...with a view to the lake, fireplace and TV.  Before if you sat on the sofa, your only view was the lake.  Notice the consoles are also on the same angle.  The new chairs are from Z Gallerie, and they are for the family room, however after selling much of my furniture last year, I needed chairs to fill in!

Another view...

The room seems larger now.

For awhile my mother's small antique chest sat where the French library table was until it found a home in the media room downstairs.  Most of my antique oils have sold.

Now an antique French baker's rack is in the place once occupied by the library table and chest.  More on that later!  We also replaced the "builder's" light fixture with the pulley one by Restoration Hardware.

Briefly, my Henredon sofa table sat in the foyer where the wine piece with the antique molds had been.  Now it is the family room.  I found reproduction vintage photos of the historic "Arnold's Park" that I had custom framed.

This holiday photo shows our antique French clock/barometer that we purchased in Paris.  I just had it relocated to our bedroom, yesterday.

The last photo of the upstairs (minus the master bedroom and bath) is of the guest bath.  I replaced the builder's sconces with vintage brass lanterns, but I didn't like them.  I purchased a pair of Visual Comfort sconces to replace them.  I also have wall-covering to go on the walls.  I sold the French mirror and will hang a plain Victorian one that will be more in keeping with the collections on display.

Oh, here is the deck, too.

I loved this modular unit from Target so much, that I have it both houses!  

Really, two years later, nothing looks the same!  I finally purchased a pair of chairs for the living room and I have draperies that need to be hung.  I have a seagrass rug in the living room now and need to order woven grass shades for the windows.  I will also have the ceiling painted a light blue this summer.  I will have the wallpaper hung in the guest bath and I made a skirt for the guest vanity (which I can't stand, but don't want to replace.)  I am also putting a contrasting carpeting on the stairway (no, not leopard, again!)

and linen wall-covering on one wall in the foyer.  Whew!  That is this summer....stand by.