Monthly Archives: December 2024

………………..The GREEN LIBRARY is the first room to the left of the front door…..When the house was built in 1906 it was actually the entrance to the house from an open stone arched porch that ran the length of the house….facing the water. The front entrance, always facing the water, went right into this room….as a greeting room with a wood burning fireplace….Eventually, previous owners closed the porch, and remodeled it to have windows which created an additional room…..a solarium…..The front door was moved to where it is now.. When we bought the house the room had KNOTTY PINE walls….white washed to supposedly look like drift wood….The effect was lost on me!…..To me it just looked like Knotty Pine….not one of my favorite woods….so I had the room painted a very dark forest green, but even that didn’t hide the fact that it was still Knotty Pine! I asked a dear friend of ours, Burt Wayne, to help me with the room. He was an incredible decorator, and a good and close friend of Anne Klein. He was also the head of the Anne Klein Studio that was in charge of all of the Anne Klein licensees…..Hating the way the room looked….I asked Burt if I could have the walls covered in padded GREEN VELVET, and he said “sure, I can have that done for you”….I was absolutely delighted with the outcome. It had the exact look I wanted….that of an old English library. We added matching green velvet portieres to all the door ways to give the room a cozy more nest like feeling….Then the banquets were custom made in the classic forest leaf jacquard fabric, and the room started to take shape. It sort of knew what it wanted to be…..Then it became quite easy to select pieces, when we found just the right ones, to add to the room……Step by step….piece by piece…..accessory by accessory…it became one of our favorite rooms in the house…Today it is all decked out for Christmas……..We spent many a Sunday morning in the winter….with the fireplace on…..having our coffee and tea….reading the New York Sunday Times and just being lazy……..These were wonderful days…..WONDERFUL MEMORIES.

…………………In one corner of the library is a writing desk. Beyond the desk, through the portieres….is the entrance to the living room……….This green, tooled leather top desk was a true find….because when the top of the desk is removed…there is a full sized BACKGAMMON TABLE below!………During the winter months, I would have a fire going in the fireplace, and Jac and I would spend many many hours…..into the wee hours of the morning playing backgammon….always having a glass of Porte or two or three or more!….Jac used to beat the pants off of me! She was a great backgammon player….a very mathematic mind!!! Something I lacked!!!!….At one corner of the desk is a beautiful brass Bouillotte lamp with a green metal shade. It holds three working candles…..A light bulb was already attached to the underside of the shade when we bought, but many times we just lite the candles….These lamps were originally used by the French centuries ago, on card tables…when the rich and aristocracy used to gather to gamble…The desk is covered with wonderful momentos…..A wooden dog’s head that is an inkwell we bought in London… antique binoculars that we bought in an antique store on the island of Nantucket…..small Dutch antique brass lanterns that we collected….a brass pear box….a brass letter holder that was a present from dear friends….small photos of us and Jac with her mom….and a wonder book of artist John Carol Doyle’s paintings….who’s art work we collected….Wee had the privilege to meet, and spend an afternoon in his store in Charleston, South Carolina. He died many years ago, much too soon for his age. I just recently found out that his store has recently been closed……very sad….but his beautiful painting will live on……There are two different wooden chairs on either side of the desk that are both covered in the same ochre and persimmon tapestry…..Jac and I sat many an evening sitting in these chairs, as she relentlessly beat me in backgammon….I did win a few games!….Bamboo blinds are at each of the windows which also gives the room a warm cozy feel……This room became a haven to relax, and chill….and to greet friends as they came into our home….a room filled with wonderful memories.

…………………..When you come through my front door….the first thing you see is the staircase leading up to the second floor. On the landing is an antique English half table inlayed in front with a shell made from a contrasting wood. Above the table is an antique round mirror with an eagle, and arms for three candles on each side… A large Lalique Vase [extremely heavy] sits on top of the table with an arrangement of greens and a variety of white flowers……For the Holidays I just add RED BERRIES.

…………………..Gone are my Halloween creatures on the kitchen windowsill……Now it’s time to bring out the Christmas decorations…..The centerpiece is a very old red bulb jar filled with greens, gold pods and berries. A tartan bow finishes it off…On either side are two pomegranate red bud vases filled with berries……Also on the sill is one of my favorite snow globes. Jac bought this many many years ago. It has two love birds. It’s in a place where I can see it every day………all through the day.