Displaying Collections {Guest Home Tour}

  I love the start of a brand new week, especially when I feel like we got things accomplished the week before.  One thing I've been wanting to do for a while was to photograph some more of my Mom's house to share with you all.  I had previously posted about her fall décor here and got such a fantastic response (which she was thrilled about) that I just had to show you more.

 

There is totally no question, whatsoever, where I get my love of decorating and collecting from. Wait to you see the awesome collections she has!

 

My Mom's style does differ from mine (although we trade items frequently and incorporate them quite easily into our respective homes). 

 

Enjoy!

  

I think that my Mom has a pretty amazing collection of Yellowware and Watt bowls, don't you?  The bowls, which were collected from estate and tag sales and consignment shops, are all neatly lined up for display in her pantry.

 

 

The Yellowware with the white banding are her favorite because she is drawn to the clean and simple look of them.

 

 

 

 

Adjoining the pantry, in my Mom's bright kitchen, is her collection of candle and chocolate molds (some antique) which sit in a very large and old Yellowware mixing bowl.  Even though this collection began a long time ago, but she was just recently inspired by a magazine picture to display them grouped in a bowl.

 

 

 

 

The dining room has the most gorgeous built in china cabinet which is the perfect place to showcase collections.   Like me, my Mom loves pewter and silver and mixing very old pieces with more modern finds.  She loves them displayed in this cabinet because they show up so great against the original mahogany wood shelves.  Some of the pieces in the collection look very primitive, which is the style that she tends to gravitate towards.  She built her collection with antique and thrift stores purchases (along with some family pieces).

 

 

 

 Most of these crocks (also displayed in the dining room) were recent acquisitions, with the exception of the large jug on the left, which was bought at an auction about 30 years ago.  The jug on the bottom right is an ovoid jug, which is her favorite because of the smooth texture of the clay and the shape; very unique.

 

 

 

 

 More crocks, pewter and silver balance out the room and further showcase these gorgeous antiques.
 

 

 

 

 

I thought that this collection, featuring handmade candles was also so unique.
 Some are hung upside down, traditionally to dry, while others are stored in a small crock.

 

 

 

 

 

My Mom also loves candle holders and has an extensive collection including glass, pewter, silver and brass. These pewter and brass candlesticks are on a rustic shelf in the master bedroom that she bought at an antique store that carries cottage style antiques.  She loves mixing metals, textiles and different finishes and colors together to make her décor more interesting.  Funny, that sounds just like me!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also located in the master bedroom are a small collection of early samples, along with a few more recent works. She hung them as a collage on this small wall to give them more impact and importance.

 

 

 

 

  

My Mom loves collecting bottles of all kinds and I want every single one of them!  This display makes such an impact on her den wall. The colors that you see here are some of her favorites (and mine).  Don't the blues and greens mix so well together?  Some of the bottles are antique and a few are a recent purchases that are fairly new. 

 

 

 

 

 The large green bottles on the right are antique water bottles. My Mom also enjoys canning jars that are of unique colors. On the shelf you will also find part of her antique ink bottle collection.  (She will sometimes rotate collections, depending on her mood, so just a small amount of the ink bottles are currently on display.)

  

 

 

 

This collection of white pottery, which is on a shelf in the formal living room, was started several years ago. All of these were purchased at antique stores.  They include antique butter molds and old Macoy vases. Candles were added for height on the shelf. (I am the lucky, lucky recipient of cast offs from this collection--love!)  Don't you also love that painting of Lincoln?  We were over visiting earlier last week and Gennaro (my 9 year old) said, "Memere, you must really have a thing for old presidents!" So wise.

 

 

 

 

 This unique display case holds a few more white pottery plates and her silver and pewter spoon collection. 

 

Isn't my Mom's house so fantastic?  Even if you shy away from a more primitive style of decorating you can pull so many ideas from her home; like how she groups items and mixes antiques with current finds. She thinks it's important to display your items in a collected form because it gives the objects more of a presence and creates a thoughtful, cohesive and finished look when they are grouped together. This is completely where I get my love for design and creativity (plus a lot of my items to decorate with--really love her hand me downs.)

My Mom truly is an avid collector and decorator and her primary passion is for colonial and primitive items.  She enjoys decorating her home and changing the look and feel of it frequently.  It allows her to be creative, which is what she loves to do best and is always encouraging me to do! 

So, what do you think? I know my Mom would love to read your comments.  If you'd like to see more ideas be sure to check out my Displaying Collections board on Pinterest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Linking to:

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/2013/02/nifty-thrifty-tuesday-no151.html http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/   http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/