Everyone I know is past ready for spring.  I’ve noticed the birds are twittering about more this week – hopefully a sign we won’t be having more snow.  New catalogs for the season are arriving daily in my mailbox and Inbox.  One of my favorites is Tracy Porter.  The eclectic selection of home decor, lighting and decorative tableware feature richly detailed patterns and saturated colors.  This votive trio is wrapped with regal birds and greenery in warming earth tones.  I love the crowns just above their heads – a small touch that takes the design to the next level.

A chic pure white faux bois picture frame is an ideal perch for a pair of birds.  The realistic detailing on the branches resembles Mother Nature so closely, it appears to be made of gathered wood.

John and Tracy Porter’s passion for their work is contagious.  When you have a chance, view the video of their story.  The website adds new videos daily, highlighting home furnishings and tableware carried by their company, along with decorating ideas and recipes.  Most of the videos are shot in and around their Wisconsin farm, giving us a peek inside their lovely home – their nest – where they are raising their four boys.

I would love to hear what favorite catalogs or websites inspire you to feather your nest, so please leave a comment. You may see one featured in Allison Shops!

Source: Tracy Porter
Petite Bird Candles $42 set
Curator Photo Frame $29

On a recent eBay listing I found a 3′ x 5′ Pakistani Bokhara rug placed in the 1900-1939 age heading. The description states and the pictures [above and below] clearly indicate there is a 3-inch section that has been damaged.  It also notes that the rug was cleaned three years ago and the seller was told the rug was very old.  Starting bid $35.

The image quality is not the greatest.  I  enhanced the photos slightly to give you a clearer view of the most important areas.  I felt this was an interesting way to compare a rug that appears to be a bargain to one that can be purchased new.  I will lay out the facts so you can judge whether or not you think this is a good buy.

The description notes that a pet tore the edge from the rug.  In this close-up you can also see the fringe is soiled.

The rug’s origin is correctly identified however, the rug is not an antique.  I knew this was a Pakistani rug even without reading the description, but would you know that?  Someone who is not familiar with designs and weaving styles wouldn’t.  Nor would you know the additional area of damage indicated by my yellow arrow [below] is a typical weaving flaw in Pakistani rugs.  But in this instance, does that even matter?

View of the backside. Red arrow indicates tear noted in seller’s description.  Yellow arrow shows another area I spotted.

Specifics: The seller is asking $35.00 for a 3′ x 5′ that is clearly in need of cleaning.  Shipping cost $19.  Cost to clean the rug and repair those sections would probably run another $80 in my shop.  Final price tag: $134.

Comparison: I found a new Pakistani Bokhara rug, same size, listed on Overstock.com for $159.00 plus $2.95 shipping.  Final price tag: $161.95.

The market is and has been flooded with Pakistani Bokhara rugs and like other countries, Pakistan produces carpets at various quality levels with price points to match.

My conclusion on the eBay rug?  $35 is a fair price if you plan to use it without cleaning or repairing it.  I would price it for sale at that price in my shop.  However, adding in the $19. shipping cost, at $54 this rug is no longer a bargain.

(Photos via eBay)

Guest Blogger

Our friend Ivette lives near Washington, D.C. She has wonderful décor ideas and is a super DIY renovator who is amazing with a paintbrush. She and her husband, Joel, are currently hard at work creating a family room in their basement and adding a guest bath. Ivette also collects design books as a hobby and summarized every single volume on her shelves for us! Those reviews can be found on our Home Decorating Books page where you also will find updates. Here are her latest additions.

Country Living Cottage Style.  By Marie Proeller Hueston. Hearst Books, 2003. ISBN: 978-1-58816-567-1.

While filled with lots of great photographs of cottage rooms, the text is very basic and there really isn’t much new here.  Still, this is a terrific cottage primer style and the designs vary from rustic cottage to more modern cottage. It’s all briefly touched on here.

English Country Style. By Mary Gilliat. Shuckburgh, Reynolds, Ltd. 1986. ISBN: 0-316-31382-3.

This book proves that true English Country style doesn’t look dated.  All these rooms are classically beautiful and timeless.  The text is very detailed and instructive.  Most of the rooms are the more formal English Country style, but all is seen here.  If you are a fan of this style, you owe it to yourself to search out a copy of this book, which unfortunately is out of print.

Inspired Interiors. By Suzanne Kasler. Rizzoli, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-8478-3220-0.

This is an exquisite design book with such large-format pictures that you feel like you’re almost in the room.  The spaces are exquisite, very much in Kasler’s modern traditional style.  The narrative and captions are instructive, not just descriptive, and filled with interesting design insights and techniques.

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Perfect English Cottage.  By Ros Byam Shaw. Ryland Peters Small, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-84597-902-1.

Like all of Shaw’s books, this is a winner. There is beautiful photography of mostly humble English cottages decorated almost entirely by their owners.  The narrative is rich with the histories of the houses and the owners as well as jam-packed with great decorating ideas.

Style and Substance, The Best of Elle Décor.  By Margaret Russell. Filipacchi Publishing, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-933231-60-0.

The pictures in this book are fabulous and varied, filled with myriad design ideas.  The narrative, which is mostly captions for the pictures, falls woefully short though, being more descriptive of the picture than the design concepts behind the rooms.  So, this is a great book for browsing and gathering new ideas, but you’ll need to know how to implement them yourself, and you’ll also need to figure out why they work in the first place.

The Tailored Interior.  By Thad Hayes. Rizzoli, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-8478-3081-7.

A beautifully photographed book filled with Hayes’ lovely, understatedly modern rooms.  Absolute eye candy, but I wish there had been more narrative and what little there is had been more descriptive of the thought process that went into designing the rooms.  The book is disappointing in that respect, but the rooms and pictures make up for it to some extent.

For more than two years I have scoured auctions for a set of antique botanical prints for my bedroom, hoping to get some at a reasonable price.  Nineteenth century prints like these originally came in subscription books and were hand-colored by artists. Last month, I wrote about my successful auction bid — a group of six Belgian fruit lithographs by Alexandre Joseph Desire Bivort (1809-1872) which, despite their age and provenance, each cost about the same as a Pottery Barn frame.

Once I got them home, I realized I had an alternate spot for them, a dining room wall in our apartment where I am also planning a marble-topped cabinet. It’s an important space that takes up about one-third of the major sightline from our front door. It’s the first thing anyone sees. I still plan a chest there but I haven’t yet found the right one.

The scale of the wall is perfect for three pairs of 16 x 19-inch lithographs. Allowing for a 36-inch tall chest, the hanging area measures 73-1/2” wide by 58-1/2” high. The chest height is marked off with the first tape above the white chair-rail molding. After some addition and subtraction plus a little more marking up with frog tape (which won’t damage cured paint), I calculated the 3 pairs would fill out the wall with 6-inches on each side and in between. Placing hooks at 12-1/2” and 35-1/2” below the picture molding gave me 8-inches above and below the set with 4 inches in between, give or take ½-inch. Like a tile-setter I began at the center point — 36-3/4” and established a plumb line by taping up a length of twine with a lightweight metal bracket tied to the bottom (above). Then I marked off the hook heights for the center pair on that line.

To locate the left and right pairs, I added half the width of each litho plus the space in between, or 22” (8” + 6” + 8”), putting up the plumb line on each side and measuring from side-to-side across it to place the hooks.

Here’s the result. Project complete! But please don’t ask me about the blank 10-foot long wall to the right of the doorway — or at least not yet.

Linking up with Met Monday.

Clue: life-size

I wonder if Adam or Eve would end up with this apple shaped (inspired) object.  What is its use?  Post your best guess and I’ll return on Tuesday for the big reveal.

Tuesday: It didn’t dawn on me until this morning that some of you were trying to guess what the above object (an actual Granny Smith apple) was, instead of the device it inspired. So guess again, if you’re not too busy gathering tomatoes to toss at me! I’ll be back this afternoon to reveal the answer… backing slowly out of the room!

Answer: Sony Bravia motion sensitive remote control

Sony’s concept was for everyone in the family to have their own motion sensitive remote, each programmed to suite their viewing needs.  Not sure how easy they would be to use (rotate left/right to change the volume), but they would look better than regular remotes on the den table.

Source: Teche Blog

Pencils down!  I used to associate pencils with schoolwork and exams.  That is, until I viewed the portfolio of Sue Lowenberg, also known as “The Pencil Lady”.  This talented artisan creates eye-popping designs by calculatingly applying pencils of all types to occasional tables, picture frames, mirrors and fashion accessories.  Both of the tables pictured here also feature a piece of vintage advertising, something she often incorporates into her work.  Her website, Pencillady.com has a wide array of unique colorful pieces and she also does custom work.