The Curated Space

A globe I found in Minneapolis - $25! The owner thought it would be cool to paint it black.
I agree.


An old wooden Buddha, some paper string lanterns on my fireplace, an Italian mirror and the view.


Details of the inlay on the French Deco server. Mother of Pearl and ebony on pear wood.


My favorite forever book, now tattered. Chanel. Left open on my table with potpourri I make - a mix of dried roses and the divine fragrance from Santa Maria Novella in Florence.


Saint Michael and all my vases on top of shelving.

I spent the weekend cleaning closets, purging, and rearranging. I am preparing for the arrival of Isabelle (the hurricane) and her step-father, my husband, Lee (the tornado.) I know that from the day they arrive nothing will be as tidy as it is today. This is not entirely their fault. I am ADD when it comes to organization. I can do it as long as I am not distracted, but give me a 19-year old daughter to cook with or a charming and adoring (and adorable) husband to hang out with and organization is the last thing that matters. The summer will be one big love fest.

So...I have spent this single weekend with an organized apartment. And I have really enjoyed it.

One of the things I was inspired to do was to look at my limited collection of objects in a fresh way. New York has given me that gift. One shop after another.....the spaces are curated like a museum. So I have started to look at my objects with more respect. How might they carry more weight in my home? How might I make them a focus instead of a lost mass of jumble on a horizontal surface? That is the key. How do I see what I have?

So that was my game on Sunday. I walked through my small (not tiny!) apartment and LOOKED at what I have. Do you know what I discovered? I mostly LIKE what I have. The only matter was to respect it and celebrate it and curate it! So I fussed and fudged and fidgeted. And the above photos are what I created.

Open your eyes. Look at what you have. How might it make a point about who you are?