EARTHQUAKE COUNTRY

I was just sitting down to start this post and deciding which photos to upload...............and I think you can guess from the map above what hit.

I think that my house is about 2 to 3 miles from the epicenter....so this guy was quite a shaker (we had another strong aftershock just a couple of minutes ago). Jones is so brave--he barked at the quake for about 10 minutes and MiniBeast is probably under the bed for another 2 days.

This is just one of the pluses of living in California...fortunately, this 5.1 quake was relatively mild when compared to the Northridge earthquake of about 20 years ago.

And I needed a little shaking up....my son's house is only about 1/2 mile from center, fortunately they weren't home--will have to wait to see if there was any damage.

Treasure Hunting and Life Goes On...............

I have been on the hunt. This week, Thursday proved to be quite an adventure. When I previewed, I spotted this mid-century Renzo Rutili credenza/sideboard

  

  

I know that it doesn't look like much now (but it was very pricey--there was another bidder who just wouldn't stop....he probably thought the same thing about me). The credenza measures over 100 inches and has two cabinet sections and a four drawer section. Flavio will pick it up in a couple of weeks--the case will be lacquered in a high gloss black and the doors/drawer fronts will be lacquered in ivory. It is a pity to lacquer over the book-matched veneers and curly birch, but at the moment and for the foreseeable future, plain wood is not in favor and the black and white contrast will make the piece really handsome. I do have the option of separating the three sections and creating new stands for each chest--we'll see what Flavio thinks. One of the items that I look for in mid-century furniture is the quality of the hardware and both the drawer pulls and cabinet pulls are top notch--they just need a bit of polish.

Here is a close-up of the ormolu on the period French Empire daybed that I bought a couple of weeks ago--so beautifully detailed with traces of the original gilding remaining.

  

Pillow Update

These are the pillow created from vintage c. 1950's Fortuny that I pulled off the back of a sofa. I love the how the Maori pattern textile has acquired a rich patina and mellowed into an almost ice-blue.

I've been trying to live in the moment...the earthquake has reminded me, once again, that so much in life in out of my control. Suspending expectations and assumptions sounds so easy...I wish!

I guess we need to be more like dolphins--going with the flow (and my guys are looking pretty spiffy, aren't they?)

Flavio is F I N A L L Y bringing back the Secretaire Abattant tomorrow and I am so excited to see her--I'll post photos tomorrow night.

Be well--

Mary & Jones & Cole