Everything I Needed to Know



Ah-ha! This was it.  The elusive image that was supposed to be yesterday's post was not in a vintage design book as I supposed, but a historic room in a new design book.

Just as I was pondering the repurposing of existing pieces for the Dream House I came upon this stunning room from Regency Redux by Emily Evans Eerdmans.  Eerdmans notes, "The Prince Regent's mistress Lady Hertford further embellished this hand-painted Chinese wallpaper with birds cut our from John James Audubon's Birds of America, in the Chinese Drawing Room at Temple Newsam."

Now, you might not think that Chinese paper needed further embellishing, but Lady Hertford clearly did and I applaud her efforts.  This is a handy little do-it-yourself project requiring only Kindergarten skills.  Cut and paste.  Everyone can cut and paste.

You could even paint a little vine.  Vines are easy.  A swirly line and some leaves.  Cut out a few birds while you're watching TV.  Easy.

Later editions of Audubon's Birds are currently available on line for under twenty dollars.  Lady Hertford applied her shears directly to the pages and you could, too, if you have the heart to cut up an actual book.  I'm not sure that I do.  I would march my book down to a local copy center, but I'm not going to suggest that here as it may stir up all kinds of copyright debate which would be tedious.
The images from the boxed sets of Natural Curiosities would also make a great impact.
Or you could skip the cutting and use the whole page as Stephen Gambrel did here.

Their silhouette prints would create a jazzy little print wall like the one by Parish-Hadley in this vintage photograph of a New York apartment.


You could easily create a border from plain or patterned paper.

Wrapping paper is another source of inexpensive images.

These butterflies from Paper Source would be happy to stand in for this Schumacher paper.

And if you don't believe me, do check Hollister Hovey's fabulous Walton Ford screen project here.  Those Hovey girls are talented (this is Porter wearing feather eyelashes for Halloween) but even they make is sound easy.  



I think I have everything covered here, but just in case, two images, top, Regency Redux, Emily Evans Eerdmans, next three birds, Audubon, Gambrel image via Style Court, Parish-Hadley room from Albert Hadley: The Story of America's Preeminent Interior Designer by Adam Lewis, Schumacher paper, Porter and screen via Hollister Hovey, the remaining images from Natural Curiosities.  And, yes, the Irish Georgian mirror is mocking me.

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