I was looking at some old pictures of my house, since I have not been able to blog about MY empty house lately and thought I would share some 20 year old pictures of my mantle over the years. Now look...no snickering. This was back when more was more. Every surface had a bajillion things on it....especially in the south. So it is going to be sensory overload. Prepare....
This was my "granny smith apple" color on the walls phase. Before flat screens it always looked like a big black hole on the bookcases.
I rearranged the room and put the TV on the large wall where the sofa was. Still loving the green on the walls...I remember the day I decided to paint them.......My husband was gone and he did not even notice. He probably still thinks they are green.
Still have the same picture but changed the accessories.
About 5 years ago. This is after I painted the walls white. For some reason I can't find any of when the room was chocolate brown. Must have been really bad and I threw them away. I used to threaten my husband with those pitchforks!
I did clean up the bookshelves and I think we had just gotten a flat screen.
Got the white slipcovers now. Changed the urns on the bookshelves. I am just beginning my "shell" phase :)
It is winter because that is when I change out the slipcovers to flax. The mantle changes again....
Briefly this winter.....why can't I be happy??????
Last summer.....Still have the picture. Of course after this weekend when everything comes back...we'll see!
Think of the time I have spent. I could have read a ton of books...made friends...become a doctor.
So there you have it. I've opened the doors so you guys step up and show me yours!
Hey, I am pretty proud that I read a book at the beach. STiLL ALiCE by Lisa Genova. It is about early onset Alzheimer's. People.... it scared me to death. Literally when they were giving her the test to see if she had it I was taking it right along with her. Spell "water" backwards. I had to spell it forwards first. I am pretty freaked out about this disease. I was driving today and just started blurting out the names of things.....my own test.
The thing is who knows if I am right or wrong????
Is that even my name????
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Seriously loving all of your mantles Sherry, especially the ones after the walls are white...so balanced and just right, every one. But since I am a pillow freak, I want every single pillow you have! I have cash and will gladly send it for those black & white pillows and the ones with the yellow dandelions! Awesome :)
love all the pics of your mantle..fun to go back through the photo album and see how our aesthetic has changed and matured...and also how certain trends influence us...
and my theory on alzheimer's?...adventure...
it cures what ails ya....it will strengthen the mind as well as the body....
maureen
You are so great, loved this post. Good luck tomorrow , stay cool!
Are those copper downspout thingies over the mantel, kind of looking like sconces? I would buy those and not know what to do with them.
Good luck with AC. I'll bet you do Buckwheat proud.
Sherry, you make me laugh! I absolutely loved watching the evolution of your room. Incredibly interesting to see how styles have changed, and how you've changed with them.
Oh, and Alzheimers is terrifying!
Just keeps getting better and better ! Hey, did you know that Dammit I'm mad spelled backwards is Dammit I'm mad ? ;)
Well, for the times, you were definitely very stylish. I love the simple urns in the bookshelves and the white slipcovers. Can't wait to see the new. Hugs, Marty
I would say it has definitely improved with age!! Love the way it looks now!!! You keep evolving I wonder what is next for YOU!!I once heard, we all forget where we put our keys, it is when you don't know what the keys are used for that you should worry about Alzheimer!! Sorry you won't have any air tomorrow.I can not take the heat either!! KS
What transformations. They all looked good.
Fun to watch your style change through the years. You had some great ironstone in the older pictures. You still have a great demi john collection. I don't know how you are going to stand no air tomorrow. Too hot here for that, Buckwheat!
Okay, I just made my daughters read your post with me (well, worse, I made them listen while I read it to them - laughing the whole time) because the progression you house had made IS MY HOUSE. You are so right, more WAS more! Your comment about the time you have spent (could have become a doctor) is exactly how I feel ... Every time we go though old photos and videos I look at my living room that has probably had 20 looks in 23 years! Thank you AGAIN for the laughs. My girls think I should post my house through the ages .. I may lose the few followers I have I fear if I did, ha ha. Oh, and my husband did not notice for weeks that I painted my living room yellow (from white). ;)
I so loved seeing how your house has evolved!! One of my twins freaks out every time I change something (which I do all the time!) so I love seeing how someone else changes things!
So fun to see the changes over the years. Of course, I love the way your mantle looks now! I'm sure in 10 years we will look back at our photos now and wonder what in the world were we thinking! Sorry it's going to be Guam hot for you without AC. Yikes!
Love seeing all the changes you have made over time! Really cool to see how peoples tastes and design i general changes. Can't wait till I am somewhere long enough to see my place transform.
You still had style--even *way* back with your apple walls. I'm thinking you should consider changing your blog name to "hilariously stylish". You're always cracking us up.
xo
I love seeing the evolution of your home. It's fun to see the changes and it keeps on getting better and better.
Good post, I enjoyed reading it! :)
Jessie
www.mixandchic.com
I am drawn to pic 5 shelves- Clean lines I think. But def love mantle 5 and 7. Mantle 8 is my all. Time. Fav. I'd love to see the shelving in pic 8 have one substantial piece on bottom of both shelves and mabe a stack of books with a small weighted object on the top of the books. Regardless, taste and style ;)
Xoxo shel at a' la mode
Where do you store your stuff when you change out your room? Or do you get rid of it?
Great pictures of decorating pasts. I especially loved when you lightened up the backs of your bookcases.
Love the pics, Sherry! It's so interesting to see the transformations your rooms have gone thru. Why do I feel that there's another big change coming? Can't wait to see!
Love to see you soon, friend.
Lori
www.lorimayinteriors.com/blog
You are happy my friend, you just have so much creativity and one house to put it all in. :-)
I love the bottles in the cabinets.
I read the book too. The gal I work for couldn't finish it because it was too depressing. I actually liked it. AND yes it did scare me, my daddy passed away having Alzheimer's and Parkinson's talk about double scared. Thank goodness there were only a few times he didn't know me. xo
You saying your husband may not even realize the wall color had changed reminded me of when we had our den painted two years ago. We went from a light tan to a mid-chocolate shade, and the painter painted everything except right behind the flat-screen TV on the wall. (He came back and did it the next day.)
When my sons came home, the 8-year-old took a look around, noticed the big (unpainted) spot behind the TV and asked, "Why did he only paint behind the TV?"
First, if there were an award for funny blogger, you'd get it, hands down.
Second, I really admire how you've managed to stay so current. I'm always worried my living room looks like Pottery Barn from 2004...but you keep doing fresh and wonderful things like paint your floors white. Damn.
Forgot to tell you that it's pretty cool how the mantel and bookcases have stayed the same -- and they still look so right now.
Camille
Great to see the evolution through seasons and time - and that you continually seek to see your room through "fresh eyes." I think that's key to not letting your designs look stale. Beautiful!
Sherry, I LOVE your blog! Seriously, it makes my day when you put a new post up. Thanks for sharing your "through the years" photos. I want your demijohn collection, sell it to me pleeeeease. Can't wait so see what you do in your "white out" phase of design :)
You're hilarious! My mother always tells me that Alzheimer's is not when you forget where you put your keys but when you forget what a key does. I remind myself everyday.
I think your mantels look great. I'm just the same way. Changing things constantly. Yes, I could have found the cure for cancer by now, but my priorities are messed up!
The first thing I noticed when looking at your transition pictures was how much calmer and serene things look now. In the last year I have also found how helpful it is to have a quite 'home-scape' amidst the chaos of normal life. Thanks for the pictures!
Wow, that's quite an evolution over the years. I definitely like the new you. Can't wait to see the room all put back together again!
What a fun trip through time! Although your early years pics are full, you've always had lovely accessories and definitely have a knack for creating interesting mantels and vignettes. Switching things up is one of my life's pleasures - who wants to study medicine when you can spend time decorating? :)
Ahh, the last image is like a breath of fresh air. Look forward to seeing what you do next and I love your white painted floors.
We read Still Alice in my book club. Loved the book but I agree, it was a little scary.
Hello
What a very interesting post. Your colour and design sense always works, regardless of the era.
I am looking forward to seeing your white floors when you bring back the furniture.
Stay cool, lots of water, lemonade and have a nap
Helentilstonpainter.blogspot.com
ok way too many executions here that I like! Love the black and white stripe cushions, the bleached wood,the basket on the fireplace wall, the blue glass bottles, the bell jar, the white slip covers! ugh! lovely! ...and i'm with you, love changing things up but I literally think I might give my husband a hernia if I don't stop doing house projects for a while. martine x
I cannot believe that is the same house! Your style is so fresh and timeless now. You are right about the books we could have read instead of blogging/rearranging the house. As for Alzheimers, if you can remember all of the different changes you have made to your house then you are fine :)
Sherry, you're hilarious! Loved seeing the evolution of your home. It's lovely!
that made me laugh out loud, i almost spewed my vodka and caffeine free diet coke all over my computer... and i'm absolutely not going to read that book, i have enough fear in my life with my grown kid moving back home...
cindy
Love seeing the transformation from then to now. It's so amazing how much accessories play into design. They completely transform a space! Bet you can' wait to get your stuff back! It'll be like Christmas except for the heat ;)
This is great! It's so much fun to look back at old pictures... makes me desperately want to decorate with timeless stuff rather than get caught up in trends.
One more thing... people always do this and it's probably kind of annoying, but here I am doing the same thing... where did you get that lamp that's clamped on your bookshelf in the pic with the tobacco basket? I keep wanting some for our bookshelves, but the ones i find are are either 80's brass or way too expensive.
I really do love your style. Thanks to Rhonda for providing a link to your blog.
You've inspired me to write my own then and now post about parts of my house. :) http://bit.ly/ks1x3i
I'd love to see more then and now posts from everyone! These are fun!
Sherry, I loved the trip down memory lane! It was so great finally meeting you this weekend! Have a great week with your new white floors:)
Hey Sherry- such fun to see your room transformation! I love your bookshelves with the white washed background. Can't wait to see what you come up with this go round.
xo~
T
Loved this post! It is so true, we do change things all the time don't we? I guess designer just get bored! Great post, may be I will try to find some pics of all my mantles...would be hilarious!
Hey Sherry,
Glad to find your blog. I have wondered the same thing about the arranging, rearranging, the time spent thinking about it etc. I will be following.
Debbi @ the beach
WOW! It doesn't even look like the same space. I enjoyed your pictures!
So fun to see how your room has changed. I'm so inspired by some of your recent mantelscapes...fabulous!
Since I took our "winter" down from the mantel I can't make up my mind about anything. I've just been keeping fresh flowers up there in blue mason jars...boring! Thanks for sharing these pictures!
Londen
I love your latest room! I like how you painted the backside of your bookcases to tie in with the mantle. It's given me some inspiration. Thank you!
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