Times change.
Technology moves forward.
Kids grow up.
I've been blogging for almost eight years and during that entire time I have never done any posts about this room.
Our home is 100 years old and it has been added onto several times over the decades. This room was part of an addition in 2000.
My husband has had his office here in our home since we bought the home in 1997. Back then he was working out of the basement but as the business grew it became obvious that was not working. The addition was created to give him a large office space, bathroom area, and a media room.
This room, "The Forgotten Room", was the media room. With a movie screen that drops down from the ceiling, it was used for presentations to clients.
Occasionally, the kids would have friends over to watch movies in this space.
But technology has changed. Along came faster internet connections, laptops and iPads. Now, most of the visual presentations are either done online or in the client's office. Our lifestyle has changed too. We are empty nesters now and it has been several years since we have used this room to watch a movie. This room became obsolete as a media room as the equipment aged and we added a large high definition and flatscreen television in our family room.
This has become a space that receives some of the castoffs of furniture and accessories from other rooms in the house.
Those sofas are circa 2000. They are still in great shape but if I were buying them today I would not choose that cordovan color.
But while a lot of the pieces in this room are fifteen years old or older, I am still attached to them.
They are a part of our history as a couple and as a family.
This bar area has a wine box that I painted about eight years ago and the painting behind the sink is from my aunt.
.It also houses one of my favorite paintings
I found this original oil at a consignment store. I do not know the artist but it is obvious from the back side of the canvas that it is rather old. I am guessing it is from the 1930's.
In an effort to keep the room from appearing too stodgy, I wanted to bring in edgier works like the abstract piece above the sofa and this,
modern piece, a hand embellished silk- screen by Steve Kaufman. We have always loved the movie, The Godfather, and bought his Michael Corleone piece when we were traveling. We fell in love with it and it just seemed so appropriate for a media room.
This a room full of memories, like this vase I painted a few years ago for a Traveling Door show. I had also made the necklace. In a wacky moment I decided to add the necklace to the vase. Voila! Another BeColorful creation.
I like that this room marries the past and older pieces with modern touches.
One of the older pieces is from a time when I had very little discretionary money. I traded a night table with a neighbor for this curved front chest. It had broken drawer rails and the top was rough but I liked the shape and I needed something to set a lamp on. :D So, I faux marbled the top to hide the old water damage. Remember when faux marble was a thing?
FYI, the drawer is still broken and I probably could have replaced it with a new, more functional chest but looking at this piece reminds me of those lean years. We didn't have any money but we still powered through and made do with what we had.
I don't ever want to lose that.
This is a room that holds those fun, maybe quirky, elements that I love but that don't fit anywhere else in the house.
We bought this huge round tray about ten years ago on a trip to southern Illinois. The wine box is from Sticks. I like these unexpected patterns and random styles mixed together.
Then there is Sam. Love him. He doesn't shed, doesn't need to be walked or kenneled, but never fails to make me smile.
These old wine bottles, nested in a wide mouthed urn filled with mini lights, look magical at night and they remind me of special evenings with friends and family.
Yes, this is a room of castaways but these castaways are a part of who I am. They are my memories even if they are in our forgotten room.
We can hold on to things for too long, but sometimes we just aren't ready to let them go.
Do you have some of these favored pieces too?
I'd love to hear about yours.
Thanks for stopping by.
xoxo,
p
Be Colorful Coastal : A new take on the Be Colorful style.
