Pop Goes New York

A few Sundays ago, we spent the day wandering around the city. A few shops, lunch and a museum make for an artful afternoon...

Calligraphic graffiti on Houston in Soho reminds us a bit of Mark Tobey

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A bit of sign language on 6th in the Village

Bike Path through a Lower East side park

New Converse store on Broadway in Soho

The School for Objects Criticized, Alexandre Singh at the New Museum

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Movement and Stillness, Americana

Last year we visited the MoMA to see, Into the Sunset: Photography's Image of the American West. While our weekend trips keep us in the Northeast, the spirit of those images have really resonated with us as we travel through the small towns and villages of New England--from local fairgrounds, to tiny motels, to the inspirational people we meet along the way...each with an amazing story and an individual expression of boundless creativity.

Robert Adams Longmont, Colorado

Motel interior, Adamstown, Pennsylvania

Giorgio De Chirico, Irving Penn

Vintage quilt

Robert Adams Colorado Springs, Colorado

Hilltop Motel, Westport, New York

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Ezra Pound, Richard Avedon

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A Little Night Music

As we left New Hampshire under a waxing moon on Sunday, we snapped a photo through bare, wintered branches...we love light through darkness; headlights through twilight, a nightlight in a dark hallway and moonlight in an inky sky.

Susan Rothenberg, Scat, Sperone Westwater

Porchlight through our keeping room window, NH

Cy Twombly, Cold Stream

Brandywine Museum skylight, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Susan Rothenberg, Blackground

Heavy Metal

Our New Hampshire house isn't the only antique home in our lives. Our apartment building in New York City is a double-wide, six floor brownstone built in the early 20th century. But there's little original charm left besides remnants of inlaid floors in the halls and marble wainscoting in the lobby. Most apartments have been stripped of their character, and the few with plaster walls and six inch moldings are being renovated as we speak. The history of all these old New York buildings though got us thinking about when they thrived--a time of locksmiths and master carpenters, radio programs and evenings at home. Here are some shots we've been taking that make us think of these days past...

The Russian-New Hampshire Connection

We stumbled upon Mikhail Magaril's work in the window of the Mimi Ferzt Gallery in Soho last Friday. We loved his paintings resembling playful 30's and 40's Russian Coloring Book art--always paired as a line drawing and full color version. Strangely, when uncovering generations of wallpapers from our New Hampshire home this past weekend, we found complimentary wallpapers from the 30's. Conversational and saturated much like Magaril's work, here are some examples of our Russian-New Hampshire connection, where art meets decor:

Mikhail Magril at Mimi Ferzt

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Vintage wallpaper

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Mikhail Magaril at The Center for Book Arts, NYC

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A Wyeth Kind of Love

Now that we have a home, we're thinking about how we'll fit into the legacy of its owners throughout the centuries, and how it will reflect who we are in the 21st century--a balance of New England tonality and elegance with Modernist organic sensitvity. So far, we're aiming for an Andrew Wyeth meets Shaker meets Wegner look. Here's some of our references:

Andrew Wyeth, Marriage

Taxidermy in the Silsby Library, New Hampshire

Seymour Antiques in Seymour, Ct.

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We love the vintage blankets as boxspring covers.

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Timorous Beasties Thistle Wallpaper

A very early Jamie Wyeth via Draw!

Andrew Wyeth, Winter Corn

Seymour Antique's mastery of tonality and pattern

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Andrew Wyeth, Sea Dog

Our New Hampshire Home

You'll have to excuse our indulgence...the (many) photos today are of our New Hampshire house 100+ years after yesterday's photos were taken. For family, friends and those who would like to keep up on our restoration progress/process, these are our "before" photos.

Exterior, Center Chimney Colonial, circa 1825

Front staircase detail

Between bedrooms, second floor

Second floor Keeping Room

First floor Living Room, looking into first floor Keeping Room

First floor Keeping Room

Looking out the window, first floor Keeping Room view of the Barn

Circa 1791 Cape that the current "main house" was added onto in 1825

From the Kitchen into Mudroom/Studio, both located in the 1791 house

Mudroom

Mudroom, look at the handcrafted door and hardware!

From the backyard, looking at the Guest House

Through the trees, standing at the waterfall

Swimming hole

A river view