Domythic Bliss

Vardos, Roulottes and Wagons, oh MY!

2012-03-14T21:38:00.005-04:00

Image source

Image source

Image source

Image Source

Image source

Image source

Image source

Image source

Image source

Image source

Image source

And here are a few links for even MORE Vardo gorgeousness.

Flick collection

Wagons Online

Another Flickr collection

Duende - a Vardo Eatery

2012-03-13T22:08:00.007-04:00

Artist and creative mind Jennifer Mata and her husband Kenneth (aka Thorne) are at the tail end of creating a wonderful thing--a gypsy Vardo wagon created to share the experience of food and joy in Portland, Oregon. I asked her a few questions.

- You are building a beautiful example of a gypsy Vardo or wagon. What first attracted you to the idea of having your own version of these moveable works of art?

My husband and I have both always found gypsy wagons--and the gypsy aesthetic--very beautiful. What a wonderful idea-- this exquisite little home that you can roam in! I remember watching a special on the gypsies and their wagons some years ago--it showed the inside of many of them and they were absolutely incredible. It was inevitable, I suppose, that we would eventually try our hand at creating one ourselves.

- What is the intended purpose of your wagon? Do you plan to take it to festivals or events?

We are using our wagon not to live in, but as a restaurant, or "food cart" (Those readers who live where we are located --Portland, Oregon-- know what a big thing the food carts have become here.) This is a long-awaited dream of sorts for us. For many, many years, we have enjoyed having our close friends over for dinners--- food, wine,family, music, good conversation and great friends are the central theme of these evenings ( In truth, we have them even when we do not have friends over, our evening meal is always the highlight of our day.)
It has been suggested for a long time, by just about everyone we know, that we should bring this to another level and open a restaurant. So, now we are! We will be serving regional dishes of Spain and some authentic gypsy recipes as well.

Along side our wagon will be a covered,candle and lantern-lit seating area reminiscent of a moroccan tent with pillows for sitting on and beautiful hangings. I will have a corner of the tent where we will be offering select handmade goods, duende dolls, some jewelry, hand-dyed scarves and wraps.

The emphasis of this endeavor is romance.

Our hope is to create a special, magical environment where people can come together and enjoy the simple things--being with friends and people they love, and enjoying great food in a beautiful atmosphere. A place that brings people together and reminds them that there is still much beauty in the world.

As far as festivals or events--perhaps in the future. For right now we will be located in one spot, on the corner of Hawthorne and 32nd Ave. in Portland,Oregon.

- What all was involved in the making of the vardo? Who did the woodwork and building, the decorating, etc? Where did you find your gorgeous gypsy-esque decorating details for the wagon?

Believe it or not, we purchased it as a plain white trailer. My husband-who is incredible at creating gorgeous environments-- is responsible for the essential design. We have also creatively brainstormed ideas together. and several people skilled in carpentry and woodworking have helped us bring all this to reality.

The decor has been picked up here and there over the years, and just happens to work perfectly. As with so much involved in this project, we find things are just naturally falling into place.

- I see a few pictures of Brian Froud faeries in your album of Duende images. Is this related to the name of your wagon? Can you tell us a little about that?

The Froud images-- like many of the images in the album that are not of our actual cart or items in the cart--are there mainly for inspiration (the Frouds are endlessly inspiring to me and to give an idea of the overall feel we are after. A duende, for people who are not familiar with the word, is a fairy-type creature, so these images are fitting in respect to that.

- The outside of your wagon is not yet painted (from the pictures I've seen). Gypsy wagons are known for their phenomenally vivid colors and patterns. What do you plan to do on yours?

Many of the very elaborately colorful vardos that come to mind when people think of the word are actually eastern european (Rom) in origin--our wagon is a Spanish gypsy wagon, and so we will be using the colors most associated with Spain-- sunflower yellow, with scarlet and charcoal or deep blue accents. When it is finished we will be posting photos in the album on our Duende page on Facebook.

This is also where we will be posting all updates regarding our Grand Opening. Hope to see you all there!

For more information on the meaning of the word 'Duende" you can go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duende_(art) and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duende_(mythology)

Now for pictures of the cozy wagon!

Bryony's House in the Pennines

2012-03-12T21:48:00.009-04:00

I can't stand it a day longer! I've been sitting on this particular Domythic post for a little over a week now, waiting to share it until the Global posts were done. Now it seems as if a few of those posts are going to be indefinitely delayed while I do more research (and have the time to do the more research) and I simply cannot wait any longer to share with you the home of Bryony Whistlecraft and her husband and son. Bryony is the creator of Woodland Wild, and contributor to FAE magazine. (Bryony is also the creative mind who came up with the name for Domythic Bliss!!) Her husband, Bruce, aka Doktor A, is also a talented artist known for his sculptures and Victorian Retro-Futurist robots. Families don't get much more creative than theirs, and it shows in their amazing home! I asked Bryony a few questions about her house. Visual droolage to follow after the interview...

You describe your home as being "a cottage at the foot of a mountain in the beautiful Yorkshire Pennines, UK." This sounds delightful! Can you tell us more about the location of your home? Do you have any particular walking paths you like to take? How have you encountered magic in your landscape, and how do you try to bring the magic of the landscape into your home?

My home is on the outskirts of a small market town, nestled at the spot where three valleys meet. It is a very 'in-between' place, standing as it does on the border of Yorkshire and Lancashire. From all around you can see nature – steep wooded hills topped with purple speckled heathery moorland, and enigmatic rocky outcrops. There is evidence of human habitation going back to the Bronze Age on the moors, and they still retain a sense of wildness.

We've barely explored a fraction of the walking paths in the 5 years we've lived here, but one of my favourites is the lane which winds its way up the hill behind my house. It takes you through a beech woodland with streams and waterfalls, finally emerging on the moors at the foot of the Orchan Stones, a massive natural rock formation (a place of 'ancient druid worship and sacrifice' if the guide book is to believed, but then aren't they all!).

I recently began exploring the folklore of the area and it turns out to be quite a hotspot of strangeness, including a very famous alien abduction! In fact it is known as 'UFO Valley'. We have our own faery hill, Stoodley Pike, where a door is said to open into the hillside on foggy nights, and there are many reports of lights seen in the sky over it. From our attic window you can see another local landmark, Eagle Crag, which is the haunt of witches and a ghostly white doe and hunter every Halloween. All of this just confirms to me that I have picked the
right spot to settle down!

As for bringing the magic indoors, we keep a seasonal altar in the living room which always has treasures gathered on our walks throughout the year displayed on it, giving us a direct connection to the land.

Does your home have a name?

We've toyed with the idea of a name but nothing has seemed quite right so far, which is quite unusual for me since I like to name everything. I think a name will be revealed once the house is ready.

When you first bought your house, it appears it was definitely not in move-in condition. Please tell us more about how the house was when you found it?

When we first viewed the house we naively thought all it needed was a bit of sprucing up, but on moving in it was quickly apparent that everything needed re-decorating. It had been subjected to a variety of DIY horrors over the last 100 years, and no one had seriously touched it for the past 15 years. The bathroom and kitchen were usable but impractical and rather unattractive, and the vinyl wallpaper used throughout the house had caused damp patches. The living room had a 'feature' fireplace made of reclaimed brick, which was truly hideous and not even attached to the wall properly. Oh, and the first week we moved in the basement flooded.

What drew you to the home and the potential you saw in it?

The location was a major part, whilst waiting for the estate agent we had a little walk around and were immediately drawn to the adjacent woodland and views. Once in the house we were very excited it had a proper hallway (most around here have the front door open straight onto the living room). There were also a few original features surviving, including two fireplaces and a plaster arch in the hallway. Although it is quite a compact house the rooms are of a good size and have nice high ceilings, so you don't feel at all cramped. And very importantly, the kitchen was big enough to accommodate the Gothic dining table we owned!

What changes have you made to the house since you moved in, and what projects are still on your to-do list?

In 5 years every room has been stripped back to the brick and re-plastered, the bathroom and kitchen have been completely redone, we've installed a wood burning stove, replaced windows and doors, replaced the radiators with reproduction cast iron ones, replaced all the light fittings, switches and plug sockets, restored floors, the bedroom fireplace and hallway arch, replaced the modern doors with Victorian ones... There is not a single thing in this house which hasn't been carefully thought about and either restored or replaced. We've even created two new rooms by subdividing the attic and bathroom, meaning we now have space for an art studio and office. When we moved in we had virtually no furniture, so that was also something we needed to acquire.

Thanks to eBay, local antiques shops and salvage yards we've picked up some really stunning pieces including lots of original Arts & Crafts oak furniture. Now all that is left to do is the garden, which has become a little wild since we moved in, and continue filling the nooks and crannies of the house with more treasures. I desperately want a fender seat for the living room, and a vast pair of antlers to go in the kitchen!

Being a wife and a mother, how does your family help in the decoration of your home? What are their favorite parts of the house?

The look of the house is very much a collaboration with my husband. We are both very visual people, with an irresistible compulsion to decorate everything so it fits with our style! Luckily we have quite similar tastes - I veer more towards Arts and Crafts, Pre-Raphaelite, and faerie while he likes Gothic Revival and neo-Victorian, along with modern pop surrealist art. And of course our house is also home to our son, a lively toddler, so we have had to find ways of meeting his needs whilst also having things arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way. We've learned not to be too precious, and that breakables can always be moved out of reach and that you can never have too many toy baskets! The house evolves as time goes on so we can always accommodate Max's current developmental stage and still have a pleasing look.

We all gravitate naturally to the living room, it is definitely the heart and hearth of the house. Most of the playing, reading, making and dreaming that characterises our daily life goes on in that room. Max is also very excited to soon be moving into his own bedroom, so we've had
lots of fun decorating that in a whimsical, faerie inspired way with lots of red spotty mushrooms!

You are also extremely artistic. What are some of your favorite projects you had a hand in that are on display in your home?

Strangely there is not much yet! All our energies have gone into practical projects like building cupboards and shelving. There is a large vintage shop cabinet in the bedroom which houses all of my husband's production toys (he is an artist and toy designer), but most of the artwork throughout the house is by other people. I like to knit and have a long list of projects to do, like blankets and cushions. I'm also half way through a William Morris inspired embroidery which will one day hang in the living room.

What would be your favorite room in your house, if you had to choose a favorite?

The living room, closely followed by the bathroom. The living room is absolutely perfect on a chilly evening when the fire is lit and the lamps are giving off a warm amber glow. It is also where the majority of our books live, and I find it deeply comforting to be surrounded by
books. And the bathroom is just luscious! If bathing can't be a decadent experience I don't know what can!

And now on to the droolworthy visuals. I strongly encourage you to click the pictures to maximum size to see the creative details of this gorgeous home.

We start in the living room, with its warm glow and William Morris curtains & pillows:
Love the creatures under the domes, by Chris Ryniak. And the artworks by Brian Froud and Julia Jeffrey. The shadow box is an 'Evidence of Faery' display Bryony put together, with " elf bolts, a hag stone, a tiny spoon and twigs from an oak, ash and thorn that are growing in my garden."
So many beautiful details...the overhead Art Nouveau lighting, the seasonal mantel display, the statues and books and warm inviting feel...
Bryony's kitchen with her Rangemaster. I love the juice squeezer on the cabinets...it looks like a little robot or alien up there. It is the 'Jucy Salif' design by Phillipe Starck for Alessi.
Her absolutely jaw-dropping kitchen table used to be a church altar. Heading upstairs, be sure to acknowledge the shelf of Cthulhu on your way up.
The bedroom is a perfect place to dream. Love the F.A.O. Schwarz Froudian Goblin, Bimble, on the bed. And of course the bed itself. And the wide-planked wood floors. And the wall art. And the sheer organza curtain. Ok. Everything.
"The mushrooms in the bedroom [on the wall] are real tree plate fungus. They were sliced off and dried out, and a small hole made in the back to hang over a nail."We've already seen a glimpse of the gorgeous wall of Green People (men and women) in a previous post, but here it is in context in the bedroom:Prepare to drop your jaw at this gorgeous bathroom:
"The gentleman's grooming station was made by Bruce using a salvaged Victorian gas light fitting, scrap brass and a plastic picnic bowl from TK Maxx."
We'll end our tour in the attic studio where, if you'll pardon the 'cribbed' phrase, 'the magic happens.' So many little details up here to look at and inspire. Fond farewell from this bewitchingly beautiful home!

Triptych

2012-03-11T22:28:00.006-04:00

This weekend was spent painting my art room/guest room, which we refer to as our "Dreaming Room", a lovely shade of green. This took more time than expected, and thus my time for Domythic posts sadly have been neglected. However, one of the walls in the newly green room has a gothic arch wall shelf I realized would be just perfect for a small triple-hinged frame set I found at a craft shop. So I was in the market to search for triptych images.

A triptych, although traditionally done for church altars with religious art, seems to trigger an innate aesthetic appeal for images in triplicate. It also offers a huge artistic enticement in its traditional format of an ornately closed arch, opening to reveal three interlocking and interrelated images. Although I admire greatly the triptych in its original form, I have a special fondness for modern and secular artists who take this religious form and make it their own.

Artist Leona Carrington:

Source

A gorgeous Etsy listing from MichaelBroad, who has two others for sale, equally fantastic:

For our Cephalopod-loving members, from Etsy seller Srzglass:

And of course, by the ever-inspirational Terri Windling:
By artist Bonni Reid

I've long wanted to make my own triptych as well...it can be done not only with three cut pieces of wood hinged together, but just a simple triple hinged frame. You can split an image you love from a print or calendar in three parts, or better yet, try creating a set of three interrelated images in photographic or art form.

Spring Ahead

2012-03-10T20:32:00.008-05:00

Don't forget to set your clocks forward an hour tonight! Try to remember the hour of light we gain, instead of the hour of sleep you lose.

In honor of the event, we celebrate the timeface.

If we're talking about mythic clocks, the first one to come to my mind is definitely the Corpus Clock. This phenomenal piece of art is a fairy tale come to life.

There's also the gorgeous Medieval Astronomical Clock in Prague. Quite a fairy tale as well.

Picture by Mariel.
Picture from Wikipedia.

A few goodies from Etsy to celebrate the event. A gorgeous necklace from The Fable Trib e.

A gorgeous grandfather clock. Tom and I are searching regularly for a good deal on a grandfather clock on our local Craigslist. There's nothing like the deep "gong" of the chime.

And a beautiful Mission-style mantle clock featuring crows and a tree silhouette.

A Hobbit-size Set of Pictures

2012-03-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I think I would be more shocked to know that any of you were *not* on pins and needles eagerly anticipating The Hobbit's theatrical release this December. So here's a sneak peek for you. I know a gal named Kate Malone (that's her walking by Frodo in the picture above) who was incredibly lucky to be cast as an extra on the set. She took some pictures of Hobbiton after shooting was done there, and just recently got the green-light to share the images. Thank you, Kate, for letting me share them here!

A Domythic Place to Get Away...

2012-03-08T20:48:00.010-05:00

You know, I think some of the most Domythic interiors I've ever seen are from hotels and inns. It seems like the places we want to go on vacations to get away can be more fantastical and exotic, and in turn, the spaces are ever-so inspiring. There are many many inspirational hotels and inns out there, but I thought I'd just start with a few of my favorites...

Land's End Inn - Recently brought to my attention by Jen Parrish, I can think of no other inn that has made my jaw gape quite like this one. Every room is full of inspiration...every view, every item. I especially love how in many of the rooms, the style is Domythic, and there are details everywhere you turn, but the overall feel of the space isn't oppressive or cluttered, but airy and free.

Figueroa Hotel - Also brought to my attention by Jen Parrish a while ago. This hotel in California seems like a space out of time.

Kennedy School - I cannot recall who first told me about this converted elementary school hotel in Portland, Oregon, but I would love to at least visit there. Of course they serve their own brewed ales, and there's a beautiful outdoor tiled saltwater pool. The rooms are somewhat plain, but some of them still have their original chalkboards.

Landoll's Mohican Castle - I had to sneak this local treasure in. Located just an hour away from our house, this secluded castle in the middle of a state park is absolutely incredible. The space is divided up into suites, and each suite has its own personality (some have towers, others have entrances tucked into corners, etc).

Above two images c. Virginia Wilson Photography

This is the room where we stayed when we visited.

What are some of your favorite hotels and inns for Domythic style?

Down the Rabbit Hole - Links Upon Links

2012-03-07T21:59:00.006-05:00

Image from The Teleidoscope photography project.

I thought it might be fun to go "down the rabbit hole" of lovely blogs and Tumblrs tonight. I wanted to share with you a few of my own favorites. This list is by no means exhaustive...and I'm exhausted just posting them all. The world of beautiful images on the internet has just exploded...there are so many places to get lost and spend hours...Blogs, Tumblrs, Pinterest... But this is a list of a few of my favorites that I feel are, to one degree or another, related to Domythic life.

Hooked on Houses - A new one to me, though definitely not a new blog. I love how she manages to be so prolific and professional, and yet maintain the colloquial discussion style of a smaller blog.

Arquitura Pessoal - A wonderful Tumblr of enchanted domestic images.

Steampunk Home - It can veer a little more toward the techy mechanical side...not shocking with the title of the blog...but there are some fantastical things here too!

Interior Alchemy - Quite possibly my favorite interiors Tumblr.

Moon to Moon - Leaning more toward the bohemian side of interiors. And dreamy.

Conversations with the Muses - I'm sure you all have seen the stunning Faerie wedding photo shoot that keeps going around the internet and making us all sigh with its loveliness? Well, this is the blog of the lady who designed, coordinated, and created the visuals of that day. Keep a special eye out for the posts sharing pictures of her own cozy and beautifully fantastical home.

Folk and Fairy - Not just domestic images, but boy do I ever LOVE this blog. She doesn't post as often as she used to, but she makes her posts well worth waiting for. She finds the most utterly enchanting faerie and mythic items and images.

Maison Marrakech - Gorgeous decor and architectural images and links inspired by Moroccan style.

The Hanging Garden - Bryony's wonderful new Tumblr full of enchanted images, domestic and otherwise.

Nell Hills Blog - I've mentioned before that I find Nell Hills' decor style to be very conducive to Domythic interiors. Her stuff is elegant but not stuffy, and she often uses organic elements. This is her blog, and she usually updates once a week.

Midwest to Midlands - Oh oh oh this blog is sometimes too much for me to take...FULL of the glorious beauty of England from the perspective of a former American. The photos will take your breath away.

Might I add that simply linking these blogs...some of which I haven't had a chance to visit in a while...have made me take my own tumble down the hole as I clicked links from lovely images to other blogs and images....The internet is indeed a most enchanting place. Perhaps instead of a rabbit hole, I should call it a faerie ring, where once we start dancing, it's very very hard to stop...

Kidtropolis' Unabashedly Sweet Faerieland

2012-03-06T22:27:00.003-05:00

The first picture below has circulated around some of my favorite Tumblr pages. Thank heavens for the new Google reverse image search...I was able to find the people responsible for this stunning child's room. Kidtropolis, an interior design company specializing in childrens' rooms, created every detail of this amazing space. Do click the link for many more pictures.

I so admire the dutch door with the smaller fairy door at the bottom (for a pet, I suspect?)

Fairy houses connect the shelves:

Romantic curtains:

Love the mushrooms!

Even the ensuite bathroom has been bedecked!

I have not forgotten about our Global Domythic series. A bout with winter sickness has left me unable to do the research on the remaining posts as quickly as I'd like. Allow me a few breaks for lovelies, like the above post.

Let them know you know they're there...

2012-03-04T20:14:00.006-05:00

I'm a little under the weather today, and am postponing the next Global post. Instead, I thought I'd share a quote I enjoyed from the book I'm reading right now, Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World, by Signe Pike.

"Coleen explained that making gestures of friendship is very important in the faery kingdom. Buying something like a faery house, for example, would be a good way to let them know you know they're there. Putting honey out, creating a little space for them in each room, talking to them, buying them shiny things--these were all good ways to open the lines of communication."
-pg 45

I appreciated Signe's way of summing up the commonality between many traditional forms of faerie house welcomes: letting them know you know they are there. If we see this as the overall goal, it becomes much easier to improvise the way we greet the faeries of our homes depending on our circumstances, locations, and what we may have access to.

Signe follows this quote with a delightful chapter (pg 49-61) telling the story of five days she spent in her New York City apartment trying to invite and welcome the faeries into her home. I haven't finished her book yet, but thus far I am finding it quite delightful, and highly recommended.

Domythic Africa

2012-03-03T20:44:00.011-05:00

What a diverse and fascinating continent full of so many different cultures and rich heritages! While it is next to impossible in a single blog post to summarize the wide variety of myth and folklore in such a wide plethora of African countries and cultures, there are a few overall observations I wanted to make.

-Fabric, and the patterns on fabric, are a big part of the mythic story of many African cultures. In particular, Kente Cloth, originating with the Akan people of Ghana, is a sacred cloth of kings, and the woven patterns can tell different stories. Wikipedia has a wonderful summary of what the different colors in Kente cloth symbolize.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Also originating with the Akan of Ghana, Adinkra, usually used on fabric and pottery items, are a series of symbols, not unlike hieroglyphics and other languages of symbols

Image from Wikipedia.

Image from this excellent post by Art in the Studio

Unfortunately, African countries are known for such colorful and beautiful fabrics, they are sometimes "forged" for use in popular cultural items. Like so many details when decorating Domythically, it is important for this reason to get the full story on the fabrics you use in your home.

-I recently read an excellent compilation of African folk tales called The Girl Who Married a Lion. In this book, I discovered many delightful details of folklore in various African countries. I highly recommend it. One thing I noticed in the book is the character of the "trickster hare" that seems to reoccur in different stories. Indeed, it is through the transmission of these tales to America that the character of "Br'er Rabbit" began.

Hooked rug pattern from Etsy seller FullyWoolyPrimitives.

Original art by Suzanne'sGallery.

More information on hares and rabbits in mythology and folklore can be found in this article by Terri Windling.

Two more ideas for decorating in this style, from the book Ethnic Interiors.

If entomology is your hobby, you could display specimens (humanely and/or naturally obtained) from the African continent:

Or if you prefer living plants, choose indoor specimens that mimic those found in African lands, or types that are actually found there:

A final recommended book, for further inspiration in decorating in an African style, is the book African Style: Down to the Details, the source for the rest of these images.

Shveta Thakrar - Domythic South Asia

2012-03-02T09:47:00.013-05:00

Artist Niroot Puttapipat has illustrated a gorgeous version of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. This illustration is for Quatrain 70 -
Indeed, indeed, Repentance oft before
I swore - but was I sober when I swore?
And then and then came Spring, and Rose-in-hand
My thread-bare Penitence apieces tore.

Tonight's blog is written by guest blogger, Shveta Thakrar. Many thanks to her!

At the Sirens Conference in 2010, young adult fantasy author Malinda Lo pointed out that cultural exchanges have taken place throughout history and indeed are necessary for a civilization to survive. As the saying goes, the only constant is change. Language, food, fashion--without a constant trade of fresh ideas and new ways of being, cultures become stagnant and die. It only turns problematic when the "exchange" becomes one-sided, when instead of a relationship based on mutual respect, one party preys upon the other, seeing the latter as a cave to be mined for shiny objects while impressing its own values and notions of beauty and correctness on the latter. In other words, colonialism.

Let's take a moment to imagine South Asia. Picture its vibrant colors, sumptuous fabrics, and sparkling jewels. Consider its rich epics and lush lore, its lavishly dressed rajas and ranis of old, its elephants and peacocks, snakes and tigers. Envision the Hindu and Buddhist panoply of deities lovingly depicted in both art and ritual. See yourself before the fine architecture of the Muslims, the most well-known example being that dazzling wonder of the world, the Taj Mahal. Seat yourself before a steaming plate of food, complex and layered with spices as delicious to look at as to eat, and feast your eyes on it.

Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? Fancy and mysterious and--gasp!--exotic! However, as tempting as it is to think of "the exotic East," it's a fallacy. South Asia is made up of a number of smaller cultures and regions, each made up in turn of people with their own identities and languages and philosophies. People who struggle and prosper and live and love, who run businesses or treat patients or paint and sculpt and dance. People who don't all believe or want the same thing. South Asians are people like any other. Not only is Western influence becoming more and more a force in their lives, making the above romantic vision less and less accurate every day, but for them, the things listed above are just life, the same way celebrating Thanksgiving and going to prom are everyday occurrences in North America.

What I'm trying to say is, when decorating in a South Asian style, we can't forget to remember the people behind the seemingly romantic exterior. It's extremely important that care be taken when choosing what elements to use, because unfortunately, the current cultural exchange in the world is not equal. Western culture has found is way nearly everywhere, but the reverse is not true. I personally believe domythic decorating can help bridge this gap, but we ned to be mindful in order for that to happen.

In decorating on an international level, we need to make sure we know what we are using and why. For instance, if someone or something is considered sacred or endangered in some way, we should give a great deal of thought to whether we really need to use it. (Think the image of the god Ganesh on commercially produced flip-flops, something considered profane to Hindus, as shoes are unclean.) We must remember that the folklore and traditions are very much alive for the people they belong to, and they're not just toys for our amusement. Also, when we buy, why not do so in a way that properly compensates the people who made our products?

With all that in mind, let's talk decorating! When I was growing up, my mother filled our house in Texas with beautiful objects like metal plates engraved with peacocks. We had cloth paintings of scenes from the Mahabharata, such as Lord Krishna dancing with the gopis (cowherdesses), of lovers sitting together in swings.

Krishna with Gopis, painting from the Smithsonian, via Wikipedia.

Statues of the gods and lovers Radha and Krishna stood tall in corners, Krishna playing his flute. Stairwells were bright with colorfully embroidered wall hangings dotted with tiny mirrors in the Rajasthani style. Metal elephants rested on curio shelves (except when they somehow became my playthings). Torans hung over doorways, their bells swishing when a tall person walked from room to room.

A gorgeous example of a Toran, from Flickr.

Carved copper bowls shone on tables, and round copper lamps lit the living room, their light gleaming through multicolored tiny panes. A huge black chest encrusted with stones in beautiful designs was one of my favorite things to open and play with.

Now, in my own Victorian Dollhouse, I have a one-string mobile of elephants in bold colors. Torans in various sizes, shapes, and colors adorn doorways and windows.

Shveta's beautiful home.

I'm Hindu, and my husband is Buddhist, so we've hung up an assortment of deities on the walls. As a wedding gift, my grandmother bought us sheets for our bed, a gorgeous dark red satin with a vivid blue peacock motif. Less fancy but wonderfully comfortable is my cotton blanket, called an ajrak, from the desert area of Kutch where my great-grandmother's house stood prior to the earthquake of 2001.
An elaborate Ajrak on Ebay.

I'm a collector of lotuses and have lotus-shaped candle holders. My husband acquired a set of carved wooden furniture from the state of Kashmir, which is impatiently awaiting reupholstery. I hope to add a set of these poufs to the mix as time and money allow.

I also really, really want this nagini door handle for my future writing room.

Speaking of words, literature is a wonderful place for inspiration, particularly since we're talking about myth. Try the Mahabharata, an incredibly intricate epic tale about five brothers and their war with their cousins. Find out how Queen Kunti came to bear these sons, or how Draupadi came to marry all five. Or try the Ramayana, another epic. Familiarize yourself with the story of Sita and Rama, how the city of Ayodhya was lost and then won again, and the various retellings thereof. Enjoy fables older than Aesop's in the collection called Panchatantra. Read the same comic versions of history and stories I did as a child: Amar Chitra Katha. That's how I learned about Birbal and how he saved the mango tree from quarreling neighbors Rama and Shama. Definitely read South Asian fairy tales!

Check out history books and biographies and get a feel for the place and its past and present. Ever heard of Phoolan Devi, the bandit queen? Learn about the many types of South Asian fey, some of whom are part of the various religions. Listen to traditional and modern South Asian music. Research the instruments used to make it, some of which are no longer in use. Watch Bollywood old and new, Indian art movies, and modern Indian TV for ideas of what South Asia actually looks like. Pick up a cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey or Tarla Dalal and prepare dishes from different regions. Look at the vessels used both before and now.

If you have friends or family from any part of South Asia, look around their houses. What sorts of mythic objects do they keep, if anything? What tales can they recount? Myth, after all, is a reflection of those who tell it, a record of our hearts. It remembers for us how we survived, rejoiced, grieved, loved, and of course, grew. And that is certainly international in scope.

An Intro to Global Domythic Style

2012-03-01T20:43:00.004-05:00

"The Origin of Rubies" and "Star Lovers" by Golden Age Illustrator, Warwick Goble, an artist who created absolutely beautiful fairy tale works based on global themes. Courtesy of Art Passions.

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking online with one of our Domythic Bliss members, writer Shveta Thakrar. She had written a short story for Cabinet des Fees, and she was telling me about some of the critical comments she had received toward the tale.** Some people had told her that the names of her characters were too foreign and hard to pronounce, and some made disparaging comments toward aspects of the tale that seemed too unknown to them. While I would certainly like to think that this sort of cultural insensitivity is in the vast minority of the mythic community, it alarmed me to hear the story of her experience with it.

I had read a suggestion in the Domythic Bliss Facebook group that I do a series of posts on Global Domythic style, and hearing of Shveta's experience lit a fire under me to do so sooner rather than later. It's true: even though much of modern mythic fiction and the mythic arts is based on European and Western mythological characters and stories, there is an entire world of cultural beauty to admire and respect. Imagination, wonder, magic, and even faeries are international concepts, and every nation in the world has its own unique stories to tell.

Shveta and I had more conversations about the idea of my blog post series on Global myth and decor. I told her how nervous I was to broach a topic that seems to cause debate and disagreement whenever it is brought up: the topic of how to tell the difference (and where the line lays) between cultural admiration and cultural appropriation. I, for one, have always been a person who backs down from any conflict like a turtle retreating into a shell. And so, as I told Shveta, it should tell you how important it is to me that we are reminded of the world's wide variety of beautiful myth and storytelling that I am doing this series of posts.

Cultural appropriation can be something very hard to define, in this case when it comes to decorating specifically. And often the line between acceptable and non-acceptable cultural decorating can be fluid. For instance, is it appropriation for a woman born in the U.S. who has never left her country to want a room of her house to be inspired by 1,001 Nights, Aladdin, or another such fairy tale from another culture? (I sure hope not, because the girl in that example happens to be me!) What about my coworker, a white American citizen who spent a good deal her childhood years living and growing up in Haiti? She has several statues in her house of the Voodoo god, Legba, who is revered in Haiti, and is quite important to her and interwoven with her life experiences. However, she does not practice Voodoo.

Often times, the definition of cultural appropriation in decorating is more about non-visual intent and conscious knowledge, and not necessarily based on any things that are visible to the eye. A long-haired, overalls-wearing white man could be a practicing Buddhist, and the statue of Buddha in his home is part of his religion. A trendy young woman returning from China might put the same sacred statue in her hallway just to add a touch of multi-cultural flare, not knowing a thing about it other than it being a "neat little man." Simply looking at the two statues, you may never be able to guess the intent behind the object. But the intent is the most important thing when we are trying to celebrate global culture and global myth without disrespecting the culture we are celebrating. And the only way to really decorate with full intent is to educate ourselves on the stories that come with the items, sacred and secular, from other cultures.

In this short series of posts highlighting some of the decorating motifs in other cultures, I will do my best to, where appropriate and where I can find the information, educate us all about the stories behind the items people use to decorate their homes. If at some point I veer into a place you consider to be appropriation, let me reassure you that it is entirely unintentional. And please...if you have any knowledge of the myths, spiritual beliefs, or practices of one of these cultures, I would love to hear from you and educate myself further as well!

**which, by the way, I have read. It is wonderful!

Delay

2012-02-29T20:15:00.000-05:00

So tonight the plan was to write a blog post introducing a series on Global Domythic style. But I find myself grasping for words...

...and I think I'd be better served to post the introduction tomorrow night.

Paper art by Hinaaoyama.

Gothic 2

2012-02-28T22:32:00.005-05:00

Today, our part 2 of Gothic decor comes to you courtesy of the fantastic blog I can't believe I just discovered, Hooked on Houses. Here are two phenomenal homes she has featured on her blog.

A modern-built Gothic Revival House that looks convincingly like an older house that has been renovated. Oh, and did I mention they intentionally built the kitchen to mimic the famous Practical Magic house?

Or perhaps you'd rather spring for a modern-built castle? With a 3,800 square foot guest house? In Arkansas?

Medieval Gothic

2012-02-27T22:09:00.009-05:00

I can't recall who, but someone on the Facebook group suggested I could do some posts on Medieval Gothic decorating. Although I have a huge admiration for people who choose to decorate in extremely dedicated Gothic style, I personally prefer an eclectic blend of Victorian, Edwardian, Medieval, and entirely fantastical with just a few Gothic touches for my own home. But you can't argue with results, and these results are...well...WOW.

I'll start with a picture of a room that came up on the first page of Google results. I clicked on it to discover it's actually the old bachelor pad living room of a local friend of mine who is an incredible medieval reenactor. He would be the first person to remind me that the majority of the images in this post are not really Medieval...they is Victorian Medieval (this is my favorite response when people ask me what my favorite time period is)...a fictional time period created by the Victorians to romanticize the actual medieval period and make it seem far more enticing than it actually was. Think...Pre-Raphaelite art and Arts & Crafts decor by Morris & Co. Similarly, most "Gothic" interior decor is an amalgamation of time periods ranging from Medieval to Renaissance and Victorian, all with a Gothic, Ecclesiastical theme.

But oh, so pretty.
(Many thanks to Lisa for identifying this gorgeous bedroom from The Witchery in Scotland...I would LOVE to go there someday!)

A great way to instantly Gothic-Medieval up a room is to add icon-like art and frames. I've seen frames like these appear at my local Hobby Lobby stores once in a blue moon.

The previously mentioned Lyndhurst Castle is a great example of Gothic architecture.

I adore the below example, because while it is very very Gothic, the headboard appears to be growing vine. I wish I knew the story behind this!

Thanks to Mags for identifying this bed from Little Retreats....it is from a place called The Menagerie.

Of course you could always actually live in a castle too...like Neuschwanstein

If you are lucky enough to find beautiful Gothic stained glass windows, what a headboard they will make!

Thanks to Lisa for identifying this bed, made by Scottsdale Art Factory.

Extraordinary Interiors

2012-02-26T20:05:00.003-05:00

Tonight's recommended read is Extraordinary Interiors: Decorating with Architectural Salvage and Antiques. If you're looking for a book of practical advice on obtaining budget salvage and antiques, this is not it. If, however, you want jaw-gawping, oooh-inducing prettiness, by all means, check it out.

Please note: sometimes with recommended books, I take photos of some of the pages. The photos are taken with flash, and not good quality. But frankly that's somewhat intentional, because you should have to buy the book to see the picture in all it's loveliness.

I thought the below idea was quite creative and at least somewhat reproduceable. The home owner collected antique pool table pockets with ornamental detailing, and turned them into sconces.

The below house was my favorite in the book. It's the epitome of over-the-top, but with so many beautiful details!!

Tree Loft Bed

2012-02-25T22:54:00.002-05:00

"Grandpa Mike", clearly a very creative guy, created this loft tree bed for his granddaughter.

Man. I want a Grandpa Mike!!

Why?

2012-02-24T22:01:00.003-05:00

The main purpose of the Domythic Bliss blog is to answer the question of how to create a mythically inspired abode. However, one question that I have yet to address is another basic query...why create a mythically inspired abode?

1. To honor the place where you live

There's a quote I found recently from Mark Twain that I especially love. "To us our house was not unsentient matter--it had a heart & a soul & eyes to see us with, & approvals & solicitudes & deep sympathies; it was of us, & we were in its confidence, & lived in its grace & in the peace of its benediction. We never came home from an absence that its face did not light up & speak out its eloquent welcome--& we could not enter it unmoved."

If you ever get a chance to see Mark Twain's house, you will agree it is definitely a Domythic abode, with Walter Crane wallpaper in the nursery, and wonder around every corner. But Twain wasn't just lucky enough to live in a rare home with a personality and a spirit...he acknowledged the presence of a soul in his home that can be present in any abode where people live, grow, share emotions, and tell their stories. He helped to create the environment around him that helped to tell the story of the house.

This is one reason to decorate Domythically...because the places where we live deserve it. Those of us who are lucky enough to live in a house with some history owe it to this place that has sheltered others before us to help reveal and share its story with others and celebrate it among ourselves. And those of us who live in new homes have a blank page ahead of us on which to write the beginning of the story of a new home that may shelter many after us. Domythic decorating is about storytelling, and those of us who love it do so in part because we love stories. But the primary story we have a duty to tell is the story of the home we live in. This is why I find it so jarring when people who own a Victorian home decorate the inside with modern minimalism, say, or someone who owns a cottage decorates in safari prints. I understand a home is a reflection of the people inside, but we should show respect to the home itself by decorating in a manner that flows with the style of the house.

2. To never, ever grow up.

Have you ever been over to a person's house, and you gawk and wonder at how pristine and well put-together it is, but you feel like you have to perch at the edges of the cushions? You look around at the decor of the room, and everything matches...you can tell they bought the drapes to match the pillows, the shower curtain to match the trash basket. It's very pretty...very styled. In fact, maybe they even hired a decorator to put it all together. The bathroom is so huge, you could hold a masked ball in the middle of the floor between the jacuzzi tub and the double sinks. But there's no life in it at all whatsoever. The person decorates that way because it's what society tells them they should want. Similarly, many people graduate college and enter the real world, and over a period of time...sometimes a few years, sometimes a few decades...they lose all sense of what it is to be childlike...not childish, but childlike in their sense of wonder and imagination. They cut their long braids into short business-like haircuts they maintain monthly. They throw away their gypsy skirts and velvet and put on business suits and pantyhose.

Now, mind you, I am aware that not all of us work at places where we can dress in Froud-print t-shirts and hand-painted Chuck Taylors. Not everyone who wears suits and heels is automatically the enemy. But there's a certain energy you can feel from someone who you know has a secret stash of faerie postcards in her cubicle drawer, and someone who you can tell has just given in to the disease we and Peter Pan know as "growing up." And for those of us who have to hide our dreaming souls during the work day, having a place to come to that is all about art and creativity and storytelling and wonder and imagination and myth and fairy tales (I get excited just writing all those words in a row) is essential to our well being. It's a way of balancing out the world of politics and bills and budgets and shopping lists we have to live in with a reminder that we are always, at heart, the little boys and girls who played imaginary games with our pet dragons and unicorns.

3. To be a part of the story movement

The amazing artist (and incredible writer) Rima Staines recently wrote a post on the first day of 2012. I could summarize it here, but then you might not go over there and read it, so instead I'll just link it here so you have to! But in the post, she discusses the idea of a subtle revolution against the bland, homogenous and commercial aspect of modern society. I was definitely roused and inspired by the idea of this revolution or movement. It got me thinking about how we all are participating in a subtle revolution by trying to carry on and revive the folklore and fairy tales from our mythic history. We are like the green eco-movement, only our goal is to save folklore instead of nature (although of course the two go hand in hand!) We want to save the stories of the past, and create new ones.

I work at my local library, and my boss, knowing my preferences, put me in charge of shelving and maintaining the fairy tale section of the children's department. I've discovered more and more over the years I've worked there that the fairy tale section is among the least utilized in the library. Of course, there are many books in other areas of the library that are liberally inspired by fairy tales, but it's sad to see fewer and fewer parents reading their children the original source material. Painting quotes from romantic poets and fairy tales on your walls may not seem revolutionary, but all of us together, through surrounding ourselves with fairy tales and myths and supporting the mythic arts, help keep modern storytellers and the arts alive.

4. Because it just feels right

In October of 2008, my husband and I were married. We had a simple elopement to a local park. Only the minister (also a photographer), my husband and I were present. My mom and I made my wedding dress together, a purple dupioni silk medieval-inspired gown with autumn leaves embroidered on the bodice and the full skirt. When I showed people our wedding pictures after, I frequently was told how great it was that I wore purple, etc. But let me tell you...I went to David's Bridal long before the wedding and tried on dresses there. And standing on the platform in a strapless gown and veil, I felt more like I was in costume than I have at any sci fi con or ren faire I've attended. Wedding gowns are gorgeous. Wedding gowns are perfect if they feel just right to you. But wearing that purple gown on my wedding day wasn't done to make a statement or be different...it was done because it was a reflection of who I am inside, and felt natural.

Okay, I hope you see where I'm going with this. Our houses are like that purple gown. We don't fill our houses with quirky and fantastical and magical objects in order to impress others or do what people expect of us. We simply do it because it is what comes naturally to us. It is, simply put, an expression of what we love.

In closing, I wanted to include a few quotes from Domythic readers from the Facebook group. I recently asked the same question..."WHY Domythic?" to the group, and got some really great responses.

"For me it is the dissatisfaction with the mundane 'real' world, the feeling of not really belonging in this time and place. It is magic and myth that calls to me and gives me that elusive sense of belonging, and that is reflected in what I chose to surround myself with. My home is literally a refuge from the outside world so it really couldn't be anything but an interpretation of the magic and myth that I love! It is also very beautiful, and generally upholds a craftsman ethic - I can't understand why so many manufactured goods are just downright ugly. I totally understand 'form follows function' and simplicity has a beauty in itself, but there is no excuse for poor design whether you're talking about a doorknob or a kettle or a house or car." -Bryony Whistlecraft

" I have always needed for there to be more to the world than meets the eye, and for me to feel truly at home in a place, the decorating has to echo that to a certain degree... I grew up peering down rabbit holes and digging around in the backs of wardrobes in the search of magic, and nothing has changed as I've got older - if anything, I am worse now!" -Ali English

" I don't make a conscious attempt to express it in my home decor. Yet the things that charm and delight me are much the same as they've always been: organic, nature-inspired forms - animals, mushrooms, Art Nouveau; natural objects like shells and feathers; pretty things - lace, embroidery, coloured and reflective glass. I'm often drawn to objects with nostalgic appeal - framed children's book illustrations, a glass sweet jar full of marbles, my Peter Rabbit egg cup. So what is the common theme? Bryony spoke of feeling out of place in the mundane "real" world. Many of us share that dissatisfaction with the world. Can there be anyone who doesn't sense that there's something wrong with the world, or with us? I believe that deep down we all yearn to return to a simpler, innocent time, to be more in touch with nature, especially with our own true nature and innocence. So, sensing that what we've lost is buried somewhere in our past, we turn to ancient myths, and things that recall happy memories of childhood." - Helen Virginia Bye

"When I was little, my parents didn't have a lot of money, but they made sure we always had books. I grew up on fairytales and mythologies of every country imaginable. Those early childhood fantasies of "I wish I was there..." left me with the desire to re-create some of those dreams within my own home, so I do! The collection of beautiful brass pieces on top of my dresser remind me of Ali Baba's cave, the glass balls hanging over the kitchen table are tangible soap bubbles blown by fairies, and all the artist's dolls, Pre-Raphealite pictures, the art glass, instruments, wreaths and loops of leaves and greenery ...well, you need no excuse for beauty." - PattyLynn Winters

"Well, the need to create a safe place, a cocoon of my own. And the stronger-than-me way of making sense of everything that is in my head. I dress/decorate the way I listen to music and see art. It's a whole. I need my inside to be coherent and reflected on the outside." - Alexandrion Drallipo

"I just need to be living a magical and creative life. The more we tend to make things cold and sterile in the world, destroying nature and ignoring beauty as we build and make things, the more it hurts my heart to see, and I need to counter that in my own existence. Stories and imagination and enchantment are great for that. So domythic bliss all the way!" - Shveta Thakrar

Full Fathoms Five Thy Father Lies

2012-02-23T23:22:00.008-05:00

And now for something completely different. My posts have tended toward the woods and wild of faerie. But there's an entire ocean of myth out there as well to dive into for inspiration!!

Someone (I'm so sorry I can't remember who!!) posted this picture to the Domythic Bliss FB group of a beautifully lacy pearl and shell corner:

Of the Little Mermaid (Disney) rooms I've seen, this one is my favorite. Imagine having this room as a little girl:

Or um, you could just have enough money to have an entire aquarium built around your bedroom...

I seem to recall this grotto bathroom was from Neuschwanstein Castle. I could very likely be wrong:

Or you could sleep surrounded by open water. Quite risky for sleepwalkers and groggy mornings:

Or sleep on the half shell:

I found the below image to be more practically inspirational. I love the way they used blue organza for the curtain, mimicking the shimmer of light in the water:

Merle Pace's beautiful underwater bathroom she helped create for a friend: Grapevine on the walls resemble coral and seaweed, and glass fish hang all around.

Mermaid and ocean themes are pretty common for bathrooms, but I thought the soft colors and the pale mermaid statue of this incarnation below made it quite inspiring:

Oops...Mr Octopus is reminding me not to forget our more Jules Vernesque friends:

How about a submarine underwater home theater?

Or this sublimely beautiful dining room? This one also, while extremely gorgeous and elaborate, is inspirational for any room I think. Their use of the dim lighting, the color green instead of blue, and the patterns on the ceiling and walls really give it a different sort of look from the other undersea rooms, and yet entirely oceanic.

House Faeries - A Few Introductions Part II

2012-02-22T22:23:00.003-05:00

Drake - A little house fairy who smells of rotten eggs and wears a red cap and white tunic. When they fly, they become a will o' wisp with the illusory appearance of a small dragon. They are usually attached to a specific family, and can travel the world doing tasks for them in exchange for their being cared for.

Couldn't find a great Drake picture, but I picture it sort of like these Froud paintings:

Hob - Small household spirit who can live in the house or outdoors in the farmyard. To get rid of a hob, one must give him a new set of clothing (ex: Dobby!)

Lares - Guardian deities of the hearth in Roman religion. They often acted as the intercessors between the more important gods in the pantheon and the household they protected. Statues of the Lares were brought out during meal times and all family events. Quite possible that Lares were an inspiration for many house faerie stories.

Tomte - Scandinavian faerie who would take care of the family and protect them from all trouble. They were especially active at nighttime. Sometimes he is described much like a Domovoi, as an old bearded man. However, sometimes he appears with a single eye, like a cyclops. He was extremely strong, and easily offended. Any changes in the traditional running of the farm or household could upset him. Tomte also had a weakness for gifts of porridge.

From this whole page full of Tomtes for sale:

House Faeries - A Few Introductions

2012-02-21T22:10:00.004-05:00

Time to introduce you to a few types of house fey!

Brownies - Legendary creature of Scotland and England. The Brownie is a type of hob who works at night in exchange for small gifts or food (porridge and honey are two favorites). A regular tradition among rural folk was to take the newly churned milk and sprinkle the corners of the house with it as a libation to the brownie. Never, ever refer to the gifts you leave a brownie as "payment," or the creature will leave immediately and offer no more assistance.

House Brownie drawing by Lauren Pettapiece.

Toni Diterlizzi's version of a Spiderwick Brownie.

Two sweet examples of house brownies for sale on etsy from FuegoFatuo.

Boggart - An always malicious faerie in English lore. The boggart is behind a good deal of household mischief such as milk souring, items disappearing, and animals being injured. Boggarts tend to follow a family from house to house, but putting a horseshoe above the front door can keep them away. Boggarts are described in Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi's Spiderwick Chronicles as a Brownie who has been angered. There is some precedent to this idea, as it has also been mentioned in other earlier books such as Tasha Tudor's Corgi picture books.

Boggart drawing by Patrick A Garland.

A Boggart in the Spiderwick film.

Domovoi - An excellent modern resource for this house fey is Catherynne Valente's Deathless. The domovoi feature very prominently in this (extremely excellent) book, and truly come to life! A Domovoi is a Russian house spirit, usually small bearded hairy blokes. Sometimes they can take on the appearance of a cat or a dog. No matter who you are in relation to the household, even if you are its head, you are wise to address the Domovoi as "master" if you ever see him. Like a brownie, a domovoi will generally only perform beneficially and protectively for a household unless he is angered. Milk and biscuits can be left for the Domovoi overnight. If you want to invite a Domovoi into your abode, go outside while dressed in your finest clothes, and say "Grandfather Dobrokhot, please come into my house and tend the flocks." If you are moving and want your Domovoi to stay with you, make an offering and say "Domovoi, Domovoi, Don't stay here but come with our family!" The Domovoi like to live at the threshold under the door, or under the stove. He also acted as an oracle of the future, and his behavior could warn a family of upcoming danger or good.

Two older images of Domovoi...credits unknown.

Domovoi for sale on Etsy from Elladolls.

All information via Wikipedia articles.

House Faeries

2012-02-20T21:45:00.003-05:00

My house has faeries. At least I have a very strong suspicion that it does. We first moved in here on February 1st of last year, and the signs of the presence of a beneficial sprite were somewhat in doubt at first. Or perhaps it was just that we had a boggart in the house, considering that we stuck our garage door remotes in the garage on the first night here, and wound up having to smash in a window to open the garage again. In any case, over the course of the year we've owned our house thus far, we've treated it with reverence and loving care in maintaining it and updating things that should have been done a long time ago. And slowly, we could feel the energy of the house shifting from distrustful to appreciative, as the house itself and the spirits who protected and cared for it realized that we intended to love and care for it as well. Mushroom rings appeared in our yard. Our cat would meow at corners of the room that were empty. And the Hawthorne tree in the back yard learned to appreciate the offerings I would bury among its roots, and gave us full displays of blossom and cardinals.

Unfortunately, the previous two owners who had the house before us seem to have mostly neglected it, so we likely have years of mistrust among the fey to make up for in our own time here. But we're doing the best we can. Also unfortunate is the fact that I collect and love wrought iron, since "iron" is one of the substances the fey supposedly hate.* Some types of house fey are said to dislike the presence of a cat in the house too. I hope they can forgive me my faux pas, and see that they are indeed more than welcome here, but the iron and the cat aren't going anywhere either.

*research may suggest however that "iron" more referred to iron blades, rather than any and all iron. After all...there is a story of a faerie borrowing a cast iron pot from a farmer's wife to use, and there are faerie blacksmiths who forge iron!

It makes me wonder about the legends and lore of house faeries. What types are there, and how can we attract them or keep them in good spirits? I first started thinking about this question when we moved into the house, and it wasn't long after I started this blog that I realized it would make an enjoyable subject for a post or a series of posts. Just the most basic research, however, and I realized that it was far too huge a topic to write about in one single post or one single set of posts. Rather, I am starting to accept that the topic of house faerie lore is one that we will be returning to time and time again on this blog as new stories and legends are uncovered, new types of house fey in different lands are shared. But as a very, very inadequate primer, I thought I would list a few of the better known types of house faeries, and some tidbits of their habits and preferences.

I'll be doing this over the next few days. And please...if you know any faerie house lore, do share it here or in the Facebook group!

(above photo is not my own, but isn't it a lovely faerie ring?)

Bring Nature Indoors in New York City

2012-02-19T20:47:00.002-05:00

Lenny Weiner's New York City apartment, from the book To Each His Home.

Wendy Froud's Sculptures

2012-02-18T21:30:00.001-05:00

Wendy Froud is well known for her gorgeous faerie dolls and statues. I could write her whole biography here, but if you read Domythic Bliss regularly and haven't heard of her before, I'd be shocked. Just watch Labyrinth and Dark Crystal and you'll be viewing the creative genius of her and her husband Brian Froud.

I really enjoy Wendy Froud's faerie dolls. But I really really love her faerie sculptures, perfect for adding mystery to a mythic garden.

First I want to share Terri Windling's sculpture, "The Lady."

Photo taken by Wendy, in her yard, right after the piece was made:

The statue was placed on a plinth just over a little waterfall into a goldfish pond made out of old stabs of granite, all of it rather buried in greenery as the years went on.

Terri says: I should note that the sculpture originally had horns (and was originally titled "The Horned Lady"), but I had a cat named Nora years ago who used to launch herself off the statue's head and up over the wall -- and horns crumbled off after a couple of years of such brutal treatment. Wendy decided she liked the statue without them, so we simply renamed her "The Lady." First she was "The Lady of Weaver's Cottage," now she's "The Lady of Bumblehill."

(above photographs by Alan Lee)

The below example was from the excellent book, The Art of Wendy Froud. Imagine what a showstopper this would also be, hidden in a garden.

A mischievous Green Person tucked among greenery on a garden wall:

I just love the way the statues look worn and aged by nature. So beautiful.

Most of these images were courtesy Terri Windling, from an excellent post on Wendy's garden sculptures, here.

Door Plates

2012-02-18T20:06:00.003-05:00

Door plates in the hallway of Helen Virginia Bye's flat. These plates are likely original from around the 1890s. Click to see the details of the very Green Man - esque faces!

Domythic Craft - Faerie Book Tree in a Dome

2012-02-17T19:00:00.003-05:00

Time for a little Domythic D.I.Y.!

I have a glass dome in the center of my mantle. I bought it a month or so ago from a local antique vendor I love, Dresden Junk-shun. The dome is 7" tall at the center, and I believe I paid either $3 or $5 for it.

It was only after I got the dome home that I realized the base of the glass fit the lid from a jar candle I had already burned down and disposed of. The candle lid would make a perfect base for the glass.

For a while, I had the dome centered on my mantle, with a red heart candle I own inside to celebrate Valentine's Day. But since Valentine's season is now over, I wanted to change things up a little. I had it stuck in my head that I wanted to do something inside that was Domythic and involved a miniature tree.

I stopped by Dresden Junk-shun again today and happened upon a small brass taper candlestick that only stood about 3" tall or so. It was a definite purchase at $1.

From the craft store, I purchased some modeling clay. I actually needed this for another project, so I don't even count it as an expense toward this one.

After searching the craft store high and low for an appropriate dried or faux floral item that could be broken up or divided to resemble a tree, I came up empty handed. I thought perhaps I could use some wire to make an armature and cover it in the clay. When I walked out, I decided to take a meander beside the store, and found a pine tree there with several smaller saplings underneath it, bare branched and quite lovely. I took a few tiny branches from the tree, being sure to leave an offering (please make sure you do this for anything you take from nature...today, I didn't have a stone or feather with me, so I buried a penny from my pocket), and went on home.

Well, wouldn't you know, when I reached my back yard, I glanced over at my flower bed and saw a dried Sedum plant with foliage that was just what I was looking for.

I broke off a branch of the plant. Taking a little bit of the clay (about the size of a flat quarter or so) I pressed it into the bottom of the brass candlestick, and used it to support the twig of Sedum. To make up for the size difference in the top of the candlestick, I stuffed moss into the top.

The base of the dome, once a candle lid, I painted with black and gold paint mixed together. Once that dried, I did a layer of gold nail polish (thanks Bryony for the tip!) around the edge, making it look like worn and aged brass or gold, instead of the original shiny silver of the lid. I added moss to the base of the dome as well.

Now for the fun part. While at the craft store, I perused their selection of doll house accessories, hoping they might have something whimsical or fantastical. I was delighted to find a package of miniscule books, with pages and everything. A package of a dozen or so was $2.99. Perfect. I carefully placed some of the books in among the "branches" of my tree, and laid some at the feet of the "urn."

In one open book, I wrote the words at the beginning of Yeats' "Stolen Child" in teeny tiny handwriting. (It's a good thing I write very very small normally anyway)

Finally, I leafed through my spare crafting copy of Brian Froud and Alan Lee's Faeries (I've used this for crafts before...the paperback edition was falling apart when I picked it up at a yard sale for a quarter) and found a selection of text I wanted to use. I burned the edges of the paper carefully (my goodness, that paper burned quickly!) to add a feeling of age.

To get the paper to stay upright in the back of the dome, I put two glue dots from a package I had (I do love glue dots...they come on a roll, and they have been useful in many a craft) on the paper, and carefully pressed it to the dome.

And there you have it...my Faerie Book Tree.

Here it is in its final location at the center of my mantlepiece.

And finally a shot of the tiny book with my pinky finger for size reference.

The final cost of this craft was negligible: $3 for the doll books, $1 for the brass candlestick, and $5 (I'll go high end since I can't recall) for the dome. Less than $10 total! Oh, and incidentally, the branches I broke off from the tree beside the craft store still got used...I put them in an awesome antique bottle I also found today from Dresden Junk-Shun. The purple bottle has an embossed tree and "Straubmuller's Elixer: Tree of Life: Since 1880" on the front, and "Nectar: The Golden Life of Health & Vitality" on the back. Perfect.

This was an incredibly enjoyable craft to create for the house. I was tickled to see it come together, and it's the especially fun sort of craft where you can use bits and pieces of my idea along with what you might have on hand to create your own version. If there's no Sedum available, go for a walk and find another winter plant or tree that could possibly yield a miniature "tree" of its own. If you can't find dollhouse books, hang baubles from the branches of your tree, or cover it in glitter and beads. Bottom line: make it your own, and have fun!!

A Green Man PS: Toby Froud

2012-02-16T23:09:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I have to have one last mention of the Green Man tonight. I know I said we were done, but it's the prerogative of the fey to be changeable!

I must point out to you that Toby Froud has created two gorgeously Froudian and mythic wall sculptures. He is selling plaster casts of these fellows on his Etsy, and one of the two is a Green Man!

As I type this, there is just one piece left in his Etsy store, but I suspect he'll put more up soon.

I bought one of the Green Men. After a week of writing about him, how could I resist?

The Green Man: A Final Verdant Post

2012-02-16T22:24:00.008-05:00

Well, last but not least, today I have the great pleasure of rounding out our series of Green Man posts by sharing the amazingly stunning dining room of Bryony, also known as Roam Gloam in the internet world. I first met Bryony at the first Faeriecon in 2007, though we didn't put two and two together and realize that we were chatting online and had already met until later. I saw a woman walking by the booth I was manning with my friend Tess (Midnight Muse) and kept admiring a woman dressed in an autumnal orange etched velvet gown, with filigreed leaf accessories and a leafy mask. I took her photo, effusively praised her ensemble, and a few months later we became friends on Live Journal. Bryony is an amazing woman, strong and creative, and a true shining light in the world of mythic arts supporters!

Bryony's entire dining room is inspired by autumn, Green Men, and the magic of the forest. And...well...it's just plain amazing. Example A and B, these images of the room set for a Thanksgiving meal:

I absolutely love how she spaced her Green Men masks between each window in the room.

By Larry Wood:

By Shane Odom:

By Shane Odom:

A view from one room into another. I also love the idea of the shelf of books above the doorway. It really makes the books seem like *art* rather than just function. Just below the shelf of books, you can barely make out a small plaque...see the next picture:

"Green man plaque above door entering into the dining room. No clue where, but likely from ebay/England. I painted the acorns with shiny bronze colored nail polish to make them stand out. (I confess: I nailpolish EVERYTHING. You can find more colors in nail polish than in paint, especially of the shiney/sparkly/glittery variety.)"

I love this tip, and now must figure out things to paint with nail polish.....

"Not a greenman, but I love my squirrel "candy dish" statue (holding acorns) wearing a tiny child's size mask with a squirrel on it. Fun."

I definitely think this is in the spirit of the forest-fey, mischievous and fun. Love it!!!

Bryony suspects the Green Man box below was likely also an ebay purchase.

The Green Man in this image is actually the wall switch for the room, with an acorn for the switch. This was Bryony's own (super creative) idea. It pushes in to go on, and she can turn it to make it brighter or dimmer.

By Art of the Mask on Etsy, this is a female Green Man mask:

Shane's Winter Holly mask, one of Bryony's newest in her collection:

Shane's mask on the left, The Art of the Mask's mask on the right.

This Green Man was purchased on Ebay from England. "That's a fake fireplace (no flue), but I put candles inside in the shape of mushrooms and birch logs, tossed in pine cones around their feet. Gives a nice glow at dinnertime."

"AND I just happened to find a metal oak leaf mirror that's the same green shade as the color we painted the faux fireplace! So they look like one unit. Lots of candles on top, and in the middle, Father Yule. Love his face."

Make sure you enlarge the picture to check out the details, like the lovely leafy wire mask on the top of the mirror. "On the top of the mirror, at the left and the right, are two "Flame Maple" male/female masks by Art of the Mask."

What an enormous inspiration!!

A Day Away

2012-02-15T20:24:00.002-05:00

I have one more day of Green Man decor planned, but it will be postponed until tomorrow night. Until then, here's an amazingly gorgeous door to hold us all over.

The Green Man - A Verdant Post III

2012-02-14T21:38:00.003-05:00

Tonight I am honored to share with you a portion of the personal Green Man collection owned by Shane Odom. Shane is the person I automatically associate with the Green Man, and I hope he won't mind my saying that he is a true inspiration to me as far as living a mythic life.

So we'll let Shane introduce his collection!

This is my collection of green men on the wall in our pocket garden at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, this picture was taken in 2010. Known as the "Green Man's Garden", it is carved out of a narrow space between our and the neighbor's booth. We use it for breaks, visiting with friends, and as an extra workspace from the main shop next door. The collection has been assembled over many years and is constantly growing. It spends much of the season hanging on the outside walls of our home in Western Maryland, but once a year, it gets carefully packed and displayed in the garden for several weeks. There are various artists and resources represented in the collection. From familiar foliate faces out of garden catalogs, to historical molds taken from ancient churches. I enjoy showing them to guests, and a historical tour of the image and it's artistic evolution through time is often in order.

A view inside the secret door of the garden. From the outside, to the patrons at the festival, it is a full length mirror. The fountain and laughing fellow atop the pedestal were both gifts from friends, and I believe it came from garden centers. Cast in molded plastic, they exemplify that for the Green Man collector, there are numerous affordable options available.

I am particularly fond of the work of Paul Borda. Paul's evocative imagery is hand carved in wood and then cast in resin. This amused fellow, (pictured from before the yellow painting in the garden) is an iconic figure and beautifully done. Also in my collection, and not individually pictured, is the amazing sculpture of Edan Kent. His skill at capturing the powerful face of the Green Man is remarkable and I collected his work a number of years ago at a Celtic event. I lost track of Edan, you can imagine my surprise and delight at his attendance at the 2011 FaerieCon in Baltimore. It was a pleasure to introduce him to the Mythic Arts community I had told him so much about, so many years ago.

Of particular and important historical note in my collection, is this casting of the "Bamberg" Green Man. This green man is taken from the only known mold of a sculpture located in the Cathedral of Bamberg, Germany. The image was carved sometime between 1225-1237 AD and considered by many fans of the Foliate image to be one of the most imaginative and stirring examples of the style in the Medieval Period. Certainly his deep leafy folds and piercing eyes bring about the mystery of the ancient forest that the green man is so famously associated with. The cathedral has never released a casting of it, and this was taken by a friend and plaster caster many years ago when access to the church was more public. There are numerous reproductions and carvings inspired by the Bamberg available, but to my knowledge, no others taken directly from the original. To date, it is only available from Sandscrafter Sandscasting at the MD RennFest. However, I hope to one day offer it to collectors. Please contact me if you are interested.

I am not only a collector of Green Man images, but a creator of them as well. The two above photos are examples of my wife, Leah, and I's work. On the left is a small one-of-a-kind polymer clay sculpture mounted on a wooden plaque. On the right is an example of our main art form, sculpted leather masks. This is a full size wearable mask sculpture. The image of the green man is one of some importance to me, and I am rather surprised to find myself something of a scholar on the subject. I write, lecture, and seek any opportunity I can to talk about this wonderful mythic image, and perhaps, the message it has to offer us from the past and into the future.

The Green Man - A Verdant Post II

2012-02-13T22:02:00.005-05:00

And onward we go, into our examples of Domythic decorators and their use of the Green Man in their homes!

Stephanie welcomes her guests in the proper style with her Green Man hanging on her front door.

The front door itself is pretty lovely too with its stained glass windows.

Artist and reenactor Christopher Bell has a lovely collection of Green Men in his home.

An example of one of the many Green Men he has created:

Ali English has made a couple of Green Man masks herself to display around her home. Lovely!

Finally for tonight, I strongly encourage you click the image to get a closer view of Briony Whistlecraft's amazing "Green Person" wall (she has Green Men and Green Women) The artwork and several Green Men are by Julien Hatswell. Other masks are by David Lawrence and Wendy Froud.

The Green Man - A Verdant Post I

2012-02-12T22:37:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago on the Domythic Bliss Facebook group, the Green Man came up in conversation, as should come as no surprise to any of us who know the important role he plays in the Mythic Arts. Artist and Abbot of the Beloved Order of the Green Man (B.O.G.) Shane Odom suggested that a post on his presence in house decorations might prove to be an interesting blog post. I then sent out a call for submissions. And oh my, did I receive some replies.

It seems as if to quite a good number of us who find meaning in myth, legend and fairy tale, the Green Man is an important symbol to use in our home decoration. And it led me to wonder just why? What is it about the Green Man that we find so important to bring into our homes?

First, let me quote from an article by Shane and Joelle Mellon to explain a bit about who the Green Man is. This article originally appeared in Faerie Magazine in Spring 2006.

The term "The Green Man" came into popular usage in 1939, when it was employed by Lady Raglan for her article, "The Green Man in Church Architecture". She was examining the carvings found in many churches and cathedrals. These showed a face made of leave, sometimes with vines coming out of their mouths, noses, and eyes. Lady Raglan theorized that these "foliate heads" must bear a relationship to the leaf clad characters found in folk traditions. However, these carvings were descended from sculptures dating back to ancient Roman, Greek, and Celtic sources. To the medieval mind, vegetation, being of the material world, was sometimes associated with sins. Therefore, some of the Green Men carvings showing "disgorging" greenery appear to be in pain. However these associations with greenery were reversals, showing two sides of the same leaf, if you will. Green Men and some Green Women carvings exist that are not in pain or disfigured. These are often reposed, letting their greenery issue forth from their mouths like fountains. Indeed, many fountains throughout Europe use foliate heads to surround the spout, perhaps linking Green Men with the guardians of sacred wells and springs. Other carvings show Green Men grinning, frowning, or laughing.

I can think of a few reasons why the Green Man may appeal so strongly to the mythic mind beyond his obvious role as supernatural being or deity as he appears in some personal spiritualities. He represents transformation: the in-between quality of someone who is neither fully human being nor fully leaf and twig. The Green Man quite literally represents bringing the spirit of the natural world into our domesticated lives. To hang a Green Man image in a house is to invite the essence of nature into a place where we have to live mostly apart from it (in our modern brick and plaster abodes). And isn't that a central goal of Domythic decorating?

In addition, from a purely aesthetic point of view, the Green Man is an incredible source for artistic creativity. You can search the internet for images of artistic renderings of the Green Man all day long and still never find a repeated version. There are as many versions of the Green Man as there are species of trees in the forest. Ask Shane about this...he has been creating masterful Green Man masks from leather for years, and I still have yet to see an exact duplicate from one mask to another.

Because of this incredible diversity, it is quite possible to find a version of the Green Man that appeals to practically anyone. I myself discovered this quite distinctly when I stumbled upon the below plaque at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. I had never found a version of the Green Man who so utterly enraptured me until I saw this piece. His fey eyes and gender-neutral face struck me as quite perfect, and he has hung in my home ever since.

Green Men (and Green Women, too) also can be displayed in numerous forms. Gorgeous artworks like Brian Froud's "The King of the Green Men" at the top of this blog, or Maria Sender's Green Man, below, can be framed in oak wood, or put in frames covered with leaves.

Green Men can also be seen in plaques and ceramic wall hangings

And, perhaps most versatile, in three-dimensional masks that act not only as decoration, but also as costume at ritual and festival.

Over the next couple of days, I hope to share with you more examples of Green Men as they appear in the homes of Domythic decorators. Clearly this mysterious figure of nature from so long ago still has a very real and solid presence in the modern lives of those who love enchantment!

Antique Mall Virtual Shopping

2012-02-11T19:46:00.005-05:00

Thought you all might enjoy seeing pictures of a trip we took today to an especially charming antique store in Columbus Ohio.

All hands on deck! I'm not sure this would be my own collection, but it definitely shows how any objects displayed in large numbers can make a big impact.

A lovely needlepoint Lady and the Unicorn

I have no idea what the original purpose was of this figural piece, but I thought it was lovely. It appears that it originally was made to be flipped upside down.

I'm a sucker for bubble glass, and I love this shot as well:

Burne-Jones!

A lovely classical design on a fireplace grate:

Stained glass lamp with two swan lovers.

I'm guessing this stunning sideboard is from Art Nouveau era from the two side panels.

Look at all these salvage pieces!

This was my favorite item there. It was enormous.

Look at the carved detail on the frame!

Click here if you'd like to see what I couldn't leave the store without.

Tell a Story With Your Photos

2012-02-10T20:27:00.007-05:00

Recently on the Domythic Bliss blog, there was a discussion about whether or not people enjoyed decorating their houses with photographs. I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss creative family photography.

Mythic decorating is created on the backbone of creative thought and expression. Wouldn't it make sense, then, to try your hand at creative and narrative set ups for your family photographs?

But I am no professional photographer, you might say. But I don't even have a good camera. Here's the thing...a story can be written on fine paper or on a scrap of napkin, but if it's a good story, it will still enchant either way.

Photography is an art form. And I don't mean to belittle the skills it takes to be an excellent photographer. But just like writing a story can benefit the author even if the tale is never read by anyone else, so also creating a photo that tells a story can be a thrilling experience even if it is seen by no one more than the people who come in your house.

The fun comes when you think of a story scenario that could suit the people you want to have photographed. From then on, you can treat it like a stage play, finding a "set" and "props" and "wardrobe." And in the end, you have pictures to remember the experience by.

One great example of this was shown to me recently by my friend (and a great photographer) Amanda Flagg. This appears to be an engagement shoot where the two lovers decided to tell the story of Rapunzel through the images. It's so very sweet and romantic. There was a lot of work involved in creating the "tower" and the "window," the horse and prince, and so on. But aren't these images so much fun?

This is the only major photograph on the wall of our house, and we had it framed rather largely. It's an image of my husband and my wedding day, posed in the style of the Pre-Raphaelite artworks I love, set in a "secret garden" at the park where we were wed.

Here's another example of a recent shot taken of me and my friend, Ellie Lane. Photographer Renee Needham of Fan the Flame captured this shot, but the most fun part of the day for me was bringing in all the props and setting up the spot in the woods. We wanted to capture the idea of two storytelling sisters.

My friend Lindsey of Linden Sidhe Designs took this picture in the cornfield next to her house. She wanted a "serious posed" Victorian style shot of her two daughters, eerie and charming at the same time.

The brilliant Pre-Raphaelite blogger and author Kirsty Walker took this picture of her daughter Lily Rose to send out with Christmas cards this last holiday. She styled it like a Rossetti portrait. Gorgeous.

Ellie and her husband, Chris took this photo recently. Chris is a talented photographer as well, and they set this shot up with a tripod and their DSLR camera.

Might I suggest also that if you still aren't convinced of the enjoyment inherent in creating your own narrative photos, you could also find a talented photographer who creates this sort of situation for you! A bright and shining example is Aurora Vanderbosch of Aurora Photography. She creates an entire lush environment for your photo shoot. She does makeup. She can provide wardrobe. And you can't argue with the gorgeous results.

Pictures like these framed and hung on your wall invite people to catch a glimpse not only of the people in your life, but also the imagination you have!

Bell Jars and Belle Displays

2012-02-09T21:28:00.006-05:00

I'm an absolute sucker for a good bell jar or glass dome display. There is just such a plethora of options for how to fill them, how to use them to the best advantage in your decor.

Display a treasured faerie treasure...a sculpture perhaps? The two below are stunning examples by the incredible artist Nenufar Blanco.

Create a whole miniature world inside a dome. These two examples are from Life in a Bell Jar.

An endless amount of possibilities...

The containers themselves can sometimes be the art:

After all...there's no precedent for bell jars in fairy tales. No, none at all....

Vincent and Catherine - A New York Fairy Tale

2012-02-08T21:06:00.012-05:00

There's a little show I used to watch as a young girl, whenever I could catch it on tv. This show was an enormous influence on my formative years. It was called Beauty and the Beast, and in the show, the classic story had been moved to the kingdom of New York City. Catherine, the lovely beauty, worked for the district attorney, while Vincent, her beast, lived below the city in tunnels and caves carved out by the subway and by the ages before there were ever subways. The tunnels acted as a sanctuary for those the city left behind...the poor, the neglected.

This television show was my first exposure to the idea that fairy tales and magic might not just belong in story books, but might also belong in our modern world. I was utterly transfixed at the tender age of 10 or so by the world below. A few years ago, the series came out on DVD, and I found myself just as enchanted.

The world down below was one full of wonders and beauties:

My favorite room, however, was Vincent's own bedroom. Cozy and romantic, it perfectly encapsulated the idea of a mythically inspired space.

Catherine Chandler's New York City apartment is quite dated in style when you watch the show now. But Vincent's room, and the rest of the Down Below, are just as stunning today as they were when the show aired.

Filled with timeless treasures, it might be a matter of skepticism that these societal outcasts could afford such relics. But really, it's not that surprising to imagine that in a city like New York, with a network of helpers, these people could have amassed a collection so beautiful from the things others tossed away.

I especially love this old reliquary image in the library chambers:

Books, books, everywhere...piled up, stacked around, exploding off of the shelves. It's not hard to see where Vincent discovered his passion for the written word.

Mouse's chamber in the caverns is a lovely combination of tech inventions and medieval gothic.

Many thanks to the pages of the Classical Alliance of Beauty and the Beast for all of these images.

Domythic Book Club

2012-02-07T20:48:00.015-05:00

I thought it might be fun to recommend a few books I've found helpful over the years. Sadly there seems to be no single volume out there that encapsulates Domythic style, but these are a few that I feel contain bits and pieces of what I consider to be the goals of the decor style.

Interior Alchemy: Secrets to Expressing Creative Ambiance.
This book was recommended to me by Jen Parrish, a friend whose aesthetic and decorating taste I value very highly. The book starts out with a section explaining how to "hoosh" an interior...a term that seems to be similar to the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy idea of zhooshing up one's appearance, only applied to decor. "A hoosh is an arrangement that works, that has a sense of balance and its own internal coherence..." The book goes on to give several examples of interior styles that successfully "hoosh" a space. Some are a bit ramshackle looking, but almost all the pictures include content that can be used as inspiration. The real gem here, however, is the text. The suggestions are extremely inspirational, explaining how to infuse your house with a sense of history and collection.

Rustic Accents for Your Home: 45 Projects from Vines, Twigs & Branches
This is a book I've picked up at the library where I work. Some of the projects are a little more "country cabin" than my preference (making words with twigs, etc) but a lot of them have great potential for the mythic home too. Plus the book begins with an excellent section explaining in general how to harvest and prepare vines twigs and branches for use in the home.

Country Living A Bit of Velvet and a Dash of Lace.
I've checked this one out from the library multiple times. Magnolia Pearl has a very distinct and signature style, leaning heavily on antique lace and velvet. Sometimes her interiors are a bit too over-the-top for myself personally, but again, I can dissect the images and almost always find inspiration in the components. I love her use of garden statuary in her home, and of course the fabrics are droolworthy.

Nell Hill's Feather Your Nest
(and all other volumes by Mary Carol Garrity) I have to admit, Nell Hill's books are my personal favorite when it comes to interior decor inspiration. She just seems to get the mixture of nature mixed with elegance...acknowledging and tossing aside the rules of decorating when needed...just right. Or at least just the way I like it. I especially love her book on Christmas decor, Nell Hill's Christmas at Home. I've used it for more than just Christmas decor inspiration.

William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Home
I'm just a tad bit biased toward the Arts and Crafts design style, as should not surprise anyone who follows my other blog. This is probably my favorite book on William Morris' style, as it contains both gorgeous pictures of his homes and other Victorian spaces he helped decorate, plus modern examples of people who have designed their interiors inspired by his art.

So now it's your turn...what interior decorating books do you recommend?

The Frouds and Individuality

2012-02-06T21:00:00.001-05:00

I love the art of the Froud family. Brian, Wendy, and Toby are all teeming with creativity and talent. We are all lucky to be able to partake in the world they see around them and in turn share with us. And one of my favorite things about the creative projects of the Frouds is that they encourage hands-on participation. I'm not just talking about their workshops and seminars they conduct at festivals and colleges worldwide. I'm also speaking about their projects such as the Froud Faerie Oracle and The Runes of Elfland. One thing that has long irked me about oracular methods...dream interpretation, tarot, runes, etc. is that so many of the books and manuals instructing a person how to use them will ascribe a single meaning to each symbol or card.

I am a believer in individual spirituality, and the fact that our lives inform and influence how we respond to stimuli. For instance, I absolutely love bats, and spiders are a positive supernatural harbinger of mine. But to someone else these creatures could have incur a very different reaction and symbolic meaning. I truly appreciate that when I read the materials for Froudian oracles, they emphasize individual exploration and interaction with the cards and the symbols.

What, besides the reference to the Frouds, does this have to do with a blog about mythic decorating? The filling of a home with treasures and magic, like opening your mind to faerie messages, is a highly personal undertaking, influenced by an endless number of personal factors. Your history, your life story, the way you choose to share with others your view of the world, your likes, your dislikes. All of these and more combine together to influence all your choices.

Now, many of us are here because we have similar touchstones in what we find special to us. I'd be willing to bet that a good percentage of us put priority on wonder, enchantment and creation. I'd also hedge that most of us are likely bibliophiles, and a good number would recognize names such as Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Charles Vess, Alan Lee, and (the above) Frouds. But there are so many additional ways in which our tastes might diverge. We can all love fairy tales, but some may veer toward the stories of pond and lake, others the tales of desert and stone. Some may love frigid Russian tales of bears and Baba Yaga, while others prefer sun-scorched stories of Aladdin and the Arabian Nights.

And we shouldn't forget either that the interests, biases, and history of the blogger will influence what you find here as well! This is why I am so thankful to have the Domythic Bliss Facebook group to help encourage me to share a variety of posts on topics I might not have thought of on my own. In order for this blog to represent the largest cross-section of mythic enthusiasts possible, I encourage participation by anyone and everyone who reads and enjoys the blog. It's through all of us that this blog is possible!

So please...share your passions and loves. It is through you that we are able to make this blog represent a wide cross-section of the Mythic community, instead of just the preferences of one blogger.

After all, I suppose not all of my blog posts can be purple, velvet, Twelve Dancing Princesses, and Pre-Raphaelite!

Anita's French Castle-Cottage

2012-02-05T19:26:00.014-05:00

Today's post is going to be a long one. I'm honored to share with you Rabbit Hill...the home of blogger Anita Rivera from Castles, Crowns & Cottages. I first because friends with Anita a couple of years ago when we started emailing back and forth. Her home immediately blew me away with its fairy tale charm, and I'm thrilled to be able to share it with you today!!

Anita, I believe you are a French teacher? How do the styles and stories of France influence your decorating style?

Yes I am a French teacher! The subtle colors and nuances in my opinion, of French design align with my pursuit of PEACE in my home. In contrast to IMITATION and common elements of décor (plastic, imitation and clutter), I look at how the French have used nature (flowers, wood, metal) to decorate their homes. Cottages of France, whether depicted in fairytales or in the French countryside, always include natural colors from animal life, garden harvest and the earth tones. I have also pulled ideas from the fairytales that include CASTLES. From Chenonceau to Versailles, I enjoy the subtle grays and black and white floors to GAUDY chandeliers. But in my home, I try to use a little bit of every thing within the scale of my home.

What are some of your favorite fairy tales, and how have they influenced your home?

Perrault's Cinderella, by far. I also have a lovely version of Snow White that is illustrated in almost a gothic style, but definitely has marks of French country cottage style. Wooden hearths, copper pots and beams.

What is the name of your house, and how was it named?

Our home is lovingly called Rabbit Hill because it sits on a slope in a Minneapolis neighborhood and because we have A LOT OF WILD RABBITS!

Can you tell us a little bit about what your house was like when you first moved in, and how it has changed since then?

This house has good bones. However, fifteen years ago, the curb appeal was nothing to write home about! It was a simple brick home with gastly white shutters and a storm door that did not enhance the "Chicago brick" of the house. We walked in and immediately saw the potential. Hard wood floors, original wood doors with glass door knobs and a coved ceiling in the kitchen and living room and a LOFT bedroom with wood beams and not to mention the price made the decision easy to make to purchase our first and probably, our only home.

My husband's love for Carmel-by-the-sea cottages and my eye for French detail, he TRANSFORMED this house. It took us 15 years, but we did ALL the work except the recent addition of a great room and a back office/bedroom. He built cedar wood shutters, a gate and two overhangs that are reminiscent of a Carmel cottage or a French cottage.

Do you have a personal space in your house devoted to creation or the creative outlet you prefer? Where is it?

ABSOLUTEMENT! My husband and I used to share the bedroom off to the living room. That was our office. However, now that he has a new office with the new construction, that once tight little office has become an open extension of our living room. Ruben opened up a 6 foot wide door for FRENCH DOORS that lead into my "harp studio" and where I sit and write my blog. I have a French settee and a faux marble fireplace and it is my inspirational spot.

Can you tell us a little bit about the outside of your home? I believe your house has won local landscaping awards. Do you enjoy gardening and working in your yard? What influenced its design?

Again, French design and mostly, the GARDENS OF MARQUEYSSAC in La Dordogne region of France. We have numerous boxwood bushes and we wanted a low maintenance garden that was LUSH. LUSH is the look we were looking for. However, one main motivator to improve our landscape was that Ruben fell many times and twisted his ankle, trying to mow that front hill! Ugly grass as well was another reason to do remedy this situation. We are however, not wealthy or willing to take out a loan to do what many people have done, and that is to have a retaining wall built. After a $15,000.00 estimate for such a wall was given to us, our problem-solving skills kicked in! We took on one side of the hill one year and took on the other side the following year and killed the grass and planted evergreens ourselves. Ruben built a small retaining wall on the bottom, near the sidewalk, to catch any mulch. This garden wins awards from the City of Minneapolis every year since. It has gotten to the point where I have nowhere to put our awards!

Are you ready for this? Here it is...Rabbit Hill!

A transitional shot of the front yard before the landscaping:

Anita's husband made the archway above the door, the shutters, and most everything you see on the outside of the house.
It's beautiful, isn't it? But it's even easier to appreciate it when you see this "before" picture:

Ready for another? Anita's back yard before:

And after:

Now let's head inside:

Here's a feature I especially like in Anita's front room. Her flat screen TV is mounted to the wall and hidden behind this "theater" curtain. The electronics are in the cabinet below:

Every view is just gorgeous!

Now let's transition to the dining room:

And on to the kitchen:

Look at the prisms on the ceiling!

Beautiful bathrooms:

Here's the one project/addition to the house that wasn't DIY....a recent addition of an office space.

I love the words on the archway:

Heading upstairs:

And Anita's cozy bedroom under the eaves:

Your Own Chalice Well

2012-02-03T21:40:00.003-05:00

Imagine having your own personal Chalice Well.

I don't think I've ever seen so magical a sanctuary-esque bathroom in my life.

Windling Trees

2012-02-02T21:28:00.010-05:00

Today I want to talk to you a little bit about one of my favorite kinds of trees: Windling Trees.

You may or may not be familiar with this type of tree; most likely you have not heard them called by this name. A couple of years ago, I saw a blog post written by the author, artist, editor, and muse Terri Windling. She shared pictures of her old home in a cottage in Devon. On the walls of her bedroom, glowing with a ghostly golden glow, she had painted tree shadows. There was no shading, no bark detail...just the ghostly silhouettes of trees in a shade lighter than the color of the wall, to the point where you almost wondered if it was just your imagination turning the room into a forest.

Well, I was instantly smitten. The same blog post showed her paintings of similar trees on the walls of Endicott West, an artist's retreat in Arizona. Those trees were similar, but the background was shaded with a few colors of the rainbow sunset the desert could boast.

I saved the photographs from Terri's blog, and when my husband and I moved into our first home together a year ago, the bedroom was the first room I painted. I chose a golden warm color called "Peanut Butter" (Behr) to cover the walls, and then added a small amount of white paint to the color, lightening it slightly to paint the trees. Painting the Windling Trees on my wall was a wonderful experience. The painting of a tree can be feasibly done without vast amounts of artistic talent...each tree can have flaws and asymmetry. And the process of painting the tree...from thick trunk to ever-thinning branches, to spindly twigs...was quite like a meditation to me.

As I painted the trees on my wall, I thought about a special circle of old and leafless Hawthorn trees near my house. In one of Charles de Lint's books, he explains that everyone has a "forest of the heart"...a special place that can exist in reality or only in your mind, to which you can retreat when you need solace, comfort, or calm. This grove of Hawthorns has been my Forest of the Heart for over a decade.

Recently, I moved into my first house and researched the mystery tree in my backyard. I discovered it was a Hawthorn tree, and read up on its long and Faerie history. It was only after that, when I returned to my grove of trees, that I recognized them as old and wizened Hawthorns, and my own tree as a young offshoot of their sacred magic. I broke down in tears in the grove when recognition dawned...it seemed to be a symbol I was in the right place...had found the right space to call home.

I'm telling you this story for a reason. Because to me, my Windling Trees are the same. Even though the trees Terri and others have painted look quite different than my own, to have created the trees on my walls makes me feel like a part of things...like my trees are an offshoot of the same grove that shelters artistic minds in Arizona, or looks down on a magical house in Devon, England.

I'm not alone in my desire for these trees on my walls. Artist Danielle Earp, who also lives in Devon, England, painted her own forest on the walls of her daughter's bedroom... "A dark and mysterious forest, hung about with owls, of mossy green and lichen grey, just right for a dark and mysterious daughter of the earth. "

It's quite easy to find a variety of sources for wall decals of gorgeous trees. And if you truly hate painting, this might be the way to go. When I shared the images of my Windling Trees to friends, a few mentioned the easy availability of wall decals to me and queried why I hadn't gone that route. Well, to be honest...because to me, the painting of the trees on my wall was a meditative process. It was really a ritual...a way to claim a space in my new home, and say "please, magic. Please, inspiration. Please, Faerie...I invite you in. Here are branches in which to climb, roots in which to make a home."

Midsummer's Eve Statue

2012-02-01T21:20:00.004-05:00

I recently posted about my love of classical garden statuary. I had to put this piece in its own entry. May I present, my favorite garden statue I've ever seen.

It's a limited edition (sold out) statue from the company Enchanted, who you might know from their lovely bronze-look resin faerie statues with transparent wings. I love their small garden statues, but this one takes the cake.

Not only is the statue of the faerie goddess beautiful, but a closer look shows that she is surrounded by smaller faeries as well, with every detail gorgeously done:

My favorite is the faerie holding up a strand of her hair:

Siberian Fairy Tale

2012-01-31T23:22:00.005-05:00

From this article....one of my favorite abodes I've ever seen.

My favorite picture in the entire house, below:

Mary Ann Harris and Charles de Lint's Country Cottage-Bus

2012-01-30T19:22:00.009-05:00

Over at the Facebook group for Domythic Bliss, there was a recent discussion about the fact that all the locations I've featured so far have been brick and mortar homes. I assured them, and assure you, I do have plans to do posts on the incredible romance of moving homes such as Vardos, housetrucks, buses, and boats.

I received a message from Mary Ann Harris, the lovely wife, "first editor, business manager, and creative consort" of Mythic Fiction author Charles de Lint. She is also a wonderfully talented musician and artist. See more of her work here!

She thought, and I definitely agree, that we would enjoy seeing the beautifully quirky and cozy romantic cabin they used as a country cottage. The location is phenomenal, truly. But the house itself is charming too, created as it was from a cabin and a bus melded together into one space!

I'll let Mary Ann describe the place herself...

For 17 years, Charles and I had this funny 1950s bus/shack as our country "cottage" in the wilds of Quebec. Sadly, it deteriorated over time, but we loved it for all that time.

It was already a bus + cabin when we bought it. It was horrendous ... The family who put it there had somehow cut off the front of the bus, and left the under-carriage, which provided a partial support (footing) for the pressboard shack. The bus was yellow and it still had the bus seats as furniture and the pressboard ktichen was painted brown and it was just nasty. But we painted the exterior green, put pine tongue & groove on the kitchen walls and I sewed little cottagey curtains with floral fabrics and vintage drapes.

We could have done far more, but it was just a funny little place we used during the summer months and we didn't have extra money to spend on it. All furnishings were garage sale items. Anyway, it certainly had its charms and I cried like a baby when we had it hauled away (just two years ago).

We now have a real building there. We kept our old Moffatt stove as a decoration in the new place.

I'm a sucker for a good fence with cottage flowers spilling out around:

The view from the front porch:

Bus and shack meet, fall in love, and never part again:

What a front yard!

What a view!

The bus portion of the cottage. The "furniture" used to all be made from bus seats:

Looking toward the bus portion:

Cozy kitchen space:

The snug bedroom with a door that says "porte d'urgence"

The cottage was located near the white dot on the far end of the lake in this picture:

Kitchen window view:

Signatures of Domythic Living: Day 7, Statues

2012-01-29T21:27:00.004-05:00

There are some things about Shabby Chic decorating that I don't agree with. But one thing I can wholeheartedly get behind is the use of garden statuary as interior house decor. Well...indoor OR outdoor.

Busts can be so lovely draped in jewelry (like Parrish Relics perhaps?)

Or draped in greenery and wreaths:

Or just plain:

I'm pretty much obsessed with finding garden statuary like this, since I can't seem to find it anywhere around here in Central Ohio.

Here's an example from my own home of a bust from Hobby Lobby wearing an amazing headpiece by Linden Sidhe:

And here's the ultimate example. The never to be replicated Mucha bust.

Signatures of Domythic Living: Day 6, Words

2012-01-28T22:54:00.002-05:00

I'll admit, straight-out...this post is a repost from my personal home blog. But it's so true. Wordplay in decor is a huge way to help your home inspire you.

One prominent repeating decorative theme in Arts & Crafts decor was incorporating words and text in furniture items and decor. Yes, the concept definitely pre-dates the modern vinyl wall clings and stencil kits you can find online! But I love this tradition not only because it is a classic feature of the style, but also because it suits my romantic images of what a home should be. To someone who grew up with a love affair towards reading and the beauty of words, I understand how just a few words or lines of text as part of a living environment can help transform an object, a room, a space, into part of a living and breathing story.

Life, to me, should be a fairy tale. And by that I don't mean we should all expect constant happily ever afters with no trials. Rather, I mean that we should each seek to see every day, every space, every inch of how we live as part of a tale that can include journeys and trials, magic and enchantment, fear and haunted forests, and happiness and love. Wrapping words around the every day objects with which we live helps transform those objects in our minds and our hearts.

~~~~~~

Wightwick Manor is one of the greatest examples of a fine British residence transformed by William Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement. In the image of the great hall, you can see that lines of text have been painted directly onto the wall. (to either side of the tapestry) In a book I have read, there is an image of this space in which one of these lines on this wall can be read. It says

When Orpheus strikes his trembling lyre
the wolf and lamb around him trip
the bears in awkward measure leap
and tigers mingle in the dance.

Of course, frankly, the manor needs very little to make it enchanted, but to me the words still add an extra dimension.

Thanks to the amazing website of British antique dealer Puritan Values Ltd. for all of the below examples of text used in Arts and Crafts furniture.

Headboard:

One of my favorite Arts & Crafts quotes/mottoes on this firescreen:

Signatures of Domythic Living: Day 5, Candles

2012-01-27T21:15:00.005-05:00

Instructions to make almost-free and gorgeous doily lanterns that look so gorgeous.

'Nuff said.

Signatures of Domythic Living: Day 4, Tapestries

2012-01-26T22:32:00.006-05:00

Tapestries!! I love them. And it's so easy to get the look of them at any price point.

I'll start with a few examples from a tapestry seller's website:

And another example from my entry, scored on Etsy for an unbelievable $30 (it's large!).

A gorgeous example recently posted by the Frouds on their fan page on Facebook. (dreamy eyes)

And another example in Terri Windling's studio space:

And of course there's the ultimate example...the Gryffindor Common Room. I can hardly focus when they have a scene in here, because I can't stop staring at those FULL WALL Lady and the Unicorn tapestries.

Now for a little advice. Pyramid Collection sells a lovely set of two Mucha tapestries we also have in our house. For $89.95 for two, you get a lot of bang for your buck, and the hangers are included.

It's also possible to buy unfinished panels of tapestries on Ebay, or to just find a repeating pattern tapestry fabric you like and make a large wall hanging from it.

Or, if you have no sewing skills at all whatsoever, a nice and ultra-inexpensive way to add the medieval tapestry feel to your walls is to purchase a lovely brocade or patterned table runner with pointed and tasseled ends. Cut the table runner in half, and use fabric glue or iron-on adhesive strips to create a "pocket" on each of the cut ends. You're left with two small "banners" ready for a hanging rod to add a touch of medieval flair to your wall! Buy two or three table runners, and the banners can cover a whole wall!

Signatures of Domythic Living: Day 3, Books!

2012-01-25T19:36:00.003-05:00

Okay, so at the beginning of the week I said that we would be featuring decorating staples that aren't mandatory for Domythic style, but certainly enhance it. But I have to admit...today's selection is one I can't imagine a house without: books. Books not only should fill all of our shelves, but they also make wonderful decoration items for the bibliophile.

Set a stack of them on an unused chair:

Display a stunning silhouette book on a shelf:

And I just love the idea of covering a stack of books in plain book covers, and painting or drawing a continuous image on the spines:

Use books as an endtable:

I have long wanted to try doing a book sculpture like the gorgeous example below:

Etsy artist Raiders of the Lost Art makes beautiful altered books:

I don't know for sure the logistics of this idea...rectangular shallow plastic liner? But it's a great one, and I'd love to try it sometime.

Use books to create shelves:

Or display a collection in a cloche or bell jar:

Phillip over at the Domythic Bliss Facebook group linked this awesome website with examples of inspirational library spaces. Also, there are numerous books available on decorating with books.

Signatures of Domythic Living: Day 2, Wrought Iron

2012-01-24T22:55:00.007-05:00

The second post on the staples of Domythic decorating features a collectible near and dear to my heart: wrought iron. I've been a sucker for anything wrought iron since...well, as long as I can remember. It's a favorite staple of mine not only because I just think it's lovely, but also because it's so very easy to find! It's more surprising to see a home dec store without wrought iron! My favorite shop in town is Hobby Lobby, and they have it in abundance.

I've already shared this piece on the Domythic Bliss Facebook group, but I just love this over-the-door iron lattice for greenery. Someday!!!

Strap hinges are about the easiest way to add romantic gothic detailing to a door. They may not be the cheapest item, but boy do they make a big statement!! I love this piece from Tudor Artisans.

Here's another one from Amazon for a lot less, but it's non-functional/ornamental only.

Gorgeous fireplace accessories from Earth Eagle Forge.

Just beautiful, isn't it?

Wow!!

A couple of wrought iron pieces from my own house!

Once again, Craigslist is a great place to search for wrought iron, as is Ebay. Just a tip though...try searching also under the often used misspelling..."Rod" iron as well. It's a common enough error that you can sometimes find items no one else has found yet.

Signatures of Domythic Living: Day 1, Stained Glass

2012-01-23T18:29:00.004-05:00

This week I thought it might be fun to do a series of seven posts on some of the decorating backbones of the Domythic style. The items featured this week will help make any abode seem more enchanted and fairy tale. Not all Domythic homes may include them all, some may include none of them, but each is guaranteed to enhance your home.

Today, we start with...stained glass. I have very little of it in my house, but I do have some and I love what I have.

We'll start out high-end, and talk our way to the least expensive way to get a touch of this style.

Etsy seller Glass By Olimpia has a beautiful set of Mucha's four seasons done in stained glass. They are works of art and not cheap, but also not cheaply done.

Etsy seller Aligama8 has beautiful faeries with stained glass wings for sale.

And I consider Century Studios to be the absolute masters of modern stained glass artistry. I don't check their blog often, but when I do, I catch up on the gorgeousness they create. Their pricing is entirely unknown to me...I've never had the courage to ask. But I sure admire their abilities!!

If you really want traditional stained glass panels to hang in a window or secure in a windowsill, I also strongly suggest checking your local Craigslist listings on a regular basis. My local Craigslist will regularly get in quite lovely pieces, such as these two coordinating panels that are for sale right now. Since stained glass is heavy and difficult to ship, I find Craigslist to be a better place to look than say Ebay.

And finally, if you want the look of stained glass at just about the cheapest price you can possibly get, try stained glass window film. Artscape makes several designs available at home improvement stores like Lowes and Home Depot. Each panel is about poster-size, and costs $20. Installation is really not that difficult (I thought it was rather fun!) and it's a great way to tastefully block a window where curtains just won't cut it. (over a sink, in a stairwell, etc)

So how about you? What are some of your favorite stained glass resources?

Swedish Artist, Swedish Movie

2012-01-22T19:57:00.006-05:00

I was recently, as in just a couple of months ago, introduced to the art of Carl Larsson, a Swedish painter and interior designer who lived from 185-1919. I love his art because it is both very fairy tale-esque and narrative, and also a wonderful example of interior decor. The style of the decor is very mythic, but also very different than anything I normally do in my own decorating. It's quite inspiring!

Larsson's home, Little Hyttnäs, was the basis for many of his artworks, and is still open as a tourist destination.

Unsurprisingly, these interiors remind me somewhat of those from a favorite movie of mine, Fanny & Alexander, a glorious 6-hour masterpiece of Swedish film, with the most gorgeous Domythic eye candy throughout it. Let me tell you...the story is supernatural and beautiful, but it's very much worth watching just for the interior decoration as well!

Carisa's Castle!

2012-01-21T20:44:00.003-05:00

It's time to share the first inspirational example home! Domythic Dame, Carisa Weinfurter, sent along these pictures of her abode, and I just had to share!

"The curio in the far left of the first pic is full of some of our geeky toys we've collected. They're very hard to dust so I like to keep them contained and I am constantly at war with myself over having too much clutter but also liking far too many things. We found it on super clearance at a furniture store."

Carisa, I love the design on the bookshelf next to the corner curio!!

"Below, you can see my grandmother's old sewing machine in the middle there. We almost got rid of it at one point and it just wasn't working in the new house but I've recently moved it to this spot and now I really like it and want to keep it. You can see a little of the red light coming out of the dining room. The previous owner left us canvas curtains and I tie-dyed them red to better suit our decor. Hooray for free things!"

"This is our new coffee table. We lusted after this table for months and it finally went on sale just a couple weeks ago and so we splurged. It is over a hundred years old and is part of some old carts from a factory in the area before pallets and pallet jacks were invented. I love the rustic wood and iron wheels. But we do have to be careful as it gave my husband a wicked splinter. It's also a bit hard to dust since the surface is so rough."

"You can see an embroidered pillow that a friend of mine made. She embroidered a green man by Charles Vess! It's the tiny pillow on the top of the chair. It's a good reading spot under the Priestess at Delphi."

Just look at that awesome Charles Vess Green Man! Oh my gosh. Wish your friend had an Etsy!

"Here is what we call our "Steampunk Alcove." It's a weird spot at the bottom of the stairs. The pictures on the far right and far left are of my dad when he was very young and a pilot in world war II. The big cloche on the far left has a deer jaw I found in the woods many years ago and boiled clean. It grosses out my husband a bit but I like it. The round medallion in the center is a plaster zodiac wheel that I painted in copper spray paint and then hand antiqued by mixing up a dirty green sort of tarnished penny shade that I slathered on and then wiped off so now the whole piece looks like a big old penny."

"And here's what's currently in my apothecary jars; lots of wine corks in the first two and rocks from the shores of Lake Michigan in the third. I change out what is in these seasonally and it really sparks up the house. Like for the holidays I filled them with pine cones and tiny, colored balls; in spring they get moss, paper mushrooms and dyed eggs, etc."

Thank you for sharing, Carisa!!!

Domythic DIY: Paper Butterflies

2012-01-20T20:34:00.004-05:00

As a bibliophile, I have an automatic love affair with books. Yes, I'm that girl who inhales pleasurably when I go into a library or bookstore (and I work at a library). I'm the girl who has to take a book with her wherever she goes.

Working at a library, the first time I had to work on withdrawing and discarding a selection of books, my heart nearly broke. They were just Harlequin paperback romances, but I winced with every cover I tore. Since then, I'm half-sad to say that I've become more accustomed to the number of books the library discards and sells as we have to make room for new items in the collection. And I've also adjusted my feelings about the use of said books in new and unusual ways.

In other words, I've become quite enamoured with the idea of using books as fodder for new craft and artistic projects. It's absolutely amazing how taking a page of a book, even if it's a 25-cent former dimestore novel, can instantly turn a cut-paper object into something with deeper meaning. Just the sight of a page with typed words on it can foster feelings of mystery and nostalgia when used in a craft or assembled project.

So here's what I did.

I took a book from the library that was being discarded...in this case, a book on the Tudors called The Rose and the Thorn, full of lovely words having to do with royalty and chivalry, and tore out numerous pages. I folded them in half, and freehand cut a symmetrical butterfly design. I got two or three butterflies from each page of the book.

The butterflies I then colored in with designs of butterfly wings, both fantastical and from reference books. It was quite relaxing, actually, to color in dozens of butterflies while watching TV or relaxing. I also invited friends and family who visited to color in a butterfly. Using colored pencils for this part ensured that while the colors were vivid, you could still see the type from the book pages through the design.

I found two branches whose form I liked, and I used glue dots to adhere the colored butterflies to them. Two pieces of string and a couple of cuphooks later, and I had a fun mobile for above the bed in our Dreaming Room (the name for my art room, and our guest bedroom)

(blast those white walls...they should be green soon)

The pages themselves were so neat looking with the cut-out butterfly shapes, I couldn't let them go to waste.. I took the page with cut out butterflies, 3 a piece, used for the branch project. I then took a book I have on hand, Alphabets and Ornaments, a book full of medieval and period templates. (A similar book can be found at any library I'm sure) I photocopied three pages that had ornate designs I thought would work well for the project.

This is something to note...if you absolutely can't bring yourself to tear up a book, or you want to keep it for reference or reading, you can always photocopy the page in color at your local library :) and get a similar feel for your projects.

I then took watered down acrylic paint, and began painting the photocopied page with colors to mimic butterfly wings...just broad strokes of blended color across the page. I would continuously lay the template book page lightly on top of the photocopy (so as not to get it wet) to make sure the design was working for my "butterfly." When all three butterfly shapes were painted/filled and the bottom sheet was dry, I glued the two sheets together, and trimmed off any excess from the photocopy that showed around the book page.

The use of the medieval design adds patterns as well as color, and helps add to the butterfly "look" while also continuing the theme of words and history.

I then bought three cheapie ($3) frames at Walmart that just happened to have mats included in a shade similar to the antiqued page. I laid the page down on top of the matting, but my original plan was to find scrapbook paper that would look good to fill the rest of the frame, and I'm sure that would work too.

For the two smaller frames, I took a book page from the same book and cut out images I liked from a spare copy of Brian Froud and Alan Lee's Faeries I picked up at a yard sale years ago (paperback copy with a binding falling apart, otherwise I wouldn't dare cut it apart). I placed the cut faerie images in front of the book pages, and sandwiched both behind the matting of, again, a $3 Walmart frame. I made sure some of the cut image was layered in front of the matting for a quirky 3-d effect.

And there you have it! It was a fun little project that could be easily done using similar materials. The book was a quarter at the library, the photocopies were $.10 a piece at the library, and the frames were $3 a piece. So...yeah...not exactly a bank breaker.

Here are the other three frames:

Oh, and for the record, I used the newspaper template method to hang these 5 frames on the wall. I had heard of this method from Young House Love, but never tried it, and let me tell you, when you're trying to arrange things symmetrically or place a grouping in an aesthetically pleasing way on the wall, it is a total sanity saver. Highly recommended.

(To summarize, it basically means that you trace templates of your frames onto sheets of newspaper, cut them out, and add tape to the backs, so you can move them around the wall until you're pleased with their location. You can then X on the newspaper where you need to hammer your nail, and just tear the paper away when you're ready to hang the pictures)

Our First Post on Budget Decorating

2012-01-19T21:46:00.006-05:00

Decorating on a strict budget can be so very frustrating. This is especially true when your imagination runs wild with all sorts of ideas for what you could do to spruce up your home and make it more mythic, romantic and adventurous. The imagination is willing, but the pocketbook is weak. The internet is full of all sorts of amazing examples of breathtakingly beautiful one-of-a-kind artisan pieces created for just the sort of home you may want to create: Wrought iron beds elaborately welded and crafted to look like trees arching together. Life-size statues of Titania with small faeries dancing in her hair. It's easy to look at these things, and wistfully sigh, if only.

I know these things. Oh trust me, I do. I myself have an extremely strict budget on all home purchases as well. And I can tell you that as a budget decorator, there is one cardinal and very important rule to remember (and I'm looking at myself in the mirror as I say this): Be. Patient.

There are about a million plans I have for our house (first time home owners, moved here a year ago) that have not yet been realized. And a big part of the reason why for several of these projects is that I haven't yet found something I need to make them happen. We would love matching corner cabinets for the dining room. We would love a long, short bookcase for the upstairs hallway. We would love a window seat for our bay window. I could go on, but I won't bore you ;) The point is...if money was no object, we could go out and get all of these items tomorrow. We could even order one-of-a-kind whimsical show-stopper artisan versions of them on the internet. But money is very much an object, so the spaces we reserve for them remain empty, and I have to keep reminding myself to be patient...be patient...be patient.

There is a sort of gift given to those of us who have to wait for an affordable price on an item we've been searching for. The gift arrives when we finally discover that perfect beautiful antique cupboard tucked into the back of a flea market stall, or half-covered with a sheet at a garage sale, finally found and at a great price. It's in those moments that our patience pays off, and we realize it was so very worth it.

Let me give you a personal example. When we moved in to our house, I decided I wanted our bedroom to be enchanted forest-themed. We painted trees on our walls (a post on that is forthcoming) and I wistfully dreamed of being able to get a beautiful bed like the aforementioned wrought iron one that has been seen on many a blog:

The bed is beautiful. It is truly a work of art, deserving of its $15,000 price tag. But of course a bed that cost more than both my husband and my cars combined would not be feasible for our house budget. I scoured the internet for a more affordable tree bed alternative, and found absolutely nothing in our price range.

But I continued to do a daily search on Craigslist (I have a list of about 20 daily searches I do on the local Craigslist in our city) for "queen bed", looking to find something that really seemed just right for us. We didn't have a bed frame at all, so over time, my search got less and less picky, and there were several times I almost purchased something I found.

Then, just a few days before my birthday in June, I typed in my typical search to Craigslist, and my heart leapt into my throat. My hands started shaking and I couldn't type an email to the seller fast enough. The perfect bed was on the screen in front of me...a tree bed, magical and enchanting, but simplified enough for our cozy small cottage home.

And instead of $15,000, we paid $170.

Patience is sometimes rewarded in a big way, and every time I look at the bare corners of my house, waiting for the piece of furniture we hope to put there, I remind myself of the tree bed I wanted, and finally found.