Master Update–A Ketubah and Mirrors

We did a little bit of updating in our mini-ish master around these parts;

And it all started with a love story.

This year is my six year anniversary of marriage, but it took me this long to finally have our ketubah framed. A ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract, and for ours, I wanted a piece of art. We chose a hamsa as the focal point, which is a Jewish symbol of a hand of protection.

Once it was framed, I was blown away by it’s beauty and wanted to hang it as the centerpiece as our gallery wall opposite our bed. It is a wall I see so much of, as I look at it as I am gabbing on the phone or typing on the computer, and I am so happy to now have such an important piece (both symbolically and aesthetically).

But once the ketubah was framed (by the way, I had it framed at Michael’s using a 65% off coupon, which means I was able to afford to double mat it and put it in a beautiful gold metal frame) I did not want it to be a part of the rest of my gallery wall; the other pieces felt insignificant in a way, or like they took away from the beauty of the precious work of art.

But I had a lot of wall to fill.

And a lot of holes to cover.

And so I decided to cover them with mirrors. All different mirrors.

If you look closely, you’ll spy a certain baby of mine in one of the mirrors. He was kind enough to chill on the bed while I snapped crappy iPhone pics. And so you know, I shattered this phone, so I will be getting a new one, so YOU will be treated to MUCH better quality photos very soon.

So now the room feels completely different, and will be perfect in my fantasy future bedroom.

And I’m kind of glad it took me six years to frame this piece of art, because I’ve grown into myself, into my style,

we’ve grown into ourselves, into our love

and now it feels

just

right.

 

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Dining Time

Our dining room is probably my favorite in the house. I love the aesthetics of it, but more than that it is a woven tapestry; a journey through time and across the world and a fine blend of contributions from many of our cherished loved ones. It is also the room in which we signed the deal when our offer was accepted on the house nearly 18 months ago.

The room had great bones; Big, sunny windows, incredible molding, french doors, all covered in dull paint and tired window treatments and, literally, dust.

Here is a before shot:

I mentioned earlier that I had (have) a thing for paint colors, and the story of my dining room transformation begins with an obsession to find the perfect paint. I should mention now that before we moved into the house we did several things: First, we installed central air. Second, we did some structural work like building a bannister to the third floor and some window seats. But the greatest transformation was the painting. We painted every single wall of the house. Every wall, every door, every single thing I could think of to paint (including an antique mirrored table I found while antiquing in Lambertville, but more on that later). And 90% of the walls in my house I painted in some shade of white. This house needed a fresh start, and to me, warm white was the way to go. However, not in this dining room. This dining room, I felt, had the potential to be spectacular. And so, after much agonizing, I chose Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray and I could not love it more. The molding and French Doors we painted in Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White. It is so special.

And so, here are some shots of the After. As always, click on the photos below to see them in their full size.

So here it is. Our dining room. 

This table is one of our newest pieces, originally from Material Culture, the two pieces bookending are from Nadeau and the Frame holding the tapestry is from my go-to, Home Goods, all being some of our favorite furniture spots. Inside the frame is a very special piece, fabric my parents brought back for us from their trip to Vietnam. It finally has a home.

The table and chairs, which are a rich terra cotta, were given to us by my husband’s father, as they had formerly been used as his board room set. His parents also gave us the Kilim rug.

I love this little nook. This chair has an interesting story; we saw it in one of our favorite (but extremely expensive) stores in Lambertville this past summer and thought it was beautiful and reasonable, but could not think of a place for it. Weeks later, we thought about using it for our Living Room, so we called the store and it had not been sold, but it had been moved back to their warehouse, so if we wanted it, we had to come immediately. So my husband made the round trip drive, 90 minutes each way, and the chair came to live with us, where it had always been meant to reside. The botanicals hanging are also special to us; one was a wedding gift and the other from my parents from London. The large painting which is a depiction of Eve is from my grandparents. See what I mean? This room has so much history. So much soul.

Our credenza is a spectacular marble and carved piece given to us by dear family friends, to whom it had been gifted by their dear family friends. The tapestry of our story continues…Most of the decor on top of the credenza is from Home Grown, not to be confused with the other HG. These are some of my more high end pieces, and also some of my most meaningful. The beautiful candlesticks you see were an engagement gift from my Aunt and Late Uncle. I love seeing them every day. The “Art” displayed is another example of a picture that I liked, printed and framed. It cost me next to nothing. High/Low strikes again.

Our light fixture we brought from our old house’s kitchen. It came with the house and was always my favorite. The sconces are from good old Home Depot. Fahn-cy, indeed.

In the shot above, to the left of the French doors, you can see another one of my most meaningful pieces; a gift from my parents that says “Woman of Valor” with a Hamsa. It is an honor to have it hanging in my home. From this vantage point you can see into both our Living Room and Sunroom, which is one of my favorite attributes of our house; the openness. It also gives a bit of a sneak peak for what’s to come…