Mrs. Mellon: Session Three

Sessions three, fours and five are in a separate catalog. I will devote a post to each of these sessions.

Mrs. Mellon had a personality I would have liked, I think. As I continue through the catalog, it is becoming increasingly clear that she had a myriad of interests. Some themes continue on, others seem to have been collected and then another interest appeared but all of the contents show me a love of the outdoors, appreciation of history and a sense of humor.

There are several collections of small items. Staffordshire, enamel boxes, enamel fruit boxes, snuff boxes,  and paperweights are included in this collection. These are not popular among many young collectors today but they are so decorative and classic that I hope a little antiquing will come into their futures.

There are a few quirky chairs:

and quite a bit of painted furniture:

Note the lampshade covered in wallpaper.

One of the attic rooms has a decorating lesson: Remember that wallpapering all of those odd angles makes them much less visible.  

 

Baskets are such useful things.I use them to organize and store all sorts of things - they are also wonderful for plants, platters, serving dishes and just about anything else. The gardens offer a small amount of statures and planters but the highlight is what is apparently a garden shed approached via a mature arbor.

From the gates exterior you can see the arbor above the doors.(The figures on the entry posts are available.)

Inside this space are tromp l'oeil paintings which appear to cover the entire room. The ceiling is birds egg  blue over painted in bamboo squares while the walls are a medium green with "shelving" bracketed by bamboo in a diamond form. The painted items on the shelves are the exposed contents of the shed - baskets of produce, empty baskets turned this way and that, clay pots, vegetables and garden tools.

Baskets hang from the ceiling in this room which is not identified but is probably a guest room with the iron bed as centerpiece. This room is full of baskets and contains very little furniture.

The final few photographs in this section show us the stables as well as interesting vignettes.