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CHEERS TO JAKE
Happy Twenty-First Birthday
December 4, 2014
...Judy...
...Coming attractions...
Sharing Christmas with:
The Garland House - GOLD COUNTRY COTTAGE
Monday, December 8, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
VICTORIAN COTTAGE FURNITURE...
Before I get started with today's subject,
I would like to thank Tim and Tami for their hospitality on Thanksgiving Day
and the wonderful meal they prepared and, especially, to let them know
that their love and caring for us is returned ten-fold.
I hope that all of you, as well,
had a memorable and wonderful Thanksgiving.
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Victorian Cottage furniture
from the collection at the Rodgers House in Watsonville, CA
Cottage furniture
was popular in the United States,
particularly on the East Coast,
between 1830 and 1890.
As the American Civil War began winding down and luxury items were once again sought after,
cottage furniture began appearing in workshops
and then homes of the wealthy in places like Martha's Vineyard, Cape May, and the Berkshires.
Cottage furniture did not remain exclusive to the upper-class;
soon simpler, but equally elegant, versions could be found in homes
all along the East Coast.
Cottage furniture is true to the Victorian style.
There is some carving, usually in the form of finials and medallions,
but most of the decorations were painted. Flowers, fruit and other plants were the most common motifs.
Because the pieces were done by local cabinet makers,
most of which did not have any formal training,
the embellishments would have a slightly primitive style.
The most popular base colors were tan, blues, greens and pinks,
though there were a few rare examples where the natural wood is varnished
but left unpainted with the exception of the painted floral accents.
Restoration of Cottage furniture is difficult so tops of pieces were rarely painted in detail.
Photo taken from Victorian Homes magazine
Decorating magazines picture Victorian rooms filled
with grained mahogany, light-colored maple or reddish cherry furniture.
Rarely are painted pieces shown
and there are several reasons for this:
*Painted pieces have not been reproduced, so the supply is limited.
*In the 1950's it was fashionable to buy a painted piece and strip the finish to have a more modern look.
*Painted surfaces are difficult to restore, and many old chests and chairs were worn.
You will remember a few weeks ago,
I showed you our guest room dresser that I painted.
After living with it awhile,
I decided that it was a little bland and needed something to spice it up!
I must make this completely honest disclosure --
I am not an artist and
I cannot draw a lick --
so with the use of stencils and some paint,
I created my version of
Victorian Cottage furniture.
We picked up this inexpensive night stand at a garage sale.
Although it is a far cry from the Victorian era,
I liked its lines and it was a handy piece to put beside the bed.
With a small amount of work it fits right in --
sort of like putting lipstick on a pig!
One of the biggest misconceptions regarding antiques
is that our forefathers loved the appearance of the natural native woods in their furnishings.
They did not.
That is a fad of this century.
As a result, most painted furniture has been stripped and fine-finished
by well-meaning dealers and collectors.
Although costly mahogany and walnut was seldom painted,
our fore-fathers paint decorated nearly all their other wood furniture
to brighten their dark, oil-lamp lit homes.
Most facts about painted Cottage furniture were taken from Wikipedia.
All photos and some descriptions are my own.
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Trucks full of these are arriving in town
and as the song says,
"It's the Most
Wonderful Time
of the Year".
...Judy...
Joining these great parties:
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
THANKSGIVING WISHES...
"As we express our gratitude
we must never forget that the highest appreciation is
not to utter words,
but to live by them".
John F. Kennedy
I am very thankful for the many friends I have met through blogging and
for the chance to be invited into their lives and
for my husband and family
who love,
and do right by me,
no matter what.
So wherever your journey takes you,
whether it be over the river and through the woods,
or along an interstate highway
stuck between a Toyota and a Buick,
I wish you safe travels and
the blessings of family and friends
waiting for you
at the other end.
"When the gray-haired
New Englander
sees round his board
The old broken links of
affection restored,
When the care-wearied man
seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles
where the girl smiled before,
What moistens the lip
and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past,
like the rich Pumpkin pie?'
John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807 - 1892, "The Pumpkin"
Many thankful blessings to one and all...
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
...Judy...
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
GOAT HILL FAIR...
We left home early Saturday trying to make it down to the fair when it first opened.
There was fog in the early morning hours and it still lingered as we made our way down Highway 80.
We arrived around 11:00 and
the show was already in full swing.
There were two huge buildings chocked full of vendors and their wares
with some booths set up outside.
There was a large variety of items for sale and
by the looks of the amount of bags being carried and
the sold signs on large pieces of furniture, everyone was doing well...
...except me.
It was posted that the Rodgers House was going to be open for touring from 10:00 to 3:00.
At the time of our arrival it appeared to be closed up,
with the gates locked and all the shades drawn.
Our history with the house goes back quite a few years.
When we were living in Santa Cruz, we would visit at least once a month.
The house was situated on it's original site in Watsonville and each of the downstairs rooms were occupied with wonderful little shops.
I was always able to find some little trinket and that was fun, but
the big draw for us was the house itself.
At the time we lived in a house built in the 1960's, but we always had dreams of living in an old house.
Once, after we moved to Grass Valley and had our old house,
we went back but the house was no longer standing and a shopping center had taken its place.
We assumed the house had been demolished.
The Rodgers House as it sat in it's original place (far right hand corner) sometime after it was built in the 1870's.
Large house (front right side) was built by the Rodger's son and was eventually torn down.
What we didn't know, until just a few months ago,
was that the house had been moved, refurbished, and
now sits at the entrance to the Santa Cruz County fairgrounds.
The original water tower reconstructed on the present site.
It all looked as we remembered it only in much better shape but
for right now it seemed that we would not be able to go inside.
So how does a girl drown her sorrows?..
by shopping of course!
I found this adorable little scale that I am so happy with.
I had to laugh to myself as the tag on it stated "as is".
There is nothing wrong with it except for some chipping.
What???
Isn't that how it is supposed to be?!!
I also found this little chippy and rusty, red caddy
that will be perfect for Christmas and beyond!
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It was time to leave the fair and stop by the kids for dinner before heading back home.
As we were taking our treasures to the car,
we happened to see a lady coming out of the house and she invited us inside!
It seems it was open the whole time
even though it didn't appear to be.
She took us in the back door so that we entered into the kitchen first.
We both remember the huge wall of windows that were over the sink,
from the ceiling down with little panes of glass.
It was quite a disappointment to see they had been replaced with these smaller versions.
Kind of like remembering something through your young child eyes and
thinking it was so big, then seeing it as an adult and
it seemed so much smaller.
However, knowing that the house had been cut into four pieces and
moved about eight miles
and the price it would be to duplicate today those exact windows,
it was, disappointing, but understandable.
Mr. James Rodgers astride his horse
Malvina Rodgers' (his first wife) wedding gown
Mr. Rodgers and his first wife, Malvina, came from the San Francisco bay area.
They had eight children and when they outgrew their present home,
they bought 80 acres in the fertile valley of Watsonville and
built this large house to hold his growing family,
sometime in the 1870's.
After his wife died, he married his second wife, Esther Steinbeck Rodgers.
She was the sister of John Steinbeck.
This is the original stove Mr. Rodgers bought for his wife, Esther.
She is pictured with it in the above photograph.
Formal dining room
Built-in china cupboard and fireplace in formal dining room
Formal parlor fireplace mantle
You might think the subject of this painting is the homestead but,
in reality,
it is the ewe in the foreground.
One of the Rodgers' sons raised it and
she was a prize winning specimen...
...which he received this trophy cup for.
When the Rodgers family heard that the house was being restored,
they graciously donated family heirlooms,
such as furniture, art and various items and family photographs
which are on display throughout the house.
John Steinbeck, as a guest, for Thanksgiving dinner
This is Mr. Rodgers beaver top hat.
He had it embellished with embroidery and pearls,
so that when he went to a formal function and they took his hat,
it could be seen that he was someone of importance and wealth.
The upstairs was off limits but when I commented on how much I liked this single bed in a downstairs bedroom...
...she said there was an even smaller one upstairs and would I like to see it??..are you kidding me??...
So perfect!
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I apologize for my pictures. It was a little dark because of the drawn shades and I couldn't get just the right angles, but I hope you got a feel for the house.
There was no literature about the family, all that I know was what the docent told us and so don't know if I remember it all correctly.
I don't think the house shows to its best advantage
but I can visualize how it could look
with the right colors of paint or maybe a bit of wallpaper
and the presence of a family.
The house will be open again at Christmas,
decorated, and the docents will be in costumes befitting the era.
There also happens to be another large craft fair at the same time
so I'm hoping that we will be able to return.
...Judy...
It was a great Goat Hill Fair and more.
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