Pretty Little Details

Today we leave our lakeside holiday rental.  Even though this house requires a good, thorough spit and polish, I have fallen in love.  The historic home has amazing details that can't be found in just any home.  Well, not our 1970s townhouse anyway.  Here are some of my favorite little details:

The Vintage Wallpaper

Not much of it survived (at one point, a gorgeous grasscloth covered the living room walls as well) but the entryway still has cute vintage wallpaper.

The Laundry Chute

This occupied Hubby & I for far too long - we were like little kids, tossing things down the chute and listening to them plummet.  But playing aside, what a lovely convenience.

The Maid's Buzzer

I would never have the rudeness required to buzz this ugly sounding buzzer to summon the maid, working hard in the kitchen.  But it was fun to harass one another with this neat feature.  We think it would have been wired up to the ends of the table, but this is all that remains:

The Doorknobs

Oooo la la.  I love the glass version, but the substantial metal ones found throughout the home are also stunning.

The Vintage Bathrooms

Although not all original, the home's bathrooms are so cute and kitchy.  I really like the bathroom sconces found in all bathrooms.  And the shimmery pink tile paired with the shell-coloured hexagon tile in the maid's bathroom is a perfect pairing.

The vintage taps are also so cute

The Unusual Furniture (& Lighting)

Now, this isn't really a feature of the home, but many of these pieces can be seen in photos from the last 50 years.  From the mid-century pieces to the grandfather clock to the curvy sofa with retro triangle pillows (and that chandelier!), there are some gorgeous pieces in this home.

Very neat tile table

Time to hit the dusty, er, snowy trail.  Next time I blog, I'll be back in Canada!

Historic Haunted House Holiday

My parents, Hubby & I typically vacation this time of year but don’t tend to stray too far from home (although for our December honeymoon in 2008, Hubby & I travelled to Greece by our lonesome).  The last few years have been spent in a gorgeous townhouse equipped with the comforts of home (but better) and placed on Lake Superior.  Perfection.  But this year we rented an historic lakefront mansion (that’s what any home larger than 1400 square feet is to us) in Duluth, MN.  The experience has been . . . different.

(Here is the map Hubby made for us to find the house):

This home was once glorious: three bedrooms, 2.5 baths (not including the maid’s bedroom, with full en suite bathroom), a living room the size of our townhome’s main floor, a spacious light-filled sun room and a dining room that can easily seat more people than we know.  It is hard not to put an exclamation mark after every feature.  Hardwood floors, floor to ceiling windows and a sprawling yard (with a tennis court!) have us green with envy.  But the home has fallen into disrepair and the current owners, who do not live here but keep this home as a vacation rental, have done little to maintain it. 

Here are a few glimpses but please, please note that I have not touched any of these rooms for the photos.  You have no idea how much I want to stage, clean, de-clutter and otherwise organize.

Living room

Kitchen

Dining room

3rd bedroom (the two in use by us are now too messy to document)

Vintage pink and green bathroom

Blue bathroom with amazing built in vanity facing the lake

What would have been the maid's room (by the kitchen)

The maid's bathroom (which I kinda heart)

Here's the odd part:

The former owner, an elegant woman named Florence (who had three husbands and a degree in interior design) lived a fantastic life here, a life we have weirdly experienced via personal artifacts left abandoned in the home.  Photo albums, letters, cards, clothing, scrapbooks, home décor items, kitchen wares, books, etc., all tell an interesting story and shed light on life in the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s.  But rifling through them feels so indescribably strange. 

Staying here is akin to squatting in the once glamorous home of some famous heroine from a classic novel.  Working on my computer from my lakeview perch on an antique sofa, I feel like I should be writing a novel instead.  To be here for any other reason seems wrong.  (Indeed, fittingly there is no internet and my blogging has been done outside a motel with unsecured wireless, late at night). 

My favorite room

I love the living room because this is the view:

Living room view

Lake Superior

P.S.  Florence’s second husband died unexpectedly in the house in 1965.

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