my grandmother's house

The first place I remember appreciating decor was my grandmother's house.  We moved to New Jersey when I was 7, and my grandparents lived a few blocks away from us in a split level ranch.  It had a midcentury sort of vibe to it.  The tv room had a giant gallery wall of mostly black and white photos, and built-in bookshelves that had all manner of interesting items from my grandparents travels.

The dining room had a collection of calendars--not paper ones, but older wooden ones. The garage had a displayed collection of key ring holders. My favorite, however, and the thing that made my 7 year old self think "this is sooooo cool" (mixed with a wee bit of apprehension) was the collection of tiki coconut heads that decorated the laundry room and half bath.

My grandparents sold that house and moved into the house that we lived in briefly, a few blocks away.  Its a lovely house with a beautiful inside, to say nothing of the treasure trove of furniture in the garage. Both of my grandparents loved garage sale-ing (yep, its a verb), and their house is a comfortable, cozy, interesting home. I love my grandma's taste and am always checking out what's new when I'm there.

The decor changes frequently.  My grandma is always moving the furniture around, putting up new stuff and retiring the old.  Here's a few of the things that are out right now.

Over my grandmother's desk is a framed calendar:

Next to the framed calendar are two shelves filled with my grandfather's things (he passed away last year).

I think these hand carved Indian busts are the coolest things.  They came from Brazil, where my grandparents lived for a while in the 70s:

The framed items in the back are a memo about my grandfather's passing at the company he worked at for decades, and a picture of him as an electrical engineer at Philadelphia Electric on the cover of a magazine from the 1950s.  His well-used passports are in front, with his USS McDermott Navy hat, where he served during WWII.

The top shelf holds a picture of my grandparents at a USS McDermott reunion party.

This one-eyed wooden elephant bust belonging to my Uncle Mark, festively decorated for Christmas:

This shrine is hung over some framed photographs of the camp where we have a family reunion every year:

This hand was found at a garage sale:

My Uncle Mark has great taste in art.  I love this bicycle picture, and am contemplating something similar for the kids bedroom.

The kiddos had a fun time hanging with their cousins in grandma's house while I was snapping pictures:

And cousin Ally is a cutie:

I have tried for years to get my mother to make me a quilt like the one in the background there but she keeps saying no.

And there you have it, my grandma's house.