Welcome to my boho hall of vintage mirrors

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I’ve missed posting my usual three days a week for two weeks in a row, but I’ve been busy crossing off more of the too-many tabs open in my brain I told you about.

Be aware: Stealing art from your hallway to use in your living room leaves you with an empty hallway. And an already dark and narrow hallway that is also empty looks quite forlorn.

What to do? 

My solution: I hung vintage hand mirrors where the art had been! Then, when I didn’t think the installation had quite the boho vibe I was looking for, I dressed the mirrors with tassels, webs of colorful thread, and handles wrapped in bright yarns.

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Here’s the peek I gave you of the hall’s progression as vintage looking-glass finds from ebay and Etsy arrived.

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And here’s the view from our great room, through my study to the same hall of mirrors, now be-tasseled, strung and wound with boho love.

I bet you’d like a closer look, so here ya go…

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This is a small hallway, and the only natural light it receives spills over from a bedroom at either end, so it's tough to photograph. I’ve wrestled with how to make it a brighter, cheerier place, and I think I’m finally on the right path. I still have a bit of work to do on the opposite wall, so those mirrors have something pretty to reflect when I’m not back there snapping photos. 

Here’s how I yarn- and thread-embellished the mirrors:

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Some handles got wrapped, with a knot tied in the back to secure the yarn, and the excess trimmed off.

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Those with uneven outside frames that would hold thread in place I gave a spider-web treatment. 

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Still others I hung with tassels made using the nifty Boye tassel maker. Mine came with a set of pompon makers in various sizes, but it’s also sold separately. Tabs fold open or shut, depending on the length of tassel you want to make. Begin by cutting two shorter strands to tie off your finished tassel. 

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Loop one of the cut strands around the right-hand slot at the top (left). Then take both ends, ties at the left-hand slot, and bring the ends down to be held by the flap just below the one you’ve chosen as your final tassel length (middle). Take the end of the skein of yarn and also position it under this tab, then hold it shut to hold the loose ends in place, and start wrapping (right). I found that you want to wrap your tassel away from the fold to make it easier to get off the tool when finished.

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Continue wrapping until your tassel is the fulness you want it to be (left). This will depend on the weight of yarn or other thread you’re using, as well as personal preference. I used anywhere from 25 to 40 wraps for mine. When you’re done wrapping, free the ends for the top tie from the tool flap, untie, slide until each side is even, then tie a tight, secure knot (right). 

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Take the other short strand you cut, thread it through the wider slot (left) and tie another tight, secure knot.

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Slide your tassel off the tool and cut the loops. Then trim off any uneven ends (left). Knot your finished tassel so it can be hung (right). I found this tool to be more precise than winding yarn around a piece of cardboard. It’s also quicker and easier. 

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Here’s lookin’ at you, kid!

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Bringing peonies home

one poem
per blossom is not enough
for a peony

                              

   —Ryumin

I’m lucky to have a neighbor who plants peonies but spends the month of May in Florida. Luckier still that she invited me to pick her peonies whenever I want, and when it comes to peonies I don’t wait for a second invitation. 

Seeing them out our bedroom window every year is, indeed, glorious. They’re a flower I grew at our previous house, and I miss them.

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I've been watching those buds, and after Monday's deluge, I just knew there'd be blooms Tuesday, ripe for the picking. And all that beauty unplucked seems a great sin, you know? As any gardener worth the dirt under her fingernails will tell you, picking flowers begets more flowers, not fewer.

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Maisie-Cat agrees. My morning harvest amounted to seven huge blooms, which I divided into the two arrangements shown here and in the previous photo. Thank you, Nelda (my neighbor)!

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Both her pink bush, across the lane from our bedroom window, and her white bush out front (which I wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t started walking) are FULL to the brim with buds. Now if only the storms will let up and not destroy what’s left. I want to try to pick some to dry and perhaps reward my neighbor with a wreath after she returns home.

You didn’t know they dried well? 

Via Just Grand

They’re stupendous dried flowers and retain their color well. The white blooms dry a lovely antique white. Just pick when the bloom first opens so the petals will remain tight. 

My Mother's Pearls

Then hang upside down singly or in bunches of two or three. I tie them together with rubber bands and hang the bands on a nail, around a cupboard knob, or strung on a line. A clothes rack works well, too, if you use string.If I make a wreath this year I’ll take pictures and post instructions.

Waiting for these beauties to bloom got me thinking about peony motifs in home décor

I’m forever seeing bouquets of peonies in interior design magazines, but peony designs have populated the decorative arts since what seems like the beginning of time. At the least, since the beginning of decorative arts.

Linda Merrill

For instance, look at the suzani tapestry spread beneath the tray this bouquet sits on. What inspired the huge, round flower motif? It could easily have been a peony.

One Kings Lane

And what about the pattern in this quilt? Looks inspired by peonies to me. What other flower that shape do you know of that gets so large?

Marco Polo, after all, reported back from his visit to China, where peonies were first cultivated, that he found roses as big as cabbages. He was writing about peonies. Indeed, peonies open larger and wider until the heads fall over from their very weight.

Thomas Darnell photo / Martha Stewart Living

There’s something positively wanton in a peony bloom—something blousy and sexual and free, like a Rodin sculpture—and that certainly comes across in the wallpaper used in this bathroom. Even the mirror looks like a white peony opening further and further from its center.

Chinese Peranakan Style, Herry Ashari Collections

The Chinese have, in fact, been putting peonies on china for centuries.

Austin Monthly

You’ll also find peonies blooming on rugs….

Hometeka

…pillows…

Natalie Shelton photo / via Keltainen Talo Rannalla

…and upholstery, as on this pair of matching ottomans.

The peony motif is versatile, too

Miguel Flores-Vianna photo

Sometimes it lends an oriental look, as on the pagodas of peony blossoms in the fabric used for these wing chairs.

Photo courtesy of Kit Kemp / via Lonny

While other times the look achieved is more of a traditional/modern mix.

It can even look decidedly boho. That's my favorite, of course.

Alexandra Kaehler Designs / via Mix and Chic

But whatever style it graces, the effect is always romantic. 

It’s a sexy flower, I’m telling you!

Husman Hagbery photo / via Planete Deco

I’d be hard pressed to miss the peonies in this wallpaper. They have a William Morris feel to them and look so senusous in this otherwise minimal scandi dining room.

This wild tangle of peonies on a mural with a midnight-blue background makes a perfect backdrop for a bed. Peony seeds, according to legend, glow in the dark just like the images here seem to.

Design Loves Detail photo / via Domino

Even peel-and-stick, repositionable peonies are available these days to customize the effect you want without the work or permanence of wallpapering.

Peonies are also popular subjects in art and prints

Kimberly Gavin photo / Studio80 Interior Design

I love how this print brings together all the elements in the room.

Society Social

And I am absolutely, positively, swooning over this juju hat tipped in magenta to look like a peony. I’m not even a big juju-hat fan, but I’d hang this one in a jiffy, right above my bed, of course! No sense wasting any of that good juju, right?

Via DigsDigs

And what’s that pendant light shade meant to emulate, if not a peony? There's even a pillow to repeat the flower's shape, and the crosses on the throws do the same, though in a more abstract way.

Here, the sunburst mirrors, painted pink, remind me of peonies against all that spotted wallpaper and fabric (which represent the plethora of buds!) in this sweet little girl’s room.

Area Environments

But I think us adults need to save some of the peony’s lustiness for our own private spaces. One poem certainly may not be enough for a peony blossom, and one peony blossom is certainly not enough for a home.

1. Pink Peonies Chenille Pillow Cover
2. Black & White Wool Felt Peony Pillow
3. Bring Me Peonies Pillow Cover
4. Peony Fabric Shower Curtain
5. Floral Print Desk Mat
6. Asian Bowl
7. Peony Flower and Antler Print
8. Hand-Embroidered Peony in Embroidery Hoop
9. Pink Peony Cone Photo Print
10. Robert Allen Peony Vine Fabric
11. Waverly Reflection Pool/Darjeeling Fabric
12. Peony Adhesive Wallpaper
13. Peony Peel-and-Stick Repositionable Wallpaper
14. Felt Rose & Peony Garland
15. Handpainted Peony Mandala Stone
16. Vintage Chinese Peony Floor Lamp
17. Peony Bespoke Matchboxes
18. Peony Placemats
19. Lychee Peony Candle
20. Bunch of Dried Peonies
21. Pink Peony Chinese Fan
22. Vintage Cloisonee Peony Egg
23. Vintage Handmade Peony Parasol.

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Through the looking glass

Dali Seen from the Back Painting 
Gala Eternalized from the Back

The Salvador Dali painting at left, like all mirror paintings, fascinates me. We only think what we see is our view, but what we always see in a mirror painting is the view of the subject seeing into the mirror.

No matter how we try, the painting absorbs us, and we see into it as if we were the subject. It's a painter's trick, and a powerful one.

Mirrors are powerful decorating accessories as well. They can make a room seem bigger, bring light in, alter a view, or reflect a bit of the owner's personality. When adding mirrors or mirrored furniture to your home, consider what will be reflected and how the view will differ depending on the angle.

Try the mirror in various positions before hanging. Look into it from all the angles. And consider adjusting what's reflected, where possible, to enhance the reflected view. These well-planned, mirrored rooms show what I mean.

1. The long and short of it...

These two photos are of the same living room--one close-up and one from the opposite end. The longer view makes it seem as if there's a room beyond the fireplace. Closer in, the mirror reflects beautiful details of the room, created Holly Hollingsworth Phillips of The English Room. To see more Jim Schmid photos of this home and read about it, visit Charlotte Urban Home.

2. Sparks will fly...

Smaller mirror, smaller view, but the chandelier is a twinkling surprise. Think of the sparks that will fly when the sun comes into play, when lights are switched on at night, and again when lights switch off (wink-wink). See more photos and read about this home at Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. The home itself was designed by Greg Palmer of Harrison Design Associates, and interiors are by Beth Webb of Beth Webb Interiors. Photo by Mali Azima.

3. Mirror, mirror, against the wall...

The wave-like frame of the mirror, propped casually against a wall, reflects an elegant burled chest, a Victorian chair and the sumptuously dressed canopy bed. The bed's bulbous feet are mirrored as well and reflect the geometric patterns and colors of the carpet. Designer Jonathan Berger's goal in decorating this small Brooklyn townhouse was to make it seem larger. Read about this home and see more photos on House Beautiful.

4. Panes of reflection... 

Hung close to the floor, this mirror reflects the diminutive vignette on the floor in front of it, as well as the elegant settee in the larger room and the arched pane French doors beyond. The divided panes of the mirror echo those of the doors and add abstracted interest to the reflected view.

5. Powder room for primping pooches...

I love how this mirror reflects the dog silhouettes in the wallpaper. Because the mirror is beveled, it distorts them a bit, creating a very unique work of art--all from a well-planned reflection. To have hung towels or any sort of pictures on the wall would have spoiled everything. I found this photo on The Velvet Fantastic.

6. Parsing a white wall... 

Vintage mirrors hung in a sometimes crooked, sometimes overlapping collage, add architectural interest to a massive wall without taking away from the light, airy look of this dining room. The different shapes and sizes enhance the effect, and the glimpses we catch of books, furniture and other accessories gives the arrangement the feel of a pop art installation. Photos by Petra Bindel for Elle  Decoration UK.

7. Door-to-door-to-door....

You wouldn't think a reflection of doors would be all that exciting. But this one is done with such symmetry and elegance that simple white woodwork puts on added appeal. The arabesque-shaped matching mirrors add to the architectural show, and who wouldn't want to reflect all that gorgeous turquoise! Definitely head over to Home Bunch to see more of this home, designed by Jill Litner Kaplan Interiors. Photos are by Michael J. Lee.

8. Reflection of Arabian Nights...

Floor-to-ceiling mirrored quatrefoil panels form the headboard in this bedroom designed by Mabley Handler Interiors. The mouldings break up the reflected scene in much the same way as a harem screen, and the flowered panels are echoed in the medallions of the area rug. The mirror theme continues in accent tables, chairs and lamps. See more of the Mabley Handler's work here.

9. A new spin on the mirrored closet door...

In a New York loft that lacked closet space, designer Steven Sclaroff added a mirrored wardrobe. "It's a welcome hit of muted traditionalism," he says. "It kind of looks like its own freestanding dressing room." Having the mirror framed and broken up in panels lightens its weight. See more photos from this Tribeca home here. Photo by Francois Dischinger.

10. Like planting an extra garden...

This mirror makes the porch of a Florida home by designers Courtney Coleman and Bill Brockschmidt feel more like an actual room. An added benefit? It reflects the garden by day and candlelight and stars by night. Sofa by Smith & Hawken, carpet by Madeline Weinrib and photo by Simon Upton. Check out more photos of this home here. See more of Brockschmidt and Coleman's portfolio here.

These last two photos were tagged in a House Beautiful article "10 Unique Ways to Decorate with Mirrors." Follow the link for more ideas.