unpacking our life

It's taken me all weekend to sort out how I want to approach the chronicling of this first phase of my mother moving into her barn. It was so easy when the barn was empty. We put a couple of chairs in and I shot some photos. Your response was tremendous...thank you! The past week has been daunting and exciting. Somehow, I hadn't anticipated the magnitude of what unpacking a life would entail. As a single parent and renter, my mother moved at least twenty times ( I was with her for fifteen of them). This is the first time, as an adult, she has had a place to truly call home. For years she has collected things she found interesting from flea markets, yard sales, and markets from all over the world. These, along with our humble family heirlooms, have been in storage for years. The barn is a home worthy of these treasures, and we feel giddy and weepy as each box is unpacked. I am excited to share the final design shots of the barn. I know it will be stunning, but I don't want to rush this lovely unfolding of my childhood and my mother's soul. Her hard earned dream is finally a reality and we are very blissed out. So here's my plan...no one wants to look at a room of scattered boxes, but I'd love to share the contents of them as we settle in. Let's zoom in together, starting with her hayloft art studio.

I can only imagine that these delicate floral paper cuts were decorative materials used for family scrapbooks long ago.
A Mexican paper mache doll that I remember from my grandmother's house, sits in a wire basket filled with multi-colored paper snack trays from Java.

My mother helped start a nursery school in Jakarta, Indonesia ten years ago. One day, she went to a local market looking for interesting paper for the children's collages. Paper ended up being an expensive and hard commodity to come by. She discovered these beautiful paper snack trays and cones that food vendors used for little bites to eat. My mother bought all that she could for the children, and some to take home for her own future projects.

This large primitive armoire was made by a 93 year old local woodworker from recycled barn wood and rusty pie safe cut-outs. It will house art supplies and tools. It's flanked by vintage wire store display racks. We're still deciding what they will hold.

I couldn't resist filling one up; it was calling out for my mother's antique rag balls. She popped in some of her dolls from around the world...one was hers from childhood...others joined the collection along the way.

My mom has a weakness for old drying racks. The vintage linens came out for this photo, but most likely the racks will dry prints in the future.


LOTS of vintage toys coming up soon!