I didn’t think to take “before” photos when I started removing pictures from the wall on Saturday morning, nor did I expect the project to evolve quite as fully as it did that day. I found a photo from not long ago, though.

A few things had evolved/changed over the years, but for the most part that wall had remained unchanged for… forever.

It’s going to take some getting used to… having only one thing hanging on that wall. In case you haven’t noticed, my overall decorating style is maximalist (more is more!! collections!! layers!!)! haha. You can see a bit of that going on in that glimpse of the kitchen.

It’s quite likely that this painting was previously hung in here, though. Rusty’s studio used to be at home (in the room that is now our bedroom) & he would hang finished work in the house… and then take down for a show or a client or a gallery or a dealer, and then sometimes NOTHING was on the wall, or something else hastily hung that didn’t quite fit the space. I got tired of the revolving door, so banished his work from the room unless it was truly ours/mine, and not subject to sale or show or movement of any sort that was not initiated by the decorator (me)!

Janet was Rusty’s mom… that wasn’t actually her old dress & she never lived in a house quite like that (or in that location… though not too far from the ocean). He painted this the year that Maddy was born! There are some telltale cues that it’s a Lee Mothes painting from that time period… it’s a highly detailed watercolor featuring the ocean surf (always), the sky & clouds, the porch, the architecture, the letters, the pelicans (but no cats… that was also a very common element) (unless it’s hiding… sometimes under the chair), the sand & bricks & geraniums, laundry on the line, the mug… that’s the very For Better or For Worse coffee mug that I used every day back then.

Sorry about the reflections — between the Christmas tree, the front door, and the enormous window on my left… it was impossible.

I was recently out with my BFF & she’d also done some redecorating/rearranging. She told me that her son & his partner rediscovered an old painting that Rusty had done for her around that time, and were delighted that she let them take it home to Chicago (on loan).

Cat, no mug… letters tucked behind the mailbox, surf & clouds, clothesline (with pins but no laundry), etc.

This is the era of Rusty’s painting/work that I truly love. I’m also very nostalgic, by the way!

The high was 2F today & it would have been a great day to hunker down & stay in, but I really had to drop off a package at UPS — the mailing deadline for this year’s jólabókaflóð was last Wednesday and I just didn’t have a good feeling about waiting until Monday (after work) to get that going. It was super-sunny out, so that made all the difference. In case you’re wondering, The UPS Store was a zoo, but everyone was in good spirits.

While I was out, I made a swing through Goodwill to drop off a couple of items, including some pictures & decor items, because…

…there’s some changes happening here, and there are a few things that I knew I could definitely live without. My walls have been adorned with the same stuff, more or less, for decades. We’ve been talking for a long time (years) about making changes — even repainting, but I haven’t found a color that I like better, so that’s not happening.

Everything else has been rearranged and/or relocated — those are three main areas, above. The Dutch girl, etc., is between the colonnade dividing the living areas & a window, the florals are by the front door, and the family photos are on the other side of the front door at the bottom of the stairway. They are mostly my shutterbug paternal relatives (from my great great great grandparents to my grandparents), but a few of my maternal line, too. We also hung or propped a few things above doorways & bookshelves, which complements the high ceiling.

The spot above the couch is still blank. A few months ago, Rusty had an old watercolor painting returned to him from a client after over 30 years. The client was retiring, closing down & cleaning out his office, didn’t have a place for it at home, and wanted Rusty to have it back. So that’s what’s going to hang above the couch. Believe it or not, Rusty found a tiny pot of “living room” paint for touching up, so that’s already done. I think that painting might be hung tomorrow!