The White House, fireplaces and pictures
Ever since I saw the television documentary series “Touring the White House", I have been aching to do some Monday morning guarter-back decorating from my own experiences.
I have yet to live in the White House - the man said "Keep hope alive!" (I’m 72 now) - so I will openly confess what I would do to make my stay there more comfortable.
First of all, I would lower at least ninety or perhaps ninety nine percent of the pictures so when I have a visitor who bores the hell out of me, I would have only to cast my eye upon a picture in full contemplation, thereby effectively disguising my discomfort. I read long ago that pictures have viewing distances; you can be too close to them or too far away, or they are hanging too high or too low. I also read long ago that hanging pictures at standing viewing height is good for museums but bad for the intimacy of your home due to the fact most of the time you are sittin’ down.
Too many times I see a pictures on walls hanging so high they appears to be nothing more than mis-placed ceiling medallions. I smile. And when I see a picture hanging above a table lamp I say, “Oh my god, are these people for real? Are they Republicans or what?” I get frightened! (Smile)
And so it is, when I saw a fireplace during the White House television tour, I went prostrate in my wheelchair! I also go that way when I see how a fireplace can literally dwarf nearly all of the furniture and people in a room so consequently when I see a fireplace going from floor to ceiling on those decorator shows on television, I literally become comatose. In my opinion, those rooms would take mounted animal heads all over the walls to compliment them with a roaring fire in the fireplace. And when I see how much work goes into those fireplaces and how much people pay for them……..(Sigh)
It has been my visual experiences that a fireplace, like a television, if not handled correctly can become the nine-hundred pound gorilla in the room. After the popularity of television, that is when architects began building “family rooms” due to the fact interior decorators were having so much trouble integrating a television into the living room plans having conquered the radiator and later, baseboard heating etc.,
There is one fireplace in the White House I can’t wait to get my hands on! Another thing I read or heard is you compliment the width of furniture. For example, for a long couch, you put a picture or something the width of the couch or credenza or whatever. On this particular fireplace in the White House, however, on top of the long shelf there is a narrow display of artificial flowers and an even narrower picture hanging on top of that. OUCH! Visual obscenity! All of that will change when I get into the White House.
Finally, I would have my children, like Sasha and Malia, - the man said, “Keep hope alive”- I would have them researching all parts of the White House as to what parts slaves built and the whole nine yards as to the years, names of their masters, pictures, where they lived and any and all antidotal information they can get and place plaques in appropriate places. That’ll keep them busy during my four year term and if I continue to do what the man said, I would have eight years of their historical fruitions.
Coda: I personally think a fireplace and shelf/mantel piece above it should be no higher than five feet or so. To me it gives the appearance you are in full control of that fire-breathing monster in your home. But then if you like the look of a pet dragon in your living room, go for it! Some people even like fried chicken. Who am I to say? I have concluded a decorator effectively working with a fireplace is like a timpanist trying to play “Chop-sticks” on the drums.
As always,
BB
P.S. This post is subject to sobering changes.
I have yet to live in the White House - the man said "Keep hope alive!" (I’m 72 now) - so I will openly confess what I would do to make my stay there more comfortable.
First of all, I would lower at least ninety or perhaps ninety nine percent of the pictures so when I have a visitor who bores the hell out of me, I would have only to cast my eye upon a picture in full contemplation, thereby effectively disguising my discomfort. I read long ago that pictures have viewing distances; you can be too close to them or too far away, or they are hanging too high or too low. I also read long ago that hanging pictures at standing viewing height is good for museums but bad for the intimacy of your home due to the fact most of the time you are sittin’ down.
Too many times I see a pictures on walls hanging so high they appears to be nothing more than mis-placed ceiling medallions. I smile. And when I see a picture hanging above a table lamp I say, “Oh my god, are these people for real? Are they Republicans or what?” I get frightened! (Smile)
And so it is, when I saw a fireplace during the White House television tour, I went prostrate in my wheelchair! I also go that way when I see how a fireplace can literally dwarf nearly all of the furniture and people in a room so consequently when I see a fireplace going from floor to ceiling on those decorator shows on television, I literally become comatose. In my opinion, those rooms would take mounted animal heads all over the walls to compliment them with a roaring fire in the fireplace. And when I see how much work goes into those fireplaces and how much people pay for them……..(Sigh)
It has been my visual experiences that a fireplace, like a television, if not handled correctly can become the nine-hundred pound gorilla in the room. After the popularity of television, that is when architects began building “family rooms” due to the fact interior decorators were having so much trouble integrating a television into the living room plans having conquered the radiator and later, baseboard heating etc.,
There is one fireplace in the White House I can’t wait to get my hands on! Another thing I read or heard is you compliment the width of furniture. For example, for a long couch, you put a picture or something the width of the couch or credenza or whatever. On this particular fireplace in the White House, however, on top of the long shelf there is a narrow display of artificial flowers and an even narrower picture hanging on top of that. OUCH! Visual obscenity! All of that will change when I get into the White House.
Finally, I would have my children, like Sasha and Malia, - the man said, “Keep hope alive”- I would have them researching all parts of the White House as to what parts slaves built and the whole nine yards as to the years, names of their masters, pictures, where they lived and any and all antidotal information they can get and place plaques in appropriate places. That’ll keep them busy during my four year term and if I continue to do what the man said, I would have eight years of their historical fruitions.
Coda: I personally think a fireplace and shelf/mantel piece above it should be no higher than five feet or so. To me it gives the appearance you are in full control of that fire-breathing monster in your home. But then if you like the look of a pet dragon in your living room, go for it! Some people even like fried chicken. Who am I to say? I have concluded a decorator effectively working with a fireplace is like a timpanist trying to play “Chop-sticks” on the drums.
As always,
BB
P.S. This post is subject to sobering changes.
posted by BB at 4:55 AM
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