Featured A Home Office Tour (Niiiiiiiiicccccceeee) :)

Michael, Dwight, and Kevin might not recognize it, but this is an office tour alright.....my home office.

This is the place where it all happens, including creating the thread you're reading now. The table is an old farmhands table that once expanded to 15 feet, but is now just an oak desk ca. 1900. On it there is an unlabeled Bradley & Hubbard lamp ca. 1920; to the left is a sausage marble parlor table ca. 1900 supporting the printer. The chair is Edwardian walnut ca. 1915 and the crock is from Illinois. The big painting is by Anthony Pontius, the works to the left are a custom photo by Noah Doely and a picture of a New York City apartment building constructed ca. 1915.

Next is a walnut davenport ca. 1870 by the Cincinnati, Ohio firm of Holabird, Moore & Marcy. There is an ink stamp to that effect in one of the drawers. Various advertisements from this firm are in the Joseph Downs collection at Winterthur. The firm was noted for it's office and library furniture. Resting on it is a yellow peg lamp from France ca. 1880, a wooden Pinnochio ca. 1935, an old ink bottle, and a copy of the book "Pinnochio" that has been in the family since the 1930s. The child's chair is walnut with a mahogany splat, date unknown. The clock is a walnut "rolling pin" regulator ca. 1890.

Next is a leather loveseat ca. 2005 Above it is a collection of works by Des Moines, Iowa painter Chris Vance. The worktable is attributed to pioneering free African American Thomas Day, from North Carolina and dated ca. 1830. The lamp is an early work by Danish architect and lighting designer Poul Henningsen; the lamp is marked "P H" on the shade and dates to ca. 1920. There are matching leaded glass windows hanging above

This is a step-back walnut bookcase that has been in the family since before the U.S. Civil War; it dates to ca. 1860.

Just outside the office is an English walnut purdonium (coal scuttle) ca. 1890. Resting on it is a majolica heron pitcher ca. 1925 and a Czech art glass vase dating to about the same time.


Now get to work!

 

Wow and wow! I have a crush on your Davenport
Love these little yummy chocolate pieces of furniture
Nice too to mix modern art with your Victoriana

 

Thanks for another great tour. I have a soft spot for majolica and that heron pitcher is just fabulous.

 

Enjoyable to see your beautiful home, thanks, Ghopper. I love your worktable, the top looks so shiny, what is the finish please? I'd have no problem to have a thick layer of polyu on any worktable surface, but wonder what is your choice please?

 

@antidiem

It was actually my father in law that refinished the table, but I do believe he used poly on the top.

 

I sense a story behind the Chris Vance artwork - care to share? Sure is quirky and fun!

 

Another fascinating and fantastic tour of your humble abode. I like that PH lamp a lot and I totally love that bookcase.
You have a great eye for decorating and style. Thanks for sharing.

 

@wiscbirddog : We met Mr. Vance in person at an art show some years ago. We enjoyed his quirky painting, as you so accurately put it, and decided to buy one, which is in the arrangement over the leather love seat. We soon learned that he paints so that his pictures should be displayed in multiples. We decided to try that, and liked the effect. They DO look better as a group!

So that's it: It started with a personal connection. In the intervening years, Chris has become a bit of a local celebrity; there are now several buildings in Des Moines with murals that he painted, and he's become the superstar of the gallery in which he exhibits. People like you and me seem to love his style. He's also expanded into the world of abstraction, and I quite like the results there, too.

 

TY for the info Ghopper. I looked up some of his prints online & got the giggles over some of the names given to his prints! Never would have thought that 'graffiti' art could go with antique furniture, but you pulled it off in a good way. I've enjoyed your decorating efforts.

 

Nice!
I sit at my (former) dining-room table, consumed with envy.

 

Very Very nice! I dare not show my office, as it has been mostly consumed with "stuff" ... a junk room more or less.

 

Another gorgeous room, Gh! Thx for sharing.

My only question is, doesn’t sitting in that chair hurt your backside after a while?!

 

Let's just say that it reminds me to get up and walk around once in awhile!

 

He did a beautiful job and I love it! The chair with it looks ergonomically comfortable too.

 

And AGAIN, Mr. G, a FINE presentation!!! Everything beautiful, pristine and in it's place!! Loving your descriptions of it ALL!! Which says to me, you've done all your research and have everything in each room nicely documented!! Something those of us who have any antiques should do or have done by now! I think I agree with Kyra, Loving your Davenport best if I had to pick one thing (but that might be impossible!) !!! But it's all wonderful! Thank you once again for an amazing tour!!

 

I gotta go with the bookcase as my favorite-- truly something that would make a person 'step-back' to take in its full presence.

 

Beautiful as the rest of your home. And so near and tidy! I believe that PH lamp should belong to me as it’s stamped with my initials.