It is unfashionable to care about possessions, but the little treasures in our lives enrich them and they develop stories as they move through our lives with us. So the things we have acquired shouldn’t be sneered at or abandoned, they should be celebrated and cherished.
I had a lovely email the other day from a home stager in the USA who had found my house and wanted to put it on her website. She runs a blog called www.howtomakelovetoyourhouse.com and I thought that was a lovely title because somewhere over the last few years a lot of people fell out of love with their homes and that is such a shame.
The older we get the more things we accumulate and the more the stories grow and weave around our lives and the things we bring into them. Here are a few of things I cherish and parts of their stories.
Duck – this pottery duck sits on my kitchen windowsill. He comes from Chios and originally he was full of little chocolate eggs. We were visiting Chios just before Easter one year and the shops were full of the most fantastic chocolate creations, gloriously decorated hand made eggs, individual chocolates with sumptuous fillings and mounds of little chocolate eggs in a rainbow of wrapped foil. Duck reminds me of that trip, of the rock roses blooming in Spring and David struggling to decide which chocolates to choose and the ringing of the bells of the multitude of churches and how we had missed the sound of church bells.
Raku Pot – in Cappadocia there are villages of artists and I bought this raku pot from one when we visited a few years ago. I really like raku, it’s so spontaneous and the random oxidation and metallic colours fascinate me. This pot sits in my bedroom and changes colour in the light and it reminds me of Cappadocia, of the ice cold air and razor sharp shadows of an early morning balloon ride and a lazy afternoon on a sunny roof terrace watching the light change on the cliffs and the narrow twisting streets of Urgup full of dreams.
Ammonite – I love this little print, it’s got a thick chunky texture to it and despite being small it feels substantial. I can’t even remember where I got it now, for years it was wrapped in it’s cellophane and unframed because I didn’t get round to framing it. Eventually I sent it down town to the framers with a little antique print I had of Muses. The Muses print got butchered in the framing process (you do not superglue antique prints to mounts!!!!) but the little ammonite survived and it makes me smile every time I go up the stairs.
Nick’s glass bottles – I live in fear for these beautiful, delicate, whisper thin glass amphora. Nick bought them as a present for me years ago and they made it safely to Kirazli but I don’t know if I they would survive another move even though I have kept their original boxes, somwhere.
They sit on the windowsill of the guest bedroom and every now and then Evils likes to go and sit beside them and look at them speculatively and wonder what sort of noise they would make if he knocked them off. The sort of noise they would make would be a loud splash, because that would be the sound of him being chucked in the pool if he ever tried it. Evil’s isn’t stupid, he knows not to touch.
Fused Glass – I bought this the year Phil died. In the darkness of grief I needed something hopeful and clean and beautiful and this fused glass panel was on sale at our local gallery in Wales. It feels like the bright crystal curl of a wave and I love it dearly. It used to hang over my bed at home but I brought it to Turkey with me and it got damaged in the process. I repaired it and it hangs in the guest bedroom and catches the morning light and reminds me of the waves at Abermawr on a sunlit afternoon when we used to body surf the swells that sweep in from the Irish sea.
Poppies – I have always loved poppies, originally just because they stood out in the fields and verges and their red spread was a sure sign of summer around the corner. Now they remind me of Phil and the days after he died when the poppies bloomed in the olive groves and every road out I took out of the village was edged with crimson.
I bought this painting when we started to build this house and in some ways the whole interior is designed around it, all neutrals and naturals and vibrant splashes of colour like poppies in the fields. As a painting it seems to irritate a lot of people as the composition is unusual and so most people think it is hung the wrong way round – it isn’t!
Tea Lights – these little ruby glass tea lights come from Kipa, from the first time they stocked Christmas decorations, and no matter where I go they will make me think of Christmas coming to Turkey. In winter they give off a warm and cheerful glow and in summer they catch the light and sparkle.
They form part of an ever changing medley of candles and tea lights in the living room and are what my Mother refers to as Slut’s decorating – loads of candles because low light hides the dust, can’t go wrong!
Lamp shade – what is it with me and glass? Why do I try to move the most delicate things from one continent to another? This lampshade of glass leaves survived the journey but only just. As it shot off the new luggage conveyor in Izmir airport my heart was in my mouth. It lost a lot of leaves during its rough ride and I spent a long afternoon sitting in the sun on the steps to the studio whilst the builders worked around me gluing them all back on one by one. Like so many other things I love it for surviving what I put it through.
Horse – this is my little horse, where I go, he goes. I bought him when we were building Gramarye and Phil absolutely loathed him! He thought he was incredibly ugly and used to make fun of him. I however love him, and every day I pick him up and his chunky curves and jaunty angles feel nice in my hands. He is very old and he has now travelled a very long way. He has many miles left to go I hope.
I love this house, I love the fossils in the stones in the walls, the grain in the chestnut mantelpiece, the way the light from the pool reflects into the studio and dances on the ceiling, but more than that I love the things that make it more than just a building, the things that make it my home. These are the things that will move on with me and remind me more than any photo of where I have been.
What a lovely post, it,s so lovely to be surrounded by possessions that you love and have special memories for you.
I love reading all your articles especially this one. This almost made me sad reading it. Very touching.
Beautiful blog, beautiful things – a lot of mine are still awaiting the great unwrapping after our move from England. It will be like finding old friends on the day I start opening my boxes! The love you have for these treasures really shines through – each tells its own story.
Ax
Wonderful post, so perceptive and so true. Music and special objects are more evocative than almost any photos, as they gather so many meories around them, rather than just being a snapshot in time.