apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Ahhh, this is my favorite house tour yet. I have serious dresser/vignette envy. I live in Nova Scotia and our provincial supply of cool veneered dressers is very low.

What an great apartment! There's something interesting to look at everywhere you turn.

This is such a great place. Love it!!!!

nice...but we are in vignetteland again.........

I love the apartment, but somehow I feel like I'm touring an antique store rather than a residence. -don't take that as a bad thing!

feels a little cluttered... but i can see that you have a great taste. i feel like it could use a bit more color.. some more POP

I love this place. So much fun and so much history! I wish I had so many neat treasures!

http://www.makemineeclectic.wordpress.com

What kind of plants are all of the plants that you have growing in water only. I love them but have a major black thumb and know nothing about plants...

What are those plants you're growing in the jars? I love how you have them all over the place for splashes of green!

What a lovely, creative home! Where is that Rod Stewart painting from? It's divine.

I love everything about this apartment, except the chandelier over the dining room table. I am very impressed with her commitment to staying within a time period. Maria thinks her apartment looks like an antique store, but I think it's lived-in look counteracts the antique store effect.

I live in a house built in 1947, and as I decorate/upgrade, I find myself constantly struggling to decide whether to respect the time period in which the house was built, go modern, go ethnic, or just give in to the convenience of Ikea and Home Depot. For example, my simple rowhouse has nice archways between the living room and dining room and over the entrance to the stairway. I want to open a closed-off door between the living room and kitchen, right next to the archway, and put up a sliding "barn door" to give me the option of closing off the kitchen to the living room. My dilemma is this: what kind of door should I install? Simple frosted glass? A carved Indian or Middle Eastern or Asian panel (assuming I can find one the right size in my price range)? A vintage wood door with a popcorn glass insert? A metal frame with artwork inserts? I don't know! My existing furnishings don't help because they are a mixture of everything.

Love, love, love!!!
The Bulleit Bourbon bottle used for water at bedside is brilliant!! The noose however...
Anyhow, great job!

I did that ballerina paint-by-numbers picture when I was a kid!! (Oh, god, now I'm dating myself ...)

:)

Thanks for the inspiring house tour. I live in a teeny tiny apartment, so I can't have as much fun stuff to look at. I'd love to come visit and just check out all your cool finds.

This tour has made me realize the #1 thing my place is missing is house plants! I love the little pops of green scattered everywhere. Now if I could just overcome this black thumb of mine...

I love all the plants. Almost 1 in every shot! I have tons of succulents too but want to know what is growing in the jars of water. Thanks.

the bottle of the absinthe on the dresser is an interesting touch.

i enjoyed looking at these photos...so many little details. thanks

Why the hangman's noose?

Where does the "feel good" soap come from?

Another request for the water-plants info! ;)

Wow, all this feedback is amazing!

So to answer a few questions...

I'm not sure exactly what kind of plant that is, I got it years ago and just kept snipping off arms down near the roots; I'll have to look it up at some point. It just keeps on growing and growing and we've now got four potted plants and a million small ones in jars, where they seem to keep on growing quite happily sans soil. The crazy vine-y plants taking over the mantle are Creeping Charlies which I just learned are also called Ground Ivy. They too seem to have no problem being snipped and left in water to root same as all the succulents.

The soap came in by way of my roomie, but I believe you can get them on violet dot com. It says "Feel Good" on one side and "Vote" on the other and it even smells nice.

As for the noose, its been there so long I'd forgotten it might seem rather morbid to a casual viewer. It was actually part of an art show by Joe Colley and is tied with a tag that reads "Tied with love, especially for you (one size fits all)". A little dark humor never hurts.

Oh, and the Rod Stewart painting came from an art show at Creativity Explored. I'm totally blanking on the artist's name, but suffice to say if the house ever caught fire it'd be safely tucked under whichever arm wasn't holding the cat.

It's a fascinating place, but I wonder if the overall design doesn't get lost in all of the hundreds and hundreds of different little things. The effect, for me at least, is like the hiss of static rather than a beautiful symphony. I'd like to see a few more large items to focus the eye, and some empty surfaces to demonstate the maxim "what you don't show is sometimes more important than what you do".

I think the plant is philodendron.

What a great place! Lots of fun stuff to look at! Love all the art deco furniture and plants. Thanks for sharing.

I'm sorry but to me it looks like this person went to their local sally ann and bought the place out. Same as going to a designer store and buying the showroom only in reverse.

Lots of other people's soul but none of it's own.

So, there's an old tennis racket on the wall. It has significance if they play tennis but not if they don't. Old boating magazines, same thing, old cameras, same same.

You can't tell a thing about this person other than they shop at the sally anne

I do like the dining room though. No doubt the books have meaning.

I looooooooooooooooove it!

One of my fave house tours! I'd live there in a flash!
Mariah Gardner is a true interior decor artist.

Great taste, design sense, placement and story creations. This has such a fine, relaxed air about it. Most wondrous is the way it tells so much about the owner by the way the items are placed out and displayed. It says to me, "I would love to know the owner of this home."

It is nice but too many similar photos.

Without a doubt, the best AT house tour yet!

Actually, I think the plants are pothos, not philodendron. They are frequently mistaken for philodendron.

Aaaahhh, nothing says "Good night" like a bottle of gin (vodka?) by the bed. Or "good morning", for that matter. I liked the dining room, but the rest of the place was mostly too cluttered. Hardly a place to let the eyes rest. Love those high ceilings, though.

Love the house, love the plants... but unfortunately I believe both pothos and philodendron are toxic to kitty cats!
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html

Can I have it?

No? Darn.

Okay, then I'm just wondering: where did you get your quilt/coverlet on your bed? I've always wanted one like those but I don't know what they're called--I wouldn't even know what to type into Google.

So busy falling in love, I didn't even notice the noose.

World is really too small. How did the bottles of "Uludag gazozu and Guzelpinar memba suyu" go to your kitchen from Turkey? They are very old. Nice house tour.

great fun. i'd just hate to be the one who has to clean and dust, what with all the wonderful collectibles and all!

You had me hooked when you described your place as "eclectic mid-century farmhouse." It's the perfect way to describe it. Your place looks like a Joseph Cornell box come to life.

This is a place that looks like it inspires creative behavior and stimulating conversation. Wow. What a treat! Thanks for sharing.

Mmmm... I loved touring your home, Mariah. The size of the house is incredible and so nice that you all have a large living room as well as a large dining room. My favorite things about your home? The tennis rackets, cameras, and bike seats. Who cares if you don't play tennis, they're always there for when you decide to take it up. The Valencia courts are lovely in the spring. I also must comment on the color palate. Very appealing. The white canvas is very Swedish and striking, and I find it creates a calmness and airiness all around which is hard to find in a dense city like our own. The green, brown, and amber accents are very fresh and in combination with your circus of succulent sprigs gives a feeling of living in the midst of a cool pond or at the creekside edge of a forest. I also love your choice of furniture, it's along the same line of what I am also loving at the moment. Especially that long coffee table in the living room. I do believe I saw it the other day on Valencia with a little red 'sold' sign and I was so jealous and excited for the person who snatched it up. What a fabulous modern score, the shape is so unique. I'm happy to see it ended up in such a wonderful home. Thank you for sharing!

Also the bedding is called chenille. It's not that kind of velvety chenille that they sell at "BB&Beyond", it's a specifically woven cotton throw, a design that became popular in Colonial America (I think), and reemerged in the 40's and 50's and then again in the late 90's/early 00's at shops like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. My mom had it all over the house growing up. It's very pretty.

thanks for a slideshow where I could easily get a sense of how each room flowed into the next.

It reminds me of something from a Wes Anderson movie.

This is a beautiful home. Can you tell me where you got the MP3 player that is on pic 27, in your dining room? It fit perfectly in that room.

Yes! Chenille bedspreads are lovely. A vintage one could be found on eBay anytime. I remember one that my grandmother had that shed. That was bad, but it seemed like it was just that one. The rest of her bedspreads must have been tufted differently or better made.

I have come to look again, by the way, and have to agree with the previous commentors who have fallen in love with your place. You house seems so perfectly lived-in which is the kind of thing I'd like to see more of in these house tours.

so much personality!

The dusting would kill me!

Even though I find a few of her antiques very sweet - I find her home stale, musty and sorry to say, kind of depressing. I think adding a few modern elements may give it more pop and dimension, like the Mac laptop on the vintage desk.

well, its very cute in very many ways. but for some reason i cant shake the feeling that its COLD. it just looks cold. some color and some rugs would definitely do the trick in warming it up. and, did i see what i think i saw? "cam with the house" horizontal blinds? eugh.

there are very few decorating elements that are truly unique, but i think its safe to say that youre probably the only one (or one of very very few) that has worked a noose into your decor. good job!

It's interesting how turned off some people are by vignettes. I would never even think to question WHY someone has a tennis racket displayed in their house...maybe they play tennis, are a fan of tennis, or maybe it's just because they like the shape and texture of that racket and how it relates to the objects around it.

Regardless - I also LOVE the plants popping out of glasses and beakers etc. It really adds color to the otherwise mostly white decor. Great job at taking advantage of the amazing light your apartment gets!

http://www.fthats.wordpress.com

from peachpie..."So, there's an old tennis racket on the wall. It has significance if they play tennis but not if they don't. Old boating magazines, same thing, old cameras, same same. Lots of other people's soul but none of it's own."

they very well may play tennis, sail the sea, and be photographers. what makes you assume these are empty displays? to see through such eyes, too bad for you.

this house is FULL of soul, comfort, and magic.

so lovely.

Hello! I love the spirit in which people create and design and share with others, and this alone deserves appreciation. However, the style reflected in this apartment is the one I adored already 15 years ago, before 3 children when still an inexperienced graduate student. It seems that we all go through these stages, but when a simpler and more efficient lifestyle is needed it all changes .Seems that the older one gets (In my case and that of most of my friends and relatives), the innexpensive -but I know, lovely- thrift approach also gets tiring. Somehow it starts looking cheap. I already seek for less things, less vintage. I hope this is not misunderstood. I watched this apartment with nostalgy. It is a sweet reminder...

Gosh, I hate it when people don't take those little stickers off their fruit!

Looks so great - I am envious of all the space for stuff and also, good idea to get a housekeeper. Dust would be the true enemy! I think that bedspread is called "candlewick" when it's cotton with the little cotton nubs making a pattern. Chenille is more fuzzy.

Much more interesting than a house just filled with every example from DWR. Your house shows creativity, imagination and fun.

But...it is certainly not a house for children. No wonder you want a housekeeper, dusting all those hundreds of knick knacks is a job in itself.

And...I don't envy you when you have to move!

Very fun. I could hear the black and white movies playing on the TV and smell that musty scent that comes from the vintage suitcases.

I love all the plants, too. Especially the ones growing in water. I know you've been asked this a number of times, but could you also tell me what they are? I recognized what I thought were string of pearls and hens and chickens and some kind of ivy. The first thing I thought when I viewed the tour a few weeks ago was, I bet she doesn't do her own dusting!! ;-) Thanks1