today is a special sneak peek monday because we have two special peeks today (the second is coming up at 2pm!). our first sneak peek belongs to chicago artist, sandra soss (better known as ’sosser’ online) of bricolage life. sandra is a wonderful artist who focuses on handmade accessories she sells from her etsy shop. but rather than handmade goods, today sandra was kind enough to share her home with us. her descriptions and photos are above and below and as always you can click here to see full-sized (and many extra) photos of her home. enjoy!
[my home is a reflection of my work; a bricolage of thrifted, gifted, homemade and hand-me-down pieces that i put together in a way that feels pleasing and comforting to me. i tend to rearrange and repurpose everything fairly often, rather than move. it’s refreshing! the photo at the top is my living room mantel with paintings (left to right) by tim anderson, a thrifted portrait signed “willa”, a print by kevin riordan, collages by me. thrifted pottery, ceramics by karin ericksson, lotta jansdotter and my mother’s cousin (candlesticks). the fireplace doesn’t work, it is full of $1 prayer candles and an old mirror from my husband’s uncle’s house. chairs from a cafe in paris by way of a cafe closing here.]
[bedroom above: i love this poster. it’s from a teatr polski production of a play called “love and death”. it always hangs over our bed in every apartment we’ve lived in. thrifted vintage lamp and bedside shelves, the ubiquitous ikea red floral duvet on the almost-made bed]
[kitchen: i covered this old cabinet with broken tiles and a plate for use as additional kitchen countertop space. the picasso tile in the corner is almost completely worn away from use. it stands next to the stove and serves as our main work station]
[this is our sunroom where we have coffee together every morning. the yellow wall is a ralph lauren color called chamois, the blue from martha stewart. we got this jens risom chair at an office closing sale. i made the pillow cover from a scrap of antique hand woven fabric and hung these toile cotton shower curtains found at an outlet store. with seven windows to cover, they were the best bargain i could find!]
[plate wall at the end of the dining room table. i bought the blue plant stand at a yard sale for $5 and use it to hold our collection of marimekko trays (and one vintage tin tray with a map of the usa from the 40’s). yellow hoganas keramik honey pot and mugs, red fokus latte mugs from marimekko, vintage red pitcher from hall usa (a valentine gift from my husband). old plates from various garage sales and thrift shops. i love this corner]
[image above: two walls in our living room. the left shows an oil painting by my son, spencer, above a stack of ikea cd boxes that i covered in maps and paper collage. a print by elsita sits beside thrifted red glass and blue ceramic vases. the cracked wood and woven lamp was rescued from my nephew’s trash. the right shows an unsigned portrait i found for $4 in a thrift shop, set in a frame found in the alley. the wooden birds are from spiel & holz design, a wonderful german toy maker. i used to own a toy store and still love beautiful toys. they are all over the apartment. the green fabric box was a birthday gift and the japanese paper boxes hold tiny tin jars of buttons. ]
