Decorating with Portraits at Cardigan Empire

My name is Reachel, and I am a fashion consulting, closet analyzing, professorial, blogger at Cardigan Empire. My husband cheated on me with an all-consuming house remodeling project last year, but following its completion, we reunited and started hanging our history on the walls.

I adamantly assert that pictures are far more decorations. The content between frames outlines values, crystallizes memories, and relays our microcosmic cultures. And I am honored that Kristen asked me to participate.

Now for a tour of my house, and the pictures within.

First the Office, also known as the north corner of my bedroom.

My desk is an inexpensive table from Ikea with a removable glass top, beneath which I’ve collaged an nine year history which used to reside in a box. Said box existed in two states: dormant dust collecting hibernation or disassembled, floor strewn chaos, resulting from the work of two sets of tiny, squishy hands.

Liberating these memories from the solidarity of storage allows me to keep the happiest version of my life story on the tip of my consciousness. All my blessings are catalogued beneath the papers I am grading and the essays I am writing. They help to dissolve deluges of defeat and depression.

Moving on to another area in which I spend large quantities of time: the bathroom.

Adding cheerful photos to this domain provides warmth in a space I try to keep as sterile as possible.

And the smiling purity of childhood surrounds me even when there is toothpaste stuck to the side of the sink.

Finally a peak into my children’s chambers.

Portraits have the ability to create a ubiquitous existence. The past, present, and future can all abide on a single shelf. I want my children to know where they came from, who they are, and who they can become. I love combining pictures of them, goals for the future, and their ancestors. The illustration in the middle is actually an original from the book I wrote for him on his first birthday. Of course Coco has her own personalized edition too.

Wee Miss also has memoirs from her grandmother’s baby blessing, her great grandmother’s college graduation, and her great, great, great grandmother’s wedding. I think photos help us remember that we existed before we were ever born, and remind us of our ability to influence others long after we leave this earth.

If you want to see more of the house, including before and after reveals, click it here.

Thanks again for hosting me Kristen, next time you’re in Arizona you’ll have to admire your own photographic prowess over a home cooked dinner.

I will definitely take you up on that, Reachel! I don’t pass up another person cooking me a meal;) I LOVE your ideas, the desk with all of the pictures under the glass is so wonderful! Also love the pictures in the bathroom, what a great little nook to put a frame or too (that I think often gets overlooked). And that penny wall tile is fab-u-lous! Love this quote, too “The content between frames outlines values, crystallizes memories, and relays our microcosmic cultures.” And when you said this, “Liberating these memories from the solidarity of storage allows me to keep the happiest version of my life story on the tip of my consciousness” you spoke music to my ears! Reachel really has a way with words, and makes me smile to see how she strings a sentence together;) I got to photograph Reachel and her family last summer in Arizona, you can see a whole bunch more of the images here. She also made me my very own fashion lookbook, that helps me figure out my style. Check out her site Cardigan Empire, and get a little fashion advice.

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Kristen Duke

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Comments

1

Brittany says:

February 28, 2012 at 9:51 am

I LOVE the table design!!! I think I may be stealing that one Thanks Reachel!

xx

2

Anna says:

February 28, 2012 at 10:04 am

I loved it, Reachel! Talk about awesome! And I just adore your bathroom! Thanks for sharing!

3

Debbie says:

February 28, 2012 at 12:41 pm

She had a way with making things lovely,
From her words to her home.

4

Aileen Bohn says:

February 28, 2012 at 4:31 pm

Reachel is in a different league of her own…

5

Emily says:

February 29, 2012 at 1:42 am

Great post and gorgeous table!!!