One of my very first posts when I started this blog was on mother-daughter style and in the entry I wrote about how I inherited much of my mother and grandmother’s taste. Ever since then I wanted to do a post on my grandmother’s cute little house but for one reason or another I never got around to it. When she passed away in September we had to go through the tough task of emptying out her house and before we got started my sister and I decided to take photos so we could preserve our last memories of the house and remember it exactly as it was. I thought I’d share some of the photos here and give you a little tour…
Here’s a view of the living room and as you can see my grandma was a lover of all things chinoiserie. This has definitely rubbed off on me too!
My grandma filled the niche in her non-working fireplace with a potted fern set atop a couple of antique books. Above the mantle is a drawing of my mother as a child which my grandmother commissioned from a notable Detroit artist named Carl Owens. Mr. Owens’ wife was also my piano teacher.
This is my granddad’s piano that both my mother and I learned to play as children. My granddad was a renowned jazz bassist. He was one of the best on the jazz scene and traveled the country with many greats including Billie Holiday. The bass was his passion but he also played the piano, tuba and sousaphone. He was featured on the cover of this book, released in 2001, which is all about the history of jazz in Detroit.
My grandmother decorated the piano with a brass harp motif task lamp for reading music as well as her favorite porcelain Buddha and some of her porcelain Japanese figurines which she collected. Above the piano hangs a series of drawings which my grandma bought my grandfather as a gift. It features all of the top jazz legends like Billie Holiday, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk.
Here’s a view of the dining room. I told my mom to put the dining set in storage for me so I can breathe new life into it one day! All of the window treatments you see in the house including the ones above were made by my mom.
Another view of the dining room and in the left corner is the entryway into the kitchen.
My Grandmother had this wreath hanging in her kitchen for at least 20 years. My sister and I gave it to her when we were little, probably for Mother’s Day or something but it was so long ago I can’t exactly remember the occasion!
Here’s a view of the kitchen. All of the cabinetry and hardware is original to the house. Normally her countertops would have been spotless…she always kept her house immaculate…but when we took this picture we had already started clearing out the cabinets. One little tidbit about my grandma is that she almost always kept her tables set which I think is impressive! I never break out the full-on place settings unless it’s a special occasion! Below are some detail shots of the house which give you a closer look at the many Japanese and Chinese porcelain pieces she collected over the years.
I was lucky enough to inherit many of the things that were very special to my grandmother, and many of these pieces are now a part of my home which I’ll cherish forever. Here are some of the pieces I was able to keep that I especially love…
A set of these pretty pink Chinese floral coffee mugs…
A set of green crystal footed goblets…these will be used for my Christmas dinner place settings this year!
A pair of Quing dynasty Emperor and Empress reverse glass paintings which are now in my bedroom.
And this pair of glass bird candlesticks…
My grandmother, mom and grandfather circa 1955
I’ll miss going to grandma’s house but I feel very fortunate that I now have these photos to help preserve some of the memories that are forever ingrained in my heart and mind. Hope you enjoyed this little tour and insight into my family history!
xoxo
Nicole
(click an of the above photos to enlarge detail)
19 Comments
awww….great post!
Wow! What a great post. Your grandparents were AMAZING! Thanks for sharing.
She was just beautiful Nicole! And what a gorgeous house of treasures!
Thanks for sharing Nicole.
i wish i had done that…but thats why i take so many pics now..for my kids and grands one day…thanks for sharing.
really enjoyed reading this post, thanks!
Nicole/
The photos of your grandmothers house are so beautiful and so well captured … however, the memories and feelings that they conjure are simply priceless.
To have taken the time to share someone and a place so pivital to whom you are and where you are from clearly demonstrates your love and understanding of both.
While I congratulate you on rendering a superb blog, I applaud you even more for offering your heartfelt recognition and honor to your elders. Both job, well done!
Keep Smiling,
“Uncle” Chris (in LA)
P.S. By the way, who did those gorgeous window treatments??? More 😉
Ooops … Nicole I should have checked my just sent comments. I.e. grand mothers should have read “grandmother’s” and job should have read “jobs”. Had to make the changes … you know how Virgos roll 😉
Nicole/
The photos of your grandmothers house are so beautiful and so well captured … however, the memories and feelings that they conjure are simply priceless.
To have taken the time to share someone and a place so pivital to whom you are and where you are from clearly demonstrates your love and understanding of both.
While I congratulate you on rendering a superb blog, I applaud you even more for offering your heartfelt recognition and honor to your elders. Both job, well done!
Keep Smiling,
“Uncle” Chris (in LA)
P.S. By the way, who did those gorgeous window treatments??? More 😉
What a beautiful tribute to your grandmother – certainly a sense of chic runs in the family! I especially love the portrait of her above the mantle.
Thanks for sharing this special space
xo
You’re grandmother did have amazing taste! Thanks so much for this personal tour – her home (and your blog coverage of it) exudes so much family love!
Love, love, love this post!! Your grandmother had great taste and great history. You were so smart to take pictures. I didn’t when my grandmother finally had to move and I so regret it.
great post! this one really touched me.
you are so lucky to have so many reminders and….pieces from your grandmother that you can bring into your home. she had amazing taste and so many of these pieces would look amazing it your place i bet! i especially love the sketches above the piano and the porcelain buddah. and your grandpa played with billie holiday?!?!?!?!? AH-MAZ-ING! & that last pic of your grandma & grandpa! holy hottie couple 🙂 i can only imagine how back in the day they must have been the ‘it’ couple about town!
Precious. I wish I had pictures of my grandmother’s house. I can still go through room by room in my head. Funny how you remember those little details, isn’t it?
love your grandma house.
i’m so sorry for your loss.
happy holidays!
what a lovely house tour. thank you for sharing! it’s really sweet that you and your sister took photos before packing everything up…you’ll be thankful for that decision for the rest of your life.
I live in a beautiful house that has some history and some quirks and is so friendly that people feel hugged when they walk in the front door. But I have to say that the house of your grandma makes me say WOW! Very beautiful design.
Deirdre G
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you clearly inherited amazing design genes! i love that all of your grandma’s beloved pieces are in such good condition, too. what a blessing it is to be able to breathe new life into family treasures. i’m working on a post for next week and was just writing about that an hour ago!
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