How we surround ourselves

A friend wrote me to ask about our cottage in Quebec after my post yesterday --she thought we'd bought the furniture, too?  How did that feel, she asked?

Such an interesting and good question.

I've always surrounded myself with things that had meaning and that I loved, whether in my work office, home study, or now in my home studio.   I've had a tendency to a bit more clutter and stacks than perhaps was helpful in my work spaces, but in the post-downsizing days, I've been quite disciplined about clutter (and our clutter never was excessive, in any case).

Buying a historic house in Quebec (a renovated schoolhouse, built in 1910) was a different kind of thing.  

A serendipitous for-sale, by-owner posting, that somehow my husband bumbled onto, about a week before departing for a month abroad -- hmm, the web photos were amazing, filled with the owner's Quebecois antiques.  As an antique dealer for the past couple of decades, a second career for him, I think, he'd acquired wonderful pieces for the house that he'd lovingly renovated to still feel historic.

The whole package (as shown on the real estate web gallery) is why we fell in love with the house -- its interior as well as its garden and proximity to a national park that we loved.

I knew from a previous "for sale" site that he'd linked to, that he'd consider selling the furniture, too.  So we pursued that, trying to estimate what would be a fair price.  An Alberta dealer weighed in;  she confirmed that it would take decades to assemble the pieces that the previous owner had gathered. I tried to estimate prices for what I could see in the real estate listing, based on what vintage Southern pine antiques would be worth.  Happily, we went back and forth once, decided on what was probably a reasonable price in today's market for such pieces, and went on with the prospected purchase.

As it turned out, he left a completely outfitted house, with nice pots and pans, dishes, linens, etc.  All unexpected, but welcome. 

He'd been living in Montreal or Quebec City during the winter for the last several years and his health issues precluded walking up and down the stairs of what is now our special place in Quebec.

A "fairytale cottage" is how our German HomeExchange friend described it.  

A perfect description.  I miss it, of course, as though I hold such special places close. 

As I wrote my friend, we love being surrounded with this wonderful collection of vintage Quebecois antiques.  

We feel at home;  yes, we've moved around some paintings and objects, shed extra figurines, added some of our own dishes, etc.  We are stewards of a special place.