Powder room

Just the name cracks me up - powder room. Ours often reminds me of our realtor. She didn't particularly like it that this room is the first thing you see when you walk in the front door here. My immediate thoughts were: that's a minor issue,  we'll keep the powder room door shut (we don't usually, the cats don't like closed doors, and neither do I) and hardly anyone comes through the front door anyway (which is true, it's much easier to come in through the back)...



In any case, as you can see, the powder room at our place is pretty kitschy. Not sure how long it will stay that way (H hates the wallpaper), but for the time being, I've decided to play it up, rather than tone it down, with mis-matched hand embellished towels (which I should really iron) and the likes.



We have a great little place around the corner that falls somewhere between an antique and a thrifty-consignment shop, which has been helpful when it comes to decorating. It's probably closest to what you call a "brocante" in French. We've found lots of things there...not just for this room.



The mirror was the first thing I came home with...and these little hand tinted etchings (on silk, so dainty!) of Vienna are the most recent find. They crack me up - especially the little naked cherub. The scenes remind me of my first trip to Europe (it was one of the cities I went to then) and of a long-pending planned visit with H and his mom (the 3 of us have talked about spending a long weekend in Vienna together for years now, but somehow haven't made it there yet).



My favorite of the four pictures is without a doubt though the Riesenrad (a Ferris wheel, or literally, giant wheel), which was most famously featured as a backdrop for this great scene in the Third Man, which ends with Orson Welles' famous speech on the cuckoo clock (and Swiss democracy). I promise I won't resort to putting a cuckoo clock in there as a tribute, though. That would be too much, even for me, even for this funny little room.