Glass Bead Christmas Tree

My mother in law gave me a kit that she had purchased nearly a decade ago.  It was a Christmas Tree made from glass beads. The kit had a few ornaments and a wood base and a glass dome and hundreds of miles of wire and glass beads. The branches took a very long time to try and get into place and attach to a wire armature.   I added a few items including a string of working lights.  I hid the battery pack in the giant red present.  The lights are by Lemax and I was disappointed that they are not very bright.  I used a some antique ribbon that I found in an old building nearly 25 years ago in Nevada.  I believe it dates from the 1920's.  

Here are all the items under the glass dome.

My son found an entirely different use for the glass dome!

Recent Acquisitions

I came across these wood nesting tables at an estate sale this weekend and I found a few items today during my lunch hour.  A vintage vase of flowers - you cannot tell from the photo, but the vase has a Holland-like windmill on it.  I also found a small carved rickshaw and a little brown metal purse.

 I was tipped off by a fellow blogger about these wire chairs - they are actually part of Crate and Barrel's Christmas ornament collection this year online for $4.95 each!

I found a bunch of Hall's Lifetime Furniture at an estate sale this week to add to my collection.  I will most likely sell the duplicates on ebay. - Let me know if you are interested.

This complete avocado green kitchen set comes was designed with a green marble-like counter on each side of the double sink.

The nursery set is a duplicate, so I will be selling it.

The rest of my Hall's collection can be seen by clicker here:

Hall's Lifetime Furniture

I also picked up an old silk tie and a vintage pair of leather women's gloves.  I am going to use the fabric to upholster the chairs I purchases a few weeks ago.  I usually pick these up for a friend the makes dolls, she uses them to make the shoes.  I am going to use the leather from the gloves for some mini projects on the horizon.

Recent Acquisitions

My recent acquisitions lean towards some of the heavy wood items that every home needs.

Below is a Tynietoy bookshelf that I purchased on eBay.  I believe it dates from the later period, maybe 1940's or 1950's because of the applied panelling on the doors and the type of logo on the back.

The rest of my Tynietoy collection can be seen by clicking here.

Tynietoy

This corner cabinet dates from the 1950's and is from Lynnfield.  It matches the dining room chairs I found on eBay not too long ago.  They can be found by clicking here.

I found this "Victorian" style dresser and bed at a garage sale.  I like the unusual shape of the bed.  I will use it in my Victorian house.  I think I can dress it up with some proper linens and pillows.

These items  are from misc. estate sales over the past few weeks.

The console table is missing its drawers, but that is an easy fix.  I like the mahogany magazine rack, it should fit nicely with one of my 1940's sets.  I will probably use the the magazine rack with spindles and the wall shelf in my Victorian house.

Here are a few other odds and ends to accessorize with.  The rocking horse is a Christmas ornament, the small metal greenhouse box has a small potted plant inside.  The bench with Birdhouses will most likely be getting a paint job!  If you look closely, at a garage sale or estate sale, you can always find something mini - I found the metal basket of eggs, the copper measuring cups and the miniature porcelain tea set this week.

This walnut desk is part of the Strombecker collection.  I purchased it on eBay in a huge lot of furniture.  The rest of the lot will be going back on eBay!

 It was one of the pieces I have been watching for.  The rest of my 1" Strombecker walnut collection can be seen by clicking here.

Strombecker-walnut-1inch-scale

Strombecker-1-inch-collection

My 3/4" Strombecker collection can be seen here:

3/4" Strombecker collection 

Villa Philbrook Gardens

The grounds at the Philbrook occupy 23 acres just outside of downtown tulsa.  S. Herbert Hare was selected as the landscape architect.  He worked with the architect of the home to create formal and informal gardens that were spectacular whether viewed from outside or from inside the house looking out.

 The east gardens are more formal in nature and feature a series of diagonal paths that cross a central water feature as it steps down the hillside.  Off in the distance the Tempietto or small temple can be seen.  This view is framed on each side by a pair of twisted stone columns.

 There is a lily pond with koi in it.  I like how you can see the reflection of the structure in the water.

There is Cole - posing in front of a Christmas tree in the .  The landscape architect changed the flow of the creek that passes through the grounds.  Here is an aerial photo of the grounds from A fellow blogger here in Tulsa, Bill Miller with some more pictures of the garden.   Bill has featured the Villa on his blog several times.  Click here to access it.

The winding creek is lined on both sides by cut stone after a multi million dollar restoration a few years ago.  The grounds currently feature large scale modern art.

 The sheep are actually sculpture that my son got a kick out of !

 There is another formal garden to the South - it leads down to a loggia.    This is the view from the sun room inside the house.

I posted some photos of the interior here..

I posted some historic photos here..

Villa Philbrook Historic Photos

Parts of the Villa Philbrook remain almost unchanged today from it's construction in the roaring 1920's.  Recent pictures can be found by clicking here.

There was a display of the historic photos in the Library so I snapped a few photos.

 The Library has dark walnut paneled walls and a large green marble fireplace and red oak on the floor.  The chandelier is a globe suspended from the sloped beamed ceiling with a map by Leonardo da Vinci.  

 The breakfast room featured a small fountain in the window and the floors were marble.

 The living room had large scale couches and chairs over a teak wood floor.

 The music room had a white grand piano and a harp

The formal dining room originally had this ceiling, but was changed out to a simpler one by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the room was set with simpler colonial pieces.

 The kitchen, modern for 1926, appears pretty stark compared to the rest of the house.  I like the large stainless steel sink.  The kitchen was removed when the family moved out and the house became a museum.

The Santa Fe room as it appeared in the 1920's.

The sun porch was an addition to the home in 1931.  I love the large drum ottomans.  The porch was glassed in when the estate became a museum.

 This is the sun room and the ballroom.  The large plush rug could be rolled up to reveal a glass tile dance floor complete with changing color lights for a roaring 20's party.

 The view across the formal garden hasn't changed much.  It is still beautiful.

I like to compare the historic photos to the ones of the mansion today.  It was pretty inspiring architecture and style for a single family home in Tulsa Oklahoma in the 1920's.

Villa Philbrook

My son and I spent the other day exploring one of Tulsa's treasures, the Villa Philbrook.  The Villa was built by oil tycoon Waite Phillips back in 1926.  Waite was a founder of Phillips Petroleum and was one of the richest men in the U.S. during this period in our history.

The architect was Edward Buehler Delk and the home was built in a Mediterranean or Italian Villa style.  Today it serves as one of America's great museums.

Most of the ceilings in the original house are hand painted.

Here is a photograph of the stained glass window at the stair landing.  Two large tapestries flank each side of of the great hall as it opens up to the second floor.

The inspiration for the carved marble columns in the entry hall are the columns that surround the Pope's Alter in St Peter's Basilica.

The stone on the floor is called Pink Kasota

The original house was 72 rooms and built on 23 acres on the then outskirts of downtown Tulsa.  The Phillips family lived there for about 10 years before moving to a penthouse apartment in downtown Tulsa and giving the home and grounds to the city to be used as a museum and place for public gatherings. 

This photo shows the richness of the textured wall coverings and woodwork and one of the mansion's great fireplaces in the living room.

 The ceiling is beautiful with it's hand painted details and is actually stucco.

The immense house, with its spacious rooms, wide corridors and great halls, was a natural home for a museum and, due to its steel and concrete framework, minimal remodeling was required to transform the Villa into an art museum. In 1939, Villa Philbrook was opened to the public as The Philbrook Museum of Art 

The entry hall boasts an organ which can be closed off behind paneled doors.  There are decorative screens on either side for the pipes.

 There is also a decorative door in the entry hall that allows access to the organ pipes.

Opposite the organ is a massive fireplace.  It is currently where Santa was greeting guests when he was not on cookie breaks !

Here is a photo of the globe chandelier in the paneled library.  It features Leonardo da Vinci's map of the world.

Across the hall from the living room is the music room which features hand painted murals on each wall.

The former sun porch features an original glass tile floor.  The current Christmas tree looks great on the tile and lights below change color.  It was the dance floor.

Upstairs, Cole found a pair of bronze guard dogs

This photo shows another room upstairs which features hexagonal tile on the floor, another great fireplace and yet another painted ceiling.  

 Here is a detail of the painted ceiling which originally was part of the dining room ceiling.  It was moved to this location in the 1942.

The lower level originally featured the automobile entrance, a billiards room and a gymnasium.  Today the lower level houses part of the Southwest collection and native American collection including the Sana Fe room pictured below.  It is quite a contrast to the European styles featured on the upper floors.

I had the privilege of working for the design firm that designed the addition to the museum in the early 1990's.  

The addition also included a new entry, more gallery space, offices, an auditorium, conference spaces,  an underground parking structure and a restaurant.

 This view shows the original front door to the estate.  It is not as ornate as the rear of the house.

This view shows the rear of the estate which overlooks one of the formal gardens.

Visit my blog with historic photos of the estate  Here..