Welcome to the home of Elizabeth Brantley. It looks so peaceful, creative and orderly that we're hoping she's seeking out houseguests. Elizabeth is creative, an entrepreneur (check out her charming online shop, Kistner Supply), and a mother to adorable Trixie. She fills her life with items that have both meaning and history. Let's make ourselves at home and take a peek.
Eclectic, fun, simple, vintage, modern, thoughtful, peaceful and eco-conscious -- for example, all our mattress/box spring/linens on our bed are organic cotton.
Do you feel you're drawn more often to new or to vintage/antique pieces?
Definitely vintage because of the unmatchable design, quality and uniqueness. I am a recycler and come by it honestly. I enjoy seeing things brought back to life rather than replaced. Generally, I don't really like things that match or come in a set--I get bored VERY easily on a visual level.
Those playroom toys bring out a bit of nostalgia in us. Did you collect them?
All of the older toys you see are from my childhood. Saved by my mom and my grandparents. Trixie's absolute favorite thing to do is "play Little People" so my mom is very pleased that she schlepped those old toys along for the ride when she moved four times.
Please tell us about those great toy baskets.
I love those baskets! They're lightweight and flexible but keep their shape. They are from The Land of Nod and come in four great color combos.
This nursery looks like it's full of history. Tell us about the antique rocking chair.
The mission rocker was something that I found at an antique mall in Volo, Illinois over ten years ago. Lucky for me, my mom was with me and wanted to buy me a birthday gift!
What's in the shadow boxes hanging above the rocker?
The 3 shadow boxes include baby items from three generations. On the top is a beautiful bonnet of my grandmothers along with a photo of her as a baby that looks a lot like my daughter, next is my mom's knit bonnet and booties and lastly is my baptismal bonnet and booties.
Does the quilt hanging above the table have any special significance?
It was my mom's baby quilt that was made by my great-grandmother Harper, as opposed to my great-granny Kistner who plays such an important role in the creation of Kistner Supply and Mother Stork's Baby Book, 100th Anniversary Edition.
How about that fantastic dresser?
The wooden dresser is exactly as I bought it at an old "junk shop" in Chicago a long time ago. It has wonderful deep drawers and weighs a lot! I love the combination of pink and red; it played a big role in the inspiration of the entire room.
The red and yellow structure underneath the sofa in the living room has caught our eye.
The sofa was a sample from Crate and Barrel. The base is two separate metal structures so it can be two chairs or a sofa.
We love the circles artwork above the sofa.
The painting is by Lonnie Holley and is dated 1992. I was lucky enough to visit to Lonnie's home in Harpersville, Alabama. It was a once in a lifetime experience. He showed us some things he had recently finished and while looking through a pile of paintings and drawings I found the circles and fell in love with it. He signed it and dated it to the best of his recollection. I had it framed and it's been on my wall ever since. I have another painting of his as well.
The living room rug has such great texture. Is it new or vintage?
The rug is from a remnant of a piece of commercial carpeting. The last time I had it cleaned the guy was impressed and said it was from a British manufacturer from the 60s.
That seems like an ideal office desk.
I've had this desk since I was 12! My mom and I were at a rummage sale and I begged and begged for it, luckily I still like it.
Your shelves are both orderly and interesting. Any thoughts on how you like to organize them?
I like to be organized, but having a baby makes it very difficult to prioritize such things. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who's all for co-parenting and my mom is very close by, so I have help and have had some time to get things in order. I have a visual memory, so it helps to have a designated place for everything. When my office is chaotic I go a bit bonkers.
That's funny; the reason why they are in the heavy-duty box is to keep away little hands. Those are mama's "importants." I find the colors inspirational and very useful when designing for my business or home. Trixie has a whole bunch of art supplies that she willingly shares with me when we create together.
The whole kitchen display you've got going here with the two-tone cupboard is pretty terrific.
In addition to the yellow and red chair, we have a third one as well that came with the house and we use them many times a day around our industrial stainless prep island as the kitchen table. My husband had the red one and I had the yellow one, so I guess they are step-step-stools.
The cupboard/cabinet is something I bought at a salvage place in Chicago. The owner told me that it was made from recycled airplane metal from WWII. It is so light!
My mom made the cross-stitch in the plastic frame when she was a child, there's a companion piece that says "cry and you cry alone," but I prefer the laughing one.
The wall color here in the bedroom is so serene.
It's
Sherwin-Williams "window pane" (SW 6210) with "crisp linen" (SW 6378)
trim. It took a lot of sampling to find this wall color. When I was
rolling it on the walls before we moved in I was sure it was white and
once it dried it still looked white. I was relieved that eventually I
saw the perfect blue walls. I love this color!
Tell us about the striking artwork in blue and red above the bed.
It's
an original silkscreen print by Joyce Sills. Titled "New Mexico 44"
from 1971, I never tire of staring at it while Trixie enjoys our big
bed. The bright royal blue and red are entrancing.
The swing looks as soothing as can be. Do you spend much time outside?
The swing was something that my grandparents had hanging from an old
swing-set frame in their backyard. My grandpa would bring it in at
night, after we were done playing on it, and put it away in the garage!
I made it very clear that someday I would have a place to hang that
swing. I love relaxing on it. When I had a newborn that didn't know how
to nap, but was really great at crying, the porch swing was the answer.
And I love planning and working in our garden. There are flowers to cut from spring to fall and organic veggies all summer.
We love the tandem bicycle, "Daisy," that I inherited from my
grandparents. We added a baby-seat to the back so the whole family can
go for a spin!
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