I haven't even moved into my new house, and I am already thinking about decorating ideas.
My house in Salem reflected who I was. A 1926 house filled with minimalist black and white furnishings -- with Italianate overtones. I really liked living in that house.
For the past five years, I have been renting a furnished apartment. The place is cozy and tastefully decorated. But nothing there (other than my computer work station) gives a hint of my personality.
That is why I am looking forward to moving to a place that will be my own. I already told you how I fell in love with the lines of the new house. It is contemporary Mexican -- evoking the style of the Mexican modernist architect Luis Barragán.
The current furnishings carry through on Barragán's minimalist style. I simply need to find something that will now reflect who I am.
Such as, turning the house into a meeting place for my friends and acquaintances. The courtyard will be the primary venue. But I envision a special role for the living room.
I love movies. And I like experiencing them with other people. Somewhere in the back of my mind, movie night is brewing. Friends. Popcorn. Long discussions on what we watched.
Maybe once a week. Or twice a month. The details don't matter. But the idea has possibilities.
While we were wandering through the electronics deparment at Selfridges a couple of weeks ago, Patti grabbed my arm, and said: "That is what you need in your living room."
And she was correct. Hanging in front of us were 12 speakers strung from the ceiling on red chords -- all sprouting from a red cylinder.
At first, I thought it was a sculpture -- and a rather captivating one. But they were actually highly-rated, functioning speakers. A perfect match for the white austerity of my new living room.
There were a few problems. The first is that the French-made Elipson Sound Tree is not offered for sale in either Mexico or The States.
In this world of globalized trade, that is a mere trifle. The French, like any other merchants, could find a way to put a set of their globes in my hands -- or on my ceiling. Finding the curator-trained engineer to install them might be another issue.
The second problem is a bit more difficult to overcome. The cost. In this case, £14,899.99. If you have forgotten our little conversion exercises while we were discussing English real estate, that is about $24,135.08. A bit more than I had planned to spend on a good speaker system. Even a sculptural one.
So, I will pass on the French red balls. Undoubtedly, something just as good will offer itself to me in the near future.
After all, it takes time to reproduce the self.