One of the things that people buy here as souvenirs are old doors. It sounds funny, but some of the old doors and windows have beautiful hand carving and rustic details that make them fun decorative pieces. A lot of them are brand new reproductions that are shipped over from India and Pakistan that are made to look old. They are either hung on the wall or turned into tables.
Josh has wanted an old door since we lived in Oman, but the ones we looked at there were huge, heavy and cost about $1000. So we put that idea aside for a while. A few months ago, Josh was talking to our landlord and I don’t know how the topic came up, but our landlord said that he had an old door from his house that they removed while they were remodeling. He said we could have it so his guys pulled it out of storage and dropped it off. We went and talked to the guy that made our Bahraini bench and came up with a design together. This is the final result:
Without the glass
I love the old brass latch.
Some of the other doors we’ve looked at were more intricate, but we have an authentic, antique, Bahraini door. (And the entire project cost us $130) I’m a bit frightened what our house is going to look like when we return to the states — are we going to have room for such a huge coffee table and floor space for our carpets?!
Speaking of carpets, these are not mine, but I had the pleasure of shopping for a carpet for a friend of a friend. Technology is a beautiful thing. I was able to snap and send these photos (and others) to her and then real time chat while she chose the one she wanted. If anyone else wants a hand made carpet at prices well under what you’d pay in the US, let me know. I’m happy to shop with other people’s money.
These particular carpets are from Pakistan and are the softest wool with silk accents. They are huge — 10 x 13. He was selling this type to me for around $1100. (Yes, it sounds like a stupid amount of money for something that people walk on, but when you look up close and see all the little knots that make up the pattern . . . I’d be charging people $100,000 after putting all that work into something.) I’m eating crow because I never understood carpet love until I saw the stacks of them in person and could appreciate the uniqueness of each one, feel the wool and silk (and cotton, but not my fav) between my fingers and under my bare feet, and to be awed by the artistry and labor involved. I’ve come a long way from my, “Machine made is just as good as handmade and way cheaper!” days.
Jerian is short, but it gives you an idea of how massive it is.
They folded it (she bought the red one) into a box this small. It was only around $75 to ship it to the East Coast, including insurance. If any west coast peeps want a carpet (since I suspect that shipping will be much more expensive to get it to the opposite coast), the guy at the post office was showing me the largest flat rate box that ships for $25 up to 25 lbs. I’ll be your dealer and hook you up.
This baby might be mine if I can get past the $1600 price tag. It’s from Iran and the detail is exquisite. It’s soft and plush and I don’t need it. I don’t need it. If I buy more carpets I’ll have to wallpaper my future home with them. I have a gorgeous red carpet already. I don’t need this.
This one is vibrant and gorgeous and different than any that I’ve seen before. I really like it, but it’s a different style than the Persian carpet above so it’s not as soft. I have a thing for soft wool. It’s also $1600.
Since I can’t seem to go carpet shopping without coming home with a carpet, I brought home this little guy. It’s from Belutschistan which is a region in Pakistan (and sounds like John Belushi). It was only $100 and really soft. It’s red and brown, with bits of green and white. I wasn’t sure if I loved it (especially after the big expensive one), but the feel won me over in the end. I smile every time I walk across it.
detail up close — it’s not this florescent in real life
Cause you know, the dog needs another carpet to lie on.
I finished this scarf/shawl that I’ve been working on for the last few months. I love these colors. It’s asymmetrical — skinny on one end, wide on the other.
One last acquisition — our shoes were out of control so we had our furniture guy build us a shoe rack. I found a few photos on Google images and told him, “I want the top like this one, the shelves made of slats like this one, and I want the stain the same color as my bench.” Perfect.
The Christmas tree is going up today and I was excited to pull out these ornaments that I bought in Paris. We’re still in the running for the ugliest, most obnoxious tree, but we’ve added quite a few sentimental and beautiful ornaments since that first year in Oman. I can’t believe this is our 5th Christmas in the Middle East. It might be time to upgrade our artificial tree. Especially since the boys were having to scrounge for books to go under one of the legs to keep it from falling over.
Closing out with my favorite pretty of them all. She is so fun and so funny, but she is an award winning cryer. Josh jokes that she must have a switch in her back because she goes from happy to killed puppy in 2 seconds. This is because I wouldn’t let her watch Frozen when she first woke up.
Drama at the orthodontist office
Because I wouldn’t carry her
She gave up her protest because two Pakistani men walking down the street were getting too close . . .
Hope everyone is having a Happy Thanksgiving!!!