As you probably know, a successful relocation depends a lot on timing and getting everything in place. It’s a good thing we made the big move back to the city when we did, because if we had waited another five years, the move would have killed us.
My lists overflowed the dining room table. Things to keep and things to send to Goodwill or Savers. What to put where? Maybe the kids want some of these things. A resounding “No! We don’t have room” he replied that! Plus, where do we find furniture for our new mid-century modern home? I wanted it to be from that period, not just new furniture.
Planning a complete house layout using only images of rugs, bookcases, cabinets, paintings, tables and chairs that we didn’t even have yet was a challenge. Out came the graph paper and pencils. I spent hours pushing little pieces of paper with “bed” or “table” written on them. I used branches of paper, downloading and printing pictures of 37 varieties of sofas. I sent for enough small samples of material to cover any of them.
I had found “the right house” and now it was the log house to sell. The first family that looked serious had to decline. The father, excited about passing the bar and moving to a new town, went shopping. He would return in possession of an antique pool table.
Do you know how big a pool table is? I was told that with the dowel free, they needed about 20 by 25 feet, about the size of the main room in our log home. Imagine that! I guess the rest of the family didn’t like the idea of a large pool room, so they went elsewhere to find the perfect space.
Finally, our log home sold, as the realtor assured us, and a deadline was looming. It’s time to make decisions about the big issues. Just what color should we paint the walls of our new bedroom, and hang on, where are you really going to put the 49+ boxes of books?
The ornate Victorian furniture I had collected over the years had to be sold. Eclectic is one thing; shaking is another. Not only did it not “fit” aesthetically in the new place, but it didn’t fit physically either. We were puzzled to find that there were at least four interior doors that were so narrow that none of our existing upholstered furniture could fit through them.
We advertised on Craig’s List and eBay and a young couple came from Kearney, Nebraska to purchase our Victorian Revival bedroom set. The “Bird Lady” marble top table went to a collector in New Jersey. The rest of the rooms were sold in an estate sale event, even the large Austrian buffet. The carved gargoyles, Chuck and Eddie, were going to a new home. A few other things we didn’t intend to sell were also removed at this time. Still looking for the big turkey platter.
Just when we were complaining that we only had two Persian rugs and a leather sofa that we couldn’t fit through the back door, we found a business in Texas that specializes in MCM furniture and they had what we were looking for: a pencil-leg diner. room table and chairs, a massive light wood sideboard and a modern Danish desk and wardrobe for Tom. Even a tall dresser that looks like it’s standing with its big feet in the first ballet position.
“But wait, it’s in Texas!” you say? Don’t worry. Before delivering our remaining household goods, our moving company took their truck to Texas and picked up our house full of retro pieces and brought them back. Above and beyond? Yes!
Another truck was right behind them, bringing the Ikea purchases that we decided were appropriate for our time in life, meaning they didn’t have to last forever and were perfect for holding the 49+ boxes of books and all the ceramic pieces we have. d collected. We got really good at putting things together using just pictures and those nifty little twist and lock fasteners. I was having the time of my life decorating a house from scratch.
I left Northwoods with mixed emotions. Our great adventure. We enjoyed seeing the wildlife around us. I have seen moose and bears, deer, coyotes, wolves, many varieties of owls and other birds in my 23 years there. what’s in town Big, fat, gray squirrels. Rabbits.
The first week I was in our new house in the city, looking out the kitchen window. Wait! Is that what I think it is? I watched as a well-fed black bear strolled down our driveway, not even 10 feet away. He crossed the street, stood in the neighbor’s yard for a while, then got up to continue on the stream. Later, lo and behold, he came back again. In our driveway and around our house along the fence line.
I began to think we were living in Duluth’s version of Elizabeth Taylor’s “Elephant Walk,” where they built a magnificent home on the path the elephants used to reach their winter grounds. Finally, the animals became so enraged at having to bypass this structure that they gathered a huge herd and stampeded through the house, destroying it.
What if our house was built on a bear trail and one Saturday we looked out to see all the bears in the neighborhood waltzing onto the front lawn? Macabre.
Next: Color me, color you – my weird color theory.
Claudia Myers is a former costume designer for Baltimore Opera, Minnesota Ballet and has taught design and construction at the College of St. Scholastica. She is a national award winning quilter, author and local antique dealer specializing in Persian rugs.