Karen Wight -- No Place Like Home

We have a couple of rooms in our house that are in a constant state of

fluctuation.

I guess they just haven’t found their own personalities yet, or more

than likely, I haven’t given them their undeniable character that stands

the test of time.

I think it’s the accumulation of accessories that prevents me from

perfecting certain rooms. I’m picky about what comes into the house. My

favorite spaces are those that “evolve.” This doesn’t happen overnight,

it happens over time with the right combination of quirky, elegant and

classic pieces.

I guess you could say that the rooms in my house have classic bones,

but their personalities come from just the right stuff, and the right

stuff is hard to find. The quest for amazing, amusing and affordable

items is an art in itself, and treasure hunting is a time consuming task.

Somehow with severe time restraints, or with a bunch of kids in tow

(even worse), the adventure is less than pleasurable. It used to be store

owners would see us coming and start wringing their hands in anxiety.

One of the latest time savers for me, aside from the fact that the

kids are older and not glued to my side, has been information via

Internet. For some reason, I fought this shopping venue for a long time.

After a few experiences, I have changed my mind. In my list of

“favorite places”’ I have Pottery Barn, Smith+Noble window coverings,

Pratt Paint Colors, Karastan Floor coverings, o7 garden.comf7 , Martha

Stewart, George Smith furnishings, and other home furnishing brokers such

as HomePortfolio and o7 goodhome.comf7 .

One of the best surprises has been the Internet auction house e-bay. I

thought it was a weird concept, buying someone else’s used stuff and

discards. But when you think about it, it’s not any different that going

to a favorite antique store.

A few months ago, I decided to give it a try. With the aquatic spirit

running through my fingertips, I typed in a search for “mermaid.” I’m not

sure why I picked mermaid, maybe I was thinking of the new pool bath or

perhaps something for Annie’s room, but mermaid and my family just seemed

to connect.

The most interesting things popped up on the mermaid list. And there

were a lot of them. Some highlighted items were obviously not what I was

looking for. There were a few headlines that were looking for a racier

audience, but most of the items for sale were innocuous. Ceramic figures,

old prints, button card labels, decals and sketches. I added the word

“vintage” -- which is a big buzzword on e-bay -- and the list was

narrowed to some outstanding and very interesting items.

I placed a bid, kept an eye on my intended purchase until the auction

closed, and I found myself to be the new owner of an 1894 original print

of Mer-Children. The print is sweet, and the quality is high, I can’t

wait to have it suitably framed and hung. And get this: I never left the

house, I spent very little time searching and it only cost $12. I had to

add shipping to the total, but that brought the grand total to $14.

Realistically, I will spend much more than that when I frame it, but my

point is that I would never have found this treasure otherwise.

Since then, I have added a few more items to the mermaid collection,

an antique porcelain mermaid figure, a 1932 mermaid button card, a 1940

French “Tarzan & the Mermaids” movie poster, and a 1945 mermaid sketch.

None of the items were over $30, the quality is amazing and I can “shop”

after the kids go to bed without leaving the house. I’m impressed.

Now that I’m done with my mermaid collection, I’m onto other things. I

have found some unbelievable water polo memorabilia: 1920’s Grenada water

polo stamps, old water polo trading cards, Olympic water polo trading

pins. And all at my fingertips, literally.

So venture on a treasure hunt of your own. Don’t be afraid to “search”

and “go.” Even though home is where my heart is, I’ve found home design

satisfaction on the World Wide Web.

Photo Caption: A 1894 print of Mer-Children and a vintage porcelain

ceramic figurine were auction items found on the Internet.