National Geographics

Those girls at Tilton Fenwick are geniuses! I love everything they did in this room for the Hamptons Showhouse. I'm crazy over the studded grasscloth wall covering. I would kill a man for those chairs. And they have me clamoring for as many vintage Nat Geo's as I can get my hands on.



This would be a pretty good start:

I think the best type of decoration is something that is beautiful and also functional/educational. A big block of yellow spines would be so cool and graphic on my coral and black bookshelf! But I love that my kids and I could pull out different issues and actually learn something too. It reminds me of how my grandparents kept a big, heaping stack of National Geographics on the screened-in back porch of our cabin in Arizona. There was a triple bunk built into the wall of that porch and I remember as a kid falling asleep looking at the beautiful pictures of exotic places.

PS More colorful books in my Babble post.
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23 comments:

  1. Gaby [The Vault Files]August 19, 2011 at 6:36 AM

    Oh my Goodness, so clever! My dad has thousands of them!!!

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  2. MAugust 19, 2011 at 7:35 AM

    What about getting your daughters a subscription of their own?

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  3. bryn alexandraAugust 19, 2011 at 7:45 AM

    Oh my gosh this brings back memories. My dad had about the same number of those magazines (or more!) in a closet by our office growing up. When I was little, my friends and I would look at them and be in awe of the African womens' huge breasts. We thought that's what we would look like when we grew up.. haha.

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  4. Katherine @AntweakAugust 19, 2011 at 8:24 AM

    Love it...i love styling with books...and to be sure, National Geographic is yellow...one of my fav colors! Love the blue painting and contrast with all that yellow!
    Kat

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  5. Laurie from Laurie Jones HomeAugust 19, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    I love this post! I moved into my new home about a year and a half ago and have lots of new bookcases so my Granny K gave me hundreds of National Geographics to fill the spaces and I love them because they remind me of when I was a little girl!!

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  6. UnknownAugust 19, 2011 at 9:05 AM

    Growing up, my parents had a bookcase full of my Dad's National Geographic collection. My brother and I would pull out all the maps. :)

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  7. AmyAugust 19, 2011 at 9:20 AM

    Found you via "My Name Is Cox" & love this post because my father has a closet FULL of dusty old Nat Geo's that I've begged him not to toss into the recycle, promising that I would come up with a good idea. Thanks for sharing this idea!

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  8. ToryAugust 19, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    I LOVE that wallpaper. Any idea of the source?

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  9. chanelAugust 19, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    I love Nat Geo but mostly because it reminds me of grandparents too. I can even remember the smell of the cupboard we'd get the magazines out of. Thanks for sharing.

    http://bywayofney.blogspot.com/

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  10. CourtneyOutLoudAugust 19, 2011 at 1:54 PM

    I totally think you should contact National Geo and see if they would be interested in doing a blog contest with their mags. I can't tell you how many times I have used their mags to stage homes, frame their images or use in a craft project. Honestly, their magazine fuels imaginations on countless levels.

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  11. BrittanyAugust 19, 2011 at 2:19 PM

    I am so glad you posted this! I had completely forgotten that my grandmother has 30 years' worth of issues in floor to ceiling bookcases in her living room (I haven't been all the way inside her home in maybe 10 years!). And I never realized how chic they are. I'm going to have to offer to take those off of her hands one day!

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  12. The MomAugust 19, 2011 at 2:35 PM

    So glad to know that my husband's hoarding of magazines has now become chic. Can you come up with something for old newspapers, glass jars, assorted sports memorabilia, and picture frames? I would be in heaven then.

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  13. AnonymousAugust 19, 2011 at 3:54 PM

    I'd love to know the source for the wallpaper as well!!! Thanks for posting this pic.....

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  14. NatalieAugust 19, 2011 at 5:01 PM

    my dad paid for a lifetime subscription to nat geo when he went off to college in the 70's. i dont even know if they do that anymore, but i COVET his collection. their library wouldnt be the same without them {cause if it would they possibly would go missing in the dark of night...}

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  15. A+S (Tilton Fenwick)August 19, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    Love the snapshot of our National Geographics collection at the Hampton Showhouse! Thanks for including in your amazing blog - we are such fans :)

    The wallpaper is new from Phillip Jeffries, and just as incredible in person! check it out here: http://www.phillipjeffries.com/browse/collections/101-new__rivets.html

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  16. AttiserAugust 19, 2011 at 5:29 PM

    Fantastic!!

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  17. House As IsAugust 19, 2011 at 8:14 PM

    Miele is the only way to go on that vacuum girl! I could easily lift mine everywhere even when I was 9 months pregnant and it cleans bare floors and rugs like a champ.

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  18. AnonymousAugust 19, 2011 at 9:28 PM

    I was a little concerned by the expression "kill a man." I know that you are a sweet, sweet woman, but it sort of surprised me--even if it is just meant in a hip way. Some people really are violent, and it makes you seem distanced from that, and to minimize it when referring to chairs . . .

    I have read your blog daily for several years, and miss it when you can't post. I've now followed you to babble(?), and hope that 2012 brings you much success.

    Thank you for your consideration of this awkward phrase related to something as trivial as (stunning) chairs.

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  19. EvaAugust 20, 2011 at 2:28 AM

    When I was little there was an issue with a photo of a woman with a plate in her lip on the front cover. That photo totally creeped me out and I had to sneak past the shelf when I was by myself lest it jump out and get me.

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  20. UnknownAugust 20, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    I completely agree - functional decor is my FAVORITE kind there is :)

    http://niftynelsons1.blogspot.com/

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  21. Stacy CUrranAugust 20, 2011 at 12:15 PM

    I agree with everyone else...the collections our parents had are treasures! i really enjoyed this post :)
    Stacy

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  22. my little apartmentAugust 20, 2011 at 3:17 PM

    I do the same thing! I get boxes of them for free on Craigslist all the time. You can see some on my bar here:

    http://mylittleapartment.blogspot.com/2011/08/bunkin-up.html

    And I have a bunch stacked in my living room as well. It's one of my favorite colors of yellow!

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  23. TiffanyandJRAugust 21, 2011 at 9:54 PM

    Love this! Anthropologie did this a few years ago and I instantly started collecting! It goes great with my milk glass collection. :)

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I so appreciate hearing from you. Nice comments make my day! Thanks for keeping things light here, friends! :)