Equestrian Decor In The Gameroom

Hello,

How are you? I hope you are doing well. 

I came across some amazing horse sketches done by my grandfather. At some point, it looks like he took drawing classes as an adult. They were tucked in an old photo album up in the closet. I know that I'd seen them before and I'm not sure why they didn't grab my attention before now. I've had my grandparents things for 36 years. I decided that I needed to frame the top horse. The bottom horse head is a tiny bit torn and I was going to just frame just the top horse but Bill took objection and said that I needed to frame the whole study.

The sketches weren't a custom size - of course. I perused Hobby Lobby to see if they had an oops frame that would work. There is a little corner where they sell the frames that weren't cut to the correct size. They are pretty heavily discounted. 

I thought I found one that would work but it was a bit too narrow. 

In the end, I had a gorgeous antique frame in my stash. This beautiful inlayed frame was hanging in my craft closet for a long time. The mat was a good color scheme and it fit the sketch perfectly.  

It was the springboard for an equestrian theme in the game room. 

This room is a little den at the top of the stairs. It's open to the stairwell and the entry. It was perfect for the kid's computer, t.v. and video games and now it's where my ugly recliner ended up after my shoulder healed. 

It also houses all the big brown leather furniture. I love the furniture in the fall and winter. In the spring and summer it's not my favorite but it's so cozy in the cozy months. 

Once I had decided on a new decor theme, it was time to round up some other equestrian elements. 

The prints are of works by Albert Ludovici.

I was able to learn that he painted scenes in London and Paris. These belonged to either my parents or grandparents. The graphics fairy had a printable that fit perfectly in the pseudo gallery wall. The placement of the thermostat and light switch has driven me crazy the whole time we have lived here. Rather than try to hide them, I've just decorated around them. 

Everyone has light switches! I hope everyone has a thermostat. 

Bill's grandmother's child size spurs are tacked into the vignette. They are so cute. 

A fox box relates to the theme. I got this from my step- sister's grandmother. She was kind enough to let me tag along to their family lunches. The trunk belonged to my grandmother. 

I remembered a tea cup and saucer with a pretty lady riding side saddle. 

The horn lamp came from an estate sale last Christmas. 

It was coming together. A horse figurine would be a finishing touch but I quickly realized that horses don't come up at the thrift stores much so they must be highly prized. According to eBay, they are. There was a pair of 80's horse trophies up for sale so I hit Buy It Now. 

They arrived but it wasn't love. That is some bright gold right there.

These are constructed the same way that lamps are constructed. 

The parts were metal and the base is marble. I bet horse trophies now days are made of all plastic.  

I took them apart. 

I decided to use the horse and the marble base. That way they could tuck into a vignette.

  I gave the horses a squirt of old gold spray paint. 

Cute! 

I layered in some buffalo check. 

I'm going to make some boot trees for my riding boots. 

Here's how the gallery wall relates to the rest of the room. 

It was very gloomy today so sorry for the pic. 

I've got a skinny alpine Christmas tree for this room but I didn't really have ornaments. 

A thrifting adventure yielded some adorable ornaments. 

The glass horse looks like it has a western saddle but I was thrilled to find it. It was made by Old World Christmas and it was $4.00. The plastic rocking horse was $3.00. The horns were 50¢ each and the carousel was $1.00.  That didn't make sense because the carousel is as cute as the rocking horse but I'll take it. The little pillow was $5.00. I already had the blue rocking horse. 

My favorite thrift store was very late getting Christmas out and their prices were really high. 

 They have a new manager who seems to discount stuff to get it out the door. We'll see if they discount Christmas stuff before the holiday. 

I'll take some pictures of the tree when I decorate it. 

This is a new theme for me. I had a hunt theme in this room when first bought the house but that was 30 years ago. I think everyone had a hunt theme at that time! If you have been around for a while, you know that I love creating a new theme and shopping my house. 

The little trophies and the ornaments are all fun thrifted finds. 

That is all for now. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and read my blog. 

Katie