'House Menagerie'

Planted on 90 acres of Catskill farm and woodland, this 18th century farmhouse is a study of geographical and anatomical proportions where clutter isn’t the exception – it’s the rule.

Meet Sean Scherer, an artist turned store owner, whose home was the subject of a guided tour in the New York Times on Thursday, Oct. 8.

The artist, who moved upstate after 9/11 paralyzed the New York City art scene, said he had waited his entire life to refurbish and expand the 1,000 square foot, Cape-style farmhouse from the 1840s.

He rebuilt parts of the house by hand, having also designed an addition that would triple the house's size. During shopping visits to the Brooke’s Variety, Scherer uncovered a selection of crude farm furniture with what he said were “clean, modern lines.”

“I don’t care about the pedigree,” he told The New York Times. “I like the fact that the objects were made for a specific purpose.”

Much like designers mix high with low, Scherer pairs the rudimentary wares with the unexpected: medical illustrations, anatomical models and even Soviet agitprop posters from Moscow in the late 1980’s.

The combination can be as eclectic as a collection of curvilinear ceramics on a tabletop, underneath an image showing a cross-section of the human head and an Industrial Revolution diagram of pulleys. Or it can be as simple as a series of mirrors hanging over a bed with a quilted duvet.

The artful clutter (as The New York Times called it) grew from years of years of collecting, since he first moved to the area.

One thing is for sure: The clutter in every corner and on any wall was no mishap. Carefully staged and beautifully staged is this artist’s approach to decorating.

And it is the same reasoning found at Kabinett & Kammer, Scherer’s own furnishing store complete with “dead animals, rocks and anatomical charts.”

Who knew that clutter could be so key?

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of The New York Times

'Tropical Escape'

I can still remember the first time I visited Paris. The golden glint of the ceiling at the Galleries Lafayette department store, the buzzing of the closing metro train doors and the smell of warm brioche from my ‘quartier’s boulangerie were some of the new sights, sounds and smells that followed me home to the Chône residence.

The Chône family lived in the only house on an apartment-lined street in the bourgeois 16ème arrondissement of Paris. The family had taken in American exchange students for many years; I was the third student to live with them that summer.

Their home was as romantic as the city itself – a mix of Monsieur Chône’s affinity for 16th Century findings (he was an etchings and engravings art dealer) and Madame’s love of hand painting ceramic tiles and wall borders. There was a recamier at the heart of their living room (above left), hand painted bees on the wall tiles in the kitchen, and a wrought iron patio furniture in the well kempt garden outside.

But my favorite room would be my bedroom.

Unlike the rest of the house, the room had a photograph of a tropical sunset as a mural that extended the entire length of one of the accent walls. The mural drew a sharp contrast to the country French styled surroundings (below center), but it worked.


The use of a giant-sized wall covering that had the colors orange, pink and red added height and drama to furnishings that lacked clear personality, except for the Tintin garbage bin underneath the table. During the course of those six short weeks, that Hawaiian sunset and the rest of the bedroom became my escape from the tiring city life.

Since my return to the States, I’ve seen similar murals pop up in restaurants and hotels. But I have yet to see the photographic wallpaper in a typical American home.

I may not have to wait much longer.

The New York Times recently hit the nail on the head in its April 8 ‘Home & Garden’ section, reporting that a series of photographs-turned-murals (taken by photographer Dianne Bos in France )will be sold online exclusively at Target (see left). The Brewster Home Fashions images include those titled “Eiffel Tower” and “Along Paris Streets.” Browsing the selection, I found a similar version of my Hawaiian sunset available at Target for $99.99.

Looks like I don’t need a visa to visit France anymore. I can relive the experience right from my living room.

-S. Gonzalez
*Above photo courtesy of The New York Times