Le Weekend

I took a quick trip up to Philadelphia this weekend to see my “out-law”, Mark. Our siblings are married to each other, so we’re not technically in-laws, so we refer to each other as the out-laws.

We had a chance to walk around his neighbourhood, Rittenhouse Square, and it’s completely charming. As I was going down a very narrow alley in a very large car, I caught sight of this incredible building, and shot a picture out of the car window.

I have become fascinated with brickwork and spotted a great example at the top of the turret. I spotted the one below on an old house nearby. While this  Flemish bond pattern is fairly common, what sets this off is the glaze on the header bricks.

At every turn, there were just wonderful architectural details to be found, like this bow window with its wavy glass.

this great lantern,

this hand-crafted handle,

this fabulous doorknob,

and this beautiful doorway.

There are still some historic homes in the center of the Rittenhouse Square area.

I just adored this Episcopal church, which looked at home here as it would have in England.

I love the secret gardens you find in old cities, tucked in behind homes and gates.

Can you spot the Lady Liberty in the picture?

One of the buildings that I thought was terrific was this late 1800’s apartment building, the Newport. It had copper bows and great arched windows along the front and side elevations.But what captured my attention was the name plate for the building. How fabulous is that!

One of the other reasons I went to Philadelphia was to pick up some antiques from Mark. One of the pieces that will be hugely useful is this Chinoiserie-style tray table and it’s campaign-style frame.

The base folds flat for easy storage. I am thrilled to finally have a cocktail table in the main room, and it even works with the existing sisal rug with its orange Greek key design.

How was your weekend?