The Decoration of Houses

Belle to J, 16 December 2009
...What with all the vaguely amphibian (reminding me of Annabel Lee) imagery about his (?) house...

The Stranger
He wanted the dining room of his home to be
"very traditionally and formally decorated."
But eventually, he faced up to the truth.
"I had been lusting for a sea monster."
So last year the man who likes to
collect bronze statues and oil paintings
bought a seven-foot creature
carved for a carousel in the early part
of the last century.
He had the monster painted seaweed green
with shades of brown
"meant to connote the slimy murk of the deep"
and now displays it in an otherwise conservative setting.
"It happens to fit in with the scheme of the dining room," he says.
"It is sufficiently incongruous in every way, shape and form."
His wife named the monster Xenon.

For some, carousel animals
with their intricate carvings,
bright colors and strong dose of nostalgia -
are the perfect decorating accessory.
Who needs to sit on a couch when you can sit on a horse?



images:
the 12534: Collection World
the 12534: Une Visite au Marché
Howard David Johnson, The Return of Persephone