Here in Germany, most people leave their Christmas decorations up at least through Epiphany, or Three Kings’ Day, so I didn’t take most of our Christmas decorations down until last week. Since we have several months of winter still ahead of us, I left up some of the greenery and winter decor since it didn’t feel quite right to roll straight into spring decor.
I also have a beautiful new piece of artwork to show you that’s in our hallway, and there’s a really interesting story behind it because the artist is one of our neighbors!
Isn’t it just gorgeous?!
It’s a large oil canvas (about 1400 x 1000 cm) titled “Les fleurs” and the colors are so vibrant. The flowers are Gladiolen im Regen (gladiolus in rain). This wall was too empty before and this piece is perfect for the space. We’ll add an overhead light for it at some point, but I didn’t want to wait for that to show it off.
I’ve been looking for a vintage chandelier for this space, so hopefully that will be the next update that I share.
Back to the oil painting: the artist is Sibylle Rassfeld and she lives in the flat below ours. She’s absolutely lovely and doesn’t complain when we stomp around over her head at all hours!
A month or two ago, she kindly invited me down for a private showing of some of her pieces, with champagne, of course. Right now most art galleries are closed due to Covid so she has quite a few of her pieces in our building. I loved this one because of the colors and the texture–take a look up close as she mixed sand with the paint:
I also selected another piece for the dining room that I’ll share in a separate post, but this one is definitely my favorite. It’s a little gray and dreary outside right now and so the bright spring colors of the oils are very welcome.
I linked to Sibylle’s email address above (or just click HERE if you’re in the market for beautiful original art); she also accepts commissions and ships worldwide.
Here are a few more photos of my winter-to-spring decor:
I found two new runners to help protect our beautiful hardwood floors; the price was amazing and I’m so pleased with them.
The big gold frames are from the thrift shop where I used to volunteer; they were $1 apiece and then I just printed photos from one of our family photo shoots. They’re a great way to cover a large wall.
I hope you enjoyed the mini-tour of the hallway. Amy will be back later this week with a new post.
Thanks for stopping by!
Christy, are living in Germany right now? I missed this detail! Love the post!
laura in Colorado!
Yes, my husband got orders to Germany last year and we moved to Stuttgart in July. It took awhile because of all the Covid lockdowns, but we are finally settled in.
Christy, LOVE everything about that new home addition and especially the size! What a nice treasure to have when the time comes to return home. Love the family framed pics too – your daughter looks older than she is and seductive…..not what you may want to hear. ha Yet very pretty young lady………
LOL–we agree about her photo! She had to have new professional headshots taken for ballet and that was one of my favorites because she looks so much like my mom in it. She’s seventeen now so definitely growing up.
I love the oil painting, too. It’s so gray here and the colors cheer me up!
Hi Christy, your home is lovely and I love your new picture addition. I was wondering if your flat is a rental. If so how are you able to change the chandellier, and ltghts , and hang all those beautiful pictures. My daughter lives in a rental and cant paint or put qny holes in the walls etc. Do you know away she could liven up her rental without leaving alot of evidence? Thanks
Hi, Kim–
Yes, it’s a rental. We’ve only owned three homes over the past 28 years and have lived in 13 different homes, so renting is a way of life for us. I always negotiate the lease so that I’m able to paint with owner approval and hang things on the walls. Light fixtures don’t even need permission since I just change them back when we move. Command strips go a long way towards hanging things on the walls without damage, or we have several posts on how to decorate rental homes; here’s one she can try. I hope that helps!
Love your new additions! That painting from your neighbor is gorgeous and I love the framed pictures of your family as well.
Although I had to look twice at your kitty since I thought the first I looked she/he was a fake! lol Keep the updates coming and enjoy the hunt for treasures.
LOL, Brontë has gained some weight since we moved and she’s been living mostly indoors. She looks like a big stuffed animal, doesn’t she?
I love that painting, too–so glad you agree with me!