An artist’s take on Home Decorating - The artist being me,
Carol NAVETA Rivoire
“There’s an ART to Living Well”
A visitor (one of our students ) for the Carriage Driving Vacations we did here
at Beaver Dam Farm for 18 year once said . . . .
”Your farm has everything I love most . . . . horses, flowers, art, friendly dogs and cats, good food and wine”
Still has! All of the above! Nothing’s Changed!
When we get back to “normal”, please come to the farm to visit
Old Barn Galleries & Gardens - Pomquet Village
Making Your House Your Home . . .
The ART of Living Well
~ ART DOESN’T HAVE TO MATCH THE COUCH ~
I find it really simple - Put things in your home that speak to you emotionally and are done in colors you love, and you’ll make a home you’ll love now and always. —- Let me say this upfront . . . . I don’t recommend a decorator unless it’s one of those rare ones who will get to know you personally and be able to design a house that reflects your tastes, personality and lifestyle. — In my opinion, a home should look like the people who live in it, and BY ALL MEANS, not overly neat and unblemished. In fact, all the things I love are hand made, hand crafted by a person/artist. They are not perfect.
“Perfection is highly overrated”
In my house, which is small, 1300 sq. ft., I have 92 original paintings on my walls, and each and every day I enjoy them. Along with the original art (paintings), I have loads of family photos and other hand crafted items such as sculpture, pottery, etc. Which is why I know you “can always find room for another piece of art. If you love it, buy it, and you’ll find the perfect place.”
This is my bedroom, and I have 14 wonderful paintings on the walls. Over the bed are two watercolors done by my grandfather (father’s father) back in 1908. — Real art, be it oil or acrylic paintings or watercolors is a good investment as it stands the test of time both in perennial enjoyment from the pieces and the fact that original art is likely to retain its original colors and quality. These pictures by my paternal grandfather painted 112 years ago are just the same as the day they were painted. The frames aren’t anything special, but they are the original ones and have kept the pictures in good shape.
this sunny corner of my bedroom has an antique love seat which is delightful for an afternoon cup of tea when the sun streams in the big window. Over the little couch is a painting by my late husband, Arthur.
I only have two bedrooms in my house(the Charming Cottage). This is the guest room, and what you see from left to right are — A large abstract by me, NAVETA, and moving on to back wall, a small impressionistic painting also by me, and finally under glass, a piece of crewel work by my mother, Naveta. — My full name is Carol Naveta Rivoire, and just a few years ago I decided to sign my paintings with the name Naveta (mother’s name) - I’d ALWAYS wished I’d been named Naveta as a first name, which is why I decided to use it on my paintings. — So much more painterly than Carol.
This is also my tiny guestroom. Opposite the picture above with twin beds is this giant watercolor by Cape Breton artist, Christopher Gorey. I bought it many years ago from Gorey because the scene so reminded me of my dear grandparents house in Massachusetts. They were originally from Prince Edward Island so I grew up kind of living the Maritime culture. You know, kippers and apple pie for breakfast. I spent almost every weekend with Nana and Papa. This big and beautiful watercolor is for sale. Go back to Home Page , click on OTHER ARTISTS to see details.
Another view of my bedroom shows more pictures - The blue fisherman is by my late husband, Arthur. On the bureau top are family photos, equally as important to me as the paintings, and to the right are photos of the Fjordhorses we’ve had over these many years. Note, if you please . . . This chest of drawers is part of a set of Ethan Allen furniture that I traded for a Norwegian Fjord filly. — Both parties were happy with the trade.
On this wall top left is a beautiful watercolor by Antigonish’s Bill Rogers. It’s a painting of my dear old horsee, BDF Quasar, who is still with me on the farm. To the right is a very old painting by my grandfather. It’s an English scene he painted before immigrating from England to the States. — Down to the second row of pictures is one of my mother (Naveta) holding me, and underneath that is me at about 3 years. And to the right is one of my favorites pictures by Arthur. It was done while we lived in Strasburg, France. — Underneath that, is a 50th anniversary photo of my grandparents. — These are all pictures and photos that bring me pleasure and memories. — I am NOT a Minimalist, as you see.
This quirky, kind of funky piece is by a local artist. Angus Braid, I fell in love with it (the dog, the book, the wine jug) and bought it at Lyghtsome Gallery 30 years ago. Also bought another piece by Angus Braid. It’s a tall piece of maybe driftwood carved to represent “The Blind Oedipus”.
In this view of the bedroom, you see a large abstract by Naveta, and in the mirror a bit of a very large watercolor by famed Cape Breton artist, Christopher Gorey who lives up in Ingonish. I bought this Gorey picture of an old farmhouse in the snow because it reminded me a lot of my grandparents house. I still love it but it is for sale.
In this photo of a corner of my kitchen, you see a charming still life by Cape Breton artist, Charles Dawe, and above that is one of my own abstracts that I enjoy a lot for it’s color and lines. And down the hall, more treasured family photos, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc.
This photo shows a lot of my treasured art. — From bottom to top, left to right is - a wonderful piece of pottery by an artist down on the tip of Cape Cod, MA. And above that another great watercolor by William Rogers of one of my horses. The driftwood sculpture on the table is by Joe Arsenault, one of my all-time favorite people of Antigonish. — The large painting with black frame is by me, Naveta, and it’s one I probably won’t sell because a very knowledgeable art critic told me “never” to sell it. He thought it was great. He loved the the subtle eroticism of this painting, but frankly, to me it was just an abstract. This man said “It’s wonderful how it shows nothing, but shows everything.” When he said that, I could see two bodies, but it was just what artists call - “A Happy Accident”.
This is one of two bathrooms in the house. The painting over the dryer is one of mine. I have no ideas what’s in the picture. I just like the colors and shapes.
The hallway again. . . Lots of photos of grandchildren, horses, and Arthur and I. The oil painting of the old chair and the lilacs is Charles Dawe, one of our all-time favorite Nova Scotian artists. — The mare on far left is Tessa, Arthur’s favorite driving horse, and the one beside Tessa is a pastel done of Arthur by a guest at our Nova Scotia Carriage Driving Vacations. The painting of the boy in blue down the end of the hall is another by Charles Dawe .
This is a view of my kitchen. The yellow painting on top of the Alsatian armoire is by my husband. The horse heads to the right is an impressionistic abstract by Naveta of the Fjordhorses bred here at Beaver Dam Farm. - The small still life underneath is by Charles Dawe.
My livingroom shows how much I like color and the kind of color I’m drawn to. I like the warmer colors which usually means oranges and ochres which go so well with both antique and modern furnishings. Afterall, THE CLASSIC complementary colors are Blue & Orange.
This photo shows a lot of the things I love to live with - The little Louis IV chair is a reproduction that has more than stood the test of time. We bought two of them when we lived in France more than 50 years ago. The old oak sideboard we bought years ago when we lived in Texas. On top of it is some wonderful Nova Scotia pottery I bought on Isle Madame 30+ years ago. The folk art is from Cape Breton. But one of my favorite pieces is the large photo of a seal on the ice at the Causeway done by my friend, Rodney Tate, the well-known wildlife photographer. To the right of Rodney’s picture is an acrylic by my husband, Arthur, and the large work down the hall is also one of Arthur’s. The reason I like this black and white seal photograph so much is the excitement it brings to the room, complementing all the color of furnishings and paintings. —- In ART, contrast is so important.
A better shot of Rodney’s Seal on the Ice and the NS pottery and folk art. The carved birds are part of a collection by an artist down the end of Cape Cod. Arthur and I bought one on our honeymoon and each year on our anniversary until we had so many birds we had to stop. Everything on the sideboard except the birds is NS art.
Another view of livingroom looking into the kitchen. — The antique chest on the right we brought back from Alsace, France. It’s a wedding chest with the date of 1825 on the front. the large hooked mat is by Deanne Fitzpatrick from Amherst, NS. — and the painting in the background of the boy playing street hockey is by Cape Breton artist, Charles Dawe.
Much better picture of boy playing hockey by Dawe - Carved wooden fruit bowl was purchased by Arthur and I in Hungary many years ago when we went there to learn to drive pairs of horses on the Great Plains of Hungary. Fabulous!