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Writer's pictureJames Eric Fristad

Five Ceilings and a Floor

Look up, where you are, right now, and you see...what? Unless you're in a car or enjoying a poolside setting or waiting for your spouse outside Walmart, it's ceiling up there. Ceiling as far as the room edges stretch—a flat, uninteresting expanse that's a pretty good neighbor to the surrounding, boring walls. I am describing my early 21st century domicile; your mileage may vary.


But back to this living room. A grand, walnut cabinet may be seen here, in view of an art-deco flavored chandelier (recently fitted with tiny led bulbs). Stubborn wallpaper clings to the hundred-year-old lath and plaster beneath.


Yet another light fixture hangs up there, as much as 10 feet from the deco item. To me this has more of a nouveau look to it, but who cares—most of the tiny trimmings appear "turn of the century funky," so do they really need to sync perfectly?


And then there's the ceiling itself. Ours shows molding in at least two parallel rows, and the molded shapes where the chains hang for the lights, all match the ceiling edges. Inside doors seem overly fussy, to modern eyes. But admit it—you also enjoy the illusion of being fussed over.


I've added two pictures of lamps, because their illuminating benefit is largely via the reflection of adjacent flat surfaces. This is a floor lamp, whose sinuous base continues its gentle and impractical curves all the way to the floor that supports your feet down there, probably just outside your vertical field of vision.

And I had to add this, partly for its tastefull kitsch outline, mostly because it stands proudly atop its sofa end table—crooked.

Now to revisit the surface the ceiling looks at all day. Please take some seconds to explore the durable whimsy of our living room floor: two sections of tile, each with its own oriental rug, separated by a well-trodden wooden dike separating the two seas of clay. We're loving it.


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