Maison d’humour et de style
Published 6:17 pm Sunday, July 9, 2017
House of humor and style
<p class="p1">Collections displayed in our homes might be rare finds or dumpster saves, purchased for pennies or passed down from previous generations. Regardless of provenance, collections help decorate and differentiate our homes. Collections may even reveal personality traits, according to “psychology of space” experts. Collections definitely make great conversation starters.
<p class="p1">This Margaret Place home is rife with conversation starters. Some of the displayed items seem charged with a life – and storyline — of their own.
<p class="p1">On a wall shelf, an articulated artist’s mannequin appears to be in hot pursuit of a pair of Barbie-sized black satin Tuxedo pants. The backdrop is a collection of P.C. Wren novels, romanticized adventures of a French Foreign Legionnaire in North Africa.
<p class="p1">“The pants are the last pair my grandmother made for my Barbie, so I turned them into a sculpture,” Finger said. “I titled it Chassé par un cochon, »
<p class="p1">She translates, « Chased by a pig, » and she adds, « I don’t know if the grammar is right. It’s just silliness. »
<p class="p1">Welcome to the rich interior life, wit and sentiment of Kim Finger.
<p class="p1">Somehow she manages to nudge touches of humor into an interior that is sophisticated and transitional. Finger has lived in Nigeria, India, Japan, Canada and Paris. She displays art from across the world as well as art from local artist Heather Ryan Kelley. She appreciates antiques.
<p class="p1">She bought the house because it opens to a large, private backyard she calls her own private wild kingdom. From her living room, dining room or screened in porch, she can watch egrets, rabbits and the dwindling population of beavers.
<p class="p1">Her favorite thing in her entire house is her father’s patched overalls from childhood. They’re framed and hang on the guest bedroom wall. She credits him, a retired SJ Welch industrial arts teacher, with helping her « figure out what to do with the things she finds in the garbage. »
<p class="p1"> On the shelf below “chassé par un cochon,” a small, hand-carved barking dog faces a tiny picture. A closer look reveals the picture is of a duck hunt.
<p class="p1">“I got the dog at a craft show and I’ve always had beagles,” Finger said. “The engraving is of a Russian duck hunt. I bought it while I was there, but I’ve never been able to read exactly what it says.”
<p class="p1">Across from the shelves, on the windowsill, Godzilla-sized ants march toward a healthy Bonsai, more humor from Finger.
<p class="p1"> “You could call this my Goth room,” she said, smiling and leading the way to a small wall area papered with what looks like high-end wallpaper with a modern design in neutral colors. It is spiders and webs. She is grinning.
<p class="p1">“Did you know you can upload your own wallpaper, fabric or giftwrap design?” she asks, explaining the unusual wallpaper’s origins.
<p class="p1">Finger thinks spider webs can be beautiful, and she framed a couple to prove the point, finishing out this vignette with a couple of crystal and ceramic pieces that repeat a web-like pattern.
<p class="p1">Finger realizes her brand of humor may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it’s hard to imagine someone not breaking out into a big smile when Finger breaks out her “mink” can opener.
<p class="p2">It is plain metal with a bottle opener on one end and a sharp, pointed end for making holes in beer cans (before the pop top). A piece of genuine mink is glued to the opener. Red beads glued to the pointed end look like the eyes of the mink. The pointed end of the opener, it’s mouth.
<p class="p2">“I had to have it,” she said. “My sister and I often say we’ll go broke buying things that crack us up.”
<p class="p1">No other house is decorated like this. Every object has a story behind it. It’s well edited and beautiful. However, the biggest “take away” from the home of Kim Finger is this: A good sense of humor can go a long way in making a house feel like home.