Progress in my work-out room is happening. I’ve got all the walls, ceiling and windows done and now we’re working on hanging sheetrock on the only wall that needed it. I’ll definitely give an update on all this progress as we approach the finish line. When I get close to finishing a room I always start to put things together in my head and then eventually begin gathering, purchasing, or making the things I need. Decorating a room is by far my most favorite part. DUHHH, isn’t it everyone’s!! The work sucks… but the decorating makes up for it all.
This post was inspired by ONE of the really special pieces that I’m going to use in my room. It’s a piece that we’ve been saving in our stash of special finds for almost 6 years. I’m pretty excited to finally have a place for it and as CRAZY as it may seem…. it’s gonna be GREAT …. A VINTAGE ANATOMY CHART!!!!
Richie and I are NOT doctors (or nurses for that matter). Unless you count the naughty nurse outfit… but that’s for another post. (KIDDING!) We’ve never worked in a hospital and actually hate even being in them. Although I have to admit I’ve diagnosed both of us with all kinds of ailments. It seems the internet is really all one needs to be a doctor. Forget medical school…. and at our house there’s no appointment necessary. HA HA!
It seems that these charts are highly collectable and are being used in the coolest ways. Here’s a couple of images I found online. Crazy that the are both the exact charts I own. The bottom right image is another one I have but I’m not hanging it anywhere. I’ve seen the 6 chart set on 1st dibs for $4,500. Ha! Yes, I’m dying of laughter too. Who the hell would pay that much? But they are cool….
I suppose it seems crazy but there are things in my house that might make someone think we were in fact medical professionals… or maybe just creepy as hell people. Definitely the latter. We have collected some really great medical stuff over the years so here’s a few things we love. Thanks to my friend Tamara (Scrap and Salvage) who encourages me to share this stuff!
Here’s a vintage medical cabinet that came out of one of the schools where Richie taught. The nurse knew he loved it and when she retired she quietly had him back his truck up to the back door and the rest is history. It’s in our dining room and we’ve filled it with all the little wood pieces we’ve collected.
Some of them Richie carved himself… like the airplane and the tooth. We love it! We’ve started a great little vintage top collection. I once did a post on the little man in the back on the left. His penis pops out. It’s hilarious. SEE HERE.
Of course after 20 years of estate sales he’s brought home some pretty crazy stuff. Here’s just a few more pieces from our “doctor bag of goodies”.
Lots of Anatomy books, old medicine bottles, the man with his removable organs (always fun on a Saturday night!) and the strangest thing yet.
(the display above is only for the picture… trust me, this is not how I decorate my house! HA HA!)
A plate for making teeth impressions. Those teeth our kind of gross. Richie loves them and is always on the hunt for glass eye balls. That’s all I need… more creative ways for Richie to “Roll His Eyes” at me. (NEVER!)
Decorating our home with strange and unique pieces is what we love to do. I’m really looking forward to using the chart in my work-out room.
Speaking of… the work is going well and we’re sheetrocking the final wall. I’m SO motivate to finish because this is where I’ll hang the chart. Here’s a sneak peek….
More to come soon. Until then… if you have an ache, need to be diagnosed, want to know where your liver is, or if your tooth falls out.. let me know. The doctor is IN!
An Unrelated Note:
A friend and fellow blogger, who is always encouraging to me and Richie, has nominated our blog for the “HOMIES” award through ApartmentTherapy.com We are nominated in the “Best Home Design & Inspiration Blog” category.
To find out more and vote for my blog (if you’re so inclined), please visit their site and get all the details.
From their site:
Join us as we survey the blogosphere together in the fifth annual Homies. We’re looking for the most notable home design & home cooking blogs that we can find. It’s all about sharing your favorites, checking out the ones you don’t know and being inspired. The Homies isn’t a competition as much as its about celebration and discovery.
THE 2013 SCHEDULE
Week 1:
Add your favorite home design & cooking blogs in six categories
Friday, February 1 – Friday, February 8 (until midnight EST)
Week 2:
Vote on the top nominees
Saturday, February 9 – Wednesday, Feb. 13 (until midnight EST)
omg. well, first, thanks so much for the fun shout out!! that’s so cute and fun of you. second, BEST POST EVER!! jordan just said (reading over my shoulder), “they have the baddest-ass stuff!!!!!” and you dooooo! those vintage medical posters are amazing and PERFECT for a workout room (can’t wait to see it btw). before i get to the medical cabinet, that (oil?) painting is out of control fantastic. i can’t stop looking at it. and then the cabinet enters my eye frame and i’m like HOLY SHIT! that is so dope (love how you set decked it too!). those teethe are out of control winning the gold medal for creep and that nakey doll carving is the best i’ve seen in like forEVER. makes me smile! i can’t say enough about this post. and i just kinda want all of it :D (jordo has dibs on the lamps he spies in a couple pics). oh! that we were neighbors! you and richie have the best eye(s) in home decor and art. sheesh.
HA HA! HEY GIRL! I totally had you on my mind the whole time. I’m so tempted to leave out posts like this as you never know what people will think but I’m learning to just be me. Thanks for encouraging that. It’s definitely not the “norm” which I kind of LOVE. You won’t find these items in Crate and Barrel. HA HA!
It’s exciting to read your enthusiastic response and I’m sure Jordan totally gets this since he’s a “hunter” too. It’s amazing how much these things go for.
That painting next to the medical cabinet is one of my favorites. I won it at a silent art auction benefitting the Humane Society. The drunker people got, the more sober I stayed and WON! People were just drinking and talking and the clock was ticking on the auction. I was hovering in the corner watching ever bidder and at the last minute swooped in and got it. There were about 25 bids on it. The best part is all the money went to the Humane Society. Awwww, sweet little kitties and dogs. LOVE THAT!
Three cheers for naked dolls and doll heads. The always have a place in our home! Thanks for being so sweet… you made my day. (as always) Hello to Jordan too!
This is insanely brilliant! I can just hear someone being so excited that they offloaded their random medical stuff at an estate sale and then seeing this and being all “Dang…. why didn’t we think of that!!”
I think my favorite is the medical cabinet. It’s perfect for displaying all your finds. And I love the mix of traditional medical items with the carved pieces of art.
This is so amazing for a workout room. You guys are all about the wellness… Can’t wait to see everything finished!
Danielle I certainly can’t take credit for most of this. Richie drags this stuff home and I usually hate it at first… and then end up loving it. The medical cabinet was a no brainer. I’ve always had a thing for metal cabinets and book cases so when he brought that one home I celebrated. At first I thought about putting our Russel Wright dishes in them but decided to go for the unexpected. It’s been fun collecting things and placing them in there. I put some LEDs in there so it’s all lit up at night.
I can’t wait to get that one wall done so I can hang up the chart. It’s creepy but I feel like it will look really good. Thanks for indulging me. This was actually a good post for me
It was sofa king fun!
The collecting of the medical stuff is just fascinating to me. I do honestly hate doctors and nurses and hospitals. Not personally, but if I am talking to one of them or in one of them, something is wrong. So I would have a terrible time with all that medical riff raff. BUT, I do dig the anatomy poster. My teenage son would love it too. He also likes big giant maps. What is it about maps and charts that us humans love so much?
Hey Rebecca! I hate going to the doctor and some of the contraptions freak me out… so yes, it’s odd that we collect some of these things. I LOVE MAPS, too! We haven’t found any big ones but have tons of books with cool maps in them. It’s so tempting to tear out some of the pages.
Every time I see those teeth he carved I start to have a tooth ache. The one with the string tied around it makes me remember how I hated being young and losing my teeth. IT WAS SO TRAUMATIC! My poor father is a saint for putting up with me during those years. HA HA! Thanks for visiting.
I love that medical cabinet! I have to admit that the tooth Richie carved holds a strange fascination for me, and the little guy’s penis is a hoot!
Oh the medical cabinet is a FOREVER KEEPER! I love that piece too, Dana! Old hospital cabinets, desks, and chairs are always welcome in my home. Some of the other stuff is tolerated because Richie loves them. Then certain pieces start to grow on me and I steal them from him. (Hello chart… you’re mine). I love his carved tooth. Odd Folk Art I guess. Yes, the little guy with the “woody” is hilarious. How could we leave him at the estate sale. He’s a keeper! Thanks for looking at the craziness. Hope your renovation is going smoothly. I envy all your progress!
As a fellow medical/oddity fan, I love seeing how other people work stuff like this into their home (and not totally creep out their guests). You’ve got some amazing pieces there.
AWESOME! Another lover of the odd and beautiful! Thanks so much for looking and leaving a comment. I can’t say that I love all of it… but almost. I believe the really creepy stuff will be kept out of the eyes of visitors and I’m sure they’ll appreciate that. HA HA! It’s a weird thing to collect but I’ve found that LOTS of people do and use them in such creative ways. Looking forward to hanging the chart up. The rest…. well, I’ll let me husband decide on. Glad to have you here. THANKS!
You really do have awesome stuff, and you display it so well. I cannot wait to see the finished work out room.
Hey Jessica! Thanks for looking at our creepy crap! Again, most of it is my husbands interest and I just shake my head and say “yes, that’s so cool, baby”! I never squash anything he wants to bring in the house so I work with it. I do love the one chart, though… so it’s going in my room. We’ll see how it turns out. I’m anxious!
Although the anatomy stuff is a little on the gross side, it is also so graphic and “design-y”. (Although eyeballs are totally out. My first grade teacher tried to cut open a pigs eye that one of the farm kids brought in and it forever freaked me out on eyeballs.) The heart and capilleries especially seem appropriate for a work-out room. I voted for A Goode House on the Homies yesterday! Fingers crossed for you! Cheers – CT
I kind of agree with you CT. It’s so gross that some of it I kind of like. It’s like a train wreck…. HORRIBLE but you can’t look away. Obviously the medicine cabinet is a keeper and I do love the anatomy charts because they are so “graphic” and honestly because they look old. The other stuff… I’m luke warm on. I can see the interest in it and I do think it’s cool, but it’s really my husband that loves it. Trust me, none of that stuff is out in the house. He collects a lot of it to use in his art. Creepy art for some reason makes people wonder. The eyeballs are incredibly collectable and VERY EXPENSIVE. I doubt he’ll ever find any and that would be okay with me. HA HA!
Thanks for the visit… and for the VOTE! You’re so sweet to do that.
PS – Neutral Milk Hotel popped up on my Pandora the other day and I tried to come by and leave you a comment about it but maybe the comments were closed on that post? At any rate, good music.
HOW AWESOME! Yep, they’re pretty amazing. Jeff Mangum just has such a unique voice and in person… it blows you away. It has to grow on you and then you totally get it.
I’m so happy you got to hear it and enjoyed. You’re my music buddy for sure. We definitely like the same things. :-)
My favourite part of our Encyclopedia set I had as a child were the clear pages of the Anatomy of a Human Body so I’d be all over this and I love that it’s in a workout room no less.
Now about that medical cabinet…do I need to show you my Pinterest board!!!! So I’m adding that to the arrow, the red couch and possibly the mailbox as inanimate objects that I worship in your home.
And yes the Internet is totally a doctor. The worst one ever for a hypochondriac but still!
You have my vote!!
Oh wow, Encyclopedias…. I remember them well. It’s sad that kids today don’t really have to “look something up in the Encyclopedia”. They’re missing out. I can almost smell the pages and see the graphics. So great that you loved the Anatomy pics. Kids love gross stuff… I still do.
I have noticed that people pin the vintage cabinets. I’ve seen some really cool ones on there. I love ours and it was FREE! That’s the best kind. (or maybe it was stolen… Shhhhhhh)
I have stopped looking up ailments on the internet. I have died too many times in the past and dying SUCKS- it’s just not healthy. (lol)
It’s so easy to just sit down type in a few symptoms and think you’ve got it all figured out. I’m sure real Doctors hate that!
Thanks for the visit and the vote, friend! Sorry about your image widget. :-(
Ok… your house, as always makes me green with BRIGHT airy envy. You have got some serious space to work with there… and the tooth IS weirdly charming. Is the string around it because it just got yanked out?
I see you also found time to whip up a new header logo… in your spare time, right? I love the slider… my theme has an option for one, but it had a glitch that was causing some issues. “Known issue” is my new least-fav phrase. I just got note that there’s an update, and it should be fixed…so I’m excited for that. If I can muster the courage/energy to tackle it. I had tried a slideshow in the sidebar, thinking I was really going to like it, but ended up finding the movement distracting while reading… All these options make me want to “over decorate” my blog. Okay, sorry tangent.
Beautiful post… can’t wait to see the workout room!
Thanks Victoria! It’s a fun space to work with and all the windows do keep it bright. HA HA! Yes, the string is around it because it just got yanked. (OUCH) Sometimes he amazes me. It was a big chunk of wood and then in two days it was THAT. The man obsesses over a project. (wow, that sounds so familiar). I think you and I can both relate.
I have to tell you THANK YOU so much for noticing the little changes I’ve made. You totally made my day today! It’s not a huge deal but of course you know how much time and energy bloggers spend on “their spaces”. I needed a little boost. I get bored and ache for something… ANYTHING to change. So I DO appreciate you noticing. The slider took a little more tweaking because I changed a lot of the speed settings and navigation graphics. The little arrows were bright green. Like puke green. (love your tangents!)
Sorry about the email thing. I’m challenged sometimes… not thinking the whole thing through. OOPS… Glad you’re still with me. :-)
Very cool! Some people put a mirror in their workout room. Others put up posters w motivational quotes. YOU put up a cross-section of a human/a skeleton. Love it! am also digging that vitrine…and all the treasures within.
Hey Jocelyn! Yes, yes, I know I’m totally weird, huh? Gotta be unconventional. HA HA! There will definitely be some mirrors (just a couple) and maybe some big signs with Cupcakes with a circle and slash through them and a quote underneath like “cupcakes make you fat… quit eating them”! (lol).