Thursday, May 20, 2010

Porthault for Dummies




I have a big regret that really bugs me. Not big as in it majorly affected my life, but rather one of those nagging regrets in which I could really kick myself. It involves Porthault linen. Years ago my sister participated in a neighborhood yard sale, and my mother donated a set of Porthault table linen that looked similar to the carnation pattern shown above. The napkins were a bit worn and the tablecloth had some holes in it. And dumb me didn't rescue the Porthault for myself. I thought "Why would I want a tablecloth with holes?" Because it's Porthault, stupid, and it costs a fortune! Now, I'd give my right arm for a Porthault tablecloth, but of course my budget doesn't quite allow for it. (And please don't excoriate me; proceeds from the yard sale did not benefit a charity or anything. It was strictly for profit. My sister made a whopping $30 from those linen. See, I told you I missed an opportunity there.)


Had I had the sense and style of Deeda Blair, I could have recycled the holey Porthault (or perhaps I should call it the Holy Porthault) and used it in some ingenious way. Mrs. Blair took her trousseau sheets and made bed curtains out of them. Truly, how smart is that? Of course, I couldn't say that my Porthault was trousseau, but I could have made something up rather than admitting that it had been saved from the Peachtree Hills Yard Sale.


Or perhaps I could have made the cloth into a shower curtain, albeit one that was a little worn and that may not have completely covered my shower. But after seeing this shower curtain née bed sheet in the home of Kate Rheinstein Brodsky, well, I wish that I had thought of this.


The napkins could have come in handy too. They would have made great tray cloths. You know, for when I serve myself breakfast in bed on my breakfast tray. I really do have a breakfast tray, and it's actually Porthault. I wish it got used more often than it does, but going to all of that trouble to set a tray for yourself is a drag. You need someone to do it for you...like CZ Guest. This is probably why her tray, above, looks so enticing.


Or, I could have used a napkin to protect my bedside table from my water glass. Two of the chicest people I know use Porthault cocktail napkins for such a thing: Chris Spitzmiller and Todd Romano.

Oh well, I know that Mom's Porthault is probably in a good home now. In fact, I remember how quickly the female customer scooped it up. I bet she thought my sister and I were a bunch of dummies. And you know what? She was right!


(Deeda Blair photo from House Beautiful, 9/2001; Brodsky photo from Elle Decor, March 2010, William Waldron photographer; CZ Guest breakfast tray from House & Garden, June 2004; Romano bedside photo from New York Social Diary, Jeffrey Hirsch photographer)

14 comments:

  1. Fun post! I've always dreamed of having Porthault linens for my bed. Maybe if I can ever keep the dogs off the bed...!

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  2. Although not Porthault, I am thinking of things to do with the bits and pieces of great fabrics that I have... coasters? cocktail napkins? tea towels?

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  3. I have several of those "regrets" in my past. A chair I saw on Craigslist, a beautiful glass jar sold at a yard sale (that my dad brewed beer in), my grandparents painting that I never claimed. Its hard to let go. But, hopefully, in the future you and I will be the ones to find the Porthault linens at the sale.

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  4. I hate this when things like this happen when we were to young to know what we did not know...and then we live enough to know regret. Bummer! My MIL told me stories about their family linen. One favorite cloth had a hole in it and her mother put the sugar bowl over it and when people would ask for sugar (I assume for coffee), my MIL was coached to say that she would serve! I have that cloth now. Should take a look at it!

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  5. Regrets for decor/design items are a pain, aren't they? I have had a few and I could kick myself when I think about them.I wish I listened to myself instead of my beau and then I wouldn't have let some good "wants" slip away. Grr.

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  6. I love this post...don't we all have regrets about things we just haven't grown into? My biggest: at an auction (fortunately many years ago) I was bidding on a very unattractive light fixture loaded with crystals--I didn't go higher (over $200) because so many of the hundreds (no kidding) of crystals were fractured. Yes, that ugly fixture was loaded with cut ROCK CRYSTAL pendants--next. Thanks for starting my day with a laugh.

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  7. Porthault linen patterns remind me of some sheets my mom used to have when we were growing up, except these were probably 180 tc poly-cotton.

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  8. $30 porthault! thats one of the 'finds' you're always hoping to find at a garage sale. I bet the lady who bought them still tells the story and it made her day. So not ENTIRELY a waste if you're into bringing joy to strangers!

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  9. Great story! I know we all have these decor regrets! I have sold some items in my vintage decor booth that I look back on and wish I had kept!!

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  10. this post makes me cringe! I can only imagine how you must feel.. I guess it wasn't meant to be, right? Maybe karma will be good to you + you'll stumble across a similar deal in the next few years :)
    XX fallon

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  11. Don't tell me this! Today, I just sent an entire truckload of stuff from my storage unit to Atlanta for a friend to sell for me! And, it's been nagging me all day. What have I just done? No Porthault, but lots of really, really pretty things that I thought I was OVER and now I probably should have kept some of them. I'm going to regret something I just know it. Maybe you'll run across some others some day soon.

    I just can't stand to have a bunch of unused stuff hanging around! Hope you are well and maybe home for a bit. You've been one traveling gal.

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  12. Quite a story, and it starts the mind racing, what could I create out of.....?

    Now that it is on your mind you will probably come across some Porthault.

    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  13. I really like the picture of the breakfast tray - it looks so elegant and rustic!
    Renata
    http://renata-beautyandelegance.blogspot.com/

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  14. I admit I have an obsessive "white sheet" fetish. And not to sound like a lunatic, but if the house were on fire, I think I might go back in to save my Porthault sheets! (Provided it was a small fire...)

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