# Trad Interior Decorating



## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

What sort of stuff do you guys think makes for good wall art in a trad home? I'd love to decorate the walls of my place something like the walls of Chumley's in Greenwich Village. Any ideas? What do you have hanging up on the walls at home?


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Where I don't have bookcases, or cases for my chinese porcelain, I have 18th century architectural prints. Still lifes in oil in the dining room.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

I don't know how Trad it is, but I have some engravings of American historical figures and some letterpress poetry broadsides. I have several 19th century engravings of scenes in India waiting in the wings to frame.


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## Joe Tradly (Jan 21, 2006)

What's a "Trad House"?

JB


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

Joe Tradly said:


> What's a "Trad House"?


There's bound to be a thread (or several) about that somewhere. :biggrin2:


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

I have a decent number of antique duck decoys in our family "TV" room, as well as various other "collections" (vintage sporting goods, vintage trophies, sports- and history-related b/w framed prints) scattered about my office and dressing room. Decorating in the rest of our house is under my wife's jurisdiction...and she has very good taste (a well-balanced combination of custom pieces, Pottery Barn-type furnishings, a few antiques and one or two very modern pieces...including a well-worn Wassily chair). We also have a growing collection of original art.


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## A Questionable Gentleman (Jun 16, 2006)

Joe Tradly said:


> What's a "Trad House"?
> 
> JB


It sits next to the Trad Pub where there is no dart board.


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## vwguy (Jul 23, 2004)

Joe Tradly said:


> What's a "Trad House"?
> 
> JB


Wasn't that a reality series on PBS 

Brian


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## Georgia (Aug 26, 2007)

There is a section in the Official Preppy Handbook dedicated to decorating...if I remember correctly, there is quite an emphasis on ducks.


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## egadfly (Nov 10, 2006)

"Fuller Dreck" -- that's really funny, _nu_?

EGF


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## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

Egadfly, 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes to "Think Yiddish, Dress British."


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

vwguy said:


> Wasn't that a reality series on PBS
> 
> Brian


Yes, "This Trad House." Norm Abrams and Bob Villa, decked out in Maine Hunting Shoes and Viyella tartan shirts, bravely battled to renovate houses that "are so Trad, they're falling apart." Bob's insane Irish setter Ranger spent most of the show sleeping off hangovers from getting into Norm's private stash of Lowenbrau. Gripping TV.


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Joe Tradly said:


> What's a "Trad House"?
> 
> JB


Any house designed by Ralph - LOL - :devil:


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## Duck (Jan 4, 2007)

mpcsb said:


> Any house designed by Ralph - LOL - :devil:


Not again...


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Duck said:


> Not again...


Did I say something wrong?


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## Duck (Jan 4, 2007)

mpcsb said:


> Did I say something wrong?


Oh no, just not enough!


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## clemsontiger (Jun 9, 2007)

watch frazier


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Duck said:


> Oh no, just not enough!


Ok - ok - I - I - I confess, I want to live in Ralph's mansion on Madison Avenue. I want to live the image.

Better?

Sad thing is I just hate ponies. ic12337:


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## Duck (Jan 4, 2007)

mpcsb said:


> Ok - ok - I - I - I confess, I want to live in Ralph's mansion on Madison Avenue. I want to live the image.
> 
> Better?
> 
> Sad thing is I just hate ponies. ic12337:


I knew it all along. Ha!


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Duck said:


> I knew it all along. Ha!


Alas, I've been revealed as the image conscious, A-lister wanna-be, who only sees the clothes as an aspect of rising social aspirations that I am. I hang my head in shame gentlemen, in shame.


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

mpcsb said:


> Alas, I've been revealed as the image conscious, A-lister wanna-be, who only sees the clothes as an aspect of rising social aspirations that I am. I hang my head in shame gentlemen, in shame.


Faux Trad? You wouldn't be the first, you won't be the last. All is forgiven.

Whether we realize it or not, all of us want to be in tribes...and you dress accordingly to the rules of either (1) the tribe you're already in, or (2) the tribe you want to be in. The house and furnishings are just another manifestation of that.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

Old family photos.


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## Laxplayer (Apr 26, 2006)

mpcsb said:


> Where I don't have bookcases, or cases for my chinese porcelain, I have 18th century architectural prints. Still lifes in oil in the dining room.


I use my bookcase for my collection of sock puppets. :icon_smile_wink:


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

Laxplayer said:


> I use my bookcase for my collection of sock puppets. :icon_smile_wink:


Just the _one_ bookcase?


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## Laxplayer (Apr 26, 2006)

mpcsb said:


> Just the _one_ bookcase?


Honestly, I don't have much of a collection, so one bookcase works just fine, maybe the OP has a bigger collection. I know Jack does. So does that fellow with all the shoos.


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## Falstaff (Oct 18, 2007)

Hmmmm. I can't help but throw my two cent sin. Agreed with "living an image" bit, but I guess that when you do anything, you've still got to shoot for a "look." But what would the oldest-school St. Grottlesex alum of all time use to decorate? Probably the following:

1) Animal mounts. Pheasant, duck, and perhaps a deer mount.
2) Maps. Lots of framed, antique maps. They give the dweller a sense of place and history, a sense of roots.
3) Model ships. The "Cutty Sark" and the "Columbia" are always popular.
4) Confederate generals. Stuart, Jackson, Lee, Hood. If you're related to them, even better. They must be framed in heavy, wooden frames. [Bostonians may want to ignore this point . . .]
5) Any sort of hunting painting/print.
6) Any painting/print soldiers/battles that took place before 1900, preferably a heroic last stand by some embattled regiment of the British empire. Again, the heavy, wooden frames rule applies.
7) Bookcases. The darker and thicker the wood, the better. They should contain old hardbacks.

Does that cover it all? Militaria, the outdoors, culture/learning?


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## GBR (Aug 10, 2005)

Given the increasing threads about 'trad' for other aspects of life I assume that someone will soon revert to candles rather than electric lights...


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## Duck (Jan 4, 2007)

Falstaff said:


> Hmmmm. I can't help but throw my two cent sin. Agreed with "living an image" bit, but I guess that when you do anything, you've still got to shoot for a "look." But what would the oldest-school St. Grottlesex alum of all time use to decorate? Probably the following:
> 
> 1) Animal mounts. Pheasant, duck, and perhaps a deer mount.
> 2) Maps. Lots of framed, antique maps. They give the dweller a sense of place and history, a sense of roots.
> ...


Don't forget to shut the fridge door all the way this time Falstaff. Oh, were changing the security code next week.


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## mpcsb (Jan 1, 2005)

GBR said:


> Given the increasing threads about 'trad' for other aspects of life I assume that someone will soon revert to candles rather than electric lights...


We only use whale oil, it's a down east tradition. :icon_smile_wink:


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

Laxplayer said:


> I use my bookcase for my collection of sock puppets. :icon_smile_wink:


Ahhh...the truth comes out. For some reason I just knew you were a fan of Sheri Lewis and Lambchop!


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## Patrick06790 (Apr 10, 2005)

I'm stuck in a post-collegiate, thrift shop and occasional "antique" mode, with entirely too much clutter. I've been trying to get elegant for years and failing miserably. Now I don't really care.


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## AlanC (Oct 28, 2003)

mpcsb said:


> We only use whale oil, it's a down east tradition. :icon_smile_wink:


:biggrin2:


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## Falstaff (Oct 18, 2007)

Duck said:


> Don't forget to shut the fridge door all the way this time Falstaff. Oh, were changing the security code next week.


I'm sorry; it's been a fairly long day and I don't follow you . . .


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## Duck (Jan 4, 2007)

Falstaff said:


> I'm sorry; it's been a fairly long day and I don't follow you . . .


You described my house. I was curious if you had been stopping by.


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## Laxplayer (Apr 26, 2006)

TMMKC said:


> Ahhh...the truth comes out. For some reason I just knew you were a fan of Sheri Lewis and Lambchop!


No, just a little joke. I sent you a PM.


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## mcarthur (Jul 18, 2005)

Duck said:


> Not again...


You would like to see his weekend place in Bedford Hills, NY


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## Duck (Jan 4, 2007)

Absolutely Uncle. I would also like to drive a few of his antique cars.


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## septa (Mar 4, 2006)

Falstaff said:


> Hmmmm. I can't help but throw my two cent sin. Agreed with "living an image" bit, but I guess that when you do anything, you've still got to shoot for a "look." But what would the oldest-school St. Grottlesex alum of all time use to decorate? Probably the following:
> 
> 1) Animal mounts. Pheasant, duck, and perhaps a deer mount.
> 2) Maps. Lots of framed, antique maps. They give the dweller a sense of place and history, a sense of roots.
> ...


Hanging in my study is a rather large contemporary print of the Charge of the Light Brigade. And, in the interest of being fair and balanced to my beloved, a print of an Argentine caballería officer from the wars of independance which I picked up in BA. I don't think the latter would pass muster by the "oldest school St. Grottlesex alum", but I still like it.


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## egadfly (Nov 10, 2006)

Fuller Dreck said:


> What sort of stuff do you guys think makes for good wall art in a trad home? _[...]_ What do you have hanging up on the walls at home?


I like old prints. We've got a couple of Furber botanticals, inherited from somewhere, in the living room, as well as some more obscure prints that were picked up at tag sales over the years. One of my favorite pieces is a framed page from an old illuminated manuscript (similar to this) that my in-laws brought back from Europe and that now hangs over the piano.

We've also got a couple of original works in watercolor and oil; in general, I'd prefer to have an original painting of unknown provenance than a print or copy of a more famous work, although we do have a couple of framed posters from museum exhibitions scattered around, and, in the kitchen, some colorful, box-mounted Cappiello prints (laminated, box-mounted prints are great for anything that might come in contact with a child's sticky hands).

I have no idea what a Trad House is, but our decorating style, such as it is, leans toward the traditional, and these things seem to fit nicely.

EGF


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## Falstaff (Oct 18, 2007)

Duck said:


> You described my house. I was curious if you had been stopping by.


Well, Duck, then it looks like you've got very fine taste. "The Last Meeting" is a classic. Pardon my being a tad slow on the uptake.


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## Topsider (Jul 9, 2005)

I live in a decaying 1940's colonial revival Cape Cod. The walls are decorated with cracks in the original lathe-and-plaster. You can't get more "trad" than that.


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## GBR (Aug 10, 2005)

mpcsb said:


> We only use whale oil, it's a down east tradition. :icon_smile_wink:


Excellent choice!


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## browning806 (Sep 4, 2007)

What does a Trad burn in his fireplace? 

Oak, Apple, Walnut, Cherry, Maple, Fir, Cedar and Pine, something else?


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## Nathan Detroit (Oct 12, 2005)

Wow, here's a post that took off like a rocket... Interesting, it forced me to realize why I'm a sartorial trad: only because I think it's the most tasteful dress style going. When it comes to interior decoration, there are more options, and my house looks nothing like Lisa Birnbach's. That is, one can still decorate a house with French Renaissance, Biedermeier, or Louis XVI items (not exclusively, but with an admixture of objects or mock objects from that period) but one cannot dress like a baroque cavalier or a 19th century German merchant, except for costume parties. So my house is not trad, too many books, too many European baroque and romantic period pieces, too many contemporary objets d'art, too many religious pictures... but lots of dog fur. Lisa would like that!


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## rl1856 (Jun 7, 2005)

Well looking around the den- light olive colored walls with gloss white trim. 3 framed B/W portraits of our children on the walls, along with a framed Audobon and 2 framed botanicals by local artists. A wooden sailboat on our mantle, several duck decoys on the upper shelves. Coffee table and bookcase are overflowing with old and new books and magazines. A nice overstuffed sofa and 2 club chairs, covered in heavy duty cotton slipcovers than can be washed in the washing machine. And our dog, asleep on the slate tiles in front of our fireplace. Overall, not much, not pretentious, but very comfortable and we like it.

Best,

Ross


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

Well to answer the query...old maps, Audubon watercolors...those seem trad to me.

Danny


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## jamgood (Feb 8, 2006)

Falstaff said:


> Hmmmm. I can't help but throw my two cent sin. Agreed with "living an image" bit, but I guess that when you do anything, you've still got to shoot for a "look." But what would the oldest-school St. Grottlesex alum of all time use to decorate? Probably the following:
> 
> 1) Animal mounts. Pheasant, duck, and perhaps a deer mount.
> 2) Maps. Lots of framed, antique maps. They give the dweller a sense of place and history, a sense of roots.
> ...


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Hmm...what makes the Trad home? Acknowledging a house is nothing more than a structure until it begins to assume the personalities and interests of those housed therein, I guess it is indeed possible for a beast such as a Trad home to exist. However, given that most of us harbor a complex melange of interests and activities within our being, I suspect it is as rare an actual occurance, as is the "Trad to the core" individual. It is within such context that I would describe our home as..."organized clutter," incorporating the detritus of past careers, raising children and currently spoiling grandchildren, a past and continuing interest in a litany of outdoor sports such as hiking, camping, fishing and hunting; and then there is the evidence of long term interests in reading and photography...seven bookcases spread throughout the home, each overflowing with books read...and yet to be read and picture collages of family, friends and past travels, assembled on walls in just about every room of the house. Is it Trad?...I really can't say but, it is our family, it is our home...and we like it!


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## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

Perhaps my loose language in the original query has caused confusion. I'm not sure there's such thing as a "trad home" (although I always enjoy reading comments that extend the "trad" fashion to an ideology) but if you take a population of people with similar styles of attire and, seemingly, many similar outlooks on life, it would seem to follow that there might be other common ideas...like how to decorate a home.


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## mcarthur (Jul 18, 2005)

Fuller Dreck said:


> What sort of stuff do you guys think makes for good wall art in a trad home? I'd love to decorate the walls of my place something like the walls of Chumley's in Greenwich Village. Any ideas? What do you have hanging up on the walls at home?


Welcome to the forum. Many years ago an associate of mine explained the definition of dreck. I hope you are not full of sh_t. You might want to reconsider your name


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## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

McArthur: Reconsider the name? No way. I revel in it. It's like the old Washington Post motto: "If you don't get it, you don't get it." Conversely, if you do get it, then we'll probably get along quite well. 

I've been lurking on this page for some time and really enjoy it for the most part. Sometimes it can be too much for me (how much collar roll is too much?), but I look it at like sports radio: it's fun to get good analysis from people who know their stuff, and it's time to turn the dial when people start calling in and talking about how wind coming from the southeast will somehow be the turning point in the game because it'll effect the trajectory of the quarterback's spiral (and you know you're hooked when you start believing analysis of that type is actually important). 

I'm actually rather fascinated by the responses to my "trad interior design" question. Some people seem to think it's silly and that "trad" only relates to the specific stores where one shops or discussions of how large a cuff should be on a pair of pants. I disagree. I think your clothing signals to the world how you wish to be perceived. Further, I think one's choice of clothing fits into a larger question of the "things" that they value. Try this experiment (I have): talk to a group of teenage, caucasian male suburbanites and you're bound to find a few who were baggy jeans, FUBU or Ecco sweatshirts and expensive name-brand sneakers; i.e. an imitation of their perception of clothing an African-American urbanite would wear. Those same suburban white kids will invariably like rap music, cars with expensive wheels (I've never quite understood that), and basketball. Why? Because they're modeling a lifestyle after their perception of how people live in a segment of society that they hold in high esteem. 

Now, why is it that people who follow "trad" would be beyond that? I posit that if we took an informal poll, we'd find that 90% or more of the folks here would think the same non-clothing things were "cool." No doubt, there are people on AAAC who wouldn't like Nantucket or flyfishing or a fine scotch, but my theory is that those people are in a strong minority. So, if we extend our analysis beyond clothing, why can it not extend to the "stuff" you put up on the walls of your home?


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## Northeastern (Feb 11, 2007)

Fuller Dreck said:


> No doubt, there are people on AAAC who wouldn't like Nantucket or flyfishing or a fine scotch, but my theory is that those people are in a strong minority. So, if we extend our analysis beyond clothing, why can it not extend to the "stuff" you put up on the walls of your home?


Hooray for the minority!
-Only been to Nantucket once, it was rainy so I didn't take that much away from it (aside from pants of course).
-Don't care for fly fishing, think there's something strange about standing in knee deep water trying to catch a fish.
-Can't afford fine scotch, even if I could I'd still suck down beers anyway.

I guess in the trad interior design debate, when your furniture comes from Ikea you can't really participate can you?


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Northeastern said:


> ...I guess in the trad interior design debate, when your furniture comes from Ikea you can't really participate can you?


What's wrong with Ikea? The wife and I shop there...that's where we buy Christmas presents...for people we don't like much! (Just kidding, really!) Fascinating store though. They seem to sell a collection of almost everything one could think of!


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## JRR (Feb 11, 2006)

mpcsb said:


> We only use whale oil, it's a down east tradition. :icon_smile_wink:


LOL..

It is hard to find in the OKI...


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## Northeastern (Feb 11, 2007)

eagle2250 said:


> What's wrong with Ikea? The wife and I shop there...that's where we buy Christmas presents...for people we don't like much! (Just kidding, really!) Fascinating store though. They seem to sell a collection of almost everything one could think of!


Oh it's an experience just being in one of those stores. Actually store doesn't seem to cut it when describing that place, it's more like a particle board theme park.

There's just something distinctly un-New England about furnishing your homes with things named "Horsenhooven" or "Keepyurcloothesin" or "Allenwrenchin" etc.


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## Naval Gent (May 12, 2007)

For some reason I try to avoid posting to these kinds of threads, but inevitably I succumb.

I agree that similar tastes in one area can predict similarities in others. But I personally dislike "decorated" homes. Luckily Naval Wife and I have remarkably similar tastes, and we typically just fill our house with furnishings and stuff we like. Unfortunately, with two teen age boys, the clutter factor is pretty high. Don't look for us in Architectural Digest, but our home is "us".

Scott


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## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

But Naval Gent, my suggestion is that the "stuff you like" will likely be common with the stuff that other people that frequent this board like. Whether conscious or not, if you're hanging something on your wall or choosing a certain rug or buying a certain variety of couch over another, you're decorating your house based on your own sense of design.


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## egadfly (Nov 10, 2006)

Fuller Dreck said:


> But Naval Gent, my suggestion is that the "stuff you like" will likely be common with the stuff that other people that frequent this board like. Whether conscious or not, if you're hanging something on your wall or choosing a certain rug or buying a certain variety of couch over another, you're decorating your house based on your own sense of design.


And what about you, Dreck? What's your decorating style? Chagall replicas in gilded frames? Stag-horn mezuzahs? Have you a preppy for a shabbos goy?

EGF


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## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

EGF,

I just moved in to a new place (got separated) and need to buy new things since I left "my" stuff behind, thus the impetus for my post. I had several framed ads from old newspapers ("Springfield Rifle, $8.00") grouped in frames on the wall. I also had a couple of small, dark-toned oil paintings of landscapes that I bought on a trip to Budapest in the mid-90s. I'm a big baseball fan, so I also had some old baseball engravings clipped from 19th Century magazines (Appleton's Journal; Harper's) framed and on the wall. Of course, photos of family and friends are nice, but I always kept them in the bedroom and not in my living room. I can't quite articulate why. I also had a couple of nice antique rocking chairs separated by a little marble bistro table, as well as a comfortable leather couch and a big, fake oriental rug.


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## CMC (Aug 22, 2006)

Simple trad rule: Nothing legible on the walls, including and especially vintage advertisements and foreign movie posters.


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## Rocker (Oct 29, 2004)

Chensvold said:


> Simple trad rule: Nothing legible on the walls, including and especially vintage advertisements and foreign movie posters.


What about one's family's orginal land grant in Virginia from King Charles II?


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## Falstaff (Oct 18, 2007)

Um . . . of course . . . the land grant counts. Definitely. In fact, that's about as cool as it gets, much cooler than some run-of-the-mill (but still good) antique map. That's pretty high cotton right there.
As far as legibility goes, though, it's definitely a good idea to stay away from vintage movie posters and foreign advertisements. If you've been inside a college dorm room in the last 5 years, you've definitely seen one of those bull-fighting advertisements in Spanish. I believe other recent graduates can second that. Most un-trad.


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## egadfly (Nov 10, 2006)

Chensvold said:


> Simple trad rule: Nothing legible on the walls, including and especially vintage advertisements and foreign movie posters.


So my (admittedly unfortunate) habit of spray-painting anarchist slogans on the wainscoting does not violate this "simple trad rule"?

They're not really legible, at least.

Anxiously awaiting your reply,

EGF


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## Falstaff (Oct 18, 2007)

Good call, EGF; that might not pan out. I don't think most anarchists dress like Archibald Cox.


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## gtguyzach (Nov 18, 2006)

Falstaff said:


> it's definitely a good idea to stay away from vintage movie posters and foreign advertisements. If you've been inside a college dorm room in the last 5 years, you've definitely seen one of those bull-fighting advertisements in Spanish. I believe other recent graduates can second that. Most un-trad.


I think the right vintage movie poster could be just fine depending on the room and what else is in there. Interior decorating is still a mystery to me though. I just buy things that I like and hope for the best. It's all really a hodgepodge, especially for someone like myself in their first "real" apartment after college.


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## Coolidge24 (Mar 21, 2005)

I want to comment on this politely, as I was overly harsh in my previous discussion of the matter:

I won't debate if there's a "trad house" but I think we all know here that you are shooting for a house that reflects the same values you ascribe to the clothes in its furnishings and artwork...otherwise, your plea for enlightenment makes no sense


You have two possible options

1. You find someone else who fits this profile and you copy them.

2. You already know the look you want. If you don't already have the furnishings and artwork, you will have to buy them. They will not be sold new because no one makes them anymore. Well, no one remotely affordable anyway. Huffmann-Koos is not the answer.

Either way you end up doing the same thing, buying the stuff. It may be hard to find. It may require refinishing, and long hunting on your part. It will doubtless be a long process. 

This is about all I can tell you. What I am trying to say is, your goal should not be to find a "Trad" person, and copy him. Your goal instead should be overall good taste. If you play into trying to imitate him, anything you buy new will be obviously new compared to the structures he has already built into his life. Anything old that was not yours, you'll have to invent a backstory for it, otherwise it will appear that you bought it to imitate him, which makes you look like a poseur. UNLESS you drop the goal of having the "trad interior" and just say "I want an interior in good taste"

If you can work yourself towards that final statement...then you can find it, and it won't matter whether it is "new" to you or not, it will just reveal your good taste in decoration. 

Everyone is impressed by good taste. But it isn't something a clothing forum (ANY clothing forum) can teach you. And that's just in clothes...interior decorating is out of our collective leagues.


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## mcarthur (Jul 18, 2005)

^
Welcome back! Very well stated


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## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

Coolidge,

After reading your eloquent response, I wouldn't disagree about home decor being "out of our league" if the topics of discussion on this forum didn't frequently go far afield from clothing itself. In fact, a brief review of your posting history reveals that in recent months you have commented in threads on trad literature, trad transportation, and an apparently trad game called "Eton 5s." 

If folks here think the discussion should be strictly limited to clothing, then I can abide by that. However, in light of the extension of the discussion of this forum to defining "trad" cars, literature and games, I can't understand why home decor would be out of bounds.

Put differently, something being "out of our league" never stopped this forum before, so why now? Further, the idea of "you should just put up what you like" assumes that people don't borrow ideas from others when decorating. That just doesn't make sense. Is there anything in a society like ours that isn't somehow borrowed from elsewhere?


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

Falstaff said:


> Um . . . of course . . . the land grant counts. Definitely. In fact, that's about as cool as it gets, much cooler than some run-of-the-mill (but still good) antique map. That's pretty high cotton right there.
> As far as legibility goes, though, it's definitely a good idea to stay away from vintage movie posters and foreign advertisements. If you've been inside a college dorm room in the last 5 years, you've definitely seen one of those bull-fighting advertisements in Spanish. I believe other recent graduates can second that. Most un-trad.


Well, I suppose it depends. If you're the type to put new ads and posters on your walls, old ads and posters will probably fit in okay with the ones already there, provided they're legit. Usually it ends up looking odd when people stick reprints of old things on their walls just because they aren't really old, and it's not quite clear what they'd be doing on your walls even if they were, like new copies of the sides of old milk crates, or reprints of French public safety announcements from the 30s.  Self-consciously old (and self-consciously faux-old) without context is the thing to avoid.


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## Coolidge24 (Mar 21, 2005)

You missed the boat Fuller...

For sure, those categories help indicate some of the past preferences of the upper middle class in what Brokaw called the "Greatest Generation" but, as I remember writing in that "trad car" thread...there is no Chevrolet Caprice Classic of today. It is fun to reminisce about what your grandparents would've worn, drank, read, and lived like...but we can't be just like them without being patently phony. If you want criteria for that look, I suggest watching movies from the era, or going into the OPH and Fussell's "Class" book and using the little check chart at the back to check and uncheck your way to the "trad look"

But to what end are you doing this?

Are you trying to catalog WASP interior decorating fashion for fun?
Or do you want to pattern your life into a Ralph magazine ad, the one that the other forum always taunts this one for?

Cool if it's for fun, but I don't get that vibe...it more seems you, and many people who ask the-- 'what type of door is trad' as dopey once put it--questions are asking how you should decorate the place where you live...and that means you want to redecorate it for a reason.

Are you concerned with what your current decorating scheme says about you?
Are you trying to impress someone?
Are you trying to put off undesirable neighbors, or cozy up to desireable ones?

I'm not anybody's sock puppet or trolling here, but it seems that questions like what is a trad interior can have only two purposes...a really silly form of cataloging just for fun, or an actual goal that makes you want to redecorate...

If the latter, you're in trouble because, as the holy OPH will tell you, the stereotyped look you seem to be seeking is a "not decorated look," which means it has not gotten that way precisely by design.

Think of a small New England town...it starts with a crossroads, they put up a church and a few saltboxes. Gradually they put in some side streets. They build them around rocks and pastures and such, so they take interesting little jogs and have funny hairpin turns.

Now think of a planned suburb or development...particularly a 1920s-1940s sort of suburb where everything was laid out in a grid. West Hartford is a great example. The presentation is just a little bit unnatural...it looks just a little too good.

Whatever reason you might have for redecorating, all I can say is, I suspect if you check off the things in Fussell's book, you'll reach a certain look...but if its not the look you already have, your current friends will find it weird, and people familiar with it--they will just think that there is something staged about the place. You'll inevitably buy too many of those duck motifs if you try to make this a one-shot re-staging of your place into "Tradland USA"

A long time ago Harris mentioned two men from his neighborhood. One had come to the look through experience...either by preference or tradition or whatever...it had evolved into his look. The other went all out, had a signet ring made, bought all the 'right' clothes. Harris said you could tell the second guy was doing an act. There's a fellow at my law school like this too. You can see where he used to have an earring, and he has some interesting stories about his delinquency in high school. He's adopted the 'trad look' as well, but it just comes off wrong. Too many bowties. Too many nanny reds in circumstances where they dont make sense. Too much enthusiasm for things just because they fit the image he cultivates, never mentioning whether he actually enjoys doing them.

I'm not saying there aren't real 'trads' out there...the crusty old guy at the yacht club that's been mentioned here with the musty books, the duck prints, and the beat up Volvo. There definitely are. But you can't transform yourself into that guy in 5 years, or 20 years no matter if you stalk him and copy his every move. Maybe if you gradually check off Fussell's list and the OPH, your kids will become that guy, by absorption and association with those things from the beginning, and if you leave them enough so they can join the yacht club, and get them lessons in all the 'correct' sports. I think the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts did things like that in their first generations of prominence. Don't know how well their kids liked it.

But I guess, as I see it, there is a real U-not-U paradigm here if you try to bring it beyond the clothes and attach some kind of social meaning. You can wear your J. Press and have it mean nothing beyond that you really like traditional clothing. No one will criticize you for this, ever. I think that is what the Infamous Troll means by "Ivy for everyone" You can pretend that it means more, but if you aren't what you're pretending to, then you'll reek of phoniness. And, if you are already the 'trad' then you shouldn't have to ask...

You need to ask yourself what you're trying to accomplish by this categorizing...and whether it will make any positive difference in your life if you try to adopt an entire 'lifestyle' without changing any other aspects of yourself...like where you live, who your friends are, what you do for a living, how much you make, and who your relatives are.

I predict that if you stick with loving the clothes, you'll be happy, but if you press yourself beyond that, you may find yourself disillusioned, bewildered, and even laughed at, both by those from the way of life you try to leave behind with your trad makeover, and those you try to get in with.

I'm going to go back on PM only now...I really only came out of it to give a cheer to Harris, but I was unable to resist when I saw this thread, and these are questions I should have asked last time I posted on this, rather than getting annoyed and just virtually "stalking off"

Best to rojo, mpcsb, Brooks, Harris, and the trad gang...

Cooly

Hit me on the PM or [email protected], because as Lax will tell you, that's not my real name.


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## jjohnson12 (Sep 6, 2007)

My household furnishings are much like my clothes - thrifted, handed-down, traded, and occasionally (and begrudgingly) purchased at full price. Natural materials are preferred, wear and tear is tolerated, prized items are kept till they fall apart.


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## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

Coolidge24 said:


> Are you trying to catalog WASP interior decorating fashion for fun?
> Or do you want to pattern your life into a Ralph magazine ad, the one that the other forum always taunts this one for?
> 
> Cool if it's for fun, but I don't get that vibe...it more seems you, and many people who ask the-- 'what type of door is trad' as dopey once put it--questions are asking how you should decorate the place where you live...and that means you want to redecorate it for a reason.
> ...


Jeez, man. I was just trying to get some ideas for stuff to put up in my new, empty place. I'm not about to drink anyone's trad koolaid or copy a catalog. I just wanted some ideas for stuff to put up on my walls and was thinking that like-minded people might have some ideas...The collective posture of the responses has been really amazing (and enlightening, in an unfortunate way) to me.


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## Speas (Mar 11, 2004)

This is a bit tangential, but two thoughts.

First, the house itself says much more than the stuffing. A new brick front, clapboard sided mini mansion with 16 gables on the front cant be anything else. Nor can a sheetrocked, pergo floored apartment with hollow doors.

Second - buy what you like and understand, both in the house and furnishings. If I tried to wear fashionable clothing, I'd just look like a fool who the Prada salesman saw coming. If I tried to furnish in a modern design way, or "Polo" for that matter, I'd have the same problem. (Colonial Revival for me.) You only generally buy these things once in a lifetime.

Really taking this off-course, if you like "traditional" furniture (Henkel Harris, Stickley, etc) you could do much worse than looking at this guy. 
https://stores.ebay.com/Stenella-Antiques_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZkm
I bought a couple dressers from this guy and was very pleased.


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## hbs midwest (Sep 19, 2007)

Naval Gent said:


> For some reason I try to avoid posting to these kinds of threads, but inevitably I succumb.
> 
> I agree that similar tastes in one area can predict similarities in others. But I personally dislike "decorated" homes. Luckily Naval Wife and I have remarkably similar tastes, and we typically just fill our house with furnishings and stuff we like. Unfortunately, with two teen age boys, the clutter factor is pretty high. Don't look for us in Architectural Digest, but our home is "us".
> 
> Scott


I'm with you, Scott!

Mrs hbs has set out to re-create the ancient library of Alexandria in our bungalow--using inherited barrister bookcases...

With packrat genes and a teenager, we too will never make Architectural Digest, but it is "us."

The Orthodox "icon corner" occupying the mantle obviously provides a change of pace from what is normally expected in Anglo-American traditional decor.

Entertaining thread.

hbs


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## Tradfan (Oct 17, 2006)

*Its not your fault...*



Fuller Dreck said:


> Jeez, man. I was just trying to get some ideas for stuff to put up in my new, empty place. I'm not about to drink anyone's trad koolaid or copy a catalog. I just wanted some ideas for stuff to put up on my walls and was thinking that like-minded people might have some ideas...The collective posture of the responses has been really amazing (and enlightening, in an unfortunate way) to me.


Dreck,

Its not your fault. You just accidentally touched on a sore note for many of the posters here, i.e. that class connotations and aspirations are inextricably tied to how we dress, furnish/decorate our homes, etc. You seem to have disturbed the peace of mind achieved by deluding oneself into thinking that this forum is just about clothes. Next time don't be so obvious!

And by the way, copying catalogs is not a bad idea. Its been the medium for enlightening consumers of fashion and taste for well over 200 years now. That's about as "trad" as you can get.

JD


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## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

Patrick06790 said:


> I'm stuck in a post-collegiate, thrift shop and occasional "antique" mode, with entirely too much clutter. I've been trying to get elegant for years and failing miserably. Now I don't really care.


What Duck said about Falstaff.


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## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

Tradfan said:


> Dreck,
> 
> Its not your fault. You just accidentally touched on a sore note for many of the posters here, i.e. that class connotations and aspirations are inextricably tied to how we dress, furnish/decorate our homes, etc. You seem to have disturbed the peace of mind achieved by deluding oneself into thinking that this forum is just about clothes. Next time don't be so obvious!


Jeez, maybe that's just it Tradfan. That's pretty scary and more than a little lame that folks could be so delusional. I did enjoy the free psychoanalysis from Coolidge, though.


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## Joe Tradly (Jan 21, 2006)

Could maybe the guys with 23 posts and 11 posts go to another forum and bad mouth it? 

Maybe?


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## Fuller Dreck (Aug 17, 2007)

Methinks Joe Tradly doth protesteth too much.


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## Joe Tradly (Jan 21, 2006)

If you were attempting to paraphrase Shakespeare, you should have said,

"Joe Tradly doth protest too much, methinks."


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## A.Squire (Apr 5, 2006)

If my place is any indignation, a trad house would include poor lighting, sloping floors, and a near lethal dose of radon rendered innocuous by the constant draft through doors, windows and chimney flues. 

*I love my house.


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## spinlps (Feb 15, 2004)

A.Squire said:


> If my place is any indignation, a trad house would include poor lighting, sloping floors, and a near lethal dose of radon rendered innocuous by the constant draft through doors, windows and chimney flues.
> 
> *I love my house.


Amen.

Don't forget that crack in the plaster that keeps coming back... even if you replaster you *know* its there, waiting for the most opportune time to strike. Oh yeah, and the old wood windows with old wavy, viscous glass panes that make the sunlight dance on the hardwood in the morning.


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## Laxplayer (Apr 26, 2006)

Joe Tradly said:


> Could maybe the guys with 23 posts and 11 posts go to another forum and bad mouth it?
> 
> Maybe?


My guess is that they already do post there. This constant trolling reminds me of the prank calls my friends and I used to make....when we were in jr. high.


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## Tradfan (Oct 17, 2006)

*Hmmm...*



Joe Tradly said:


> If you were attempting to paraphrase Shakespeare, you should have said,
> 
> "Joe Tradly doth protest too much, methinks."


Since paraphrasing consists of rephrasing something into your own words, I believe Dreck was quite correct it his original version.

JD


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## Joe Tradly (Jan 21, 2006)

Tradfan said:


> Since paraphrasing consists of rephrasing something into your own words, I believe Dreck was quite correct it his original version.
> 
> JD


Really? "Protesteth"? Quite correct?


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## Tradfan (Oct 17, 2006)

*really now...*



Joe Tradly said:


> Really? "Protesteth"? Quite correct?


Do what your English teachers always told you to do and look up the meaning of the word "paraphrase", since you apparently don't know what it means. If Dreck had wanted to quote Shakespeare, then you would be right, but you are the one who said "paraphrase." Since that means "to put into your own words," then it was perfectly correct for him to say "protesteth," if that's what he wanted to say. I certainly picked up his reference to Hamlet right away, as you obviously did, too. It's not as if you could win your point over stupid stuff like this anyway, but if you are going to try, at least get it right.

JD

P.S. And, yes, I, too, think you are protesting a bit too much. I was obviously correct about Dreck hitting a sore spot.


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## Joe Tradly (Jan 21, 2006)

You wineth.


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## A.Squire (Apr 5, 2006)

^great exchange, guys.


Moving on now...


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## crazyquik (Jun 8, 2005)

Don't forget the lobster crate coffee table!

I just moved into a new apartment and I think I might do the modernist/minimalist thing.


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## katon (Dec 25, 2006)

Coolidge24 said:


> You missed the boat Fuller...
> 
> Cool if it's for fun, but I don't get that vibe...it more seems you, and many people who ask the-- 'what type of door is trad' as dopey once put it--questions are asking how you should decorate the place where you live...and that means you want to redecorate it for a reason.


I've found that usually when people are asking "What's the Traddest salt shaker?" questions, it's because they're trying to add a bit of rhyme and reason to the style. The question they really want to ask is, "Ok, here's Trad. Why'd it develop the way it did? What's a natural shoulder have to do with khakis? What's it got to do with Volvo's? Why'd they pick these things instead of other things? Why isn't Trad wide ties, slim-fit spread collar shirts, and Vespas? I like the end effect of it all, but I don't understand what the original motivations were, so I have to ask about little details again and again until I understand the trajectory of the look well enough to work it on my own without copying people."


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## bd79cc (Dec 20, 2006)

katon said:


> I like the end effect of it all, but I don't understand what the original motivations were, so I have to ask about little details again and again until I understand the trajectory of the look well enough to work it on my own without copying people.


Trying to answer these questions is the most basic thing we should do for our Members and anyone else who visits this Forum.


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## Tucker (Apr 17, 2006)

A.Squire said:


> If my place is any *indignation*...


Pfffft!

I knew that this thread would degenerate. Can we please stick to The Clothing?


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## 16128 (Feb 8, 2005)

Joe Tradly said:


> What's a "Trad House"?
> 
> JB


Well, "preppy" is preppy, and I think what's being discussed is an English country or clubby style (or in some cases, nautical) but "traditional decor" usual encompasses antiques, English, French and earlier American styles.

You may find this blog interesting; I like it. https://thepeakofchic.blogspot.com/


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## alastair (May 21, 2008)

I like the kind of style done by Fourcade and Denning. Lots of gilding and fine french furniture. The kind of rich Park Avenue look .


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## miro (Jan 31, 2005)

https://stylecourt.blogspot.com/


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## D&S (Mar 29, 2009)

*First apartment*

I'm moving into my first apartment in the fall, and want to furnish it in a way that is traditional without being old fogey-ish. I've got a few items already - some random pieces of handed-down antique furniture, needlepoint pictures of ducks and geese pilfered from my family's summer place, a wastebasket with sporting motif, old maps of places I have a connection to (namely lakes and islands), a few brass lamps, school and fraternity memorobilia, etc. One concession to modernity: a 32" flat screen TV going in the living room. Going for a look that isn't so extremely "trad" as to make the flatscreen look liking an interloper. I have a wishlist of a few items, such as a braided rug from LL Bean for the bedroom, and am keeping my eyes peeled for the right lobster trap coffee table, inexpensive Oriental rug (the right "patina" being a necessity here, in terms of style and affordability) and old-style round liquor cabinet. I've got a modest budget to spend, so I expect eBay to be the source of a lot of my furnishings. Have people had the same kind of luck with thrifting furniture as they have clothes? What are some good furniture brands to search eBay for that fit the look I'm after and are of relative quality, without crossing the line to expensive antique status?


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## Dashiell.Valentine (Dec 18, 2008)

I think that in "On Her Majesties Secret Service" there is a scene inside M's house. Framed butterfly collections abound, as I recall. Maybe worth a look.

My wife adds: fill your shelves with things you collected during your life and travels; not that you bought at Pier 1.


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## P Hudson (Jul 19, 2008)

I thought this thread died years ago! You can see a "trad interior" in The Talented Mr Ripley. In fact, you can see one vision of it alongside another. The second, as set up by Ripley, is immediately spotted as fake, and dismissed by Freddy (IIRC--the fellow played by Philip Seymour Hoffmann) as disturbingly bourgeois. 

At one level, the movie is arguably about the dangers of trying to be something you're not. Take care with this trad business, lest you find yourself killing the people you love.


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