Wednesday, January 6, 2010

wild wild horses


As I've been gathering inspiration for our home, I've noticed a recurring theme: horses! Wild ones!

Almost every part of our home has been influenced at least a little by the homes of my husband's grandparents. We are lucky enough to have all four of them still living, and some of our best memories have been made while visiting their homes in Ecuador, Arizona, and Colorado. And they happen to be where we fell in love with horses.

Horses have a been a huge part of my husband's life. Not in the usual east coast equestrian sense though. He spent a lot of his childhood at his grandparents' cattle ranches in Ecuador and Paraguay, and was allowed free reign of most horses in a way that I can only dream of. When I visited the ranch in Ecuador I fell in love with the rugged oasis. It's situated on the coast and is surrounded by a coconut palm forest. The house itself is simple and rustic, but that's part of the beauty. You feel tied to your surroundings...especially when the power and water supply go dead inexplicably!

While everything at the ranch is beautiful, I especially loved seeing the horses. it's one thing to see horses prancing around a polo field near the Potomac, but it was completely breathtaking to see them galloping in packs down a completely undeveloped coastline (sometimes with my husband and brother in laws riding on them bare back--yikes!).

Whenever I come across one of Roberto Dutesco's powerful horse portraits from his Wild Horses of Sable Island series, they remind me of our time at the ranch...which is exactly why I want to incorporate one of them into our home. Here are a few of my inspirations...


The two above are from one of my favorite houses ever, designed by Christine Lane. Whenever I'm looking for inspiration, I go to this house. It has the most serene feel to it. You'll be seeing more of it in future here for sure.
and a bigger version in a another amazing space designed by Thom Filicia below:Horse decor can definitely border on cheesy...or pretentious or both, but the ones above have me absolutely crazy. The large scale and the close up view make for drama rather than cheesiness in my opinion. Not like a a stallion rearing into the sunset on a beach or something (much cooler in real life than in a photograph).

Last night I ran the inspirations by Apartment Therapy readers, and (shocker;) there were a few who definitely did not share my enthusiasm. But there were also some great new sources suggested for more horse photographers.

(Images: 1: Roberto Dutesco, 2,3: Christina Lane Interiors, 4: House Beautiful of Thom Filicia's Big Chill Showhouse, 5: Elle Decor, 6: Thom Filicia)

******update*****

some kind AT readers added these, and I love them every much as Roberto Dutesco's

from the amazing pioneer woman, and it's downloadable here...which means you might be seeing it in our living room very soon ;)

and I'm not sure where this one is from, but it's stunning, isn't it?
Growing up , it seemed like there was always a little girl in every class that was completely obsessed with horses--dreaming about them, drawing them, wanting one... and that's how I feel...just about 15 years too late :)


and this is from a recent trip to Matthew's Home and Garden, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow for Apartment Therapy. I wish I could show you the whole series. There were two more, one a the horses mane from behind, and another one of the ridge of it's back--so beautiful!

7 comments:

  1. Great horse photos. Truely beautiful. But more importantly, this post has added a whole new dimension to our view of Rich Moss!

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  2. they are beautiful.
    it makes me feel like running....like wild and free kind of running.
    not that i have done any kind of running at all in YEARS...but these make me feel that way. pioneer woman's horses....swoon. they are amazing. and her horses are WILD mustangs. so cool.
    you blog is beautiful.
    :)

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  3. Oh, how I'd love one of these in our home. Did you know I wrote my senior thesis on the wild horses down on Shackleford Island, NC? Lived with them and studied them on the isle for 10 weeks prior to my senior year. They are amazing. I'm in love for life!!

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  4. Stunning. I love horse art - especially oversized prints of wild horses.

    Enjoyed this post.

    xCharlotta

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  5. Thank you for this post! My husband is a photographic artist who has started a series of horses in vintage processes. http://thomashager.com
    we are finding there are many people who love these animals and these images prove how beautifully they can translate into home interiors.

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  6. It seems that now is the time for B&W horse photographs...I think it is because it can work so well in various styled interiors, as seen above. As a traditional B&W equine photographer, I am very gratified to see that. My work can be found at http://www.julietrharrisonphotography.com The work is available in small original handprinted LE Gelatin Silver Prints and in larger sized giclee prints as well. If you like B&W moderist photography with the horse as subject...you are welcome to take a look.

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Thank you for comment!

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