myArmoury.com - Patrick's room decor

Posts: 1,244 Location: New Glarus, WI

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 8:17 am

Patrick Kelly wrote:

It started to have that severe and boring armoury look so I decided to jazz it up a bit with the new paint job, as well as adding some visual interest with a few related items.

This is where I have come to myself - honestly, I really need to put a lot of attention into either the display or the preservation and storage of my collection, in parts or as a whole. The entire living room is littered with arms and a few pieces of armour, and there are additional pieces tucked into 2 closets and a storage room. Aesthetically, it's horrid... very haphazard. I will be relocating soon, so when I settle in, I'll make this a significant focus. I enjoy my collection, but I don't need it so in my face as it is right now. This decor Patrick has going on appears pleasing, is as much artistic as martial (if not more), and still remains a comfortable and functional room. I'll be taking a few lessons from his efforts.

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Patrick Kelly

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Posts: 5,739 Location: Wichita, Kansas

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 8:29 am

Jonathon Janusz wrote:

Patrick, any plans for an armour stand to display your hauberk and coif along with everything else? It could be a fun winter project.

I have an armour stand that I used with my old plate harness and with some modifications I could use it for the mail. The problem is that I just don't have the space for it. My wife suggested putting it in the front room but then we'd get into that whole Medieval Times issue. Right now the mail is stored in that leather covered trunk to the right of the television.

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Patrick Kelly

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Posts: 5,739 Location: Wichita, Kansas

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 8:34 am

Hisham Gaballa wrote:

Very nice, I think if I tried to hang any part of my (very) modest little collection on a wall, my wife would have my head on a pike! Mrs kelly is obviously much more understanding. :D

BTW, when are you going to show us your hauberk? :)

Yes, I'm very fortunate to have an understanding wife, or maybe she just realizes that I'd do it whether or not she was understanding. :D Seriously though, she likes the stuff too so I'm lucky.

I'm thinking about trying take take a few photos this weekend. Some of the makers responsible for several items of my kit have asked for photos for their own use. I had wanted to lose a little weight before I did that, but unfortunately I'm on medication that's causing my weight to go in the other direction. I think I'd better hurry up with the photos before I explode!

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Patrick Kelly

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Posts: 5,739 Location: Wichita, Kansas

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 8:47 am

Aaron wrote:

This decor Patrick has going on appears pleasing, is as much artistic as martial (if not more), and still remains a comfortable and functional room. I'll be taking a few lessons from his efforts.

The funny thing is that no one could believe I actually painted this room like that. I'm not an outwardly flamboyant person and I'm usually pretty reserved in my dress and possessions, so this was a bit of a departure for me. The red was a lot brighter when it was wet. My in-laws were visiting when I did the painting and my father-in-law and I had our doubts about the wisdom of my choice when I first started. Fortunately the paint wound up being much darker when it dried. I couldn't believe how many coats of paint it took to cover that one wall, and I don't want to think of how many coats it might take to cover it up in the future!

One word of advice to all sword geeks, if you decide to display your collection like this you'll need to keep two things around: extra paint and spackle. Spackle to fill the holes when you shift everything around due to a new acquisition or a sale, and paint to cover the spackle. :D

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Carl Goff

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Posts: 196 Location: Florida

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 8:59 am

Patrick Kelly wrote:

:eek: :eek: :eek: :p

Ah yes, my poor social skills raise their head once again. ;) Sorry, man. But that is a gorgeous setup you have there.

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Patrick Kelly

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Posts: 5,739 Location: Wichita, Kansas

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 9:04 am

Carl Goff wrote:

Patrick Kelly wrote:

:eek: :eek: :eek: :p

Ah yes, my poor social skills raise their head once again. ;) Sorry, man. But that is a gorgeous setup you have there.

No worries Carl I'm not sensitive about it, and thanks!

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Paul Mortimer

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Posts: 285 Location: England, Essex

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 9:11 am

Fantastic Patrick! All my stuff is crammed into an uptsairs room that should be a bedroom. There's far too much stuff in it for anyone to sleep there.

You are lucky.

Paul

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Aaron Schnatterly

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Posts: 1,244 Location: New Glarus, WI

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 9:13 am

Patrick, you mentioned how you managed to keep these swords secured (cup hooks and finishing nails), which is most certainly helpful to someone who might want to do something similar. What you didn't mention, though, was how you managed to set up the display. Were there any tricks to getting the swords spaced and placed that you might like to share? The fan array display of the Baron, Reeve, Sempach, Knight, and Regent is really well done and even.

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Lloyd Clark

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Posts: 508 Location: Beaver Dam, WI

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 9:31 am

But what you REALLY need is an authentic lance to "finish" the look.

I wonder if anyone has any for sale..... :D

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Patrick Kelly

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Posts: 5,739 Location: Wichita, Kansas

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 9:47 am

Lloyd Clark wrote:

But what you REALLY need is an authentic lance to "finish" the look.

I wonder if anyone has any for sale..... :D

Too late. :lol:

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Patrick Kelly

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Posts: 5,739 Location: Wichita, Kansas

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 9:49 am

Paul Mortimer wrote:

Fantastic Patrick! All my stuff is crammed into an uptsairs room that should be a bedroom. There's far too much stuff in it for anyone to sleep there.

You are lucky.

Paul

Thank you Paul. Considering the quality of your kit, keeping it out of sight is a crime!

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Patrick Kelly

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Posts: 5,739 Location: Wichita, Kansas

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 9:52 am

Aaron Schnatterly wrote:

Patrick, you mentioned how you managed to keep these swords secured (cup hooks and finishing nails), which is most certainly helpful to someone who might want to do something similar. What you didn't mention, though, was how you managed to set up the display. Were there any tricks to getting the swords spaced and placed that you might like to share? The fan array display of the Baron, Reeve, Sempach, Knight, and Regent is really well done and even.

I'm afraid there's no real secret to it just trial and error. I had to hang the Jarl and Knight twice before I was happy with the positioning. However, I was repositioning everything except the Johnsson and the Evans so overall it wasn't much of a chore. Fortunately I've always had a pretty good eye for things like length and distance.

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Jonathon Janusz

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Posts: 470

Tue 15 Nov, 2005 4:31 pm

Big thumbs up on the colors in the room! One thing I learned from Christopher Lowell (one of those guys on one of those home decorating shows. . . yes, I'll admit that I am actually into that sort of thing. . . and the man is a genius. . . but I digress :D ) is not to be afraid of color. Your room would have nowhere near the impact it has without the bold colors behind it.

One thing I might suggest, however: lighting. Some subtle uplighting and/or picture lighting would really make the displays pop. Especially with the tone of the colors you've picked, you could really pull off a cozy feel for the social activities in the room while the arms provide a little sparkle - food for the imagination, so to speak.

(Besides, if you had done the room in your sword preferred color scheme, we would either be looking at 80's industrial brushed steel everything or the kind of place that would make a goth night club give you a teddy bears, hugs and sunshine, warm and fuzzy. . .)

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Eric Myers

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Posts: 214 Location: Sacramento, CA

Wed 16 Nov, 2005 8:01 am

Patrick Kelly wrote:

I heartily agree about the television, it's a bit of a sticking point for me too. I've been looking for a cabinet for quite awhile now. I'm also thinking I need a flat screen to minimize the bulk. It's pretty obvious that swords and movies are two of my passions when you walk into this room.

Cabinets are nice, but a nice bit of cloth draped over the screen can be just as effective and don't take up as much room. The trick is to find the right bit of cloth :D We have a shawl over our TV, but you could probably use something more like an altar cloth since the TV is lower, or maybe a tapestry - though that might be a bit too busy.

I love the job you did with that room, BTW. I wish I had more wall space so I didn't have to stand my swords in the corner :\

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Bob Burns

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Posts: 1,019 Location: South Indianapolis IN

Fri 25 Nov, 2005 11:49 pm

I finally saw this post! Wow Patrick, you have one beautiful collection and you have displayed it in a very classy way, I really love the red wall and the paintings. By the way, thanks for the picture of the Arms & Armor Danish War Axe that is mounted on your wall of beautiful Albions. It gave me the push I needed several weeks ago to purchase mine and wow do I love it!
Your collection of Albions is gorgeous, one sword more beautiful than the next, the shields are really cool too! Needless to say, that is a great room!

Happy collecting,

Bob

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