the density of density: the wheeler family’s home
My friend Tracy was checking out Fixed Gear Gallery earlier this week (it’s a bike nerd’s paradise) when he ran across this photo of an apparently beautiful bike hanging in a really interesting living room. Tracy sent me the link and my interest was piqued. (I also posted it on OK Great). The house is the Wheeler family residence, and Dan Wheeler was nice enough to send me some more photos and explain his interest in collections.
As you can see, the Wheeler family loves vintage paint-by-numbers pieces, and owns over 600 of them. (On a side note, I recently got a couple paint-by-numbers myself, and love the way they pop against some of my more modern, soft colored pieces. Now that I’ve seen the Wheeler’s house, I might have to pick up a few more!)
When I asked Dan how his collection obsession began, he said “Well, aren’t all our collections found when placing one thing next to another, and they start a conversation? For me, first stamps as a kid, then globes given to me when I was in school by an old girlfriend. (Ode to my wanderlust!). Black and white postcards in Italy [Dan spent 2 years living in Rome], sketchbooks, then our kids and their trophies. Natural stuff, shells/rocks, and wood found their way into a glass cureo table. My Fisher-Price manic wife (her childhood) found a couple paint-by-numbers, she/we loved the “art but not art” quality, and the cost which was cheaper than wallpaper to cover cracking plaster walls. This has led to a stress relieving past-time for a very hyperactive architect, a lead-in to cycling, speeding from site to site, to bike upon bike, to each a story but each the same beautiful, efficient form. With bikes came biking shirts, and tires and tubes. The bike rolled past a shop with a Dansk (Jens Quistgaard) pitcher in the window (remembered from childhood as the vessel for milk), leading to Quistgaard Peppermills and Bowls, each totally functional.”
“What I think I’ve learned is the collections are fine on their own, but in proximity to others new conversations crop up: of color, scale, purpose, fun. While we architects always appreciate and admire emptiness, we also are learning to appreciate the density of density!”
Since many of the photos deserve a closer look, just click on them to see the full-sized version.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful house with us, Dan and the rest of the Wheelers. Don’t forget to check out the Wheeler Kearns architecture firm (post below).
[photos owned by dan wheeler]
→ 15 CommentsCategories:art, home, interviews
February 27th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
OHH I didn’t even realize you posted about this too! Thanks – love seeing more inside of Dan’t place!
February 27th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Ok wait…I’m sure a dork…I get it now. I didn’t even put two and two together that you also blogged at OK Great. Thanks for the amazing post!
February 27th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
love this post! i just found your blog through unruly things – can’t wait to look through more!
February 27th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
what a collection! (how many collections!) fascinating.
February 28th, 2009 at 9:50 am
I LOVE collections and these photos make me what to shout!! So fabulous!! The paint by numbers are the best..:)
Thank you for leaving me some love about my house! I appreciate your support so much! xo
February 28th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
So gorgeous! I am a huge fan of doorless cupboards. Especially if you own colourful dishes and cups.
Thanks for sharing.
February 28th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
That cupboard full of old dishes is the highlight for me. To think my poor mother spent gobs of money to replace her kitchen cabinets when all she had to do was rip off the doors… and the Wheeler’s kitchen is way more awesome.
March 1st, 2009 at 3:45 pm
i do love doorless cupboards. but, i have to admit, i tried this once with my mismatched hand-me-down china, and it was not this cute. maybe i needed more color? or maybe my dishes needed more character : )
March 1st, 2009 at 10:31 pm
All that colour makes my heart so happy – what a fantastic home. I think the repetition of similar shapes helps with that cupboard – I know if I attempted the same thing it would just end up looking a bit like I threw everything in there to hide it!
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
[...] Wheeler shows some of the homes art and reasons behind it’s amazing nature. Via Mint Design Blog 0 [...]
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:08 am
Wow, I have never seen so many collections in one place! And I had no idea you even could get vintage paint by numbers – brilliant.
June 27th, 2009 at 1:25 am
[...] found this great photo on the Mint Design Blog of Dan Wheeler’s collection of Dansk pitchers and teak bowls. Really cool. The article [...]
July 13th, 2009 at 1:59 am
[...] Kearns architecture firm). Under further investigation I found the link to the complete article (Mint Design Blog) with a ton more pictures of the Wheeler’s fantastic [...]
July 13th, 2009 at 8:06 am
this helps explain the thinking behind collecting things… very interesting.
I could not live with that much density but I can appreciate it. dusting must be a full time job though…
I love vintage pieces and practice this as well but on a much smaller scale!
December 7th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Holy moly, this is amazing. I was goggling for vintage paint by numbers and this was like all my Christmas’s coming at once. Thank you, thank you. I re-posted some of the photos on my blog and credited them back here. I hope that’s okay. Did I say thank you yet?