Madame Secretary

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I wanted to add a secretary desk to the library because the room needed a piece with height and a desk would be a useful addition. I chose this 19th Century French Iron Secretary. The rooms of our Victorian are all fairly open to one another, so I’ve been keeping that in mind as I decorate each space. The black iron secretary plays nicely off of the black walls in the back parlor and I like its mix of masculine details and feminine curves.

Incoming mail is always one of our biggest sources of clutter, and the secretary is the perfect solution to the problem! In the old house, mail and other paperwork would end up all over the dining room table, and here it usually piled up on the entryway sideboard. I would sort through it, recycling what I could, but the rest stayed put. Magazines and catalogs mixed with bills, invitations, and other correspondence. The kids’ schoolwork was getting mixed up in it too, but now everything has a place within the shelving of the secretary and it can be kept neatly organized behind closed doors.

We have four antique Thonet chairs in the house, passed down to us from Brandon’s mom. Two are in the entryway, one is in the bathroom on the main floor (holding a stack of towels), and the last is here at the desk. I hung a 50¢ tassel on the key in the door, but I wish I had brought one of the beautiful ones I’d seen in Morocco home as a souvenir. I’m kicking myself for passing on them!

I love the secretary though. I wanted it specifically for that spot in the library, but I can see it working in several spots in our house if I ever want to rearrange things a bit. It’s always good to have options, right?