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Conversation Starters: The White Elephants in the Room

by | Jun 14, 2011 | Decorating Inspiration, Details, my house

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Conversation Starters: The White Elephants in the Room

 

So, I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs yesterday and came across THIS. A post by Young House Love and Sherry’s crazy dream about a new trend designers were promoting: elephants in every room.

It was a funny post (I totally have crazy decorating dreams all the time so I could relate), but while I was laughing on the outside, I was also hiding a big secret. I thought I better fess up.

Conversation Starters: The White Elephants in the Room

Dun dun dun…..I  have a white elephant in MY room. In fact, I have a whole stack of white elephants in my living room.

Now you know.

I’ve had these elephants for years, they were my mom’s and then she gave them to me. Since I’ve done a lot of traveling myself, and my extended family has traveled to places like Africa and my dad lived in Thailand, we are blessed to have so many unique pieces from around the world in our home.

Conversation Starters: The White Elephants in the Room

That black Chinoiserie cabinet (sorry the pic is a bit blurry) actually came from Thailand (my grandpa was a Lieutenant Colonel in the army and traveled oversees), so I really do have a great mix of pieces from around the world. The elephants feel right at home next to that cabinet. They belong together. I LOVE the gold ship detailing and all the carving! The ships make me think about adventures at sea!

I am pretty sure my stack of elephants were purchased here in the U.S., but still, it was inspired by real travel experiences. I love incorporating items that offer a sense of real history and life experience into our home.

Conversation Starters: The White Elephants in the Room

Nevertheless, even though I might have my reasons for having elephants, they sometimes strike me as a very random thing to have in my living room.

I mean, who has a four foot tall elephant statue in their coastal/farmhouse/cottage/eclectic NW style craftsman house in Seattle? Who DOES that? And really, who has a coastal/farmhouse/cottage/eclectic NW style craftsman house in the first place? Don’t say Crazy People. Who?

ME. THAT’S WHO.

Do you have any funny random “elephants” in your room?

I actually love having a few quirky, unexpected things in my home that just make me smile (or make my friends scratch their head and wonder WHY?!). It is fun to incorporate unique and interesting conversation starters.

38 Comments

  1. Jojo

    I don’t have elephants but I wish I did! Those are wonderful!

    Reply
  2. Purnima

    This is so gorgeous..are the elephants made of marble? definitely a ice breaker or a conversation starter!!!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      No, I don’t think they are marble, just ordinary elephants ;-)

      Reply
  3. Angie

    No elephants! But I saw that post and loved it!! Hilarious!! I love elephants and often wish I did have some! :) I just think they are gorgeous creatures. My fave animal! I really like yours. Maybe I need one in white…hmmmm… White elephants in farmhouse style…works right?? :) There is an elephant sanctuary close to me so that should work! :)

    Reply
    • Melissa

      YES, it works!! HAA!

      Reply
  4. Lauren

    My husband grew up in West Africa, so we have elephants, rhinos, and my favorite: a rocking hippo! Just like a rocking horse for children, but it’s a hippo, made out of teak wood and I love it!

    Reply
  5. Carolyn

    No elephants, but I do have a wooden giraffe sitting upright with his legs dangling over a shelf in our family room. It was a gift from my friend who was living in South Africa. He’s an interesting little guy, and the kids love him.

    I love your elephants! I may need to rename our gift exchange after seeing them :)

    Reply
  6. bridget {bake at 350}

    Yes! I LOVE having interesting things on our home, too! they ARE great conversation starters!

    I have a vintage cake topper collection…and I found one with the bride wearing a RED dress! That’s a conversation starter. ;) Wouldn’t you love to meet that bride?

    Reply
  7. Franki Parde

    You know it’s FOR THAT REASON (and many more) that I follow your blog…it’s quirky, cottage, beachy, etc. and just makes one “feel good.” Right on! franki

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Thank you Franki! :-)

      Reply
  8. Janine

    Hee hee … I love your white elephants in your living room! That would totally make me smile everytime I saw them.

    Reply
  9. Vee

    My family has black elephants carved from ebony with real tusks for the small tusks. They are quite old, but not very politically correct. They are bookends and their trunks are down, which I was always told signified bad luck, if one believes in such things. I rather like your eclectic look and your white elephants!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      My grandparents used to have all sorts of marble, ebony, jade etc elephants and things of that sort. Not really sure where they all went, but they were beautiful!

      Reply
  10. Diane

    Hi Melissa-
    My grandmother had quite a collection of elephants in her home – ceramic, wood, plastic. It used to be thought to bring good luck into the home. Not sure if it still does, but that is why she always had them in her home. Maybe I should go get myself one.

    My best- Diane

    Reply
  11. Patti

    I love this story and your elephants, Melissa! I have two elephants in my home. The one in the living room is a cream glazed elephant that resides on the fireplace hearth, think those garden stools. The other reminds me of the bottom elephant in your stack of elephants only mine is stained a very dark brown and has white tusks. He’s in the family room used as a side table.

    Like you, I’ve had these two elephants for years. I believe my youngest child was in a stroller when I got them. He’s in college now.

    Reply
  12. Rachel

    I do have elephants in my home. I collected elephants, beginning in about the 9th grade and still have a few cherished ones. My elephant statue is very similar, smaller and wooden. It sits on a shelf in our family room. My very first elephant sits on a chest in the hallway to our bedroom. It was the only item I could afford in my friends’ parent’s antique shop and I always admired it so they gave it to me for my 14th birthday.

    Reply
  13. Champe-MyDesignGuide

    I have cat hair – that’s my special white elephant – and it’s ok w me.

    Reply
    • Melissa

      Haaa! Yes!!

      Reply
  14. Jo

    Elephants! I have quite a collection of elephants. I started with just a few tiny 1/2 to 2 inch ones that I bought on our honeymoon. Then, suddenly, my husband and mother-in-law assumed that I collected elephants! So that Christmas, I got lots more elephant-themed things. They’re currently in a box in the basement. I may pull out one or two for the shelves in my son’s room though.

    Reply
  15. Kathryn

    Love the elephants. We don’t have any but have some little donkeys I inherited from my grandmother and some little turtles we inherited from my mother-in-law. They may seem weird but they have special meaning to us and it all seems to fit in together :)

    Reply
    • Melissa

      I think that is wonderful!! Having things with meaning is so much better than having a current “trendy animal” for no reason at all :-)

      Reply
  16. Amy

    I have a ceramic little duck and a wood chicken in my family room. they have nothing to do with the room, I just love them so!

    Reply
  17. Krys72599

    Someone once gave me an elephant candle as a gift (think that person who sits in the next cubicle from you that you’re not really friends with but with whom you have to exchange holiday gifts!). It came with an explanation that elephants in the home should be positioned near the front door to help attract wisdom and power to the home. He’s now on my hall table. And it turns out it’s not a bunch of malarkey: See Feng Shui Crazy at http://www.fengshuicrazy.com/misc-feng-shui-topics/the-sacred-elephant-and-feng-shui.php

    Reply
  18. Erin

    When I first read the title I thought “Young House Love JUST posted about elephants, how weird is that?!” Haha

    Reply
  19. Tersa S.

    I love this post! I smiled as I was reading because I,too, have some major randomness to the untrained eye! My hubby and I know the history of the items, and they are all reminders of God’s faithfulness in all our moves (we are military). A few of my faves… a hand painted turtle that is actually an ashtray bought in Guam, two rustic drums, one is passed down from the in-laws and was bought in Honduras, the other was bought as a surprise gift for my (then) fiance while in Pisa. LOVE IT!

    Reply
  20. Tonya

    I have wooden giraffes. Two of them – one is almost 8’tall, the other is more than 3′. They sit in corners of the dining / living room and are the topic of conversation whenever someone new comes in the house.

    Reply
  21. Karen

    Melissa,
    LOL! My mom used to have a collection of elephants, all fairly small. Like the ‘only child’ brat I’ve probably always been, I told her in no uncertain terms that I didn’t want them. I regret that now! Mom passed away in May of 2010 and I wish I had one or two of her little elephants to remind me of her collection. I have other items but I do wish I had “an elephant in the room”.
    Karen

    Reply
  22. Pat

    well, You have your ‘random’ stack of white elephants.
    I have a random– RED Frog, he is a floral vase, like say an ivy may have come planted in him. It was in my father in laws office before they turned it into a second bathroom– and he stayed in there too. I love him!
    He is quirky,VINTAGE (probably ’70-ies’) and RED!
    …now we’re both ‘fessed up’…

    love reading your blog, Pat

    Reply
    • Melissa

      I love quirky, vintage and RED! YES! You go, Pat, that frog sounds wonderful!! ;-)

      Reply
  23. Heathahlee

    I have one. Not an elephant, but a boomerang. I spent two months in Tasmania, Australia the summer before my senior year of college, and of course I brought back stuff from there. My stuffed animals (one made with kangaroo fur) are in the playroom, as are my maps, postcards, key chains, etc, etc. I wear the black heart sassafras earrings, and the wooden bowl someone gave me for my birthday (yes, I spent my 21st birthday Down Under. How cool is THAT???) fits beautifully in my decor. But the boomerang, with its aboriginal art on the front of it, just…well…doesn’t go with the rest of my stuff. I would LOVE to display it somewhere, I just don’t know where or how. Think, think…think, think. :)

    Reply
  24. Andrea . Charcoal and Crayons

    Lovely! I have a black elephant teapot that I fell in love with years ago and had to bring home… it’s usually on my kitchen counter or stove and even though it doesn’t really “go” with the rest of the house it works and is so me!

    Reply
  25. gitz

    pretty much everything in my house is hand-me-down, mismatched and quirky. so i’m totally with you on that not being crazy thing :)

    Reply
  26. Pinky

    Do I have elephants????!!!! I SURE DO!!!! My FIL was a pilot and a SHOPPER! He brought back gorgeous elephants from Vietnam, which are in my living room. I have a set of elephants from Africa on my mantle, another elephant from Ghana in the guest room and several more in other rooms! I LOVE elephants. Would love for you to come over to my blog to see them! XO, Pinky We also have many inherited pieces: a gorgeous screen from Japan, many items from Africa and India etc.

    Reply
  27. Indiri

    I too have elephants around my house, roughly one in each room or so. I hadn’t been doing it on purpose as a collection but every now and then I saw one and just thought it was cute. I realized about a year or so ago how many I have and I thought it was pretty funny.

    Reply
  28. Lorraine

    LOVE Little elephants! My family is from Ecuador and there is an old wives tale about having three elephants in your home- all with their butts facing the door. You are supposed to buy your first elephant, you steal one from someone, and the third is given to you as a gift. The three are to be placed together to bring your home good luck :)
    I am currently looking for inspiration for my new home and can’t wait to start my own collection of elephants.

    Reply

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