Rocker Melissa Auf der Maur isn't the only one who thinks the living room in her upstate New York home rocks. "It's where my cats spend most of their day," says the 38-year-old Montreal native and former bassist for Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins. "It's also my reception room when friends come over and my music room." Connected to the kitchen, the cozy open-concept space allows her to "look out over everyone and feel connected" when she's cooking for a dinner party. "I'm a real sentimentalist, as sappy as that sounds," says the musician, who concludes the Canadian leg of her Out of Our Minds tour, named for her latest solo album, in Montreal tonight before taking it to Europe.
THE RED SLIPPERBACK CHAIRS: "I grew up with these chairs. They used to be pink, but over the years the family cats ripped them to shreds. After being retired to my mother's basement, they were eventually reupholstered dark red as a housewarming gift for me."
THE GLOBE: "This is either my childhood globe or a replacement I bought years ago at a flea market. It's always good to have the world handy, I think."
THE RUG: "It's brand new, but I found it at an antique mall. I've never had a round rug before and I love it. My cat Isis considers it the centre of her universe. She spends most of her time at the centre of it."
THE LAMP WITH FEATHER FAN: "This lamp has been around my life for ages. I think I got it at the Chelsea Flea Market in New York. It was re-wired by an eccentric light man in Montreal. The feather fan I got at the only Renaissance fair I ever went to, in the mid-nineties in southern California."
THE CURTAINS: "A forever-lasting Bed Bath & Beyond purchase. I originally bought them for this little doll house I lived in in the Hollywood hills. They are so basic and versatile that I've never had to invest in fancy ones. I have vintage red velvet ones in my bedroom that I love more, though."
THE GALLEON: "I've always had a soft spot for nautical things. I dream of the roaring ocean and people who have made the sea their home: explorers, sea captains, fishermen. The ocean is a symbol of life, love, the unknown. And the old clipper ships are particularly romantic to me."