A Lady and Her Ladybugs

She takes no pleasure at the sight of an insect scurrying across a floor, but Jan Larson is bonkers for ladybugs--inanimate ones, that is.

They have taken over the guest room and guest bath of her two-bedroom/den coach home in Pelican Marsh, near Naples, Fla. They're a presence in the kitchen and living room, and they permeate her life in the clothing she wears, the stationery she uses and the greeting cards she sends.

Larson, originally from the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, said the fusion of lady and ladybug occurred when she was in college. "A fashion manufacturer, Villager, started using the ladybug in its accessories," she recalled. "We started using it as a kind of logo for our sorority (Alpha Xi Delta at Carroll College), and with me, it just stuck."

The results of years of collecting are concentrated in the guest room, where quilts and pillows embroidered with ladybugs share space with the insect carved, painted, stamped, stuffed, stitched and molded into every conceivable creation.

Larson promises that if the Murphy bed were opened, more insects would be visible, embroidered on the linens. In the adjoining bath, wastebasket, mirror, tissue box and towels all sport the spotted bug. The wallpaper has a tiny ladybug pattern, and the valance over the bathtub window is a decorative fly swatter trimmed with you-know-what.

While the insect representations have a significant presence in the decor, there's still plenty of room to display the retired teacher's other collections of travel art, antique glass and old Victorian furniture.

"I did most of my traveling during summer vacations and spring breaks," said Larson, "even leading college groups on tours of Europe. Whenever possible, I brought back a small piece of art from the countries I visited, which I estimate between 30 and 40. I put as many of those as I could on my staircase wall."

At the bottom of the stairs, after visitors pass the brass ladybug on the front door, an heirloom glass what-not houses a collection of turn-of-the-century Illinois pattern pressed glass, which is the result of serious hunting through antiques shops and flea markets.

At the top of the stairs, past the "bugged" guest quarters, is a den, outfitted with bright-colored lithographs and prints by a local artist. Two black leather lounge chairs face an entertainment center.

"Black was my divorce liberation color," laughed Larson. "When I was married, my husband never liked it in the house. One of the first things I did after the divorce was order furniture in a chintz with a soft pink floral pattern and a black background."

Those chintz-covered dining chairs still sit around her Victorian wicker dining table, now modernized with a new glass oval top. And the black print sofa and wingback chairs still make up the conversation grouping in her living room, accompanied by a turn-of-the-century secretary and vintage wicker chair.

The platter on the wall near the secretary is from Sorrento, said Larson, and the framed lace on the wall are hankies she purchased in five countries.

She laughs that the elaborately framed mirror over the sofa was a cast-off, left by the former owners of her Illinois condominium. "They said it was bolted to the wall," she said. "But it wasn't--it was just very heavy."

The "freebie" reflects the large easel on the opposite side of the room. "I had so many artworks from my travels that they wouldn't all fit on the stairway wall," said Larson. "So I set some on a large easel and stacked a few by each leg."

"Among the coffee table travel treasures is a porcelain bowl that coordinates perfectly with the upholstery fabric. I bought it for the colors that went so well with my furniture," said Larson, "but when I saw a ladybug among the flowers, I was doubly pleased."

Larson, who has been coming to the area since 1975, said her move to Clermont in Pelican Marsh was precipitated by her mother's permanent move to the area. "I was out looking for a place for her when I found this for me," she said. "The minute I saw it there was a smile on my face. "My former condo was perfect for her, so she moved in and I moved here."

Larson has carried her fondness for black into the bedspread on her iron bed. Antique wicker nightstands flank the bed, and opposite, a three-paneled wicker screen serves as an unusual window covering.

A highly unusual art arrangement decorates one tub wall in the master bath. "I had artwork made up of my name translated in the language of some of the countries I've visited," said Larson.

One place she prefers not to visit too often is her sunny kitchen, where a lively floral wallcovering brightens the walls and ladybug teapots decorate the plant ledge. Instead of a casual dining area, Larson uses the space for an office.

She estimates her ladybug items at about 1,500. She said she stopped counting at 1,200. "I used to think that people who had collections were obsessed, but now I know that we're just wonderful," she laughed.

(Maxine Ginsberg of the Naples Daily News in Naples, Fla., can be reached at maginsberg@naplesnews.com.)