Thursday, June 30, 2011

Dining Room Makeover


Ta da! I picked up some beautiful (and affordable) new french style dining chairs from Marshalls and TJ Maxx over the last few months, and I am loving my dining room's new look!


It all started with this chair. Technically, I have owned it for about 4 months, but I didn't get to bring it home until a couple weeks ago. No, it wasn't at the hospital in intensive care... it was in Ohio. I may live 1000 miles away, but I still go shopping with mom and sister in Ohio almost every week - via camera phone! After sending me a picture, my sister bought the chair for me a few months ago at Marshalls (one of our regular stops) and in the meantime I've been scouring stores out here trying to find some coordinating ones.


I found two matching Louis chairs in a straighter, cleaner style with darker linen and upholstered backs instead of caning, and I ended up really liking the collected look that the different chairs create.


Of course, as you can see, I'm not quite finished "collecting" yet... One green "before" chair still lurks at my table :)


This is was the dining room before. Not too bad, but the green chairs and blue floral china were giving it a cottage vibe that seemed a little disconnected from the rest of the house.


I found two oversized white-washed terra cotta pineapple finials, also from Marshalls, to replace the centerpiece. I love the scale and height of these - everything else I tried was too short and looked silly, but these really make a grand centerpiece.


Some great new antique white ironstone finds replace the blue in my china cabinet.  (If you like blue patterned china, stay tuned... I think a few of my blue pieces will be showing up in my etsy shop in the near future!)



A collection of old ironstone platters, along with an oval frame from the 1800's, create a wall display behind the table. This is my first foray into hanging plates on the wall and I wasn't sure I would like it... but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of the room.



And I found this primitive black and white wooden pig at an antique mall in Ohio. I bought it to sell, but I just couldn't part with him :) He's now hangs on the wall between the dining room and kitchen.


This picture makes me laugh and reminds me of the Biblical reference to "casting your pearls before swine..." But I like the juxtaposition of rustic country farmhouse decor with a touch of glamour, and I think this picture sums that up perfectly!




Monday, June 20, 2011

Fabulous Folding Wire

Antique Folding Wire Basket with Looped Petal Edges

I love wire baskets, especially when they have these fabulous folding "petal" edges


This antique german example is a basket and a tray in one. The petals fold up for a basket, or lay flat to create a serving tray or trivet. I think it would even make a great cooling rack for muffins or a pie!



Vintage Folding Wire Light Bulb Cage

And then there's this... A little antique wire light bulb cage, with those same folding petal edges that you see on old wire egg baskets, like this one...



Just imagine how cute this would be on a bare ceiling bulb or a desk lamp! I've never seen one quite like this before - so industrial chic, yet with a feminine touch.



I just listed both of these items in my etsy shop, so be sure to take a look!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Maple Syrup, Fresh Buttermilk


I love this old farm-stand sign from Ohio. The back panel is a sheet of tin, with wooden slats separating the stenciled words.


I love the charming little mistakes that show it was handmade, like the "S" in Sweet Corn that was stenciled upside down.

I spotted it for sale at a wonderful primitive antique shop in Seville, Ohio. Unfortunately the sign wasn't in the budget to come home with me (around $950 if I remember correctly). But I am filing it away for inspiration... I would love to try my hand at reproducing this sign to hang in my dining room. I've been looking for something to fill some blank wall space, and I don't think anything could be more perfect for a dining room. It's making me hungry already!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

A Love for Old Labels

Antique Glass Apothocary Bottle for sale HERE

I love old paper labels. No matter what the item is, if it has an original label - no matter how tattered or torn - there is something about it that I gravitate towards. I love the all the different examples of typography, the beautiful graphics, and the perfectly aged color of the paper.


Vintage spools of thread found in Iowa



Unused cones of crochet thread, still wrapped up in their original brown paper packaging! Found in Ohio.



I especially love old bottles with their original labels.



Early french olive oil bottle, found in Nebraska (of all places!).



National Starch Company shipping box with tattered label on one end, found in Nebraska.

It amazes me that you can find these antique shipping crates with their original labels still intact. Imagine if cardboard boxes today were this beautiful!


Sapolio box, found in Pennsylvania


Procter & Gamble Ivory Soap box, found in Nebraska

The boxes above are long gone, but I have a few new ones with great old labels that I brought back from my trip to Ohio. I'll be photographing and listing those soon, along with TONS of great ironstone, so keep your eyes peeled!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Vintage Garden Seed Packets


I love the beautiful shades of green and the hand-drawn illustrations of these vintage garden seed packets from Card Seed Co.




They are perfect for displaying in a vintage metal pin flower frog, especially a long rectangular one, like these copper colored ones available in my etsy shop.



Who knew cabbage could be so stylish!


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