WHY EVERY ROOM NEEDS AT LEAST ONE VINTAGE PIECE

If you're familiar with my style, you know that there's at least one vintage piece in every room of my home.  I believe that adding vintage makes your space unique and interesting.   Just one piece of vintage makes that room completely different from anything anyone else will have.  I follow the same principle of vintage/new mix when I style my space at the store too.

We have just completed our semi-annual clearance sale.  I wanted to completely change the look of the store after the floor sample sale and begin to add my new inventory.  I always try to style my space with coordinating color, like items, and always at least one vintage piece.  This first image shows home decor in sepia tones.  Can you find the vintage pieces I added?

VINTAGE BREADBOARD, BOOKS, WALL SCONCE, AND CHESTS MADE FROM RECLAIMED WOOD

I also purchase new items with a vintage look.  The weathered lamps, finials, and herbarium prints all have a vintage look.  The rug I used as a table runner mimics an oriental rug.

VINTAGE MIXED WITH ITEMS WITH A VINTAGE LOOK

I love these finials and their vintage design.  I added some folding baskets as wall art.

CURVY FINIALS, RUG AS TABLE RUNNER, AND FOLDING WIRE BASKETS

This next space displays blue and white.  I always use wonderful vintage frames.  These frames support bead garlands and create "art" with the decorator paper.

VINTAGE FRAMES IN THE BLUE AND WHITE MIX

VINTAGE FRAMES AND BEAD GARLAND

The ginger jar is also vintage.

VINTAGE GINGER JAR

This next tabletop vignette has more vintage than new.  The centerpiece is a vintage dough bowl.  I filled the bowl with branches and old block prints.  Next to the bowl is a framed print and a wire-covered bottle.

VINTAGE DOUGH BOWL, BOTTLE AND FRAME

ANTIQUE BLOCK PRINTS AND BRANCHES IN A VINTAGE DOUGH BOWL

WIRE-COVERED BOTTLE

The marbleized frame is antique.  A vintage book is a riser for the bottle.

MAP PRINT INSIDE AN ANTIQUE MARBLEIZED FRAME.  

I already shared that I painted the walls in Benjamin Moore's Wrought Iron.  It's the perfect back drop for this black and white mix.  The vintage items are the pair of door sidelights and the column base under the chandlier.

BLACK AND WHITE DECOR

DOG PROFILE AND FERN PRINT

FERN AND BOTANTICAL PRINTS
VINTAGE DOOR SIDE LIGHTS, CHANDELIER, AND TURTLE SHELLS

I used a chinoiserie decorator paper as a back drop for the vintage chest.  The small dough bowl and the window grate are also vintage.  I love the way the floor lamp with the velvet shade picks up the colors in the back drop.

VINTAGE CHEST, DOUGH BOWL AND WINDOW GRATE

What's not to like?  Velvet and fringe!!!!

FLOOR LAMP WITH VELVET SHADE AND FRINGE

Do you mix vintage and new in your home?

Garden Decor and More at Our Spring Sale

This next sale is all about Spring and More.  We'll have furniture---vintage and new---garden accessories, florals. lighting, home decor, and textiles.  Here's some of what I'll have.  There's a sneak peek video from the whole store at the end of the post.  

The faux bois metal garden chairs are my favorite.  

The large and small planters are called kerchief planters.  They're rusty metal on a pedestal with scalloped edges.  So unique.  I filled the large one with a fern.  The three smaller ones have cuttings from my nandina bush.   Can you see the sheep weathervane peeking through the greenery? 

 I also created a grouping of candlesticks made from vintage balustrades. The smaller planters are sitting on a large bread board.

Faux Bois Garden Chairs and Kerchief Planters

A Closer Look at The Planter and the Sheep

Candlesticks Made from Balustrades and a Root Ball Sphere

You can see some smaller candlesticks in a tray on the vintage dresser.  The column lamp and shade are new. To the right of the dresser is a large round stenciled restaurant tray.  The cylindrical wall pocket was created from old metal and white washed. 

How fun is this vintage bike.

J. H. Higgins Vintage Bike

The white cone shape is a reproduction of a bee skep.  I could see it in a garden or on a porch.  This second metal wall pocket has a bee stencil.  The tobacco stick planter holds lavender.  Of course I've given you a sneak peek of my huge metal clock.

Large European Walnut Bowl

Art and Urns Used as Planters

My space isn't just about blues, beiges, and blooms.  

I have another area that's mostly black and white.

MCM Lamp and Modern Art

I placed a metal seven-hook coat rack on top of a black sofa table. I dangled my current favorite accessories--tassel necklaces--over the edge and layered them over black and white contemporary art.

Tassel Necklaces

This vintage Duncan Phyfe double pedestal table has a huge leaf.  I covered the vintage shield back chairs in gray linen and bullion fringe.

Vintage Duncan Phyfe Table and Shield Back Chairs

The drawers in my black buffet help me display the botanical prints.

Black Botanicals and Vintage Buffet

Are you excited and ready for Spring?

Here's a slide show from the store.

Please join us if you live in the Washington DC area April 21-23.

Buckeystown Design Co-op

3607 Buckeystown Pike

Buckestown, MD

My Vintage Bamboo

Previously I blogged about vintage bamboo and how versatile it is.   It's neutral, so it fits in anywhere and one piece can be used in so many ways.  If you missed the previous post, go here.

In this post I wanted to share the bamboo pieces I have in my home and how I use them.

I have several bamboo shelves.  I have two in my sun room on either side of my fireplace mantel.  I use this one for books.

Bamboo Shelf with Books

Although they're narrow, I can pack them with books.
 They're also lightweight and can be moved easily when one of my frequent change ups happens.

To add some variety to the books, I put a pedestal orb, some coral, and a string of amber beads on the top shelf.  A framed watercolor is a backdrop.  I also tucked my foo dog on the lower shelf.

I also have a bamboo footstool.  I love its shabbiness.  I keep it on my stairway landing and use it as a riser for my ever-changing displays.

I have another bamboo footstool.  The top was damaged so I covered it with some P.Kaufmann leopard fabric.  The top lifts and I store my candles inside.  On top is my bamboo tray.  It has a lacquered insert with an image of a bird.

My bamboo footstool with a leopard top.  Bamboo tray with bird.

This tiered cart is made of rattan, but I consider and use it like bamboo.  It's in my dining room and holds of all things my bamboo place mats.  These are the best place mats because they wipe clean and I can even use them as trivets.

Here's a closer look.  The prints are vintage framed botanicals.  My grandfather made the plaster bust.

This two level bamboo stand is in my kitchen.  I use it to hold my metal document boxes.  I'll do another post about them, but I use them to cut down on the kitchen clutter.

Yes, there's more of the rough cedar trim in my kitchen too.

Notice the top of this stand.  I've been told that whenever you see this type of a design on the top of a piece of bamboo instead of a woven top, you can assume that it's English bamboo. 

This isn't one of my better vignettes, but I wanted to share this other style of bamboo stand.  We use it to hold one of our phones.

It's also "English".  Notice the leaf pattern.

I use this bamboo easel to hold a vintage book on a shelf in my pine cupboard.  In the plate grooves are some of my green and white transferware.

I think my most unique piece is this side table.  Not only is it large, but it also has two small fold-out shelves.  They can be down as I have them in the photo, or they fold up and are out of the way.

I think it's my favorite bamboo piece.

The side shelves can be for display, or many times it's where I rest my coffee cup.

Our bed is rattan.  It isn't vintage but I still love the look.

Our Rattan Bed

So, do you have any bamboo pieces in your home?

Kathy

Frugal Framing

  I'm always coming across vintage prints--botanicals, architectural prints, or other ephemera.  While the prints are relatively inexpensive to purchase, the framing can cost ten times the price of  the prints.  What works for me is to find an empty frame I like that is larger than the print. 

I then take the print and the frame and have a mat cut.

 Here's an example of how this worked for me.

Last Fall I went to The Big Flea in Chantilly, Va. on a antiques shopping trip with Eddie Ross and 

Jaithan Kochar. What fun and so informative. I always look forward to reading his blog.  He has so many talents and one of those I totally relate to is the way he shops vintage and then creatively makes vintage work for today's style.  You can find out about all his creative accomplishments here. 

Sorry, back to the post.  While shopping,  I found some fabulous old book plates of shells and fossils.  

I knew that they would be perfect with some vintage frames I had found in the summer.  I purchased the frames with no particular plan in mind for them, which unfortunately is how I frequently do things.  I fell in love with the snakeskin and the mini red leather border and knew I would eventually use them.

Pretty wonderful.

I took the bookplates and the frames to Michaels, selected a mat color, and had them cut a mat to fit the artwork and the frame.  Each mat was only $16.00.  I know the frames had their flaws, but they were so unique that I wanted to use them. 

Here's how they turned out after matting and framing.

I think they fit in perfectly with my other shell stuff.  What do you think?

I'm working on styling some shelves in a cabinet that I just updated with paint.  Make sure you stop by next week for some tips you can use to give your bookcase a designer look.

Kathy