Five new Vintage home decor items in my shop- Hollywood Regency and bookends

I have some new jewels in my Etsy shop, Porch and Parlor! Here is a round-up. Please click on the highlighted description to take you to the item on my Etsy shop.

Vintage Florentine red and gold tray, great Hollywood Regency style!


Love this black and gold Florentine wall sconce for three candles.


Hollywood Regency, hello! check out this great oval, brass, faux bamboo tray.


Like the oval tray,  but wish it was smaller? Say no more! How about this lovely square, brass, faux bamboo tray option!


 You want more bookends options that I offered in a previous post? These SyrocoWood open book bookends date from the 1930's!



Brass shell bookends are "the" item for the bookshelf. These are very nice and nicely weighted!

Red poppies- for rememberance day and beyond

I love find TV shows that I've never seen before on Netflix. Most recently I found a TV show from Canada called Bomb Girls and I was charmed by the red poppies worn on the lapels of the women and men. I was unfamiliar with the story behind the red poppies and found all the info on The Royal British Legion page here.

After WW1 the fields and trenches, which were cut, burned, and turned from the war,  were covered by "Flanders" poppies which grow as weeds in Great Britain. On Remembrance Day in November, Brits wear red poppies so they will "never forget". A lovely way to celebrate and remember.

There were so many great accessories,  including this cute kitchen towel, that I was inspired to find other great poppy accessories.

You can find this kitchen towel at the Poppy Shop UK.
Link here.




Please click on the links below the pictures below to find the Poppy items.

Needle felted pillow

 

Poppy plates

 

Poppy table runner

 

Poppy print coat hangers

 

Poppy lamp shade

 

 

 

cell phone cases make statements

I have a love hate relationship with my cell phone... this week it's all hate, actually. I am that person that switches phones about every 5 years, so when I stumbled on to this lemon, my thoughts strayed to a new phone... as well as moving back to my old carrier. Unfortunately, I've got another 9 months on this contract.

So for now, I will dream of the day I can have a new phone and enjoy window shopping for cell phone cases. Here are some of my finds.



Tough guy, huh. Bling-y brass knuckles cover. Possibly more comfortable that I think!



I love wood cell phone cases! Especially when you can opt for exotic woods.

Tell the world you're a Whovian... well only to other Whovian to everyone else you will look like a Anglophile with this Dr. Who Tardis cell phone cover.

Mmmm, damask! Pretty, pretty cover!


This cell phone case reminds me of scrap book paper! And is it interchangable!

Mercury glass- vintage, new, and always sparkly

Mercury glass is a great way to add sparkle to the home and a perfect wedding table scaping item or give-away! Here is a collection of mercury glass candle holders, including some you can find in my space (number 6) in Interiors and Antiques in Vestavia Hills.



candlesticks from Petal and Forrest


A 2nd life vintage- set of warm glow candlesticks


Available at Laurl Designs at Interiors and Antiques

 



Capri Blue Mercury Glass Jar Candle from Anthropologie

Available at Laurl Designs at Interiors and Antiques

The next furniture flips! the tables

First, I was TOTALLY into chairs, now it's tables. By the end of this weekend, I plan to refinish and paint two side tables purchased from Scott's in Atlanta and finish my make-under project. As well as dwell on a table for a client.

Here's the line up!

 

This pair is going from medium wood tone with a gold finish to...

 

 

Or maybe a blue like this...

Then there is this treat of a bedside table... maybe a stain, maybe a paint job, maybe both! How cool would this be with the interior of the shelves painting a contracting color!

Furniture flipping- the under makeover

I have been acquiring furniture to remake and when I saw a mid-century modern piece on a local "Craig's list" like site, I jumped on it. It was blond wood two tier table with great lines and I picked I up the next day.  Though I thought the table was well made and heavy for it's size, I didn't realize the quality I was getting until I put it in the car. I would have felt guilty writing a check for dramatically less than the value of the piece. When I turned it over to lay it in the car I saw this logo on the bottom of the piece.

I knew I had just struck gold! There was no way I would be painting this piece, but it needs some TLC.
Heywood Wakefield is synonymous with 1950's "mid-century modern" style, as well as really good turn of the century wicker. These table are most popular in two shades of blond- wheat and champagne. As the company name, without any of the historic pieces and information, was purchased in the recent past, the formula for the original finish has been lost. They do have a new formula, manufactured by Sherwin Williams, which they are using, but it does not perfectly match the layered lacquer that was originally used.
I have read many a forum, advertisement, "for sale" listing and opinion on refinishing, DIY, and how-to's on how to solve the table top condition issues. The posts advise everything from "do nothing", the equivalent of "do no harm" to the medical practice, to "DIY it with my fabulous and expensive product!" I lean toward the do no harm- though I would like to find the product that would just melt the lacquer a smidgen!
To refinish or no to refinish, I can't answer the question... yet. I do not that for now, I am very excited to have the piece and though the original plan was to purchase and resell, I think I will be living with, and enjoying, this piece for a while!


Please know that the images used are not the actual images of the piece but ones I found on the web of the identical piece, though in perfect condition- unlike mine. Once I find the solution to my needs, I will post before and afters of the actual piece.

The furniture flipper- beautiful grey dining room chairs

I found these great chairs on a local facebook "trading" page. I love looking on there to see what's interesting and what people are interested in. So, set of four chairs circa 1910's, good bones, solid chairs, honey oak finish.

So the flipping commenced!

First off, I removed the seat cushions for re-upholstering. Then inspected the chair for damages. I was told that there was so veneer "lifting" and there was, but just on one chair. 


After gluing the veneer back and filling voids with wood putty and clean the chairs, I add the first coat of paint. I decided to go with a classic mid-tone grey. These chairs are on the formal side, so I didn't want to go too far with the paint colors. And as these chairs are not for a client, I need to look mainstream for my color selection to appeal to a broader market.

My paint of choice is Benjamin Moore Aura paint. It is low-VOC, paint and primer in one, and thick! My color of choice was- Baltic Grey. I did do two coats, because I needed really durable coverage.

Step three was the glaze finish and admittedly where this whole paint color idea began. I found this champagne metallic paint ( Modern Masters Metallic Paint) when looking for paint swatches... and the wheels started to turn. "How delicious would this look over grey on those chairs," I thought. But I wanted a striated effect, not a flash of opaque champagne. So, I cut the metallic paint with glaze in a 1 to 5 ratio, respectively.


Lastly the fabric. And I went with my second choice. I love this taupe and aqua animal print, but the taupe looked too yellow with the gray. Second choice is a Greek key type lattice pattern in sage grey, ivory and taupe. The finished pieces are a pretty grey with a light pearly look from a distance and a stria of champagne up close. It's an updated chair with a nod to the past. Fantastic!

Have you created some great painted projects? Wanna share?

Ultimate Blog Party

I've joined the Ultimate Blog Party this week! It's a great way to find new blogs and make new friends from "5 Minutes for Mom".  If you found me though the Blog Party... Welcome!

Please look around and check out my projects, ideas, and hopefully find some inspirations! You can find links to follow me on the right- I am with Networked Blogs, BlogLovin', or Google+.

Or you can click on those cute buttons, at the top right of the page, that I found on Etsy. I'm pretty serious about Etsy- as a fan, shopper, and business owner! If you have found something awesome on Etsy or have a shop, please share. I'd love to find out more about it!

The Furniture Flipper- my new moniker

I have decided to take on a sobriquet... a moniker for the pedantic. Though admittedly sobriquet does sounds fancier. I will be known as the Furniture Flipper! To be used in a sentence like, "The Furniture Flipper strikes again!" referring to a recent jaunt to a thrifty shop, estate sale, of when presented with a particularly good refinish furniture piece, which I refinished!

This has been a Furniture Flipping weekend! Here are some previous finds and some "in process" pieces. Um, yeah. I like chairs! What can I say... they fit in my car easily!

This guy will be re-upholstered in to a peacock of a chair.

This vintage lovely is for a client, it will be living in the pink and orange condo!

This one will need some special love, however,I realized while editing the images that is has the same lines on the turned wood pieces as the set of dining room chairs I am working on. (see below)

 

 Before chair, during chair and some details. ( I will be blogging on the project on Monday with all the details!)

 

Going Local- the shop

I have decided to open a space in Interiors and Antiques in Vestavia Hills! I am looking forward to filling the space with great handmade home accessories and one of a kind items. I am working hard to get everything ready for a weekend move in date. Here are some of the things you will find! I will be building the collection over the next few days. So, come see me in area 6 for the soft opening... Grand opening to come!