Antique and Vintage Signs

This morning I woke up early and drove down to the coast to pick up a great antique sign that I saw yesterday on craigslist. It's a very nice large one, double sided, with bold lettering. Because of the names and the green on white paint colors, it feels quite Irish, which is awesome. I was doing a tally in my head and I think I have almost 15 antique signs now. They're one of my favorite things to collect, but I'm running out of spots for them! I thought you'd like to see some of my collection so I've included pictures below. Since it's always interesting to know, I also included the prices I paid, or values, where possible. The sign I bought today was $35- which I thought was a bargain since a lot of the signs I see at high end antique shows are no better and cost far more than ten times that much. I'm going to hang the sign in my guest room. Speaking of the guest room, at the bottom of this post is a little sneak peak of the desk I'm sitting at right now in our upstairs guest room. Making progress!

front side of my new sign. I think it dates to about 1920-1940. It came out of an old barn in East Lyme, CT - $35

Back side of the same sign. So an interesting point on this- The front side was varnished, while the back side was never varnished. You can see the difference to how each side aged.

I picked this one up in Putnam, CT. I'm 90% certain it's actually a fake. I can see a place on the back where someone wrote several "farm-y" words in pencil, apparently trying to decide what to paint before going with cradle scythe.
Also, I can't really imagine any occasion that would call for a "cradle scythe" sign in real life. - $8

I snagged this sign at the New Hampshire Antiques show in August. It's definitely real. I believe Bonniebrow is a little town in Tennessee, or around there. C. 1940 - $45

front side of the bonnie brow sign.

This was the first antique sign I ever purchased. I found it at a flea market up in Plainville, CT. You can see that at some point someone decided to use it for birdshot target practice. I'd say it's from 1900-1930. - $10. 

I picked this beautiful antique sign up for my birthday at an antique mall on the Cape. It dates to around 1930.
 I believe it was $125

My parents found this great antique sign up in Maine. Ivers and Pond stopped selling pianos under this brand in 1929, so it dates to before then. It was a gift so I don't know the price.

I purchased both my "open" and "antique shoppe" signs at the flea market. They're both from about 1920.
They were both about $10.

My parents gave me this great buttermilk falls sign for Christmas this year.
Buttermilk falls is a public park in upstate NY

I got the "Enchanted Consignments" sign for Christmas last year. Such a funny sign. I thought I was the only one who thought consignment stores were enchanting.

Another shot of my antique shoppe sign.

The "Piano Teacher" sign is both my oldest sign c.1870, and my most valuable.
 It's probably worth between $600-$700.

And here's a little peak at one side of the guest room. We still need trim, and the floors, obviously, have not been re-done yet, but we're getting there!

What I bought in Maine

While I was writing the previous post I received the pictures of the white hutch from my mom. Now I can show all of what I bought in Maine. I've included the prices, since we all wonder about that kind of stuff. In the descriptions of each item I'll tell you what I'm planning to do with it.
Happy Wednesday!

I purchased this large gold mirror from a little shop in York- or somewhere like that on Rt. 1. It was $24. I'm going to hang it over the desk in the guest room.

I love that the glass has started to age so it has all this craqueler and dimension. It's prefect for softly reflecting light from a window into a room.

This gigantic antique picture frame was too good to pass up at $20. I don't know what exactly I'm going to do with it- but it will find a home soon enough.

I snagged this sweet little strainer for $5. I hung it on the kitchen wall by my sink.

I've been on the look out for some authentic antique brass coved drawer pulls for a while. This set was $5 for six, which is a fraction of the price I pay for the new ones at Lowes. 

I got this awesome antique solid oak dresser at a tag sale last summer for $15. It's now in our master bedroom. I've always hated the ugly square wooden drawer pulls on it. I'm going to take off the drawer pulls, fill the holes, and use those brass ones in the center of each drawer. I think it will look very sharp.

We needed a door knob for one of our antique doors upstairs. I loved this antique glass set and at $12, the price was too good to pass up!

The lovely vintage blown glass creamer was only $4. It's just so wonderful and perfect.

And it picks up the color of my antique seltzer bottle so nicely. Perfect!

 **Caution- not so pretty pictures ahead**

So my mom snapped these quick shots of my new antique hutch, and they really don't do it justice...and for some reason she didn't photograph it until it was buried in her garage. But have no fear! I'll take many beautiful photographs of it once it's in my dining room.

 Looks like I'll need to do a little touch up on the paint too.

two plate racks on top, two drawers over two doors on bottom.

I might strip and sand the table top portion. I have a sneaking suspicion it's chestnut underneath there.

And another view. I know it looks nuts like this, but you guys are all going to have to trust me that once I get my claws on it, it will be so spectacular! Oh, and it was $180, so there you have it. Sometimes a girl just needs to indulge. 

White Hutches and Armoires

I promised to show you some pictures of what I purchased while antiquing in Maine. Just about everything that I bought was small enough to fit in my little car, and came home with me on Saturday. I did however buy one very large piece of furniture that I couldn't take home right away. It's the most beautiful antique white hutch. I saw it in the very back of an antique mall and knew I had to have it. My mom went back and picked it up from the antique mall yesterday, and snapped a few photos of it once she got it home so I could show you what it looks like. I'm just waiting for her to email me those photos so I can do a full post of what I bought. In the mean time, I thought we could look at other beautiful white hutches and armoires. These large pieces are a great way to add storage and character to a space. With their large dimensions and rustic cottage appeal, they can feel more like architectural elements than furniture. Whether in a farmhouse kitchen, dining room, or bedroom, white hutches and armoires are so appealing.

Such a fabulous old chippy paint surface on this armoire- it gives it a soft aged look.

I'm cheating. I know this one isn't white- but can we all agree that it's so so beautiful?

Fresh and Springy and all decked out for Easter. Anyone else crazy desperate for Spring??

A gorgeous ornate armoire looks immensely grand with mirror paneled doors.

This one is a dead ringer for the hutch that I bought- though I venture that mine is a bit older. What a pretty kitchen! And I love the collection of cutting boards.

A stunning piece with wonderful dimensions. This would look so pretty in a country kitchen.

Rather than doing boring old kitchen cabinets, this homeowner opted for a hutch-like built in.
 The effect is very handsome.

I imagine this hutch was originally used for merchandise storage in an old grocer or dry goods store. You'd have to have a house with gigantic proportions to fit it in, but my how lovely it is!

Simple and sweet and perfect for a small home. I love that this hutch has both a drawer and a pull out cutting board. Our kitchen cabinetry, which dates to the 1930s (about the same as this hutch) also has a pull out cutting board.

Such a beautiful example made all the more attractive with the lovely collection of ironstone platters!

Love this antique white hutch, packed with treasures from the sea.

A gorgeous farmhouse kitchen gets extra storage with the addition of this beautiful hutch.
The chicken wire doors are a quirky touch.

Antiquing in Maine: Part 2

This is a follow up post to the one below. Here is the second batch of pictures from my Friday of antiquing in Maine. Again, this is just a highlights tour of the fun and funky stuff that I loved and wished I could buy (but sadly I'm not made of money). I hope you enjoy the pictures and are having a lazy happy Sunday :)

This image is a little shaky, but I think you can appreciate how beautiful this pair of landscapes is.

Loved this antique window.

SUCH a cool piece of architectural salvage. Can you imagine it as a headboard?

The most decadent mirror tucked away in a corner.

This giant crystal chandelier was so elegant

I love vintage Antiques signs

This landscape caught my eye. It wasn't priced but I didn't even bother asking since everything in this shop was ridiculously overpriced.

Fabulous pair of marble lamps.

Such a cool vintage industrial lamp in an awesome green color.

I really enjoyed the simplicity of this painting.

Another beautify landscape painting.

This was one of my favorite shops. Just so much cool vintage and antique stuff. I took a picture of the whole room because I basically wanted everything in the room.

Again, another lovely impressionist landscape.

Great antique mantle and sweet antique child's rocker.

I wanted very very badly to buy this mantle and put it in our upstairs bedroom. We have just the spot for it, and the price was incredibly reasonable. Sadly, my husband wouldn't go for it when I showed him the pictures. He rather astutely pointed out that if we put that in the room, it would eliminate one of the few walls we had in the space that could accommodate a dresser. It's so pretty though. *sigh*

I actually spotted this chandelier through the window as we drove buy and asked my mom to stop so I could check it out. I really really liked it, and have been wanting one to put in my guest bedroom. At $65- it was well within my budget... but I decided it was just a little too large, and might overpower the space.

I loved this giant antique gilt framed mirror.

wicked cool antique map of Middletown, CT dated 1823

spiffy little spool turned side table.

lots of sparkly vintage jewelry to peruse.

A funky wooden elephant from a bean bag toss.

This vintage garden table had been repurposed with a new funky wood top. I really liked it.