New Acquisitions and projects

Sorry there have been so few posts lately about my projects and new finds. I lost my camera last week (it may very well be buried somewhere in my work shop). Not a real tragedy though, it was a pretty crappy camera that we picked up from target last summer during our honeymoon. I went out yesterday and picked out a new awesome amazing camera that I'm super excited about. This is my first post with it- I hope the pictures are crisp, because I can tell you, it is waaaay easier to use. I've found some cool items in the last few days. A gorgeous industrial rolling cart that I'm going to use in my Autumn decor, two dining tables, and some really fun small items and a gorgeous antique white shelf that I'm keeping for myself. The pictures are below, as well as a couple other pictures...since I was having a pretty good time with my new camera :)

Two dining set projects in process. One is vintage, from Denmark, and possibly teak. The other is newer- maybe about 20 years old, and solid oak.

Yea- that's gonna turn out pretty amazing.

halfway through sanding this one, and I have to sand the leaf.

My new shelf!! I'm going to put it in my dining room for the fall (I think). It was taken out of a 19th century house, but the shelf is c.1900-1930. I adore it. I'm toying with putting a beadboard back on it to make it a little more free-standing. I got it at a tag sale for $20!

I actually got this last week but hadn't been able to photograph it yet. Isn't it beautiful!! I'll hammer out some of the dents and then work it into the fall decor.

Another shot- so industrial and cool!

I got this c. 1850 pencil sketch of a child at the flea market- I'm going to frame it. 

A sketchbook study of the face and eyes- I think this is incredibly cool. 

This is an 18th century engraving from a book. I think it's just perfect for fall. Very creepy and spooky,

Another corkscrew to add to my collection. This is a nice early one. ($1)!!!

My new garden that I put in along the stone wall last month. I think it's coming along well!

The cottage gardens around the back are going crazy. They're going to need to be cut back next spring.

I snagged this little antique tin box for $4 at the flea market yesterday. Will fit right in with the schoolhouse theme

Such a wonderful shade of green and a great patina!!

Vintage Educational Charts and Animal prints

I'm well into my planning process for the fall decor in the house. Fall's always the hardest season for me. I'm inherently a green and white kind of girl, but in the fall I do really crave a change, and some different colors, but I never seem to pull off the new look as well as the other seasons. That's gonna change this year. I've got a really great battle plan in place that I think will be AWESOME. I want this fall decor to be so good that I won't want to put up Christmas stuff.
I'm going to be giving you little sneak peaks into the planning process as it evolves. The theme is going to be vintage school house chic meets cabinet of curiosities. That's a mouth full, but it's a pretty cohesive look. The primary elements:
1. Rich saturated hues of Orange, Green, and Black (on the background of my dark wood floors, cream walls, and leather furniture, dark wood and white painted furniture)
2. No literal halloweeny stuff except real gourds and pumpkins (because I can't resist)
3. School house elements- vintage school house chairs, chalkboards, lamps, posters and charts for art
4. Industrial elements, to keep it grounded and not too cutesy.
5. Antique signs....just because I love them.

I have a set of four amazingly weird and beautiful vintage insect prints that were taken from an early 20th century instructional book. They were $3 ea at the flea market two years ago, and have never found their way up onto the wall. They're a bit creepy, the artist portrayed the insects very realistically. I'm basing the whole color scheme on these prints. I'd show you pics but I can't find my camera at the moment :( Here are some other fantastic insect and animal prints, and some great educational charts- What's your plan for decorating your house for autumn???
Enjoy ~

A great eclectic grouping, and everyone needs a mustache identification chart, obviously.

Undeniably charming whale chart adds pizzaz to this restrained space. 

I'd frame this in a large white mat, and simple black frame and then put it over an industrial metal rolling cart.

The halloween is a little heavy handed here, but I love the bat prints on clipboards.

SOOOO gorgeous. I adore that chart in the front- and they look so casual and unexpected stacked against the wall.

Beautiful pair of antique plant charts. I never see these at flea markets and they cost about $1000000 online. *le sigh*

This insect print is so subtle and handsome. 

Reptiles get elevated as a high art form here

Creepy crawlies in the bathroom- generally a horrifying prospect- but here, oh so chic.

These vintage marine life  prints suit the warm autumnal palette perfectly.

Peaceful Bedrooms

If you're like me, you had a little too much fun and sun yesterday, and are thinking longingly of sleep. I was actually good yesterday, didn't drink too much, but an earth shattering migraine at 3am ensured that I would feel crumby today regardless.  I can't wait to curl up tonight with a good book and go to bed early. There is something so wonderful about a peaceful bedroom. I like simplicity in my bedrooms, but I do appreciate on occasion a room with a bit for daring  as well. Here are some beautiful bedrooms to admire. Our upstairs project is dragging, but will be completed someday- after looking at this first picture, I'm pretty certain my master bedroom is going to have a celery green bed. Love that color!

I love this bedroom. The creamy antique bed linens, that gorgeous celery paint color on the bed, the natural wood of the antique dresser, used as nightstand. 

Rustic perfection. This looks so inviting in a tree-fort sort of way. I love the bed. 

Eclectic yet refined. I adore the hooked rug hung as art in the corner and the stack of vintage leather suitcases. 

The upholstered antique couch at the foot of the bed is a scene stealer, but I also like how the little hints of black unify the space to perfectly. Nightstand, picture frames, exposed beams, radiator, the feet of the couch. It's everywhere, but isn't at all overpowering. 

I am SUCH a sucker for exposed stone or brick in any space. It basically makes my knees week. Exposed beams and stone? I'm almost overwhelmed. So beautiful.

The deep emerald green marble topped table is what caught my eye initially but I also adore the soft color of the wood floors peeking out by the bed. The whole space just looks so sunny and welcoming. 

Classic beauty. I love that soft shade of blue on the walls and the iron bed is so awesome.  It reminds me of an old wrought iron gate. 

Soft hues of green and white make this bedroom peaceful and serene while the various antiques add interest and depth. very pretty. 

Coffee table set before and after

I fell in love this set as soon as I saw it two weeks ago at a sale in Hebron. The scrolled curved apron on the coffee table is lovely. I knew it was really really good pine and would sand beautifully. As soon as I sanded the top, as I could see that it was some of the best wood grain I'd found in a while. I did this set custom for a client. They choose Benjamin Moore's Bayou Blue for the sides, and we did Minwax's pickled oak stain, then poly on the top. I love the blue. It's so saturated and delicious. I waxed and buffed all the painted surfaces to give them a subtle shine and to protect the paint. I think they turned out so fresh and bold, very summery. Before and after pics below ~

Before- and really pretty just as they were.

Another before.

and after!

side table before

and after!

Just look at that wood!

SOOOOOOO STUNNING!

I think pine is my favorite wood to work on...though I really like maple too...and oak lol.

Sideboard Before and After

I picked up this sideboard last fall at a tag sale in Colchester. I loved the lines of the piece- literally, the incised lines that run across the drawer fronts. They add a really modern element to the sideboard. It's solid chestnut c.1870. Originally, it had a soapstone top, and when I used it as my sideboard I used that top. The top was quite stained though, and I wanted to switch the sideboard for a different piece, so I moved it down to my workshop. Being that it's such a stunner, it caught the eye of a client almost immediately, and got a full face lift before going off to its new home yesterday evening. I painted the piece Benjamin Moore's Ocean Air, which is just the softest most delicate shade of blue. I added antique barn boards to the top- sanded, and stained with Minwax's pickled oak to bring out the wood grain, and compliment the light blue. I changed the drawer pulls for ceramic ones (don't they look antique!) and then gave the entire case a coat of wax, buffed, to make the color glow. Pretty cute, right?
Before and After shots below ~

In my spring decor 2012. Painted my favorite light green. I didn't take a 'before' pic when I first got it, but it was originally a dark dark wood stain.

Another 'before' pic. These drawers pulls are antique, but don't make sense with the piece. They're teeny tiny and make it really hard to grip the drawers to open them.

With the light blue paint, new barn board top, and the ceramic drawer pulls.

I think it turned out so sweet!