Brown and white toile

 

In flipping through the September issue of House Beautiful I ran across this set of dinnerware, a new Juliska pattern called "Country Estates."

It's very pretty stoneware, but pricier than I could afford for a whole set ($22-$175 per piece).  I might be able to swing a couple key pieces.  I particularly like this hostess platter:

The set reminded me a lot of this vintage saucer I found a while back:

I use it to store matchbooks.  My dad travels overseas sometimes for work, so I ask him to bring back matchbooks from around the world; it's pretty difficult to find matchbooks in the U.S. since so many places are now smoke-free.

As I am trying to spruce up the living room a bit, I also bought a yard or two of this brown and white toile fabric:

 A few weeks later the whole bolt got moved to the clearance aisle, and I briefly toyed with the idea of buying it and upholstering some walls (an idea I've wanted to try for a while).  I figured my husband might be a little leery of my arrival with gallons of starch, yards of fabric, and an internet DIY tutorial to guide my plans, so instead I stuck with the idea of making a couple small throw pillows.

I added some brown ball fringe to trim them out (DIY tutorial coming soon!).

Making these pillows, in turn, got me thinking about grander uses of brown toile, such as those in these rooms:

Traditional Home

 via ArchitectsForLife - kind of a greeny-brown

Heather Chadduck

Colefax and Fowler toile via Cote de Texas

I do like other colors of toile, but I always come back to brown as the one I could probably live with the longest (ok, maybe blue too...).  I also think that toile looks good on a big scale, and I admire those people who can swath an entire room in the stuff: wallpaper, bedding, even lamp shades.

For now, I'll stick with my flea market china and my little throw pillows.  And maybe I'll start saving up for some Juliska.

One room, three ways

Since it's Friday, I thought I would leave you with a pretty picture:

I have liked this image for a long time.  I like all the different textures and objects in this vignette, even though the range of colors is pretty limited.  I like the contrast of all the round objects (clock, lamp, gourds, spheres) and the angular table, trunk, and books.  The fresh green leaves make all the difference here, though; imagine how much different this corner would look without that greenery!

I recently was looking through interior designer Richard Holley's portfolio and found these images of the same bedroom:

Bits and pieces are still there -- the parsons console table, trunk, gourd lamp, upholstered bed.  But I still really like that combination of the antique screen and the stacks of design books in the first image.  Most of all, I think I really like the branches, and that's a look that's really easy to replicate in your own home, especially now since it's time to trim back all those trees and shrubs in your garden.

Have a great weekend!

Brush pottery planter

A few weeks ago I found this green glazed planter for sale in an antique shop.  It is really shallow, so I was going to plant some small succulents inside.  However, I found that it was difficult to locate small enough plants, so I opted instead to use it on our desk to hold little items: paperclips, stamps, etc.

I am not very skilled at identifying pottery, but thankfully this piece was marked "Brush USA" so I was able to quickly find the maker online.  Apparently Brush was a pottery maker in Ohio that eventually merged with McCoy (a maker I had heard of before!) to become Brush-McCoy.  In addition to being marked and numbered, the feet of this little planter are unglazed, which was another Brush signature.

I really like the dark green color, the slightly crackled glaze finish, and the raised zig zag.  When I get tired of using this planter on the desk, I think it would be great for holding jewelry (a row of bangles would be pretty!).  I see these small planters all the time in thrift shops and flea markets; maybe I'll have to pick up a few more since they are so versatile!

Vintage stereo cabinet

So after yesterday's post about wood furniture, I thought I'd give you a glimpse of our newest acquisition: this cabinet stereo from the '40s or '50s (I think -- I need to do more research!).  It's a family piece that we picked up over Easter weekend.  I gave it a good dusting and polished up the finish a little bit.  The front now shines in the light from the window right next to it, which I really like!

For now we have it sitting in our living room, but if we ever finish a family music / TV room in the basement, I think it would we great there too!

The doors on the front cover a record player and radio.  How fun is the radio and dials??  This makes listening to the radio cool again!  I hope we can get the record player running again -- I think we need to buy a few pieces, but we do have the original records that came with it, so it would be a fun party trick to play those for company!

Decorating with antique wood furniture

When I am browsing through magazines or websites, I will often find that a particular interior just makes me stop mid-page turn (or scroll).  And many times the reason why I've stopped is an old, shiny piece of wood furniture.

Whether it's a chest of drawers, a secretary, or a console, if it's old with some patina, I will almost always like it.  If it's inlaid or burled, that's even better!  I do typically like pieces with some shine to their finish -- it just makes them stand out even more in a room.  And they look great in all types of interiors, from very traditional to more modern.  Every room needs a little bit of nature and some age, and these furniture pieces bring that.

A few examples:

Emily Todhunter Group, via VT Interiors

Scanned from a book - sorry, can't remember the publisher!

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Tommy Smythe - Canadian House & Home

Deborah Needleman's office - Lonny Mag

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If you have a lot of pattern in a room, the wood surface gives your eye a place to rest, and if you have a room with a lot of solid surfaces and colors, the antique wood adds an interesting texture to the room.  Perfect either way!

Sorry I don't have the original credits for a few of these pictures; a lot of these are images I saved just for my own use before I started writing a blog.  If you know the designer/photographer/publisher, please let me know and I'll update the post.  Thanks!

Broach bouquet

I saw this super creative idea on a wedding photography website and had to share.

 The bride's bouquet was actually made out of floral broaches!  Not only is this great for a vintagey wedding, but it also means that the bouquet is easy to preserve (no flowers to dry!).

This basic idea would translate well to home design too.  You can find a variety of inexpensive broaches at any antique shop, garage sale, or flea market.  I think it would be cool to collect a certain color or style and turn them into your own small "bouquets" to use in vases around the house.  Or, you could cluster them into a sphere and use it as an accessory to add some color to a tablescape.

To find similar broaches online, try searching eBay for "vintage brooch" or "broach."  This link will take you to the vintage jewelry category; many of these pieces could be used for a similar look.  Almost all of the items that came up were $10 or less.

{Also check out Todd Pellowe's other photography HERE}

Details

I found this silverplate coffee and tea service this summer on Craigslist.  It was really dull and tarnished, but with some polish and a lot of elbow grease, the tarnish disappeared, and now it's one of my favorite items.  What I love about it are all the intricate little details.

All four pieces--coffee pot, teapot, sugar bowl, and creamer pitcher--have identical feet.  I like that the tarnish that remained after polishing helps highlight the intricacy of the design.  You can also see the engraved design on the top of the tray in this picture.

The tray's handles

The handles of both the teapot and the coffee pot have a subtle leaf design, which reminds me of my grandmother's set of dining chairs, which I inherited.

I have always loved the combination of the carved leaf detail on the back of the chair and the barley twist spindles.