For Sale

January has been a really busy month.  Catch up after christmas holidays with the family.  Then the dreaded accounts and tax return (always left until the last minute).  Lots of new stock to list on my other love www.allabouttheboys.co.uk  and now its time to turn my attention to my real love.  My gorgeous vintage homewares and reloved furniture business.  I am seriously considering renting some shop space, but until that dream is realised, I need to get listing in my Etsy store.

Some of the items coming soon :

Soooo pretty Limoges Cake plate

might be hard to part with this totally gorgeous trio

Thought it was about time I stopped hoarding and started selling some of my linens

Chandelier Envy

One of the things I love to do most in the world when I have a spare moment is to trawl through the many amazing American blogs I follow.  Americans really know how to "do" blogging and always seem to find the most extraordinary things.

I literally gasped when I came across the beautiful blog that is Maison Decor belonging to the talented Amy.  This chandelier is the stuff of dreams.  I have been searching for it all my life, I had it in my minds eye but have been unable to find it and then...... There it was !  Read her story about how she came across this exquisite  piece

Can you imagine living in such a home with such a thing of beauty ?   I am beyond envy .........

Be still my beating heart !

It's been a while since our last visit to the boot sale and to be honest when hubby woke me at 6.00am this morning I was all for turning over and going back to sleep.  Thing is I know how much he enjoys our little meander together on sleepy Sunday mornings so I heaved myself out of bed and am I glad I did.

I still wasn't feeling it at first.  It was dark, absolutely freezing cold, I had forgotten my gloves and ended up wearing a rather fetching woolly Flybe hat! Some bloke even called me mate ! that's how bad I looked.

I am so glad I did go and also thank you to the person who decided not to buy as they thought £10 was too much to pay for this little lot !

I've been really keen to hand print my own labels and bags for the vintage fairs I sell at but every time I look online for stamp sets they are either too small, cheap and fall apart or don't print clearly.  When I saw this set on the sellers table I felt sure they were going to be out of my price range so when she said £10 for the lot I couldn't get my money out quick enough.

There is every conceivable letter, number and sign you could possibly need.  Borders, hearts, flowers and two ink pads etc thrown in for good measure.  Looking at the clothing the woman is wearing on the cover of the book that accompanies the set I think it dates from the 70's .

It even has the  Neo print unit and base plate - all in immaculate condition.  I can't find much info  about Neoprint, if anybody has any knowledge of printing I would love to know more.

I can't wait to get started using this and will let you know how I get on.

Something about the tarnished, worn look of old housewares that I really love.  As long as there are no cracks or potential health risks lurking  I am more than happy to buy them.  This gorgeous jug is a bit of a contradiction, the glass is sparkly, heavy, thick and immaculate.   The top is worn,scratched and tarnished.  I love it !  Don't think this one will be sold for a while.....

Soooo Pretty. This gorgeous cheese dish was lying under the table in a box full of junk!  Always, always look under the table as well as on it when you go booting.  I find some amazing stuff in boxes that people can't be bothered to unpack!

I found a selection of pretty single pattern plates and cups.  I will always buy odd cups, saucers and plates.  I love the mix and match look of vintage china and sellers are always willing to sell them for a song in most cases.

I adore the aqua colour of this plate.  Sadly there was only one but now it has been rescued and will be loved and used every day.

Ohh! la! la! what story does this plate tell ?  Gorgeous French Mademoiselle why was she drinking alone ? Did she rush off from her table to meet her French lover ? Hurrying who knows where with her pretty French poodle. 

Linking upto the lovely Lizzie at MagpieMonday

Bathroom Renovation

One memory that stands out from the many on the day we moved into this house was the sight of my good friend sitting upstairs in the filthy cast iron bath scrubbing like a woman possessed and  crying her heart out that we had made a terrible mistake and we couldn't possibly live in this filthy run down house with our 6 month old twins.  At the time I admit to putting on a brave face and brightly exclaiming that it would all be fine once we gave it "The Jones effect".  When those special friends finally left us, exhausted and depressed to go home, I sat amongst what felt like hundreds and hundreds of packing boxes (we moved from a house twice the size) with a crying twin in each arm and burst into tears myself.  How were we ever going to be able to afford to make this house livable let alone beautiful.

After the kitchen the bathroom was the next most in need of attention.  A huge, ugly,stained cast iron bath dominated a tiny space.  The once beautiful original art deco black and white  tiles were cracked, broken and filthy.  A tiny space as a main bathroom for a family of five.  Next to the bathroom was what would have been a linen cupboard.  My husband and I came up with the plan to remove the cupboard and knock through which would give us a little more space. 

Work begins ! In the picture above you can see where the tiles end, this marks where the original bathroom wall ended and the back wall of what was the linen cupboard. On the right what was the side wall of the bathroom. When I look at these photos I do wonder how we managed with no bathroom for weeks !

We decided to make the door to the linen cupboard the new bathroom door and the original bathroom entrance we built a glass brick wall. I thought this would maximise the light into the hallway beyond.
We decided to go for a Shower/bath tub which we relocated to the far wall to enable us to fit another toilet and a sink into the extra space we created.

I am so pleased with the end result and thank the Lord for the skill and talent of my amazing husband who did all the work himself.

The new entrance to the bathroom

The original bathroom entrance now a bright, light glass wall

Open the door, its a tight fit but with a modern sink we were able to achieve the look we wanted.  We also went for a solid wooden floor, not sure about how sensible this was in a bathroom. We sealed it and it does seem to be standing up to all the water.

Moving into the room and with the extra space and new layout we were able to fit in an extra toilet.  Essential in a house with four Men!

relocating the bath along this wall allowed us to fit a shower on the far wall and gave us much more space.

I love, love , love the shower.  I always wanted one that drenches you.  The bathroom set of toilet, sink, bath, shower, screen and amazing talking point taps were all purchased from Ebay for a total of £600 !

By choosing a curved combination shower/bath we saved on the crucial space we needed

Linen basket and radiator in the sale a Argos

The taps are a real talking point with visitors.

The large Cork mirror came from our previous home

Beautiful Italian tiles bought for a song at the local discount tile warehouse

Finally, above the window a sign that reminds me of my love of the sea and how far we have come.

We completed the work on the bathroom at a total cost of just under £1000.  Obviously labour was paid in kind .

What's behind the vintage trend ?

Vintage has been the buzz word in fashion, interior and media trends for a number of years now, with everything from 1950s’ dresses to 1970s’G Plan furniture making a comeback. But what’s behind our current obsession with the past that has many of us turning our homes into time-warps? Guest blogger Jo-ann Fortune, from www.vintagebrighton.com, explores three possible answers.

Recession rallying

When times are hard, rose-tinted memories of yesteryear can offer comfort. For those in middle age, the iconic mid-century furniture and home accessories that they grew up with – think Homemaker crockery, sleek Ercol pieces and soft furnishings in a naturalistic print – can help recall a time when their lives were simpler. And to those too young to remember such interior aesthetics the first time round, the stylish advertising of the day – brought back to life by shows such as Mad Men – paints them as defining a time full of promise and glamour.

Tightening our belts has also meant going out less and entertaining at home more, which has brought out the domestic goddess in many of us. Items we once considered to be archaic, such as cake stands, hostess trolleys and full tea sets have become central to our hostess-with-the-mostess shtick.

Of course buying second hand, from charity shops, car boot sales and flea markets, is also much cheaper than furnishing your home with brand new tables, chairs and cushions – another reason why our interiors have become full of items that wouldn’t look out of place in our parents or grandparents’ homes.

www.johnlewis.com

Fashion cycles

Fashion constantly refers to the past for inspiration, and it could be argued that our recent love of postmodern pastiche – mixing elements of the past to create ‘new’ styles and ideas – strengthens sociologists’ ‘end of history’ theories.

While the widely held definition of vintage is anything from over twenty years previous, half a century offers sufficient time for themes to be properly processed in terms of historical and social importance, to go out of fashion and reappear again as something fresh to a new generation.

www.johnlewis.com

Having been designed from modernist principles of utility and futurist ideals, the mid-century styles proving so popular at the minute are also imbued with an intrinsic sense of longevity.     

High-street backlash?

The globalisation of brands and proliferation of the same names on the high street has lead some of us to seek out original and unique pieces with which to create our own personal sense of style. Just as fashion fans search out that special vintage piece that will make them to envy of their friends, mixing one-off finds with handmade pieces and family heirlooms can help make your house a home, rather than looking like a showroom.   

Second-hand items also come with a sense of history and meaning that it’s difficult to buy new. Although, having said that, there are some pretty fabulous revival collections and reimagined vintage pieces on the high street. After all, if you can’t beat ‘em…

This is a sponsored post, I received John Lewis products in payment.