French Market Chic

After an exhausting few days selling at two vintage fairs on Friday and Saturday we had already decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather to clear out our cupboards and try and make a few pounds to put towards the Birthday Bash next Saturday.  This meant getting up at 5.30 Sunday morning (with all three boys in tow) to go to Exeter cattle market boot sale.  To be honest I wasn't in the selling or buying mood.  Made worse by the swarms of people who descended on us as soon as we parked up.  I really, really hate this aspect of bootsales, there is none of the normal British reserve as they dive into the back of your car or all start screaming "how much, how much " as soon as you plonk a box down on the floor.  Combined with over tiredness and sunburn from selling outside on the previous two days I was not a happy bunny.  Still sales were brisk and within half an hour I was able to go for a wander myself.  Although pipped to the post on several wonderful quilts, baskets and a particularly beautiful tea set I was  able to find one or two nice pieces.  Unfortunately four of them were chairs !  Hubby was really not going to have his happy face on when I rolled back up to the car with No 1 son and four chairs.  So much for going home with a clear boot.

Here is what the car looked like packed up to GO HOME ! 

As for that great lump of a table perched on the edge of the boot, in my excitement to unload my treasure from the car, I opened the boot and the thing fell out onto my leg.  Spent the rest of the day with ice pack and elevation unable to move it.  Nasty cut, swelling and bruise but nothing more.  One bonus, it meant I rested and hubby also made steak and chips for lunch ! Result !

There also seemed to be a bit of a theme going on this week.  I 'll call it French Market Chic.  A lot of the items I found were French.  Not that I am complaining.  French vintage is a big trend at the moment.

Really pretty French Limoges Porcelain Child's tea set in a hamper

Set of FOUR immaculate French Betjeman and Barton tea caddies !  You will see why I am so thrilled if you take a look at their website where you will see each tea caddy (without tea) sells for over 12 Euros ! Woop.

Tired but gorgeous toy doll high chair.  I am going to give this a lick of paint and turn it into the perfect shabby chic little girls play thing.

Wonderful 1950's Sirram picnic hamper complete with original contents.  Needs a bit of work and some serious cleaning but a fab find with China cups and plates not plastic . *big smile*

HUGE gilt and cream mirror.  Knocked the seller down to £12 from £15 for this beauty.  Don't be afraid to haggle especially if its a big item, they won't want to take it home again !

Now for the random piece.  Whilst selling on Saturday in Budleigh I remembered one of the lovely sellers from the last Crikey Its Vintage Event I attended had a shop there.  I thought I would pop along and take a peak.  What Katy Did  is the most wonderful treasure trove of Vintage items you will find anywhere on the planet.  I got talking to the lovely Katy and it came to light she rents out cabinets in her shop.  Result : I am now, along with my lovely friend Liz the proud renter of space in Katy's shop.  So when I saw the Brush Hall set above I thought it would be the perfect piece to fit right in with the style of Katy's Shop.  Wish me luck and watch this space for regular updates on how it goes.

Two teeny, tiny ceramic puppy dogs.  I saw them on the same table as another old child's tea set I purchased and though they looked so sad, I just couldn't leave them behind.

That's it for today.  I have lots and lots more treasure including four chairs but will save those for another day.

Linking up with the lovely Liz from Magpie Monday

Damaged but still beautiful

A new lady seller join our happy little vintage and homemade band in Topsham last week.  In a past life she was an antiques dealer, so she knows her stuff (which could come in handy for those of us still learning about vintage items).

When she popped this piece on her table I knew I was lost.  I had to have it, my collection of white china is building rapidly and this even though it has been repaired is just the most beautiful piece.

Its Moore Brothers England and is such a gorgeous piece (sorry the pictures just don't do it justice).

Linking up with Liz over at MagpieMonday

The Tots 100 Home Club with Homebase

I'm thrilled to bits to be one of the founding members of the Tots100 Home Club in association with Homebase.   The other members are my great friend Jen who blogs at Mum in the Madhouse ,The very lovely  Violet Posy ,  Fellow twin mum Heather from GrowingSpaces  and the very undomesticated looking Domestic Goddess  (met her at the weekend complete with tiara and pearls ! ) xx

To kick us off the theme is "get organised" with a storage task.  We have have been given £100 to spend in homebase and can use it in anyway we see fit to improve storage anywhere in our homes.  This couldn't have come at a better time for me.  Working from home out of my combined dining/work room has always been a problem.  Even more so since I started selling vintage homewares at fairs.  I can't remember the last time the family sat down together at the dining table to eat.

Now your illusions of my perfect white home are about to be shattered.  Look away now if you are easily shocked !

THE BEFORE SHOTS

Oh Dear ! Thinking I maybe over sharing a little too much

There's a sofa underneath somewhere

The "office "

As you can see, this challenge is very timely indeed.  I am really looking forward to sorting it all out.  We even get a fab app to help us with our planning.  If you are on facebook you can find it here : Homebase - House of Inspiration   Its a great idea.  I've already had a play around with it. Its simple to use and you can even import your own pictures to really pull your board together.  Perfect to help you plan any renovations or decorating plans you might have.


As we are a vintage thrifty home I am trying to come up with ideas that don't involve plastic storage boxes so watch this space and please come back and see if I manage to achieve a tidy, usable dining/work space.    If you have any ideas of your own you can get involved too on the Tots100 Facebook page 

Excited !

Mad Blog Awards Finalist

 

I'm thrilled to say this blog made it into the finals of the 2012 Mad Blog Awards ! I am over the moon as there are just 77 finalists across 20 award categories.

There were 52,000 nominations for over 3,000 different blogs.  So its a BIG deal.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everybody who nominated me.

If you would like to vote for me to win you can do it really quickly and easily  Vote Here  Just scroll down to the Best Home Category, click on the please choose button, select The White Approach, scroll to the bottom of the page and enter !

Please do keep following and reading my blog, lots of great ideas are coming soon.  I have made some big business decisions over the last few weeks and I would love you along for the ride.

Thank you so much once again for all your support, encouragement and great comments.  This blog would not be what it is if it was not for you.

Karen

XXX

Topsham Vintage and Homemade fair

It's been raining for weeks (or so it seems)  I have missed two Sunday boot sales so I was doing my serious "no rain" dance last night in order to get my fix.  After an awful night's sleep I awoke to beautiful clear skies and the chimes of baby twin asking if he could come with me today to the boot sale.  But, but, but .....  I need to concentrate ! I need to march around at speed snatching bounty from beneath the noses of the less astute!  No problem.  The boot sale gods were looking down, hubby came with me and No 1 son assured me (after I shook him out of his slumber) that he would stay awake and look after Big twin when he woke up .

Off we rushed.  Here are some of my goodies all bound for the Topsham Vintage and handmade fair along with the stools and a few other pieces I have "reloved".

I've had this 1950/60's picnic hamper for a while but have finally got around to cleaning it up and sorting it out to take to the vintage fair tomorrow.

Lovely wicker hamper with a great greyish/white whitewash effect and grey handles, gorgeous. Shall I keep it, shall I sell it ?

Really beautiful palest yellow and white with gold stars English Bone china tea set

Lovely, ceramic Jelly/Blamange mould

You may remember a while back I mentioned about a gorgeous French glass set of tea cups and saucers I saw and didn't pick up (I already have a set myself) well the lady was back again today and she still had the set ! Mine, all mine ! Won't make that mistake twice.

Immaculate Enamel Bread bin, no real age to it, made in Poland, a beauty all the same .

Sorry but that's all I have time for today.  Hopefully most of the above will sell tomorrow.  If you are in Devon and fancy a treat of Vintage and Homemade loveliness please do pop down to Topsham (we are in the hall next to the Fire station) from 10 am to 4 pm.

My Perfect Home

So you know that perfect white space people think I live in ?

My dining room is also my work space.  Seriously need to get hubby to build me a shed or something in the garden.  I am sorting stock for two vintage fairs this weekend but its proving a bit overwhelming at the moment. 

Hopefully some order will be restored soon and I can post an "after" pic.

Help ! I need to shop !

I have to admit to starting to twitch a little.  Two weeks without being able to go to my beloved Sunday morning boot sale.  Last weekend we were away in Birmingham and try as I might I couldn't get my hubby to detour via streets that might hold charity shop heaven.  This weekend, well what a washout !  I prayed for a miracle on Saturday night that the weather forecasters for once would be wrong but sadly it was not to be.  I was kept awake most of the night by the wind and rain lashing against the house.  Why is it that weather forecasters always get bad forecasts correct but never manage to correctly forecast good weather ?

Anyway I was a bit in the doldrums yesterday and as I had to go to the post office I thought I would just pop to Topsham for a look around the charity shops and the Antique emporium on the Quay.

This is what I found.  Paid £12 for the vase ! Gulp ! I know, but it is seriously gorgeous.  A huge lustreware 1930's pitcher standing 14 inches tall.  Perfect with flowers sent to me last week .

 

That's all for this week !  I know shocking isn't it.  I am too busy to do justice to the few other bits I "may" have found in the charity shop last week. Will try to post later this week.

If you love thrifty bargains pop over to the gorgeous Liz at Magpie Monday

The Hall Stand

I like to pick up bits and pieces from boot sales like chairs and small items of furniture.  My husband on the other hand often has bigger ambitions.  Some months back he casually announced he had won an old hall stand on Ebay !  "Its lovely" he exclaimed.  "might need a bit of work" he added.  He also only bids on items that require local collection, his thinking is not so many people will bid if it is not in their location.  He does have a point, he won the hall stand for £10.50.  As he was working it was left to me to collect it, it's OK the seller assured me its in several pieces and will easily fit in your car !  He wasn't wrong !

Here are some photos he remembered to take before he set to work repairing the stand.  We think it's either Edwardian or Victorian.  Its certainly old and was in a really sorry state having been in storage or a garage for many years.

In this picture you can see the mirror in the centre panel was still in relatively good condition, just some age spots which I think add to its beauty.  All the original hooks were the first thing he removed and put to one side to bring back to life later.

This is the base which also has a tray which fits in the bottom for umbrellas.  Hubby removed the wooden storage box as there was a lot of damage, this has now been fixed and is waiting for him to paint.  The wood was cracked and as you can see from the photo the arm on the left as you look at the photo was missing and broken (the seller did provide this piece, just wasn't attached).

The broken pieces of the left arm

more damage.  Trying to educate hubby to take lots of pics from good angles before he starts renovating.  Think he is getting better, at least he remembers now.  Look at the dirt and yuckyness at the bottom of this piece.

It really never ceases to amaze me how talented my husband is.  I am thrilled to bits with the end result.  We had planned to sell this piece but, well its staying put now.  Think it suits our entrance hall beautifully.

The Stool

It's been a busy few weeks with the Easter holidays, lots of selling at Vintage fairs and children to entertain.  I did manage a quick visit to the boot sale yesterday morning but don't have the time to show you my wares today.  My mother flies home today and we are going to squeeze in one last trip out this morning before she goes. 

I thought you might like to see a previous charity shop purchase I have "reloved".

BEFORE

Sad, unloved stool

After

Inspiration came from one of the pieces of gorgeous material my lovely friend Helen from icklebabe.com sent to me.  A lick of paint and a recover of the seat with Helen's material and a new stool is born !

Stool will be available to purchase in my etsy shop soon.

Linking up to Liz at MagpieMonday

Moving in Day

As we near the end of the major renovations on our house (don't worry I think I will always be tweaking and changing bits and pieces around) all the major building work has been completed mostly by my amazing husband, I decided to create a page on this blog to document how far we have come.  One of my biggest regrets was not taking more photographs on the day we moved in but at the time I was too busy dealing with exhausted removal men, traumatised friends (more on that one later), screaming twins, sulking ten year old and a shocked husband.  There are some photos to show the before but really they do not do justice to the horror of the inside of this house that had been lived in for ten years by an elderly, infirm lady.  Prior to her a family had lived here for over 40 years.  Very little had been changed internally from the 1930's.  We actually loved the original features that still remained like the heavy wooden doors complete with brass handles and original keys!  Although filthy and black with age we could really appreciate their beauty. 

Every room except the kitchen and the bathroom had a fireplace in it.  We are not talking discreet Victorian types tucked away in a corner either.  These were HUGE take a look at us, ugly fireplaces.  I am sad to say the only one that remains is in the living room.  We just could not live with them.  They dominated the space and were really not in keeping with the rooms also taking up valuable wall space.  Anyway more of all this later.

Here are the few pictures I did manage to take on the day we moved into our house.

Boxes, boxes and more boxes.  Piled up in every room.  This is the kitchen as it was.

The dining room.  You couldn't actually get it there.  We had so much furniture, moving from a large house to a much smaller one.  My husband put our lovely family photo portrait on the wall thinking it would cheer me up.  I promptly burst into tears with exhaustion and sadness at all that we had lost and left behind.

Another view of the dining room.

and another !  What were we going to do with all our sofas !  We had four from the old house.  It was hell that night, I can remember not even being able to think or talk at this stage.  I just wanted to sleep and wake to find it had all been a horrible nightmare.

Our bedroom.  It was Summer, look how dark it is outside and still no bed put together for hubby and I to sleep on.  This was taken about 10pm.

Jacob's bedroom.  He refused to stay in the house the night we moved in.  Our great friends who helped us that day had to take him home with them.  I do wonder the extent of what had happened to us in such a small amount of time and the huge changes to his life he had to undergo how they have affected him.  I like to think they have made him a stronger, kinder more understanding person.  I do hope so.

The doorway of the twins room.

They were the only ones who had a good nights sleep on that first night.  I can remember sitting in that blue chair nursing them in the early hours with tears streaming down my face and feeling lonelier and sadder than I had ever felt before in my life.

I am happy to say that seven years on, life is much different.  We have come through so much together and have worked so hard to make this house a real home.  Follow our story on The House Renovation Page.

More soon xx

It's only a chair

but oh ! What a beauty !

Spotted at the back by the van of one of my regular sellers, I couldn't believe this hadn't already been snapped up.

I love it, its shape, the way its legs kick out at the front like a beautiful girl showing off her feet, its colour, the smooth, smooth wood.

I won't be selling it, I won't be painting it.  It's perfect just the way it is.

and the cost ?  Just £3

I can't get enough wicker baskets. I have them in all shapes and sizes, perfect for holding stock and displaying at vintage fairs.  I bagged this one complete with linen liner (in the wash) for just £2.  Its a great size, would make a wonderful hall basket or storage for linens.  We'll see.

These won't be going anywhere either.  Bit of a trend this week, most of the treasure I found at the bootsale is destined to stay in my home.  These are the most beautiful, heavy turquoise glass candlesticks.  I love them, popped them on the newly built bookcase, displaying my books etc is still a work in progress but I have made a start.

After the success of my recent jewellery finds I've been keeping an eye out for more.  Not much about yesterday but found these pretty ear rings.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if they were real diamonds !  Doubt it very much, they belonged to the sellers grandma and have the old fashioned screw against the back of the ear fastening.

Last week I regretted not buying a set of teacups, this week I wish I had picked up all of these.  The seller had about twelve of them.  On reflection I know I could have sold them on.  The most gorgeous Scented East of India ceramic hearts !  Argh, so cross with myself.

Finally for this week, couldn't resist this jug for just 20p !  It depicts the characters from the famous Widdicombe Fair tune (where the words Old uncle Tom Cobleigh and all, come from ) Just look at the poor horse.

That's it for today. Boys on Easter holidays, sun is shining.

Linking up with Liz from Magpie Monday