Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Mark Your Calendars!!!

Ok, all of you shopping guerillas, flea market mavens, and garage sale divas, the news is out: Get out your red Sharpies and mark THIS on your calendar for next summer:




The Farm Chicks Vintage Flea Market Show
June 6 & 7, 2009
Spokane Fairgrounds, Spokane, Washington
www.thefarmchicks.com

You can bet that we'll be there with a brand-spankin' new retreat collection for your shopping pleasure - and we've already expanded to TWO booths for the show. Lots of planning and prepping is already in the works for this fabulous indoor event featuring over 120 vendors, so make your plans now and don't miss it! Whether you join in as a seller or a shopper, it's a big ol' party! (Yes, Mari - this means YOU!)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

More Collage Tables!


It seems that the collaged look is in! These items are flying out of our booth, so I am busily creating more. I nabbed two tables that we've had in reserve for other projects and added vintage ephemera to them...

An Eastlake table, formerly olive green, gets a facelift with cream paint and beaiutiful papers:


This table used to be full height, then we cut it down to coffee-table level. It was stained, then green, now it's fresh ivory. On one side of the apron, there are small raised letters that state 'US Navy' - this came from one of our local Navy shipyards! (I painted over the letters, but you can still feel them.) Now that it is covered with sweet French papers and sheet music, I just can't imagine it in a Naval Office anymore!

These lovely tables both went into the booth on Sunday morning, along with a small Eastlake dresser in ivory. The cream table & chairs sold, so more is in the works - stay tuned! I am determined that the armoire WILL make it in there...

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Built in Beds


Marie Claire Maison
When I was eleven years old I slept over a friend's house. Her parents were interior designers and her house was beautifully decorated. The guest room had a whimsical, built in bed. It was painted in bright colors and had pretty floral curtains that you could pull closed. It had a hidden light to read in the dark of night and lots of pillow and quilts for curling up. I will always remember the night I stayed in that bed. I believed it was a secret and magical place. Over the years I have collected many, many images of built in beds. Someday I hope to build my own bed for my children or grandchildren to curl up in and dream childhood dreams. Brian Vanden Brink Brian Vanden Brink
I love these first three beds, the two above and the one on top of the page - They all have a Hansel and Gretel quality. Notice the hand carved wood and built in drawers. I also love the choice of paint colors with the natural wood. Charming!
Greene and Greene Architects
These special beds, flanked by built in cabinets, were built into a wide hallway What a fabulous use of space. This is a great idea in vacation home where you always need to have some extra beds.
Locati Architects
I love the rustic feel of this room. The beams and barn wood really give this room character. I especially love having the sink right in the room. A great spot for kids to brush their teeth. Notice the three tiny step stools in red, blue and yellow - adorable.Southern Accents Traditional Home
Need extra beds for six guests? These two photos have a more nautical theme - perhaps these beds were found in beach houses in Cape Cod or the Hampton's. I especially love the beds with the striped curtains.

Rob Whitten, Architect
Here is a great use of an attic space. Simple architectural detail is achieved with MDF or plywood. Beds are boxed and set low to the floor. Walls, floors, and ceilings all painted the same color to give the illusion of a height. King of the Road Preserve
Here is a wonderful room designed for teens! Each built in was designed around a dormer and has a window seat and lamp. Also the room has a sitting area. We can not see what the leather club chairs are opposite, but something tells me it's WII or PS2 system. Catalano Architects
This built in is so charming. I love the beadboard and moulding details, as well as the quilts and star carpeting. The individual reading lights and built in bookshelf make you want to curl right up with a paperback.
Catalano Architects
I can't seem to determine what this area might have been or if it was designed originally this way. I really like how the bed, window and surround mouldings are painted green. I also like how the step up sets off the space. Hutker Architects
Hutker Architects always hits a home run - another beautiful space. What a view - who couldn't relax curled up in this bed?

Lyman Perry Architects
This bed is built into the eaves of and attic. It has a nautical feeling. The single bed and built in drawers are a very smart uses of the space. For more pictures of this space see my past post "Attic Transformation"Brian Vanden Brink
Isn't this an interesting bed? It has such a Zen feeling. Its an amazing design that brings the outdoors in.

Unknown

The final bed has a Maine Cottage feeling to it. I love the bright blue paint, beadboard and private reading lamps. Makes me want curl up and pretend to be eleven years old again!
Which one is your favorite?

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Le Fete de retreat


This month, our retreat finds us at a French Flea Market. Not one of the big ones, not Clignancourt or Les Puces, oh no...this one is tucked into a back alley in the midst of the decrepit part of old Paris. Known only by a select few, this hidden niche hoards a treasure worthy of a sultan or a king...and you can only find it by wandering the streets of Paris early of a Saturday morn, straining your ears to hear the sighs, whispers, and gasps that are evoked upon discovering the beauty within this tiny repository of earthly delights.

Or you can find us by visiting Faded Elegance Antiques in Snohomish!

Our booth has had a bit of a fashion makeover for the summer-into-fall transition, which is fitting for the French theme, non?!

The picket fence awning has been covered with canvas, giving the space the true feel of a French market stall. Packed with furniture in wood tones, tans, browns, and ivory, it is warm and welcoming and invites some deep exploration of nooks & crannies. Our destination is clearly defined by the sign, created from a plastic (yes! plastic!) candle arch and some handmade paper tags. I may be willing to part with this beauty come September... but not until then! Stay tuned!

As you saw in my past post, the collage art I created forms the basis of our theme and color scheme. You'll find a lampshade, several framed collages, some small collage cards, and the piece de resistance: A vintage wood folding table, covered with a collage of 1800's music, old lettres, post cards, and some new-but-look-very-old sepia photos of Paris.

Alas, this tres' magnifique table sold the moment I carried it in.
Yes, it's true - Mari is buying it for her daughter Chelsea. The sheet music I used in the collage is a symphony that Chelsea played in her (first?) piano recital, so mama just went all teary-eyed when she saw it and had to get it for her girl. Now I ask you, how can I be even a little bit sorry to see it leave the booth as soon as the photos are done when I know it is going to such a perfect home? I can't. And I'll get to see photos of it in Chelsea's new place, too!

A FABulous old French bistro coatrack, old suitcases, gilded bistro chairs, pastiche mirrors & frames, unique lights, beautiful linens & fabrics, vintage paper ephemera, old books, rusty cages & domes...ah, there is so much to see. You must come and visit us, oui! We'll listen to Madeliene Peyroux, drink caffe', and search out hidden treasure in this Rue de Paris retreat...

A special 'Hello' to the two lovely ladies who dropped by the booth this afternoon while Mr Deb & I were adding the big pastiche mirror (that I can't lift alone!). Thank you so much for coming by to see us - it's always fun to meet others who are in this big crazy antique-selling & shopping world!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Distraction Technique


I started out the weekend sorting 'stuff' to go into our retreat booth...tubs and boxes and what's left in the trailer from the Reno trip. I made some great progress! Found a lot of gold bling-y stuff to add sparkle to the new ivory-tan-brown look that's going in. Then yesterday the sun was shining and it was heading upwards of 80 degrees, and Mr Bob decided that staying home was not an option. I'm a sucker for distraction, and he is a master at the technique - so, inevitably, we headed out and hit a few garage sales!

Sorry, no photos of our haul, but we ended up with some old gold frames & jewelry tidbits, some plates with the Eiffel tower on them, a glass dome, some gold sconces, two white and gold enamel glasses, and a Frenchy hanging globe light - all of which will find their way into the booth after some TLC.

Today I am back to work on the prep for the booth. In June, I made some really fun collaged art with a Paris theme for the Cotillion - you can see a lampshade and a framed piece in this shot...

...and a wastecan (sold) in this one...

There is also a FABulous wood folding game table that I decopauged old sheet music, posters of Paris, and ephemera onto, then aged, then sealed....I love this piece. It's not my style for my home, but it turned out so darned great that I am just in love with it. I promise I'll get photos when I set up the booth...this table is going to be the star of the show, I tell ya. (I would swear to the fact that I took photos of the whole set of collaged art together, but it's gone missing on my hard drive.)

Well, anyway, all this stuff has formed the basis of our new look in the booth for August. It's warm and soft and transitional from summer to fall, and also really fun to design around. My problem is I keep adding more and more and more - and now I really need to just get in there and reset the display. So that's my plan for the next two days. retreat goes to a Paris Flea Market. And Deb gets to work...