VINTAGE GOODNESS!

This little corner of my dining room was one of the funnest things in my house to style.  I don’t know why unless its all the vintage goodness I managed to find and cram in here, but I love this little corner. For starters this chest, which you can’t see as well in this picture as you can below, is a piece I got probably 20 years ago or so at our big flea market here called Canton Trade Days.  They have it the first weekend of the month every month.  I say “here” loosely – it’s actually about an hour and a half away from me, but it’s easy to get to and can be shopped in a day if you needed to get back home that night.  But, truth be told, its more fun to make a girlie getaway and stay over night there. It’s been so much fun this year going back and finding new things for my new French Country Farmhouse look.  And, especially since all of it goes so well with my original chest!

I was so excited when I stumbled across this pedestal and cloche on my first trip this year, but I didn’t end up getting it at the time, because of all other “stuff” I bought (and spent all my money on!).  So this last flea market run during the April market I was on a mission to find this booth again and buy them this time.  They did not disappoint!  In addition to these pieces this same booth had this gorgeous wall hanging you see above that I had to have, too. An arched piece for this wall was on my list, but I hadn’t expected to go quite this route with the detailed metal on it.  They only had two of these and after the other one sold I wasn’t about to wait around and see if I could find something cheaper or better.  I snatched it up.  And I’m so glad I did.  I LOVE IT!  Besides, it was only $50.00 which I think is a pretty good price considering the detail and character this has.

I love the fact that this chest has stood the test of time and still looks great with my new look.  I did have to paint some of these items to make them work here with all the new pieces.  This lamp was one I purchased from Hemisphere’s Furniture and was a dark oil rubbed bronze.  I decided to paint it in a finish that mimicked reclaimed wood and I totally love the way it turned out.  To reach that look I painted the base coat in Waverly Chalk Paint, color Ivory.  When the paint was dry I applied the Waverly Dark Wax with a brush in a linear motion.  While it was still wet I rubbed the wax in with a soft rag.  I did the same thing to this dark bronze candlestick.  The vase that’s holding this flower arrangement was also a dark bronze and I lightened it up with the Ivory Chalk Paint and then just did a very light rub in the dark wax to warm it up just a little.  I love all the neutrals and creams here.

The flower arrangement is done with flowers from good old Hobby Lobby.  What did we do before Hobby Lobby came into existence???? Seriously!  What did we do?! I got these in the “dried flowers” section, because I wanted a very natural, almost rustic, vintage touch here.  These cream flowers are soooooo cool looking.  They are the kind that could break apart if they’re not handled properly, but for something like this they’re perfect!

It’s hard to tell in this picture, but inside the cloche is a teeny cake pedestal. It was white when I bought it, so I just darkened it up with the dark wax so that it disappeared more and then I wrapped a long piece of greenery around it (kind of like a really small garland strand) and topped it with a ceramic bird I got from Tuesday Morning for $5.00.

Below is a “before” pic of the up-cycled pieces so you can see what I started with:

Quite a difference here huh?!  None of this is as calming and easy on the eyes as it is after being painted.  Here you can see the screaming white cake stand and the hideously outdated oil rubbed bronze accessories.  What a difference a little paint can make!  You can see they’ve been given a new life and new purpose with the somewhat monochromatic creams and beige’s above.

This was a fun little space to pull together not only because it livened up this corner with new personality, but because the shopping in and of itself was so much fun!

While perusing the flea market with my pal Becky we ran into my IG pal Julia with @farmhouse_charmed.  We had been following each other for awhile on IG, but of course had never met.  It was totally a random accident that we met in Canton and it was so fun chit-chatting with her.  Well, I say “random accident”, but that’s really not true at all. It became very clear not long after meeting that God had a plan all along to connect us like that, because we instantly bonded and I have been privileged to get to know her on a deeper level and pray with her and for her. It’s been very sweet and special to see how God engineered the two of us together for a purpose.  It never ceases to amaze me when I stop for a moment and see how He works things together for His will and His purpose.  And to see just how mysterious and wonderful His plans are.  So meeting Julia was a huge bonus on my quest to perfect the little corner of my dining room.  She is an absolute doll.  If you’re not following her on IG you’re missing out so go give her a follow!

And, of course, there’s nothing better than a foot long corn dog with friends…..like my friend Becky here.  Because you know what they say….everything is better on a stick!

So for all those reasons and more this was a fun little refresh!  I’m loving this corner and can’t wait to tackle the rest of the dining room.  Lots of changes coming soon!  I can’t wait to get it all done and share them with you!

Happy Decorating Friends….And Happy Life By Design!