Shopping = Bliss

Yesterday, I got the opportunity to do a little shopping/antiquing on my own in and around downtown Franklin. Sometimes it's such a treat to just wander through stores aimlessly looking for inspiration. 


At my first stop, the Winchester Antique Mall, this greeted me on the front porch:

I'm a sucker for a good Chippendale bench. According to the tag, this one was made locally and was $325.

Heading inside, I found these goodies . . .

I loved this antique wicker chair. It's very small in scale so would really only be appropriate in my daughter's room, but it was a little too pricey ($300-something) for me.

The gilded bamboo frames on these were great, and the mat was more of a muted coral or salmon color, not such a bright orange as it looks here. I would switch out the butterfly watercolor prints for charcoal or line drawings. For $29 each, they weren't a bad deal. Still may go back for these. Sorry, my iPhone doesn't have a flash so these aren't the best quality photos.

I can't pass up a good bentwood or Thonet-style chair. The blue on this one captured my attention as I'm looking for a desk and desk chair for my son's room. After sitting in this one, I passed because it was a little too rickety and I'm not sure it was fixable.

I'm not sure you can even see, but there is a little Greek key detail on this alabaster lamp. 

This vignette of purple bottles really caught my eye. Reminds me of my mother's birthstone, amethyst.

Such pretty turtle shells. These were $45 each.

Love the over-the-top nature of this Italian tole lamp. Quite a statment piece!

Another cool gold lamp.

And on my way back to my car, I spied these little concrete foo dogs. Perfect guard dogs and only $29 each.

Next stop, Scarlett Scales, a great little shop in downtown Franklin. Scarlett has a great eye and her shop is always chocked full of cool stuff.

And what should greet me at the front door? A pair of the mama foo dogs. These would definitely ward away any evil spirits from your home. $235 for the pair.

Some of the great displays in Scarlett's shop.

A unique art deco style alabaster lamp. I'm not sure if I've ever seen one of these.

Yet another display of purple bottles. Is this a new trend?

At the Arbor Antique Mall next door, they had a new vendor with some really cool stuff.

I loved this chalk head sculpture. This would look amazing as part of a tablescape. 

My last stop was the Downtown Franklin Antique Mall across the street. Just a couple of gems here . . .

How cute is this elephant garden seat? I could pull this up next to anything. Maybe it could keep my lonely chair company?

And for some reason I neglected to take a photo of the white painted bamboo mirror (behind the elephant), but it was a beauty too.

And, lastly, this brass-plated lamp. Very elegant. Could go anywhere. And it was on sale for $54.

Speaking of lamps, I hit TJ Maxx earlier in the day and found a neat lamp.

Loved the shape, the faux snakeskin and brass accents. It looks expensive to me, but only $35. Bargain.

And since I'm sharing treasures, I've been selling some things on Craigslist lately. So, of course, I do a little browsing while I'm there. 

Here's what I found . . . 

This solid wood dresser was only $35. Call me crazy, but I think it would look fabulous painted orange or blue or green or some bright lacquer color. And the hardware is killer. Unfortunately, I have no where to put this, plus it's sold already. Oh well.

Once again, I don't know where I would put this fan/throne chair, but I like it a lot. It's $20 but the guy said he would go lower. 

Does anyone need a dining table? Because I think this Parsons-style one is fabulous, and for only $75! I so wish I had a place for this.

Well, I think that wraps it up. Do you see any treasures in the bunch?

Window Shopping

I got the chance to hit a local antique mall yesterday and peruse at my leisure. One directive from my husband, "Don't buy anything." Fair enough. Looking is free and sometimes just as fun. I got lots of great ideas.

Some of my finds . . .

 This alabaster flower and gilt lamp reminded me of a much grander version featured in Melissa Warner's apartment in House Beautiful:

But I digress, back to the shopping.

Loved the color of this orange Florentine waste basket.

Lots of Imari and other orange and blue pieces. Loving this color combination. It just screams fall to me.

This campaign-style desk would look great behind my sofa.

Great colors in this Asian watercolor. Hard to tell from my stellar photography but there are vivid greens, oranges and a faint lilac including the matting.

I realize I have a chair addiction.

A nice fall display.

Saw lots of brass lamps.

Some great art. Of course of a woman.

A porthole mirror. Who doesn't need one of these?

These awesome brass jack bookends. How cool are these?

Needlepoint horse art. Enough said. I literally fell over taking this photo. A wee might embarrassing.

Loved this black globe with the chrome base. Would look great anywhere but especially in my son's room.

This weathered table would be great as an island or a desk in my son's room. Do you see a theme here?

And I did buy something despite my husband's directive. . . 

These two old issues of Vogue Living Australia. They were the best deal of the day - $1 for 2 issues and hours of reading enjoyment. Sometimes it takes very little to make me happy.

I'm Going . . .

here tomorrow!

Yeah! I'm so excited, but a little scared. Apparently, the High Point Market is huge and can be overwhelming, but I think I'm up to the challenge. My friend Kristen is an interior designer and has been dying to go for ages. She asked me to tag along because she knows I'm obsessed with all things related to interior design. Also, it might be nice to scope out the furniture and products and educate myself on what's out there as I'm starting to decorate for some folks as well. Yes, it's true. I'm dipping my foot in the pool. The water feels nice. 

These folks will be there to sign their books . . .

You gotta love over the top Martyn. I just hope I can get him to sign a book and hear him say delicious or dahling at least once.

And, we can't forget Mary, Mary - though she may be contrary, you must admit she's got the glamor thing down. Wonder if she's bringing Nathan back with her? Wonder if we'll be staying in the same hotel??

So, has anyone been before? Any High Point tips? Still haven't packed. Not sure what to wear. Want to be comfortable but not look like a frump. I'm returning on Monday so I'll be back on Tuesday with some of the goodies. Wish me luck!

Got It!

Okay, so many of you were rooting for me to get the black lacquer and brass credenza and dying to know if I bought it. Well . . .

I did! Here it is in my messy garage (sorry, the garage is always on the bottom of my list of things to clean). While it is not in pristine condition (it has a tiny chip and some scrapes), overall I think it just needs a good cleaning. Once again, what sold me . . .

These brass handles. And it is indeed Mastercraft. Here's the label on the back . . .

It actually has a slimmer profile than I originally thought which I also really like.

It's sitting in my garage because as I alluded to in my last post, it literally won't fit in my basement room until I move some stuff out. My husband likes it, so I may actually be keeping it. However, I would be willing to sell it for the right price (any 1st Dibs dealers are welcome to contact me for a price). I must tell you, it's probably a miracle it's as in good shape as it is. The shop I bought it from had it stacked under a bunch of frames, mirrors and junk when I returned, and watching them trying to get it out of the shop reminded me of an episode of hoarders . . . things were falling off shelves as they shoved it through a small doorway. Really, I wish I had taken photos but I thought that might be rude.

In other Mid-Century Modern news, I acquired this little beauty from Craigslist . . .

I have been wanting one of these Milo Baughman-style club chairs forever. I wish I had found a pair, but one will work nicely in the corner of my living room. Yes, it's in desperate need of recovering, and my husband has advised me to find a fabric ASAP because he can't look at this orange, yellow and green pattern for very long. 

Here it is from another angle.

I would go with a velvet fabric, but I have chocolate brown velvet slipper chairs in another part of the room. So, I was thinking maybe a linen or linen/cotton blend in a solid color or small-scale print. Anything too busy or too large would detract from the clean lines of the chair. Any thoughts? The other large furniture pieces in the room (sofa and slipper chairs) are very neutral so this might be the perfect opportunity to inject some color/personality.

And in more acquisition news, I hit up Target today to check out their new Missoni line. Did you go? I bought four Missoni items - two things for me and two for my daughter.

I got these Zigzag ballet flats. They're pretty cute and thought they could jazz up a simple winter outfit.

This gold zigzag sweater. The zigzags weren't so in your face and I liked how it was shot through with lurex threads. A little shine never hurts.

This little zigzag sweater mini-skirt for my daughter. 10 to 1, she'll hate it and want it returned.

And these cute rain boots for her. I almost got a pair for myself but decided to pass.

I didn't end up buying any of the Missoni home decor items (shocking, I know), but realized none of the pieces would've jibed with my aesthetic. Bummer. The Target I went to was very picked over by 8:40 a.m. I ran into ModFruGal while wandering around. She always has such great taste and had nabbed some goodies in her cart. When I tried to look online earlier, the Target site put me on a waitlist of sorts to get on the site because of all the traffic. When I did get on a lot of the stuff was already out of stock. Crazy.

I sound like a spendthrift, don't I? I think the wallet is going to be on serious lockdown for a while. Have you made any exciting purchases lately?

Source: Target