Vintage finds

[memmey]

Look what I found the other day.
I am famous for painting everything white and I am getting a little bored with that so I am adding more vintage things. I dream that the whole house is JUST vintage. I working on it. I am getting close.
Now the red leather chair my sister gave my son and my son sold me. Follow that logic. I bought the free chair from my son...*L*. That chair is not vintage but it is wonderful so it stays.
I'm off track here, I found this red leather top coffee table for $18 at the flea market shop.
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/memmey/things163.jpg


I used neutral shoe polish to brighten the leather and used restorer and a little gilt wax . I LOVE it. $ 18 can you believe????

[memmey]

Here is a table I got from my friend (she has an antique booth). I babysat her cat for about 10 days and she traded me this table. It was $150 at the booth. See me adding more wood and not so much white. This table is probably from the 40's. Very sturdy and not a single scratch.
Don't critique the quilt over my sloppy slipcovers. I pile up on that couch and watch tv and that quilt is cozy..LOL

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/memmey/things164.jpg

[RoseMary]

Love the tables, Memmey. You know, I think the coffee table over at my mom's house is exactly like that, except it doesn't have the leather top. Wonder if it did at one time? The top has always looked a little odd to me. I mean, it's old and scratched up, but the finish on it is different.

[memmey]

What era do you think it came from. Is it a fifties table or earlier. I was hoping for the 40's but I don't know. Fifities is fine that is still vintage. Do you know when she got the table?

[RoseMary]

I have no idea of the era, memmey. She bought it in CA in the 1970s used at a yard sale or Goodwill~only places she shopped.

[Gigi]

Hey Memmey! I found you....! ;)

You have some beautiful finds~ and darn I'd babysit a cat for a table like that too! Your home is so beautiful.

[Lisa S]

Mem ~ I have a round side table with exactly the same top. Did you say you were taking the curtains down and sending them to Oregon? Didn't I hear you say that?:D

[memmey]

uh huh, dust an all. Hey I have to close them in the winter. This old house is kinda chilly cher.
I remember when I first moved here and I was used to a new house on a slab. I nearly froze. I got the brainy idea to put visqueen( sp?) on the outside of the windows. How charming. When the wind ripped it , it was so charming and shabby....RIGHT:o. Finally I realized that you wear warm clothes and house shoes and you adapt. I was sitting aound in shorts with plastic on the windows.....duh. We do better when we know better;)

[Lisa S]

Funny! I wear sweaters and socks all the time and never turn the heat on past 64-ish. I think chilly is part of the charm of an old house.

[memmey]

Right now at 10 o'clock p.m. here, my 2 dogs are laying on a comforter with afgans over them and big towels. They are snug little bugs. Bitsey Jo has 3 blankets to cover her cage. Now this is Louisiana not Oregon...LOL It is damp cold here. I'm trying to make the cold sound worse here so I don't sound so much like a wussie.
I hate the cold. Old people don't like the cold. I just need to stand on the porch for a few minutes and I will be warm in the house then....:p
The low tonight is gonna be 29 but on Wednesday the high will be 74..go figure. The old saying here is. If you don't like the weather here just wait a few minutes and it will change :p

[Lynzee]

I love the table, Mem. What a great find!

I'm in South Alabama--29 here last night too. If chilly is part of the charm of an old house, then my house is really charming! :D

[Breezy]

Memmy - love the tables - the red leather top is amazing. What a steal at $18.00!

[ThriftShopRomantic]

I found a piece of really nice Carnival glass at the Salvation Army yesterday. You can see it here (among other recent thrifty finds)-- it's about halfway down the page.

http://thriftshopromantic.blogspot.com/2008/12/treasure-box-wednesday-thrifting.html

I was so excited, as this sort of stuff is usually fairly pricey in antique stores, and I love the iridescence of it. On gray winter days, we need about all the shine we can get here in Pennsylvania. Shiny glassware really helps cheer things up a bit.

Memmey- your place looks gorgeous as always!!!

[Lisa S]

"On the infamous Black Friday, where everyone was wending their way through shopping malls to find the perfect gifts, my dad and I were actually taking a road far less traveled, hitting the thrift stores and antique shops..."

This is a quote from Jenn's blog. I think it epitomizes the Cottage Girl thought. That's exactly what I'll do next Black Friday! You found some great things. I especially loved the Lewis Caroll photography.

[RoseMary]

Love the glass, Jenn! You find such great pieces.

You know, I never get out and shop on Black Friday~too scary:eek:!

[Breezy]

Hi Jenn - love your thriftshop blog!:)

[memmey]

She has the "eye" for finding things. If you know what is good then you can scan a table in seconds and find the best things. Plus ( I'm talking about you Jenn) she has a "eye" for the kinda quirky collectables.
Sometimes I have people over who don't know about vintage collectables and they look around and say ummm nice. Then I will get a collector and they will go crazy because they regonize things and know their value.

When Jenn posted the pictures of her home I was scanning every shelf and table and bookcase....LOL SHe has got some really really nice collectables.

Pottery Barn is nice but some quirky collectables are worth 3 times the value of a PB item.
Jenn please post your home again so I can nose around....:D

[ThriftShopRomantic]

She (heh- me) has too much stuff right now, and needs to downgrade some things, but has to take the time to do it and has been too darned lazy! :)

I do love looking for goodies, and honestly, while the malls were NUTTY on Friday (we drove past some and it was chaos), the thrift stores and antique malls were all tranquil and pleasant.

If you don't have a lot of killer shopping to get done for people with specific needs, I certainly can recommend shopping vintage as a pleasant post-Thanksgiving Friday.

Breezy- Thanks! Blogging keeps me out of trouble. :)

Memmey- I think maybe these were the house tour photos you wanted?: http://thriftshopromantic.blogspot.com/2007/07/big-picture-mini-house-tour.html

If these weren't the ones you were thinking of, I'll have to dig around and see where they're lurking.

PS-- LOVELY to see all my cottage friends here! :)

[Lisa S]

I'm crazy about the lamp that you have sitting on the table. You know, the one with the landscape on the lampshade. Oh so pretty!

What is the name of the type of picture that you have hanging en masse? They're mostly landscapes of mountainsides. I have a few of those and love them. I'd like to work on a bigger collection.

The architecture of your home makes my mouth water. The beautiful stairway, the window seat, the stained glass, the paneled doors and the door hardware. Mmm, mmm, mmm!

[ThriftShopRomantic]

The lamp on the table was my great-grandmothers, and I was lucky enough to have it handed down to me.

The prints I have hanging en masse are sometimes called "art deco" prints generically. Basically, they're from the 1920s and 30s, and were done by artists like R. Atkinson Fox, Chester Van Nortwick, and other illustrators of that time period (Maxfield Parrish would be in that category, but I'm cheap and will not shell out the money for him, so none for me! :)

Occasionally, the deco prints are findable in thrifts, but it's really rare. Usually I get mine at flea markets, since the antique mall prices are also pretty high.

Maybe you'll be able to locate some more that way. I'd love to see photos of yours, if you have any! I love the colors and the soothing almost magical atmosphere in these types of prints.

[chyna]

I seriously suggest you all check out Jenn's blog. She is holding out on you all, she has some amazing things!!! I think she stalks her finds, from the one entry she had on her cabbages site she has those tendencies to stalk. :p

What is funny is that I have those prints of the maidens and knights at my house too and now I think of her everytime I look at mine. :eek:

[Gigi]

Hey Memmey~ If you don't mind me asking- what drawns you to collect the beautiful seashells?

[ThriftShopRomantic]

Chyna- Oh dear, I'm going to have to start paying you for the PR. :)

[memmey]

I stole the idea from a dear friend of mine.
Down here the heat is oppressive and anything light and cheery makes you feel better. I started by collecting ALL shells then I realize that it was too many . So now I just want the really nice ones.
You know me I am the flea market /junk sale addict. No box too dirty, no corner too dark for me to look in.:o

I know I have posted this before but we love to look at photos so.....

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o243/memmey/DSCF0021.jpg

[Lisa S]

They look beautiful!

[Danske]

What a beautiful home thriftshopromantic! Memmey, I also share your passion of seashells, you display them wonderfully! I love beachcombing for glass, shells, driftwood, etc. One of my/our favorite ways to spend our time together!

[mac78]

What a neat collection. I love it!

[shabbychick]

Lovely picture of the shells! I collect them, too (mostly I buy them because the PNW beaches are a little short on big, colorful shells) but don't always arrange them as artfully as I would like. I'm going to study your collection for ideas!

[Lynzee]

Beautiful, Memmey!