Make Me Over

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Vintage4YourHome

I’ve had a love of make-overs for quite some time. For the next few weeks I’ll be featuring “make me over” Mondays, which is paying tribute to the lovingly restored items found along the way. It’s an intriguing feeling when you see a once lovely piece of furniture thrown away without regard or care and thinking can it be revived. I remember how we use to get anxious about bulk trash night wondering what will be the next trash to treasure we’ll find. There have been many long nights spent cruising neighborhoods looking for things thrown away because they no longer want it, or it’s broken down or things that they believe are hopeless. Such is the story of this antique slipper chair. It’s apparent this chair has been stuck in someone’s attic for so many years and the family finally decided to let it go and decided to trash it. Well as fate would have it.. it was destined to be mine. I looked at it and tried figure out what happened to it… why would someone mistreat it, or to even say why would it be so black and blue. I know people thought I was crazy out my mind for thinking about putting this in the backseat of the car. But I couldn’t resist. It was love at first sight. I could clearly see the beauty this chair once had. So, it was scooped up by me.. and when I brought it home.. All my husband and sons could think was…”She’s really crazy”.. but.. I shrugged them off and said, now just wait and see..”

I know you’re probably saying the same thing ….chuckles…. but look closely at the chair.. .. do you see – what I see??? notice the wire springs, the detail of the shape.. and look at the back.. it was stuffed with horse hair and cotton fiber.. which means this chair has quite some age on it.. probably turn of the century. It’s clearly this darling little chair has suffered quite a bit of abuse over the years and is screaming “HELP!” for some loving soul to save it.

I figured this was going to be a tough job it restore it back to its original beauty. I had to recruit the best upholsterer in town and had to find the best fabric to really enhance it’s beauty. Since I wasn’t in a big rush I took my time. After months of searching, I found the right fabric that would enhance the beauty of the chair. Now comes the feeling of excitement .. knowing she’s getting ready for her new look. When I got the ” your chair is ready” call.. my heart became overjoyed and asked “how did it turn out? He replied.. wait till you see it.. with a smile.. I rushed over to pick her up and needless to say he got a big hug! What a wonderful transformation. I brought her home and here she is: Isn’t she lovely… made from love.. This was her place in my bedroom to complete the vintage look.

Since this picture we’ve moved and she still looks just as wonderful in my vintage bedroom we now have

I am truly happy with my little slipper chair.. It’s a great feeling knowing she didn’t wind up in the dumpster waiting to be destroyed.

It was well worth it..

September

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Vintage4YourHome

The leaves are gently falling and MotherNature says it’s time to let summer go…I on the other hand say, “What happened to Summer.. did it have to come and go so fast?”. Here comes another season for us to look forward to. Music is such a important aspect of my life and my home. It motivates me, it encourages me, and it inspires me. Sharing it is something I love doing because I feel it’s part of who I am and since I share it with my friends and family at home, then why not share it with my cyber friends , followers and family. This is a special month – as I mentioned in the “Stand for your Cake” post – It’s My Birthday. So come shopping with me for some subtle changes for the home:

I’m not one to change the decor of my home every season, but I do like subtle touches of it here and there like something for the table:

Or maybe even a new piece of artwork.. In fact..I think I’ll introduce you to one of my favorite artists: I truly admire the artwork of Frank Morrison. His art is unique and will make a statement that you simply can not miss. The exaggerated body parts and flowing motion of the characters depicted in Frank’s art work are his signature and provide us with a glimpse of his endless creativity and talent. – See more at: http://www.itsablackthang.com/Frank-Morrison-art-work.html#sthash.28KDGUfr.dpuf . These are some of my favorite pieces:

This one is called “Take Five” – I love how he depicted the couple as needing a break after creating a little music of their own.

She is “The Boss” – and ready to rule the world..

“Swagger” is who he goes by and he defiitely has it! This man looks like he invented Swag

Meet “Red Sugar” – ain’t she sweet.. the warm red tones in this art will definitely warm your walls this season

The sultry look of “Harlem Blue” is a stunning showstopper:

“Sax Serenade” will add the pefect music flare to your wall

Meet “Chanel” – I love the 70’s flare of her style – She’s fierce yet sexy and definitely unstoppable. I truly love it but it’s sold out 🙁

Luckily, I was able to purchase “Dream Catcher” . This was destined to be mine because I’m opening my arms to catch my dream.

I also visited my favorite Home Goods store and found these items to add as well. The coffee table base has a woderful warm tone and the glass top is pefect to add one of these lovely vases. So, as you see, you can bring in Fall and it doesn’t mean you have to fall short on color. Just add a few pieces without breaking the bank.

Thank you for joining me on my shopping spree and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did… It’s September – Lets Fall in love with Autumn and oh — Happy Birthday to ME And My Twin!!

Stay with me in the Yellow

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Vintage4YourHome

I have to admit, Yellow was one of the colors I strayed away from. Not because I didn’t like it but because it was bright. The irony is I love the sun, sunflowers, and lemons

All of which are yellow. So I have to ask why don’t I stay in the yellow. Then I heard this song by my favorite artist India Arie and was truly inspired by YELLOW. So here’s the fun of yellow in home decor to get inspired.

You can choose the soft yellow as the room color and accent with a variety shades of grey as done with this room

Or you can switch it up to use yellow as the accent color which breaks up the black and grey tones.

How about incorporating a little accent piece in the room such as a chair reupholstered with a fab yellow fabric like this:

Or even paint a dresser for the pop of color

I could imagine how happy my feet would be wiggling my toes on a yellow rug

Or when I lay my head on this cozy little accent pillow

Yellow, yellow, kiss a fellow…. ahhhhh the days of being outside – dancing and prancing..and long evenings .. I see it all around

Even to wake up on glorious sunny morning to enter into a beautiful bath such as this to begin your day

Imagine how delicious breakfast would be with a touch of sunshine yellow facing you in this kitchen

Can you image how beautiful your floral arrangement would be in a yellow vase

Or if you don’t have flowers, you can even have these to display

So whether it’s indoors or outdoors, bring in the cheerful color and stay with me in the YELLOW

After listening to her song, tapping your feet, and maybe even doing a happy dance – go get your Yellow 🙂

Holding on to the Hydrangea

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Vintage4YourHome

The blossoms of the hydrangea plant are so beautiful. I’m not sure at what point in my life I decided this was my favorite plant, but it was definitely before I moved south. I’m a “Jersey” girl transplant “Carolina Girl” and when I moved to the beautiful state of So. Carolina I discovered these plants were everywhere – almost as if it were the southern tradition to have one in every yard. In fact that was partly the selling point of my house. “Wow” – I thought – now let’s hope the inside looks good – chuckles… and it did. I had a plant in my yard and planted several others – needless to say some died, some lasted. The rain this year made the do very well and I was quite happy about the blossoms this year.

As summer is dwindling away I have to say “ta-ta” to the beloved blossoms. I read a post on how to dry them and decided to give it a try. Years ago I would get them when they were beige but I’d prefer to have had them when they were the beautiful chartreuse color. I find that such a pleasing palette color to the eye. I clipped the blooms just before they were turning the “aged” beige color and put the stem in about 1/4 inch of water and let the water slowly evaporate. The flower will slowly dry out with the exisiting color. So I decided to give it a try. This one came really good. I’ve been checking it and it’s slowly drying out and the color still remains.

So i clipped a few more and these are doing well also, in fact, they’re dried completely but I still left them in the water until it completely evaporates.

Now I can enjoy the blooms all year long.

Stand for your Cake

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Vintage4YourHome

It’s been a while since I’ve posted.. but I have a very good reason for my hiatus.. two words.. Family Reunion. This year was my turn to host and I must say we had a wonderful time (phewww).. It was four fun-filled days and after all the planning and seeing these smiles..it was well worth it.

September has approached and this is a special month for me because it’s my birthday month. I’m not sure what my plans are yet,, but whatever it is.. there’s always a cake for the celebration. For me, the cake makes it a much sweeter day.. even if there isn’t a gift… but as long as there is a cake – I’m happy (it doesn’t take much to make me happy… Needless to say, that’s my reason for this blogpost. The importance of the Cake Stand. Important??? hmmmmm, maybe that’s a strong word but after seeing my point, you may not think so.. After looking at these beautiful cakes, putting it on a stand only seems appropriate.

I paid a visit to the local antique store to find one that would really make the cake have a grand stand. Here are the ones that caught my eye.. I loved the pretty blue shade of this depression era glass stand. The unique look was quite fascinating.. It is suited for a round cake yet it had a square base. Very different and it was made in America

Moving along I found this one: The clear crystal with the ruby red trim was absolutely lovely.. Hmmm.. perfect for a Red Velvet Valentine’s Day cake.

I also saw this little cutey pie which was just darling.. Nice and petite.. Just the right size for a small cake.

Just thought I’d visit to my favorite store Home Goods to see what they have and came across these little darlings.. They’re really nice, but I truly prefer the vintage style

Now that I’ve narrowed down my search, I’ve got 27 more days to figure it out. So after seeing the lovely cake stands and the beautiful cakes, Isn’t it important to have it stand higher than table level.. Like this