Shopping Therapy

While my kids were at camp and in between my other duties over the last week or so, I got to dart in and out of a few shops. Thought I would share some of the cool stuff I found. A lot of these things are NOT bargains - these weren't necessarily thrifting excursions - and I didn't really buy, just looked. Here's some of what I found . . . please excuse the quality, I just snapped these with my iPhone.

I really liked the dusty orange color of these velvet chairs and thought their shape was very unique and Art Deco. Or maybe they're just stuck in the 80's. I'm not sure, but they caught my eye nonetheless.

Please excuse my toes infringing on the this photo.

In the same consignment store (Consign 2 Design), I saw this stunning Chinese Art Deco rug. I loved the vivid colors in this one. Definitely would make a statement. It was large, 9x12 I think, and $2,500.

Next up, the Shoppes of Belle Meade, a local antique mall with very high end pieces . . .

My jaw dropped when I saw this acrylic Greek Key console table. How wonderful is this?

At this price, I don't think I'll be acquiring this lovely piece. But, a girl can dream.

A very pretty screen with some great, saturated tones.

Not your ordinary ballerina art. This one was striking and moody. Loved the colors. Sorry the photo doesn't do it justice. And it was very large.

Then, next door is a consignment store called The Stockroom that had some interesting pieces.

I thought these brass bookends were very Kelly Wearstler. Wish they were more in my price range. They would add glamor to any room.

Loved these chairs. They seemed primitive and refined at the same time, the shape of the back reminiscent of ram's horns.  The wood grain is beautiful.

 Great pattern on this vintage bargello needlepoint pillow. 

Next up, Remix Furniture Consignment where I found this . . .

Okay, call me crazy, but I love this custom daybed with the bold chinoiserie fabric. 

The pillows come off to reveal the daybed.

This could be the star of the show in a small space that needed to play double duty as living space/bedroom.

Spotted this cool dining table at the Habitat for Humanity HomeStore. It was marked "marble" although it looked a lot like travertine, but I'm not real up on my natural stone, so who knows. I really liked the shape, a very slender oval.

And lastly, I stopped in Southeastern Salvage and sound some great lighting . . .

I think all of these were under $100 each. Great deals!

So, did I get anything? Actually, I did. Just over the past couple of days I've hit up a couple of estate sales and snagged a couple of things for myself and to some to sell. 

Love this solid brass ice bucket. It's in really good shape, just needs some polishing. I actually got this at the flea market last Friday.

Love these onyx (?) horse bookends I found yesterday at a sale.

Great silver-plated lotus leaf candy dish, candle holder (whatever you want it to be) by Reed & Barton.

I will definitely be selling this brass cobra as my son is still afraid of snakes. But I just couldn't pass him up. Very cool.

Grabbed this vintage needlepoint horse pillow for my daughter who will resume her riding lessons soon.

Who doesn't need an acrylic caddy. Obviously great for utensils, napkins, etc. during a party but also thought I might use on my daughter's desk (or mine) to hold office supplies (tacks, pencils, paper clips, etc.)

Just can't pass up a portrait of a lady. Love the colors and her expression.

Speaking of selling, sadly my antique booth will be closing up in the next couple of days, but the good news is that I will be selling a lot of my smaller items online (either from my blog or Etsy or maybe both - haven't decided yet). And, stay tuned as there will be a Pop-Up Shop/Mini Flea/Tag Sale in the near future with lots of great stuff from some local bloggers including Modfrugal, Bri and me!

Hope you enjoyed my shopping round-up. Happy Weekend . . . I'm off to get my hair cut. Yeah!

A Belated After

Since I finished painting my dining room about two weeks ago, I figured I would go ahead and show you some after photos. We moved the furniture, rug, mirror, art and accessories back in, but I sent the draperies off to be dry-cleaned before I affix the Greek Key trim (which I still need to order). So, I just didn't show that unfinished side of the room. Without further ado, here it is . . .

Just as a reminder, here's what it looked like before . . . 

I love the richness of the deep, saturated Champion Cobalt (Benjamin Moore) paint. It makes the mirror, art and furniture really stand out.

As I mentioned, I still have to finish and hang the curtains, and of course, it will never be totally done as I keep getting new ideas. Exhibit A:

Wouldn't a little Chiang Mai on the side chairs just kick it up another notch? I know, I'm crazy. I'll leave it be for now.  I'll be sure to show the other side of the room (which is just a window) once the curtains are finished and hung. Unless I change my mind about them. Just kidding.

Free & Clear

First, the word "free" in the title refers to this little beauty and how much she cost . . .

Okay, almost free. I think I ended up paying $4.95 in shipping after I used the Joss & Main gift credit I won during everything LEB's giveaway back in June. I patiently waited for the perfect opportunity to use my credit, and when I saw these Moroccan poufs featured recently, I knew this was it. I'm going to use it in my daughter's aqua and green room (fingers crossed it won't clash with other stuff in the room; you never know about color accuracy on a computer screen). By the way, I have not forgotten about a reveal of this room, but there have been a few items I've been slow in acquiring and I hate to give a partial reveal . . . that's just not as much fun. The pouf is not scheduled for delivery until mid-August, so hopefully by then I'll be wrapping things up in her room and can share it with you. Thanks so much to Lindsay for hosting the giveaway!

Next, the "clear" portion of the title refers to the Tobias chairs from IKEA that I've been wanting for many months now. Remember when I whined about lamented how they were out of stock when I visited the Atlanta store back in March?

Well, luck and patience paid off, and I recently found some on Nashville's Craigslist that are virtually new with no scratches, dents, etc., for a great deal. Here they are around my kitchen table . . .

I used to have the matching bamboo chairs around the table, but painted a dark peacock blue. I'm kind of liking the more subdued white thing that's going on. And I love the more modern chair with the traditional Chinoiserie-style faux bamboo table. What do you think? I know I need better window coverings. Maybe I'll inject a little color/pattern there . . .

Sources: Joss & Main, everything LEB, IKEA

New Obsession

My newest obsession (like I need another one)? Steel doors. Specifically French doors.

Why, might you ask, am I newly obsessed with steel doors? Well, because we need new French doors (ours are not functioning properly and have damage from leaks), and I, of course, pick what I'm sure are the most expensive and unattainable kind out there. But it's fun to dream, isn't it? Just look how pretty . . . 

Same doors, just from the outside. 

Source: None via Kathy on Pinterest

Ah, so lovely.

Source: thingsthatinspire.net via Kathy on Pinterest

Source: designspongeonline.com via Kathy on Pinterest

So, what do you think? Anyone have any leads on these types of doors? Our contractor/Mr. Fix-it is checking into it with some of his people. Another option would be just to get some regular French doors and paint them black for the same look. I'm sure steel doors would have to be a custom-ordered thing that would probably cost about a bajillion dollars, but they're oh so pretty. Sigh.

And totally off the subject (sorry this is how my brain works), but last night while watching the last episode of Million Dollar Decorators it finally occurred to me who Jeffrey Alan Marks reminds me of . . .

Will Ferrell when he's playing an enthusiastic idiot, like the clueless but lovable Buddy in Elf . . .

The only difference is poor Jeffrey's not playing a part. 

Sources: Garden Design, Pinterest, BravoTV and IMDB

Winner & A Wish

Without further ado, the winner of the Shabby Apple giveaway is: LAMusing/Adriane. Congratulations! An email will be on its way to you shortly giving you all the details.

And as for the wish, well, it's a birthday one for my dear sweet husband. Today he is 39 years old. I like to say that because he's a year older than I am so it makes me feel a really young 38. Ha.

Here's my cute world-traveling husband in China. Happy Birthday, Matt . . .  I love you and hope this will be a great year!

The Agony of Defeat

Not feet, defeat. As in I hit two estate sales on Friday after previewing the goods online, and there were only two things I was interested in and both were gone. Foiled. Defeated. Sort of like JAM and Ross from Million Dollar Decorators when they thought they had missed out on this foot table. Unlike their story which had a happy ending (if you call buying a table roughly the size of a garden seat to function as a coffee table a happy ending*), mine did not. Without further ado, here are my misses.

First estate sale . . . here's the photo that caught my eye:

What? I know what you're thinking. I've clearly lost my mind. What could possibly intrigue me in this circa-1970 bedroom? Wait, look again. 

I have a thing for sculptural brass lamps, what can I say? Well, someone else in the Nashville area does too because only an hour into the sale this baby was gone. 

Next up, this little bench at another estate sale.

I thought with some new upholstery it could be a show-stopper. Once again, I missed out. Bad timing. 

Oh well, life goes on. I thought I would lick my wounds and head to a local fabric store to find a particular fabric for my bedroom.  It's called Marrakesh in Graphite. 

I've seen it online and around the blogosphere for a while now and think it would look nice as a bedskirt. I was hoping to find it locally so I didn't have to order a swatch online - you know, pay for the swatch, shipping and wait on it. So, what did the store have?

Marrakesh . . . but in Cobblestone. Aggh! I thought the third time might be the charm, but it turns out it was the third strike. I decided to hang it up after that. It just wasn't happening. Have you ever been thwarted at every turn?

Don't forget . . . there's still time to enter the Shabby Apple giveaway. It ends tomorrow night (Sunday) at 9 p.m., CST. The winner will be announced Monday!

*If you have no idea what I'm talking about you can watch the video here. It's not that exciting, trust me.

Sources: Bravo TV, Harts Fabric, Patterson Estate Sales, http://www.estatesales.net/estate-sales/TN/Nashville.aspx

I'm Feeling Blue

Oh, no, not sad. Just blue. Like this . . .

Or maybe this . . . 

You see, I finally bought the Champion Cobalt on Sunday and started painting my dining room . . .

My husband made me do this. Yes, I'm wearing pajama bottoms at 5 p.m. at night. So what?

and I've been covered in blue paint for the past three days. It is seriously about the color of a Blue Man. I wonder if their shade is Champion Cobalt as well? I could join their group.

Child labor is okay, right? They only painted for about 10 minutes so it wasn't too taxing.

I swear my dining table is not red.

After one coat, it looked like a bad denim faux finish. Then it became obvious it would take three coats. Luckily, it's a very small room with only three walls (open floorplan). I still have to finish the trim area around the top and the vent. I hate that stupid vent in the middle of the wall. The people who used to live here painted it the wall color initially so we've just kept doing that. It actually does blend in better than a white vent or one of those fancy vents. Plus, you know I camouflage it with furniture as I'm apt to do. "What? There's a vent there? No, no, you must be mistaken." Deny, deny, deny.

I see you brown column. Your day is coming soon!

Here's a sneak peak of the finished wall with the mirror up. I'll do a final reveal once I'm totally done and have all the furniture/accessories back in. I really like it now, but can't wait to see it all done!

Don't forget to enter my Shabby Apple giveaway!

Sources: Blue Man Group, Smurfs