The Eagles Have Landed

Lately, it seems, I've got eagles on the brain or more accurately in my house. The Federal style Syroco convex mirror was the first to make it home with me a few months ago (I grabbed it at the flea market for a song).

This is of course a classic style that has been around for decades, but I've really only been drawn to it recently. I think it adds a little interest to a quiet little spot near my entry and dining room. 

I know some people paint theirs to modernize them, but I think the warm gold finish is kind of nice so I'm leaving it as is.

Then, just over a week ago I snagged these eagle lamps at a junk store. 

Yes, they're a little unusual, but of course, that's why I liked them. Obviously the bases will need to be painted as they are very 70's (and not in a good way) and two different tones of blah brown, but I'm keeping the ceramic eagles their pristine white. At least I think I am.

I'm still on the fence about whether to paint out the whole lamp white and put black shades on them, or paint the bases black. Or there's always gold. Hmm. Still thinking on that one. I initially bought them to go on my son's dresser (the kids' school mascot is the Eagle, so I thought it was perfect). Um, not so much. He deemed them "creepy." So, now I'm thinking of putting them in the guest room. 

So, am I crazy? Or just patriotic? Or what?

Flea Finds

Happy Monday, everyone. I got to hit the flea market on Friday with my blogging buddies from Chateau A Gogo, The Insane Domain and ModFruGal, and as always, we found some goodies. One of the first things I saw and snagged was this vintage needlepoint . . .

Isn't he cute? I'm going a little crazy over leopard lately, so I couldn't pass him up. I don't where he'll live in my house yet, but I'm sure I can come up with something. If not, he may go up for sale, but either way he'll go to a good home. I immediately recognized him from the blogosphere. Anyone remember this photo?

Source: theaestate.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

Source: theglitterguide.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

My version is a little darker, but pretty sure he's the same kitty. Of course, the Society Social version has a much cuter bamboo frame, but that's easily fixable, right?

Next, my friend Melissa (the Insane Domain) bought a gorgeous faux malachite lamp, which of course, I went nuts over (I'm a fool for malachite). Being the good friend she is, she let me buy it off of her. Here it is in the back of my car . . .

And, later, back at home . . . 

I love how it looks next to my pink chair. It pulls in the teal-y green from my pillows and other areas of the room. Thanks, Melissa!

Oh, and here's a sofa we were all dying over, but no one bought because let's face it, it's sometimes difficult to work a new/different sofa into your decor. And sofas aren't the easiest things to move, store, etc. But still . . .

This is my Instagram photo.

Oh, it was the yummiest golden velvet. The fabric was actually in great shape and not a bad color, but was faded in places. But, oh so soft. Like butt-ah. And only $100. Sigh. It was Broyhill from the 70's and had the original bill of sale tucked under one of the cushions. Now, that's unusual. You know it probably only had one owner.

Find any treasures lately?

PBR

If you came to this blog thinking I was talking about this PBR . . .

well, I'm sorry but you've come to the wrong place. Because today, I'm talking about this PBR:

Palm Beach Regency. Ever heard of it? Am I the last one to know? Sometimes, it feels that way. Well, if you're as unenlightened as I was, you're in for a treat. And if you have heard of it, well, just bear with my poor, little last-to-the-party self. I stumbled across this amazing online shop while reading one of my favorite blogs, Birds of a Feather (hi Ann and Hooper!) a couple of weeks ago. It is chocked full of all the bamboo and Hollywood Regency goodness we've come to expect from the Palm Beach area. 

I mean, I've known about Circa Who for quite some time and even bought a chandelier from them about 6 years ago, but was so happy to find another resource for what I consider to be some very cool stuff. Here is just a smattering of the eye candy . . .

Source: palmbeachregency.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

Remember the rope chair I missed out on at the flea market? Well, these are actually sold too. One day, I will find some! Aren't they fabulous? And since we're on the subject of ropes/tassels, here are some other finds that caught my eye . . .

Source: palmbeachregency.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

Source: palmbeachregency.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

And remember how I was dreaming of a ceramic dog?

Source: palmbeachregency.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

Well, it looks like I'll have to keep dreaming because this one is $750! A little out of my price range. Doesn't he remind you of this little guy?

Source: cwbarchitects.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

And, a little vintage needlepoint in the Chinoiserie style, of course . . . 

Source: palmbeachregency.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

I think you get the point. There's more bamboo, lucite, Hollywood Regency and Chinoiserie goodies than you can shake a stick at (I really have no idea what that saying means, but growing up in the South people used it when referring to a boatload of something. That's all I know). Of course, shipping is always an issue when shopping online, but sometimes it's fun just to look and get inspired. My vintage shopping has been really hurting lately . . . not finding much of anything locally. So, any port in the storm. 

Any online shopping haunts that make you happy? Please do share.

More Little Tweaks

Thank you so much to everyone for your kind words about my revamped corner. Now, I thought I would go ahead and share some other little changes I made around the house. First up, some new throw pillows for the sofa and slipper chairs . . .

There's that camera ham Zoe again!

I ordered the silk ikat zigzag and leopard pillow covers from two different Etsy sellers and think they add a little punch to my neutral upholstered pieces.

The teal green velvet pillow came from World Market several months back, but I recently added a little Greek key trim to give it some personality.

And, I can't forget the two benches I recently got reupholstered. Here's the x-bench . . .

I chose a black fabric with a small white dot and had the contrast piping done in the pink of our Milo Baughman-style chair.

Since the bench and chair don't technically go together (and the bench is actually taller than the chair), I thought I would just go with a coordinating fabric.

I'm not sure if you remember what the before of the bench looked like, but just in case, here it is:

 And, remember the blue bench I got for $10 at a junk shop?

It ended up with an ikat makeover . . . 

I usually play it safe with large furniture pieces and go with more neutral upholstery, but since this was an accent piece at the end of my otherwise neutral bed, I decided to go a little more daring . . . 

Please excuse the lack of styling on my husband's bedside chest (the right side of the photo).

I love it, and so do my pets (I often find them perched there). 

Have you made any little changes to your decor lately?

Ch-ch-ch-changes

In the general sprucing up of my house in preparation for my husband's birthday party, I managed to make a few little changes here and there. Here are some of the latest updates to our decor . . .

I finally got around to hanging some art in the "pink chair" corner, including my husband's Chinese Woman on Bike photo.

And do you remember the Moroccan-shaped table that I found in a junk shop for $10?

Well, after waffling over what color to go with, I finally chose black with gold accents (surprise, surprise). I just added the accents with a gold-leaf pen . . . super easy.

For the salon or gallery wall (I almost hesitate to use that term anymore because it seems so trendy), I used art I already owned (the women) mixed in with a framed lithograph from an art book I picked up at an estate sale along with some recycled art in bamboo frames. So, what is recycled art? It's my term for taking a rather lackluster piece of art with a decent frame from a thrift store and painting right over it. Observe. This . . . 

Native dancing ladies weren't really my style but I liked the faux bamboo frame despite it's anemic yellow color.

Turned into this . . . 

So, here's the before of that corner . . . 

And once again, the after . . . 

Much better, right? Not to mention what a difference the refinished floors make. Ahh. Oh, and I've got some other little odds and ends to share (including my newly upholstered x bench that didn't make it in these photos as I just got it back late last week), but I'll save that for another post as your interest may be waning about right now.

New Doors!

As I've mentioned, ad nauseum, we finally got new French doors to replace our old sliding glass system. I love them so much.

They finally got painted last week, but I have had a really hard time getting a good photo of them  (what with all the sunshine pouring in - a photographer I am not). And although my husband is a much better photographer with much better equipment and I need to get him to take some better shots, I couldn't wait to share them with you, so please forgive the poor photo quality. 

Here's a reminder of what our old sliding glass doors looked like . . . 

They were not in the best shape . . .

That's condensation trapped between the panes of our sidelites (stupid broken seal). Lovely, huh? It was time for them to go.

I decided to paint the new doors black to mimic the look of steel doors, which were a little out of my price range. These are extra tall Pella doors. I had them remove the transom, and the taller doors were a perfect fit (well, after a little retro-fitting, but no additional opening had to be cut - yay!). I love the expanded view of the woods through the taller doors. Here's the unpainted wood before the painters arrived . . . 

And, now, once again, painted . . . 

You can also see our newly painted black mantel in these shots . . . 

 

Oh, and the view from the deck. On the outside, they're actually Iron Ore instead of stark black . . .

Check back soon, as I've got some other little updates to my living room space that I'll be sharing in the near future . . .