Time Worn Style

Vignettes around the house..

I love making and photographing vignettes in this house..

probably because it takes the eye away from the wet towels

dumped (again) on the floor by the teenagers who live here...

distracts me from the pile of paper work on the table..

makes me look away from last nights dirty dishes in the sink..

makes me feel less guilty about not doing more "time" at my daughters primary school...

takes me away from scrubbing those subway tiles in the bathroom..

averts my eye from the cyclone that is my teenagers bedroom..

takes me away from the super fan dangled budget system I was going to sort out this year...

In a word

it helps me to 

procrastinate..

I'll explain that to you a bit more when I get around to it..

I've just found a nice new lot of treasures in the back of a cupboard that I want to play with..

My ebay Australia store - divine treasures to play with in there too..

pop over for a look..

 

Antique French Doors

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Not sure if I have mentioned before..

but our bedroom has the most gorgeous Antique baltic french doors..

they open out on to the verandah and are oh so lovely for catching a breeze on a hot summers night...

Unfortunately rather than celebrate the natural wood

the previous owners took it upon themselves to STAIN it (not paint so I could strip it back) the most hideous shade of red stain the hardware chain sold...

Clashing violently with the yellow cream architraves, it mocked us with its ugliness every time we entered the room..

Even the photographer who shot our house for COUNTRY STYLE MAGAZINE did his best to crop it out..

I felt his pain...

I spent a lot of time cropping it out of my photos too I can tell you..

So I finally took it upon myself to paint over the stain

Used ZINSSER 1 2 3 UNDERCOAT SEALER

brilliant stuff (no they didn't pay me to say that but they can if they want)...

I've found it absolutely top notch in sealing out dark colours for a light top coat..

there's been no bleeding of the stain what so ever

not even a smidge....

SO

here's the BEFORES and AFTERS below 

 

The BEFORE shots....

 

 

The AFTER shots...

 

Now to tackle the ceiling next..

I've decided to paint the beams too

there I've said it..

no going back..

Opportunity shop transformations....

Anyone who has been following this blog of mine

will understand that we are renovating on a budget...

And what this means 

is quite simply

things have to be bought for cheap...

For example

most things are a bit expensive brand new

even items for inside the home...

So when I saw this at an Op Shop (Thrift store)

All I saw was the dome..

and the price tag..

$5

I mean 

have you seen how much they charge for these things brand new??

$$$$$$$$$$$$$

So...

all I had to do was prize off the rather "interesting" resin sculpture..

paint the wooden base an antique white...

and there it was

At the moment it holds an old picture...

and an antique paper weight..

tomorrow..

perhaps something else..

I love what you can do with recycled items...

I'm having a fabulous "BEST OFFER" SALE over at my ebay Australia store...do pop over for a visit

 

Our bedroom from shabby chic to .....

I'm a little tired of all the roses..

there I said it

and I've clamped my hand over my mouth 

because I never thought I would say that 

but sleeping on a bed surrounded by roses is not what it used to be..

 (Country Style magazine February 2012 - photo Mikkel Vang)

I've already sold off the blanket box at the end of the bed..

and I've taken that picture off the wall..

Those hat boxes are heading to my youngest cherubs room to go on top of her wardrobe..

And I've been playing around with a few displays..

toned down ones that are more about texture and bling..

 

I like this look..

but I actually am going to sell the mirror..

its in my ebay store tonight..

and I found this gorgeous old piece of advertising that I wanted to display..

she's just the prettiest thing..

and I'm enjoying the textures of white and neutrals currently..

 

soooo did you spot it?

Yes, ok, the little girl is holding a rose..

I mean you can't give roses up completely can you?

and now..

for the rest of the room..

Salvage for wall decor...

 

I was getting a bit tired of my rose paintings..

there I said it..

I mean I do love them

but they have been on that wall for a very long time..

and I was a bit tired of seeing them every day..

you know what I mean..

I think its because I've been housebound with the flu..

and was itching to do something..

anything..

besides being idle..

so..

I thought I would have a bit of fun with some salvage items I had lying around..

I'd already put a screen in front of my antique mirror on the other side of the room..

I love the look of those old door screens..

 

So why not grab the one off the wall outside and bring it in?

 

an old leadlight door from a kitchen cabinet wouldnt go astray either..

I love its chippy painted frame..

and that old etched mirror..

well that had been hiding out in a bedroom for a few years not really seen..

time to be on display..

Got some strange eye brow raising when the family got home..

but that's what happens when you are house bound with the flu

you gotta do something dont you??

a few more treasures to be found at time worn style too..

I've got a MAKE AN OFFER sale on at the moment..

all reasonable offers considered..

Simple floral displays...

I love the simplicity of vases

Sometimes its the less obvious that are the most eye catching..

This one is a wonderful reminder of a recent visit to Bangkok

with my sister in law Kate ...

It reminds me of the day we went for a ride on these wonderful animals

through a Thai village..

during a thunderstorm

So each time I look at it I smile..

 

Because it also reminds me of our time spent sleeping on water

The River Kwai.. 

 

the delicious Thai food..

 

 and the beautiful Thai people..

 

so there is a lot to be said for simple floral displays..

 

oh and don't forget I do have some wonderful items available for purchase over at my ebay store

 

Thrift / Op Shop Chairs makeover ~ to a Country Style Magazine

Thanks to everyone for your lovely feedback on our Country Style magazine shoot..

can't believe that I'm sitting at that very table pictured below typing this blog post by the big window 

still all very surreal..

I'm still blown away by Mikkel Vangs photographs..

and such a lovely person too

you can see more of his beautiful work here

Anyhoo

In the article it was mentioned about the chairs around the dining table being found in an op shop

All true, those who know me know that I don't buy furniture new if I can help it

So this is what they looked like before...

They cost me $10 each 

but I wasnt big on the original finish..

So an undercoat of Zinsser to seal and hide the brown varnish

Love this undercoat / sealer because you don't have to sand first

worth the extra $$

Then two coats of gloss enamel..

 

 and they were magazine ready

 

photo ~ Mikkel Vang

I'm still putting more treasures into my ebay store

slowly whilst typing with one hand

seems the car accident injuries will take up to six weeks to give me the full use back of both arms..

but you cant keep a committed treasure hunter down

I'll still be finding and selling

just

a little 

more 

slowly...

Yes it finally happened...

It was short notice and quite unexpected ..

but I really didnt mind..

for one thing, the house got a complete spring clean

and decluttering

a seperation of my own treasures from the showroom..

so it had to be done

and this was a great excuse

an 8 page spread in one of my most favourite Aussie interior design (and exterior!) magazines..

So yesterday we were visited by the amazingly talented photographer

Mikkel Vang

the incredibly creative stylist Rachel Vigor

who brought along some oh so gorgeous cushions, flowers, throws etc etc

to weave her magic with my own selection of treasures..

wish I had stashed that beautiful $900 throw somewhere, I'm sure Rachel wouldn't have missed it ;))

 

and the ever lovely Melbourne editor of

Country Style magazine Virginia Imhoff

who was such a delight to work with..

you couldnt hope for a lovelier group of people to put you at ease right from the get go..

 

which is a good thing..

for as my close friends know

I was just a

tad

just a smidge

nervous..

fear of the unknown..

but boy was I in seventh heaven

it was a long day

but I was told the light was just right..

and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process..

Will let you know when the article comes out

I hope I can be patient!!

so of course there are even more treasures in my ebay store and showroom now..

linking up with good life Wednesday

 

Shop fittings..

I have a couple of friends who have Antique / Vintage shops and I always remember them mentioning how tricky it is to display treasures..

by that I mean in regards to shop fittings..

you see if you sell that lovely table, then all of a sudden you have a space and lots of little items with nothing to put them on..

so I have had to make the easy hard decision to hold onto a couple of things..

Like this.

My husband put it together for me, a couple of old french doors gathering dust on our verandah..

a corner screen to hide the fuse box and hang a few items off as well as a great backdrop..

plus it's in that gorgeous chippy blue that I love..

 

the doors are a bit too far gone to install in a house but just right as a shabby screen for a shop..

 

and of course these old green painters ladders are keepers too..

 

Perfect for displaying quilts and linens..

and in the chippy soft green that I also love..

But of course some things I just have to move on

I no longer have room this beautiful pink roses Antique oil painting

it was always one of my favourites too

but I have found another which is a better size for my wall..

so you see you can part with most things in the end..

except this gorgeous old pressed back chair even though it was in dire need of repair..

here's a handy bit of advice for you..

if your partner has his/her tools out for fixing/creating one thing

make sure you mention those other items that need fixing/creating too..

you see they are "on a roll" so make the most of it, that big pile of half finished items will go down quick smart!

This dear readers is probably the most valuable advice you are going to come across whilst crossing blogland..

So here's the after (but I do need to paint though as I am the official painter in this household) isnt it great how he matched the original seat perfectly?

So lots being moved/ finished / created around this house..

Had some lovely visitors to the shop already who have made quite a few purchases..

will be doing a market stall shortly to clear out some extra goodies too!

stay tuned

Alicia

My Vintage shop in the Mountains ~ Olinda

People who know me well

know this one thing about me

I've always wanted a shop to sell my treasures from..

Rents here in the hills are horribly expensive for a shop front

Its a wonder retailers make ends meet up here even with the tourist trade..

and we do live in one of Victorias major tourist areas

so the thing is

Build it and they shall come..

 

As a result, the last few months..

So much painting

so much rearranging

so much storing of treasures

its been a long haul from building a studio in the garden

 

to a complete change of plans

and building a shop under the house..

or rather refitting a room that was no longer being used.

These had to be removed..

and these were moved on to a new home via my ebay store

 

 

Then all this

had to be moved upstairs..

 

We needed to change the aspect of the room to the side so customers can enter via the front of the property

and have a nice display area inside too..

So this old window had to go, lovely as it is, to be replaced with french doors..

 

I was going to sell it on as it is an original old sash window with cavity weights but once we took the plaster off underneath there was quite a bit of water damage..

Seems the previous owners installer didnt use flashing to keep the water out ..

So there was quite a few insects and rotten wood in the wall cavity and window frame..

Shame really as it was a lovely old window..

I kept the sash window weights to make a wind chime for the garden

the rest had to go in the skip :)

 

Next some new powerpoints on each wall for all the divine lamps and light fittings I will be selling ...

and a new fuse box with safety switches, time for an upgrade.. fortunatly the whole house had already been rewired by the previous owner so a big saving there

 

A new door to let more light in to the laundry area which is behind this room..

and those "Bunnings" lights had to go too..

 

 

There was a purplish carpet in here which was water damaged so that was pulled up to reveal a maroon concrete floor

with duck feet..

and a cat that followed the duck feet..

I filled in the bigger holes in the concrete..

I have kept the duck and cat feet, they have a story to tell..

and decided just to paint rather than tile as we will be moving furniture around a fair bit on this floor..

This maroooon colour (I think its called Indian Red??) had to go.

After the concrete patching had dried I used some

"white knight Paving paint" in Shell Moon which is a grey but does appear a bit more blue than I originally planned.

I think it will be ok though..

Lovely new Vestibule door bought second hand although never used installed with original Antique porcelian door knobs I had stashed away in my hardware collection..

 

and these three basket chandeliers that I have had sitting in my home for ooooh probably three years, finally a home all together in one place..

 

I love these chandelier type light fittings because you dont need an electrician to install them, they just screw onto a batten fitting ~ too easy!

Then the french door installation

Well lets just say that could be a WHOLE blog post in itself

actually the story of the LOCK on the french doors could be another story in itself...

It involves a company called STEGBAR and a domino effect of poor communication from day one..

You get my drift..

I'm still waiting for them to finish the outside..

hmmm

Anyhow, here it looks fabulous on the inside..

and will look even better once I paint it white (Taubmans "Snowy White") to match the other mouldings..

The mouldings I had made especially by a local company called the "Australian Moulding Co." as these mouldings can't be found anymore (too old) so they basically matched the old ones we already had.

Too easy!

As of today the shop space has had its second coat of wall colour and  looks like this...

That lovely old factory trolley is going to become one of my display tables..

 

 

And just to remind of a "before"

 

 

to "after"

 

I think we really are starting to get somewhere..

Many thanks to C M W Renovations & Property Management ~ a great team to work with!

Alicia

and I'm still madly clearing out more treasures in my ebay store too!