If Trunks Could Talk...

One of my favorite shows on HGTV is If Walls Could Talk.  I'm so envious of these people who restore old homes (that's MY dream!), inherit the amazing antique furniture that came with it, and then find treasures hidden in the strangest places, like a book signed by Ernest Hemingway or a whiskey bottle believed to have been used by Al Capone.  Does it get any better than that?

In my travels to estate sales, yard sales, auctions and the like, I keep a list in my head of things I would love to add to my increasingly-eclectic home, a bucket list if you will.  For example I would love to add more old walking sticks to my growing collection.  Old bread boards are a new favorite, as well as quilts.

About a month ago while out yard saling with Denise, we came across another must-have on my bucket list - a steamer trunk.  I see these all the time on Craig's List, but they go for about $150 around here and I just don't want to spend that much for something that I don't really need.  Besides, these things can be big, so you better have a place to put it.  But just like the houses on the show, antique steamer trunks tell a story.  And.I.Love.That.

It was a "Stumble-Upon" yardsale.  The kind that's not on your list, but if you stumble-upon it and it looks decent you have to stop.  Heck I don't just brake for yardsales, I do a complete 180, tires screeching, small animals running for their lives, etc.  It helps to have a car that stops on a dime.

Anyhoward, it was late in the morning and all the good worms are usually gone by then, scooped up by the earlybirds so when you see something awesome at this time of day you can usually assume that the price tag is high, hence why it is still there.  That's what I assumed when I saw this trunk and almost didn't even bother to inquire about it, knowing the disappointment that was sure to follow.  But curiosity got the best of me and I asked, "How much for the trunk?".  What happened next is a little foggy as I can only remember picking my jaw up off of the ground after hearing the words "three dollars".  The startled look on my face wasn't lost on the seller either because he then added, "what, is that too high?  Okay one dollar."  What just happened?

I collected myself, happily handed over three dollars and checked off an item on my proverbial bucket list.

Oh, and I did find the perfect spot for it.  Right next to the sofa in my Living Room.

See that blanket inside the basket?  That is actually pieces of several old picnic blankets sewed into one big one.  I snatched it up at a church rummage sale last Spring for $2 and almost sold it at my show, but at the last minute came to my senses.

I just love how this room came together - bits and pieces at a time.

And who knows, maybe someday my walls will talk...

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulicious week!
xoxo,
Kim

Joining: Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Auction House Love

I've been getting back into auctions lately after taking a long break, partly because yard sale season is off to an unusually slow start this year.

Last week I won this lovely hand-painted magazine stand.

For now it sits next to the fireplace.

And right now I have an absentee bid on this baby.

I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed real hard.  It's gonna be a long day as I probably won't hear back until tomorrow.

I can just picture it over the fireplace against the newly painted pale yellow walls.  Oh please oh please oh please let me win!!!

On another note, tomorrow is the first show of the season at Clover Market and Denise and I are hoping for a big showing.  It's going to be sunny and 80's.  Perfect weather for shopping and hopefully buying!

I'll be posting pics of our booth next week.

That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulicious weekend!

xoxo,
Kim

New Treasures

Thank you to all of my dear friends for your sweet comments on my last post.  For the most part this blog is a no-brag zone, but sometimes a Mom just can't help herself!  LOL!  You guys are the best and I certainly appreciate the comment love.

Onto my latest loves.  I've been on a lucky streak over the past few weeks finding treasures around every corner - from yard sales, to Craig's List, to the generosity of my best friend.

Remember this pic I shared a couple of weeks ago?  Well I failed to mention what it was, but some of you majolica-lovers out there guessed correctly.  If you want the back story on her, you can read about it here.  It's an umbrella stand.

So now of course I'm on the hunt for vintage walking sticks.  I nearly scored an umbrella stand full of 'em last weekend at a yardsale, but some lucky lady beat me to the punch.  I asked her if I could buy just one, but she politely declined.  It never hurts to ask people!

For now I'll enjoy my nearly empty and partially broken majolica umbrella stand in the foyer.

Did you spot my other treasure in the last pic??  It's an antique barometer!  I spotted it on Craig's List a couple of weeks ago for $15 and didn't respond right away.  When I came to my senses I crossed my fingers that it was still available and I was just in time.

The seller was a sweet lady from Moorestown who was getting ready to downsize.  She said it was a purchase her mother made on a trip to Scotland in 1966 and came from an antique store there.  Of course that made me love it even more.

And off to the right of the foyer is my other treasure.  This one was a gift from Denise who knows that I collect turtles.

She found it at a church rummage sale that I wasn't able to go to.  It's a faux leather footstool in the shape of a turtle!  How cute is that?

Thank you sweet friend!

And my last treasure is from a townwide yardsale this past weekend.

I see these all the time on Craig's List and even bought one years ago at a flea market that I eventually sold myself on CL.  But this one caught my eye for it's unique and beautiful wrought iron base.  It reminds me of an old sewing machine.

It's an antique smoking table/humidor.

Not all of these still have the original copper lining, but I was lucky to find one that did.

For now it serves as an end table in my Family Room.

I have a lot of wrought iron pieces in this room so the table sort of fits right in.

Looks like somebody snuck into the picture!

"Mommy, are you blogging again?"

My little guy is gonna be 9 months-old next week!

Denise and I have been busy preparing for our next show this coming Sunday at Clover Market.  It's going to be even bigger than last month and the weather is supposed to be beautiful.  Can't wait to share pix next week.

Thanks for checking in and have a fabulicious day!
xoxo,
Kim

Should I or Shouldn't I???

Some Saturdays are a complete bust, while others have my head in a tailspin.  I'm usually a very decisive individual, but on these particular days, I find myself asking over and over, "Should I or Shouldn't I?".  And if you're like me, the clock is ticking and the next treasure is only a yardsale away, or possibly across the street.  Today was one of those days.  SOOOOO many great treasures to be found at the flea and various yardsales.  Of course I will post about them all this coming week, but I just couldn't wait to share my most favorite find of the the day and perhaps of all time.

Aren't they divine????  A pair of antique French Country nightstands with hardly a scratch on either one.  The hardware is original and there is so much beautiful carved detail.

I spotted them a thousand and one miles away at the flea market.  The seller was nowhere to be found (don't you hate it when that happens) and as I waited, a few more people spotted them and also wanted to know the price.  Of course I wasn't about to have any of that, so I got my Jersey on and became very territorial.  Then walked away with them both for the Zippity-Doo-Dah-price of $100!!!  Yay me!

So the answer to the question in my title was a resounding YES!!

Hope you are all enjoying an equally delightful week.
xoxo,
Kim

Linking to The French Cupboard

New Craig's List Find

If you follow my blog, you know I'm a Craig's List junkie.  I'd say about 50% of my home is furnished/accessorized via CL.  I'm so excited to show you my newest CL treasure!!

This E. Ingraham antique mantle clock was listed for just $50.  My heart went pitter patter as I feverishly responded to the ad.  The hours that followed while I waited were excruciating!  All you can do is hope and pray that you were the first one to respond when something this good comes along.

It ticks, it tocks, it came with a key, it's beautiful and I love it!  And for only $50, who wouldn't?  Of course I had to ask the seller if she got a lot of calls (I know this sounds twisted, but I love doing this!) and I could tell by the look on her face that "yes" was an understatement.  That just added to my excitement.

When you hunt for treasures as much as I do at yardsales, estate sales and auctions you run into a lot of the same people - many of them dealers.  We are always cordial to one another, but there is definitely a level of competitiveness that goes along with this hobby.  I could just picture the faces I knew would be responding to this ad and it tickled me to know that I got it!

This is where I put it for now, on top of my antique in the Living Room.

Not sure I like it there or if that's where it will stay, but I stuck it there for now just to show it to you.

Did I mention I trekked out in the pouring rain and flooding to get this sucker?  We are experiencing some extreme weather here in the Mid-Atlantic region this week.  But of course I think it was worth it.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy your weekend!
xoxo,
Kim

My New Pride and Joy

My latest project is now completed after sitting in the garage for over nine months.  I hope you like it as much as I do!

This is what it looked like in its previous state.

I purchased this from a barn sale I found on Craig's List. This guy had a huge barn stocked full of antiques, but it was the kind of thing where you had to dig through piles and piles of stuff.  Of course I didn't have to dig far to see this beauty, which he sold to me for a mere $40.  I still don't know why it was so cheap as there is really nothing wrong with it structurally.  The only issue with it was the little piece missing from the bottom left door and a small piece of the decorative moulding on the inside of the glass door was coming off, which didn't matter because I wanted to remove that anyway (insert OMG!!! here).  Other than that it was in great shape.  Just a little moldy.  Keeping it in the garage for so long didn't help that either.

When it was finally time to clean her up, Mr. Bliss and I used some Murphy's Oil soap to gently clean the surface.  I thought long and hard before deciding to paint it.  It's solid mahogany and has some beautiful inlay work, not something you typically want to paint over.  But, for my purposes and where I was choosing to put it, painting was the only logical choice.

This picture shows how the piece missing is hardly even noticable now.  I kept the original hardware on these doors.

But switched out the knob for this glass one I got at a yard sale.  The tassel is from Tuesday Morning.

I chose to remove the inside door moulding because I wanted to be able to better see the inside.

I applied some toile fabric that my friend Stacy gave me using fabric adhesive and added the trim with a hot glue gun.   The hardest part was measuring and finding the best piece of fabric to display.

It's the same on top and bottom.

Here it is with the door closed.

A better look at the detail.

This picture shows the glazing technique I used.

We purposely did not use a primer so as to better show the aging.  We used a latex paint and gave it two solid coats with a third only in certain places.  I then sanded in certain places and of course glazed using a stain to bring out the detail and then removing the excess with a damp rag.

This is what it looks like in my sitting room off of the master bedroom.  Those plates need to be rehung, but that's another project that hopefully won't take nine months!  Speaking of nine months, baby is doing great and I'm sixteen weeks today, so starting my fifth month already!

Thanks for stopping by.  I'm joining these great parties today.

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Today's Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality
Garage Salen' Party at Debbie Doos

Be sure to stop by these amazing parties  hosted by some amazing ladies to see some other great thrifty treasures and transformations!

The Red Chest

Happy Sunday! Today I thought I'd share some changes I made in our Mud Room over the weekend. On Friday, Mr. Bliss took the day off from work and surprised me by taking me out to breakfast, Jersey Diner style. Afterwards we stopped at the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and I immediately spied with my little eye a set of three French Country pillows nestled on an old Victorian couch.

I got a closer look at the tag and realized the pillows were being sold with the couch. Of course I asked if I could just have the pillows, to which the mean old crotchety manager said no. I thought explaining that French Country pillows on an old Victorian couch doesn't make a lick of design sense wouldn't exactly get me on his good side. So instead I begged sweet-talked him into selling me just one. For two bucks.

Don't you know when I went to pay for that pillow another employee tried to take it! Fortunately the sweet lady at the register explained that I had already claimed it. You know what happened next??? Yep. She scooped up the other two!!! Whatev. I was happy with my one totally awesome, totally French Country, totally almost FREE pillow.


While in French Country mode, I came across The Red Chest. 

This beat-up, old, worn-out, chippy four-drawer chest missing a piece of hardware had seen better days for sure. But it had tons of character,

lots of storage space,

fabulous detailed mouldings and hardware AND it had wheels.

Let me just tell you that I love anything on wheels. Not because I'm lazy and don't like to lift heavy pieces of furniture from room to room. I do that every day without complaining. TIP: Whenever you see an antique on wheels, it is valuable. It is worth more money. I'm not talking about big fat castors. I mean little old rusty wheels. The Red Chest had perfectly rusted wheels, was only $25 and was coming home with me on the spot.

And unlike most times when I fall in love with a piece of furniture and worry about where to put it later, I knew exactly where The Red Chest was going to go. In my French Country Mud Room.

This used to be our laundry room.  Go here to read about the transformation.

I've always lusted for wanted a Butler's Pantry. I just love the idea of having that extra nook for storage of linens, dishes, glasses, etc. My Mud Room is directly off of the kitchen and with The Red Chest in there now, it sort of feels like a Butler's Pantry.

 Maybe not the fancy kind, but a more humble old farm house kind.

Here's The Red Chest all gussied up.

Rooster tray from a flea market.

Wire basket from a yardsale this weekend.

Things I stole moved from the Kitchen.

That's me in the picture.

Remember these billiard balls?

I decided I just couldn't part with them......

Thanks so much for visiting, I hope you're glad you did.  Stop by again!

xoxo,
Kim