Month: November 2013

Flea market finds

My family has been hunting bargains since the beginning of time. As kids we went to garage sales, flea markets and consignment shops. When my we get together we share our bargains, our deals and the best places to shop.  We have pieces that we share swap and reuse. My guest bedroom is furnished with items from grandmother and pieces my mom found at a junk store for my childhood room. We are a suburban family spread throughout the country.  I have been known to save stuff from the trash, refresh it, give it away or sell it at a local consignment shop.  I believe my family loves the thrill of the hunt for new treasures and new ways to use our finds.  I have a passion for lamps and miscellaneous chairs.

Passions

I decided to start this blog earlier in the year because I love collecting for my home. A collected home reveals the soul of the homeowners. Most of us don’t start thinking I am going to collect. It starts with the discovery of a piece, whether it be a china cup or cherished heirloom.

I love blue and white. My collection started back in the 1970s when my friend Missy and I would pour over home decorating magazines and catalogues. We would cut out photos of the rooms and items we loved for our dream houses. The color blue was a common theme. Navy, indigo, cobalt, turquoise, Williamsburg blue, it didn’t matter we loved all colors of blue.

The theme still exist in my home today. I have indigo velvet sofas, denim blue sofas and many other shades of blue in my home. Missy passed away seven years ago, but her cobalt blue glass pieces live among mine.

Blue is a neutral. It can be updated with Pantone’s color of the year. 2012 was Tangerine and 2013 is emerald. Blue is stunning in all mediums.

While in college I discovered my love of blue and white ceramics. I was in the Salvation Army, one of my favorite places to treasure hunt, I noticed a beautiful set of china white background with lovely single blue flower in the center. the white porcelain like glass and the blue flower made of layers of translucent cobalt blue glazes. I had to have the set, which turned out to be the score of the decade. It was an eight place settings of Royal Copenhagen for $15.00. I recently added a few more pieces purchased from a consignment shop.