Vintage Treasures

Hi everyone! Hope you have all had a lovely weekend.

Last weekend, I spent the days treasure hunting! A dear friend and I hit the Portland Antique Fair plus some vintage shops and flea markets. Hard work but so much fun! Here are a few of the pretty items we discovered. I will be listing them in the shop this week.

Love this sweet, Farmhouse style kitchen scale! It’s rare to find this color so I was thrilled when I came upon this one!

 

There is something so homey about these lovely soup bowls. You can imagine filling them to the brim with a delicious soup while the rain comes down outside. I paired them with these stately antique soup spoons too!

Mail isn’t as pretty as it used to be but we should still have a beautiful place to hold it right? Love this silver tone, vintage letter holder. Very Art Nouveau.

I’m so drawn to lavender glass. It’s romantic, nostalgic and looks so gorgeous when the light passes through it. This antique wasp catcher is missing its cork but still remains a lovely, rustic piece.

Okay well, these are just a few of the pretties we found. Hope you enjoyed them.

Have a wonderful week!

xo,

Ivy

Guest Post: Vintage Dressers & Chests

Hello, everyone! It’s Mari here from Arcadian Home blog, a wonderful place to find lots of decorating inspirations, including all kinds of lovely lighting fixtures from ornate torchiere lamps to massive crystal chandeliers. I am so happy to have the opportunity to visit Grace & Ivy with a guest post about appealing vignettes that show off the beauty of vintage dressers and chests.

Today, I’ve brought along eight images to inspire you to continue to explore the possibilities of giving new life to one or more of the many vintage chests and dressers just waiting to be discovered at a local garage sales, flea markets or in family attics and basements. Please enjoy!

Our first vignette is the focal point of this all-white bath up under the rafters. This antique piece has been transformed with a glossy white paint finish and deep contemporary vessel sinks. It’s quite charming with a vintage floor mirror and cherub pendant light.

An ornate bombe chest gets a new life with coats of chalky white paint from those cute little feet to the swirly metal drawer pulls. What a perfect baby shower vignette that includes a charming collection of DIY cake stands and gorgeous dessert offerings!

Even a broken vintage dresser can get a second chance at life in a guest bedroom. The “shelf” left behind by a missing drawer becomes open storage for extra towels. Lots of table decor (read found objects) add to the dresser’s worn charm.

A small vintage vignette atop a distressed gray chest fits in beautifully with a charming wall gallery and metal pendant lights at the top of the stairs in this country home.

A beautiful focal point is created in this farmhouse kitchen by pairing a vintage chest turned marble-topped work island with a glorious crystal chandelier. It seems even Mr. Dog appreciates great design.

A vintage chest stripped down to its bare wood, lovely little arm chair and interesting side table create a stunning corner vignette. I am a big fan of contemporary lamps, but have never seen one quite like this tabletop beauty I’m quite smitten by its unique design.

Quirky little “decorative accessories” add a sense of fun to this vintage vignette. How cool is the look of an oversize swing arm floor lamp as it appears to inspect the sprouting bulbs atop the repurposed map chest?

Even a distressed chest deserves one last chance to shine. This aging beauty with peeling paint is perfect in an appealing outdoor vignette. What a pleasure it is to see vintage pieces that have served well for many years still being enjoyed well past their prime!

What do you think of these vintage dressers and chests? Leave us your thoughts below and be sure to stop by our website for more home decor, lighting, and inspirations!

Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Claire’s Nursery – in the works…

Hello. I am a wee bit tired today but my inspiration (and a cup of tea) is keeping my energy up. Yesterday, I worked a bit on preparing Claire’s nursery. I’m sure you will be utterly surprised to hear that it will have a Parisian flair to it..done in a palette of soft grays and pinks. Let me share a couple of shots with you of the work in progress. Still waiting on draperies, some bedding and other items so bear with me…it’s not done yet.

Toby thinks the changing table pad is his new bed! Not for long, my little fur-ball.

Grace donated her favorite rose flower to Claire’s room. She found it at a thrift store on one of your treasure hunting trips. It’s kinda hilarious but she just loves it – so it came home with us. At least it’s the right shade of pink…

I bought the antique, pink books at one of the flea markets in Paris. They are so pretty! I need to photograph them by themselves, so you can see them.

This little bunny followed me home from France too. I have been told that in French culture, babies will often receive bunnies as first toys, instead of teddy bears. So I’m going with it…

Grace’s old glider has survived but needs a little TLC. I actually ordered a Shabby Chic cream-colored slip cover for this…can’t wait to get it! The vintage, pink chenille blanket was a great vintage find! I love the little white pom-poms.

I know, I know, I’m not really showing you much…but I promise when it is finished I will give you a full reveal. What you are not seeing are the boxes of hand me down clothes from Grace’s stash, unassembled bits for the crib canopy and other unsightly things…so trust me you are not missing anything at this point.

Last night, I did create this piece of digital art work for above the changing table. I’m going to have it printed on canvas so I hope it turns out okay!

Hope your week is going well!

xo,

Shopping the Paris Flea Markets: Les Puces de Saint-Ouen

Hello there. How was your week? I hope it was lovely! So, I promised I would share some shots from my shopping experience at the famous Les Puces de Saint-Ouen – so here you go…

Oh, but first a little background. This expansive market is actually an entire area made up of several markets – each one, having its own personality and specialties. The entire area encompasses over 3000 vendors, so to say it’s large is an understatement. I recommend picking out a few of the markets within to focus on rather than trying to do the whole thing at once. We visited Marché Vernaison, Marché Paul Bert and Marché Biron. We may have stumbled into a few of the other areas too…but at least we tried to stay focused. One could truly get blissfully lost, meandering the alleyways and admiring the sheer variety and beauty of all the treasures to be found. A big tip…get this book!

It was a wonderful help planning this trip.

Okay on to the photos…

Almost every vendor had a little scruffy dog. Most of them had as much personality as their owners and it was quite impossible not to smile when we got the pleasure to meet these beloved French pooches.  This guy was perfectly content perched up on his antique chair!

Here are some of the amazing treasures I unearthed on that day…

All in all, it was another amazing shopping day! I have to thank my friend, Annie again for documenting our adventure with her trusty camera!

Have a fantastic weekend!

xo,

Shopping the Paris flea markets : Porte de Vanves Marché

Okay, so I haven’t been holding out on you…I just haven’t had much time to process everything from Paris! So many photos! The images I’m going to share with you today were taken by my dear friend, Annie. She so graciously documented our Parisian shopping adventures for me. Overwhelmed and completely giddy, I knew I couldn’t shop, barter, attempt to communicate with the vendors AND take pictures so I will be eternally grateful to Annie for capturing these.

This was the first market we hit – Porte de Vanves Marché – in southern Paris. This market has been around since the 1920’s and is one of the best! Smaller and less intimidating than the famous Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt, I felt this market was a good place to get my feet wet.

It was a beautiful, crisp, clear morning. We arrived a little before eight. Vendors milled around, unloading their little white vans. Smoking cigarettes and sipping coffee while they set up folding tables and began the process of displaying their wares. Piles of linens, stacks of ancient looking books, jingling mounds of old French silverware, tired chairs, wearing their original velvet attire, gigantic mirrors, rows of earthenware dishes and bowls, vintage postcards, photo albums, bowls of skeleton keys, sparkling chandeliers – all these magical items unfurled as the sun rose and warmed our backs.

I got to try out my French…although most of the vendors spoke a little English and were happy to bridge the gaps in our communication. I wanted to buy all this gentleman’s dishes! What a treasure trove he had!

That cake plate went home with me and sold in minutes after listing it in the shop…pretty isn’t she?

More shopping…

and a little live music…courtesy of this guy…

By mid morning, our accumulation of goods was becoming rather heavy…but nothing was stopping us! I look so serious in this shot, as I scan the tables for precious items, while my friend Sherry (behind me) looks completely blissed out – and she was carrying the really heavy stuff! She’s a brilliant shopper, such a trooper! And my thanks to my fabulous flea market photographer, Annie! Thank you girl!

It was an absolute delight to shop this market and a successful outing – I managed to come home with many gorgeous items that are listed in the store now…

Getting back to our flat was another story…after attempting to lug our caravan of treasures back to the train station, we gave up and hailed a taxi! It was SO worth it.

This week I will share some more images from the famous Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt!

Have a beautiful Wednesday!

xo,

Au Revoir mon amis…

***

Oh boy…I can’t believe it but in three short days I will be in Paris! I’m not sure I will have time to blog but I will be uploading pictures to my Curate & Love FB page and taking a thousand others to share with you when I return!

For now here are some fabulous images from the French Flea Markets…where I am actually going to be this weekend!!!

Ooooh – I can’t wait!!! I promise to bring back some gorgeous treasures for the shop and I’m pretty sure there will be no shortage of hilarious/embarrassing situations that I get myself into. I will divulge all! ;)

This truly is a dream come true…so wish me luck!

Be well, my dear readers and enjoy the first weeks of Spring!

xo,

Flea Market images via here.