Friday, March 16, 2012

VINTAGE MARKET and my 100th post!

It's that time again!!!!!




Our May Market is just around the bend and do we have a treat for you!!!


We just returned from a fabulous shopping trip in Sweden, so if you love Scandinavian style, then you won't want to miss this event!!!




Our event will be a white tent affair, with 2 other buildings carrying our wares!!!




In other exciting news, European Vintage Chic will be joining us with his goods from all around Europe!! Bring a friend!






Keep checking back for sneak peeks and other exciting details.





This is also my 100th post! I have been blogging for several years, but don't seem to have the time to do it regularly! Nevertheless, I enjoy it when I can; here's to 100 more posts!



Don't forget to check out our latest finds and "LIKE" us on our Facebook page.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Sweden Highlights

There are a slew of photos that I posted, but so many more that I didn't post as I wanted to keep the products I purchased a surprise until my market in May!!!


So my hubby and I caught the 2030 flight out of Hahn to Stockholm on Friday night!! You just can't beat 52 euros total, for 2 round trip tickets!! I love Europe!!!!


Skavsta Airport is small like Hahn so it was easy to get in and out as soon as we arrived. We had no checked luggage, so we went right to Hertz to pick up our car. We actually stayed the night at the Hotel 200 meters from the airport as I booked it in advance, and let me tell you, it was worth every Swedish Kroner that we spent on it. We walked to the hotel at 2245 and were relaxing in bed by 2300!!!! We will do that again with the flight getting in so late. They offered a great breakfast in the morning too!
So by 0800 Saturday morning, we were in our rental car headed North to the famous Dalarna region of Sweden. You may recognize the Dalarna horse below!


It was such a great drive, my hubby and I talked without interruption of children:)


So by 1130 we were pulling into Richard and Susanne's house. (This photo was actually taken in the evening, but this was the only one I took of the shop that was on their property). This was one of 3 shops that Richard has, which is full of Swedish Antiques!!!!

This is their beautiful house. As you can see the weather was gorgeous!!! Love the red and white homes all over.

We hit the ground running. First we shopped through the big one by their home, then Richard took us to his biggest warehouse. I took several photos of the products that I bought in the large warehouse, but I am keeping those under wraps for now!!


This was the other facility that holds many of Richard's wares. He was an auctioneer for many years and several of his auctions were held here! The inside was awesome!! I picked up a few treasure here! Love the blue door.

Back at their home, this is the lovely front porch! Susanne is an amazing decorator, so much so, that she has been in several magazines and has been on the cover on numerous occasions! She writes free lance and also styles other Swedish homes for magazines!!! She was awesome!



Love this! It greets you just as you walk in the front door!

Her kitchen has been in several magazines and newspapers! Can you see why? GOR-GEOUS!

Light and airy

Where we ate dinner. Susanne just finished up a Spring photo shoot the day before for another magazine. She showed me pictures of the table that was dressed in turquoise, greens and yellows, it was beautiful.

So after we shopped and shopped and shopped, Scott and I took off to the store to pick up some goodies for our children. Don't you love the Cafe Au Lait bowls??

Scott wanted me to take a photo of all the cheese. An entire cooler section.

Back to Susanne and Richard's house. I shot a few more photos before we ate dinner. I love how the Scandinavian style is crisp and clean, with uses of whites, greys and neutral colors. So calming.

This is the room where we stayed.

Ok, so I was seriously trying to convince Susanne to sell me this Swedish couch! Love, love, love it!

Pop of yellow is working that is for sure!

Her real Cafe Au Lait bowls! Quite a collection she has.

Real beadboard-my heart be still!

More grey.

Lovely all around

Ok, so on their property is this cool smoke house. The fire pit is in the center, so we all sat inside, kept toasty warm and cooked the yummy meat! I seriously want one of these.

Richard and Susanne have a tradition, that every guest must sign the inside of the BBQ house!!! I had a lot to say (surprise, surprise), that I almost ran out of ink!

Dinner was over the top fantastic! It was nice to relax, talk and think over our purchases! Richard and Susanne have such a fasinating history and life there in Sweden. We were blessed to have this opportunity. We also dined with their 2 children, which was very nice.

Ok, so the nice thing about having a STORE next door is that you can shop anytime! After dinner, we went shopping again and I am glad we did. I picked up several more pieces. Richard has a LOAD of taxidermy animals, NONE of which came home with us! Not my thing at all, but Scott did want his photo with the bison,( I think it is). Scott also got himself a pair of Swedish Moose horns for his MANPIT. Nothing says "I love you, thank you for coming to Sweden with me", than a pair of moose antlers! (I won't be sad, if Richard forgets to bring them in April:):):)

So we left to head home on Sunday morning, and this was the breathtaking sky that greeted us as we departed the lovely Swedish Countryside! God sure knows how to paint a sky!

Don't forget my market with loads of Swedish Antiques comings 18-19 May!!! You won't want to miss it!


Friday, March 2, 2012

French Script Buffet

So, I tend to like large pieces of furniture. My hubby, not so much, but he has been a good sport about it. I fell in love with this piece, especially with the back that has 2 rows of grooves for plates. However, in all it's Belgian loveliness, I was ready to get this baby painted.
I have seen several black buffets, so I thought I would try that first, but I didn't like it at all! I thought it would then make a nice undercoat for the top color, so I gave that a whirl.


So after lots of painting, hours of distressings and even more hours of waxing, here she is in all her French script glory. I put French script on each door panel as well as the sides. I usualy strip the tops of my buffets and hutches, but I wanted to try something different, so I painted it in the same color gray that I did the script in.

French Gray Script on the sides

My lighting was not so great, but you can see the contrast of the gray top to the off white bottom.

Upclose doors

More door detail

Distressed top

Ready for purchase, however I don't plan on listing it on my regular sale sight, I am going to keep it for my May Vintage Market, unless is sells before then.