Simple pleasures: flea market treasure finds new home

The last Renningers antique extravaganza of the season is always bittersweet for me...it will be a long stretch from February until the next season begins in November. It's a lot like waiting for Downton Abbey to return and we all know how that feels.

But I found a great little treasure in this beautiful field shaded with a canopy of old oak trees. After tromping through acres and acres of vintages finds, there it was. I knew the minute I saw this turquoise terrarium that it would likely go home with me. But I walked away and kept coming back.

It is old, a little rusty and the pretty turquoise paint is peeling just enough to give it character. The stall owner had filled it with dishes. I knew I could give it a better life. So, we made a (good) deal.

I knew just what to with it.

I coated the bottom with some of my favorite shells that I have collected from Upper Captiva Island and some of my treasures from New Zealand beaches. Now they are all mingled together and sitting in the middle is a small piece of driftwood that I found that is just perfect. And my prized white nautical shell is the focal point.

Now it sits in my entry on an early 1800's, English sideboard that is from a kitchen. Coincidently, this piece was also discovered at Rennigers in Mt. Dora. I like to think that it came from a manor house kitchen but will never know for sure.

Want a home that makes you happy?

Call me. I can help!

Time to hire a professional? Read my tips for working with an interior decorator in the Fort Myers News-Press.

Decorating ideas: Searching and finding a vintage treasure

The only thing more fun than going to one of the winter Antique Extravaganzas at Renningers in Mount Dora is when you are lucky enough to find a real treasure.  And I found one yesterday.

I knew the moment I laid eyes on this 1800's, primitive farm table in one of the more than 800 dealer stalls, that it would be going home with me.  Nothing gives me more pleasure than repurposing a vintage piece. It is gratifying to "rescue" a piece of furniture that at one time functioned as an important part of a home someplace. After being forgotten for so long, it will once again be the focal point of someone's home interior.  I can just imagine the conversations  that took place in the farmhouse kitchen around this table. 

Once this table is cleaned up from the years that it sat neglected in an old shed, it will be a great accent piece.

Because one of the services offered by Spectacular Spaces is searching for unique accent piecesfor its clients, I am constantly on the 1st Dibs site so I know the value of rare, vintage pieces such as this lovely table. If you are not familiar with 1st Dibs, check it out. It markets itself as the purveyor of "the most beautiful things on earth." And it totally delivers.  I first learned about 1st Dibs from Nate Berkus and have been hooked ever since.

If you are looking for an accent piece for your home, here is a decorating idea from Spectacular Spaces:

Buy what you love.  What speaks to you.  What fits your design style.  Blend the piece with other styles in our home.  Don't try to make everything in the room match in the same style. Instead, decide what works for your lifestyle.  Search for it and create a beautiful space around it.  

I think I have found a new home for this treasure.  Mine.

Antique Market Find: Discovering a neglected treasure and bringing it back to life

It was a very sad, shabby cabinet that had been propped up in the dirt.  Almost an afterthought.  Neglected, it looked like it had all but given up being noticed, much less purchased.   No one even stopped to think of the possibilities.  In all fairness, it had lots of competition in the acres of treasures at Renningers Antique Market in Mt. Dora this past weekend.  But this was its lucky day and mine.

The nice vendor said that it was a very old medicine cabinet that he had taken out of a farmhouse in Alabama that was facing demolition.  He was only asking $30.  We did not try to deal.  We knew we had something special.

My husband, a miracle worker at bringing old pieces back to life, could restore this primitive piece back to its earlier days.  Inside there were marks from medicine bottles. Upon cleaning off the layers and layers of dirt and taking it apart, a label on the back of the mirror revealed that it was over 100 years old.  After some minor repairs and cleaning up the original hardware, careful not to remove any of the remaining paint, it almost beamed with thanks for saving it.

It now hangs proudly on the cottage bathroom wall of a collector of all things shabby and primitive (me). Someone who appreciates its peeling paint, distressed wood and deep nooks for treasures.  It is a treasure itself.  Purchased from the nice vendor who did not recognize the gem that he brought from Alabama to Mt. Dora so we could take it home and give it a new life.