KEEPING YOUR VINTAGE FINDS MODERN

I love going to flea markets, secondhand stores and vintage shops to find a great piece that can immediately transform the look of a room. It's true, vintage or antique pieces stand out as works of art when paired with the right decor style. Traditional decor can feel old, and modern decor can "get" old, but regardless of the style of house, you can always incorporate a few vintage or antique finds to keep it interesting. The challenge is keeping your vintage finds modern. Keep in mind that interiors aren't meant to "match", but rather "coordinate".

The best way to incorporate vintage/antique pieces into your decor is to intersperse them throughout. This will act as a more eclectic and international feel. Designers do this best by making sure they have one vintage piece in every room. If you're lucky enough to travel abroad, you can probably bring home some amazing finds....for all of us others, we will continue to scour the endless sea of vintage items at our local flea markets!

The only rule here is to make sure you balance cultures, styles and time periods. You can't go wrong....and these pieces make your style really stand out!

This vintage yellow tufted wingback chair adds color and character to the corner of this elegant dining room.

Believe it or not, this is a "mud room"! The room includes vintage items such as the white hall tree against the wall, the settee from an antique mall and a vintage table found on ebay.

In this sophisticated, turned rugged living space, these red vintage number signs (once used at an old gas station) add color to this space.

This room's designer created an illusion of height by placing wallpaper on the ceiling and to inspire the rest of the furnishings, she added a vintage couch (still in it's original upholstery).

While updating this home, the designer opted to keep the original 1947 molding over the doorway. It brings charm to the room, don't you agree?

All photos courtesy of Lonny Mag

The painting in this sitting area was purchased by the homeowner at a market in Thailand. Always bring back pieces when traveling.

Bottom line is to mix vintage finds with modern pieces, don't over think it, go with your gut, and if you buy what you love and put it where you'll enjoy it, it will always work!

 

A STORY WORTH TELLING......CHAPTER II

As you might recall, from my previous post (Chapter 1), I realized that your home (and our home) is your book and the treasures in your home are small chapters! I promised to share more of my "chapters" with you, so here we are....

Chapter II-Trash vs. Treasure 
 
As you all know, the saying goes..."one man's trash is another man's treasure". Well, I believe there's some truth to that, and the saying that should immediately follow it is "the beauty (or shall I say-potential beauty) is in the eye of the beholder".
  
I wanted a very basic, but solid wood table in an espresso stain. I decided after seeing tons of "almost the right table" (a lot of them in veneer, and some that were VERY close, but way too expensive), that the only remaining option was to have one custom made.

In the meantime, what in the world would I do about the chairs? The furniture maker could make chairs, but I wanted them upholstered, not all wood. I went on another quest, for chairs. If I bought chairs from a retail store and had the table made, how would I get the stain to match? Then, I figured it all out...I was going to mix old and new-old (vintage) chairs and a new table. I narrowed it down to chrome chairs for a classic look and began searching for the perfect chairs-vintage style, classic and still in good enough condition that I can restore them myself. I wanted to keep the cost down, but as you know, once it's called "vintage", the price usually gets increased by about five notches! I searched online for 3 months! I searched Etsy, Ebay and Craigslist...until I found THE ones!

Someone who ate dinner in these chairs from childhood, through adolescence, into adulthood and now couldn't wait to get rid of them-posted six Chrome Vintage Chairs for sale on Ebay for a starting bid of $100! As I scrolled through the pictures, I KNEW they would be absolutely amazing with my new table (or table to be). I HAD TO HAVE THEM! Three days left in the auction and no bids yet.....okay, sounding good.....reading through the description, I stumbled upon the shipping details. The details said "PICK UP ONLY" ....oh noooo....and where were these chairs??? NEW YORK!!! (cue the record skipping noise)

I was NOT about to give up! I contacted the seller to ask if there was ANY way that she would consider shipping them to me (in California) if I bid and happen to win them. She was reluctant at first, but said if I researched the shipping method and found someone to also pack them, then she would do it. So, I researched my heart out and found out that she could ship them via Greyhound from a local station near her and right to a station here in my hometown! The shipping costs weren't too awful either. So, I placed my bid and WON them for only $100! (vision: me dancing around the house) But....then I get a call from the seller...oh no....but it was good news....she called to say that she found two more chairs (8 total) and if I wanted those too, then she would include them....let me think about it....UMMMM YEAH! 

Now, we had to plan on designing a larger table to accommodate 8 chairs, instead of six. Thank goodness the dining room was big enough to fit all of it! So, as you can see from the above picture, the chrome was a little pitted and had some scuffs and rust. The upholstery was a 1968 faux suede in a beige color and should have been replaced about 43 years ago! Once the chairs arrived, we removed the seats and backs, bought some really fine grade steel wool (0000), used a LOT of elbow grease and some chrome polish to clean up the chrome. They shined up really nice. We took them to our local upholster and selected a white leather fabric for them. Drum roll please.....

Once we had the table made, it was a match made in heaven!

GOOD READS AND COFFEE TABLE ENTERTAINMENT

At it's best! I enjoy coffee table books....I have a small love affair with one of mine- KELLY HOPPEN "HOME-From Concepts to Reality" . I am constantly drawn to it over and over! A hard cover, and 192 pages to drool over...She is one of my absolute FAVORITE designers and this has been one of my beloved design books....EVER.

Kelly Hoppen is a high-end interior designer, celebrated in the pages of Architectural Digest, In Style, and the New York Times. Her cool, modernist aesthetic is at once timeless and at the cutting-edge of style today and KELLY HOPPEN HOME offers readers a chance to learn from the world-renowned British designer's chic design philosophy. Giving a clear picture of her approach at every stage-from the conception of an idea, through preparation and decision making, to implementing plans and achieving a reality-Kelly shares her insider secrets and reveals how to get the most from a living space.

Kelly's skill in understanding how a home works is illustrated in a portfolio of projects from the UK, United States, Israel, and Switzerland. Architectural plans and drawings, alongside stunning photographs of her latest work, help explain how to reconfigure a space by transforming ideas into workable schemes. Insightful text, practical tips, and information from expert consultants help explain how readers can become their own interior designer. That's what made me fall in love with her book and her design style.

Maybe you will find a new love interest in one of the coffee table books below! If not, at least enjoy looking!

MAILBOX MAKEOVER!

It's been a while since I've tackled a project, and I had a bit of time to work on something that I've wanted to do for a LONG time...so, it was the perfect opportunity for a MAILBOX MAKEOVER!
Our house was built in 1962 and I think the mailbox has been here just as long....obviously without any love for 49 years! It has been driving me crazy. It's a big mailbox, so I wanted to keep it and save some money. So, went to Home Depot, got some primer and bronze spray paint and I was ready to get started.

Here's what it looked like before (Yikes!):

Then I sanded and primered:

Then paint the mailbox antique bronze...and used a Paprika color for the flag:

Then paint the pole and ta-da! Looks like new-for less than $20.00!!

Now I just need to add the numbers and it will be like new!

Our Powder Room Remodel-Featured on Remodelaholic Blog

Looks as if we are getting some ♥ from Cassity at Remodelaholic again! This time, our powder room remodel will be featured! You can catch it tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7:00am. The Remodelaholic blog is all about DIY in its finest. We are very honored to be featured for the second time! Thank you for sharing our bathroom remodel project with your followers. We hope to inspire some other DIY-ers out there! 

FLIPPING OUT...AGAIN!

As some of you already know...the new season of Flipping Out is here! And, I don't know about you, but my Tuesday evenings now revolve around BRAVO! Fly home from work, have a quick glass of wine, chat with my hubby about our workday, watch the dogs and chickens play, make a quick dinner...all just in time for some great entertainment!

I ♥ this show! 

Jeff Lewis' humor is a bit on the dark side (I do LMAO though), but his interior designs are to die for. I had to share these photos of his personal residence (Valley Oak 2), which he initially bought to flip. It was placed on the market for the low, low price of $2.4M until he decided to make it his permanent residence! To top it off, it's nestled in the middle of Griffith Park! What a gorgeous home, don't you agree? Wish I could afford it!

Valley Oak 2 is a two-story, mid-century modern, post and beam house that was built in 1963 and has been flawlessly renovated.

This Chef’s kitchen includes features such as a Viking range, custom cabinetry, built-in Miele coffee maker (Oh I wish I had one of those), Bosch dishwasher, SubZero refrigerator, wine fridge, and an oversized pantry.

This amazing home has it all! Clean lines, open space, as well as spectacular views from downtown LA to the ocean from the pool. So jealous!

CLOSET ENVY

Most of us women (and some men...whether they admit it or not) have too many darn clothes! I must admit that I keep everything when it comes to clothes! I try to donate some to Goodwill or charity, but most of the time I talk myself into keeping things that I might "wear again someday"....let's face it, we will NEVER wear it and we can keep dreaming that we'll fit into half that stuff again too! And...do we really believe that these clothing items will be "forever fashionable" so when you do fit in it (just trying to be optimistic), it will actually still be in style and you'll look like the runway model that you are?

I've received some great advice about clothes...."if you haven't worn or used it in the last year, then get rid of it!" Sounds like a great way to live, but until I actually get the courage to follow through, I need more closet space!

I have to confess that every closet in my house is filled with my clothes. No room for guests, kids or husband items....I need the space! So, needless to say, it's time to get some serious closet organization underway. For a little inspiration, I found these photos! Maybe these amazing closets will light a fire under your buns too!

contemporary closet design

contemporary closet design by containerstore.com

contemporary closet design by los angeles architect Lisa Adams, LA Closet Design

contemporary closet design

contemporary closet design by austin interior designer Richens Designs, Inc.

modern closet design by boston architect LDa Architecture & Interiors

LOFT32 GUEST POST FEATURED TODAY

MY GUEST POST, FEATURED ON expectmoore.blogspot.com POSTED TODAY! Carolina says:I have to admit something really crazy here - I went to a mall last weekend in San Diego with my mom (no, that's not the crazy part), and as we went into the stores, I thought about how much this shirt or that skirt reminded me of something I've seen on a Blog. This is not because bloggers are ripping off the designers or vice versa - it is because I haven't stepped foot in a Mall since Christmas (unless Target counts as a Mall?). I am hopefully outdated when it comes to fashion, and trends. It is a good thing that jeans and plain t-shirts never got out of style (um, they are still in style, right?)

This is where Candace comes in... she has got true style when it comes to home decor (want to help me out with my beige walls?). She scours the stores, web, catalogs, whatever, and comes up with great posts consolidating all of it. She also shows before and afters of her own renovation projects (she's not just "talking the talk" when it comes to decor...) Thanks to her wonderful blog I can now tell you about stylish bathroom renovating and upscale pastels. I can even chat about classy birdhouses...
all while wearing my jeans and white t-shirt...

Hi! I'm Candace, the editor of Loft32 blog. I'm honored to be your guest blogger for the day during this exciting "Pocket Week". So, let's get to it....There's no doubt that we're all talented crafters, scrapbookers or seamstresses....but let's face it, we have lots of clutter! In order to create our masterpieces, it requires tons of "stuff" (your husband might call it something else) such as: stamps, ink pads, scissors, fabric, yarn, equipment, paper, glue and other necessities!

Most of us aren't lucky enough to have an entire room to work in. Nope! Instead, we have our little "pocket" of space that was designated as our "work area"! Keeping organized is one way to keep your sanity, but what about how it fits in with that chic decor of the rest of the house? Usually, people come over and you say-"this is my gorgeous kitchen, this is my lovely master bedroom, and...oh yeah, that's my craft area" and then rush them quickly passed it, hoping they didn't have time to catch a glimpse of the chaos! Just so you know...it IS absolutely possible to turn that "pocket" into an attractive, decorated space-one you'll want to show off to your guests and one which blends in well with the rest of your decor style. Here are some examples of some chic crafting spaces of all sizes!

[photos courtesy of BHG and Houzz]

Most of these crafters didn't use cabinets, but instead they chose open shelving. Cabinets tend to make smaller spaces look tiny, so even though you have tons of things to place onyour shelves, it's still best to keep them open, which allows better access too!

Hopefully, these spaces presented some great ideas and some really unique ways to stay organized, store your notions and keep it chic!