I've been splitting up these bedroom posts because they are so picture heavy, plus this bedroom accessorizing is a work in progress.
My vintage pickled oak furniture changes daily as I'm learning what it wants to be furnished with. Currently, many things are precious and others are not.
The fileboxes are paperwork I must go through...boxed to give me the incentive to sort and throwaway, not a decorating statement.
I love OLD REDO chandy...circa 1960-70's that we just put up last weekend.
From the left, i'm starting at the top.
My antique reference books with my great grandmother's powder jar which is fired/enameled glass on a brass/once silverplate base and lid. A small little goose girl box..porcelain circa 1980's. The purple porcelain vase is a souvenir of Rebild, Denmark and from the 1940's. It's a family piece and I visited Rebild in 1963. A huge summer festival commerating Denmark's ties to the USA. So many Danes emigrated to the US, it's sort of a big homecoming party.
This vintage silver tray is filled with OLD grandmothers' and NEW beads and shells. This piece moves about the house. Now, it needs a touch-up polish, though it is never perfect and delightfully shabby.
Photo of my parents disguising the television cable control. More books, vintage jewelry box, an an oil painting by my son when he was in jr. high. and a little elf pot.
Porcelain cup was my grandmother's, the plate has a noogie on the edge-otherwise I would sell it, the figurine is from the 1940's and was one of my mom's--marked Caroline by Ynez. She has the sweetest face and the ceramic dipped lace so popular on lady figurines of that time. I have five different ones. Mom was also partial to bells as figures, but you can't keep it all.
The unmarked porcelain plate I snagged for .99 cents from Goodwill for the color, and porcelain cup and saucer from Denmark, my grandmother's. More books--you can see I am fond of 1/2PriceBooks. Bits of lace here and there.
On the center cabinet/desk area...an adorable porcelain inkwell--I picked up fro 4.99 unmarked, have no idea how old it is...but it's perfect. A new cube of butterfly notes--a birthday gift, ...a stoneware glass from Monet's Giverny gift shop in France--gifted to me by a friend probably 20 years ago. So vintage artisan stoneware.
The embroidered placemat was my grandmother's probably done by one of her sisters in Denmark. Very fine linen with three-dimensional embroidered roses and for-get-me-nots could be from any time after 1915. Many of these pieces were placed in dowry trunks and saved before and after marriage. I had two maiden Great Aunts. WWI depleted the male population in Europe and both had lost a beau and never married. They did gorgeous needlework up until their deaths, and I have many beautiful pieces.
Then there is the funky clock.
Which started like this---but came to me as a give-away from a friend...has the lovely old fashioned ticking. I just painted it with a dry brush and white enamel.
This middle shelf has my mom's dresser set that my Dad bought for her when they were eighteen-years-old before WWII. He said he unloaded an entire train car of cabbages by hand for this. It was still the Depression and he worked before school and after school to help feed his family of 6---and also to spoil my mom. That's true love for you.
The blue girl planter is my logo for my Etsy shop and here on the blog. I was put dandelions and wild flowers in it for my mom when I was a child. She gave me the love for small and everyday things, and antiques. Most of my antique books were hers.
The small dresser to the right was from a thrift store and simply painted white.
Here it is in all it's 1990's Chinese painted Country style, that so killed that decorating trend of the 1980's-90's. It was nicely constructed though and now I keep 'special' things other than jewelry in it.
The top center shelf holds more treasures.
A heavy porcelain pansy necessary pot from my great aunt, probably my great-grandmother's. She had a thing for pansies. It currently holds my curlers, yes, I baby my hair with curlers instead of a curling iron. I just noticed the swan stuck there, lol, part of the transitions that have happened on these shelves.
The sweet over polished silver vase was part of my great grandmother's coffee set and holds precious dried roses. The brass shows through, the pattern is a common one in Scandinavian silver and silverplate, called French Lily or French Lilje.
Far left is a beatiful frosted glass vase with a flower frog top, a geisha shaker, and a small dog I thnk I found in an old purse of my mom's. The box had been a gift from me to my grandmother in the 1970's, hand painted wood with little blue flowers. On top is one of the last pictures of my mom with us together, she was 82 there and I was 57. Time flies so when you get older...seems like last year and it's over 10 years already.
My mom's EAPG crystal jar with the once silver-now-brass top, circa 1880's. A Cordey figurine from my grandmother from the late 1940's early 1950's. My mom and Aunt split a set of two, sadly. But both were damaged, so while pretty and collectible they are not resellable.
A cut crystal shaker, I keep intending to put powder in.
The bust is beautiful high quality porcelain, and the mark says Cordey and is numbered. Here is a nice link Collecting Lacy Cordey Busts. I love her porcelain curls and ribbons reflected in the vintage mirror.
Unmarked USA ceramic planter in a nice matte white, a vintage glass basket of my mom's, two Fenton birds of my grandmother's. I still need to work in a few taller items when I remove the file boxes.
The desk/table was a Yield House piece of furniture from the 1980's I picked up at a garage sale years ago--for $10.00, I think. I'm going to do a post on painting various surfaces. The desk still needs knobs but has two rough coats of white enamel, I may or may not distress.
The chair is sturdy bentwood in oak, and will probably stay as is---or move to another location in the house.
The bust from the bathroom has moved out to grace the desk/table. She has some bling on to celebrate spring. That topiary wanders...I will remove it as soon as I can have garden flowers in a vase.
The stained glass will go up---when I find the copper chain --that got misplaced during the remodel.
Though mye budget was tight with the remodel, I couldn't resist picking up this gorgeous pot at a local store. It was only about $30.00 but I had to grab it because of the color. I need a new plant the fern is most unhappy.
A lace runner is Quaker Lace probaby from the 1940's. I have lots of lace from the family going back to the mid 19th century.
I will probably refinish the top of the desk when the weather is right.
I love the bit of gold and the shape of the handles on the pot. It's probably German porcelain, not really marked but from a bedroom set of washstand pieces. This would have been the slop-jar or dirty water container and would have had a gorgeous lid.
The pot is a nice balance for the bust...but everything may change.
This woven basket is NEW I received from a very good friend for my birthday this year. It is woven by Zulu tribe members from colored telephone wire. This will travel to the dining buffet eventually. I have a streak of Bohemian in me and it seems the COLORFUL stuff will land in the living/dining room.
It's exquisite and so intricate and right now it has the blue of the bedroom and reminds me of summer flowers...oh please..now...summer...!
This little lamp was a gift to my mom, in the late 1980's for Mothers' Day from myself. It went perfect in her bedroom. I stuck it on the table until, I find something different. I probably have 10-12 lamps in storage. We will see if any of them work in this room.
My childhood toy chest, complete with 1949 decals was at the foot of the bed. It's lined in cedar, so worth keeping no matter how distressed it is. The new furniture placement puts it on the blank wall next to the window.
I caught this picture by accident while photgraphing some glasses on it for the Etsy shop.
What do you think?
A bedside table is currently my grandmother's sewing stand circa 1940's and is Maple.
Lift the top and here you have an organizing insert and original tatting crochet thread rolls. Very old and dusty. I have never used this storage area. Dad apparently stashed keys here and I missed them.
It desperately needs some love, but Im not sure what kind, lol.
For now a simple cloth, a Grandmother's lamp and a book will have to do.
Another project---this shelf was on it's side out on the porch when I took the picture. It's an Oak organ top probably turn of the 19th century. This was what the dining room cabinets replaced---my mantle of sorts. We actually got this piece before we were married, and falls into the category of 'begged, borrowed, or stolen." I won't tell which, lol.
Its new life may be as a headboard. We will see, hubby has no vision and just shook his head...so I will have to proceed slowly and it has 50 years of oil on it, needs some regluing. It will not be fun to paint.
It has machine carved decoration of factory produced furniture in all oak.
But has some doo-hickeys here and there. I loved decorating this piece for Christmas with lights, garland and vintage Santas and it was always a focal point of the buffet. But so nice to not have my porcelain stored in boxes, now.
Here's a shelf and a magazine holder from thrift stores. Some paint and the magazine holder is under the desk table. I'm looking for some funky legs for it.
The shelf will land somewhere or in the shop. Apiece was missing, but when painted not even noticeable.
I love this artwork, from an old print--a gift from a friend. You will recognize the Little Mermaid, circa the 1890's with the Scandinavian ship in the background.
Here are some frames, artwork, and a couple of hooks I used before with new paint or had squirreled away for this bedroom redo. I plan on changing out the pictures to perhaps 19th century family portraits from both sides of our family.
I got this cutie last summer and redid it, here, REDO my junkin finds for the Bedroom
For nailpolish and insundries.
Wonder if I can work this into a display on this wall to the left of the window.I also need a hanger for necklaces and scarves.
And then there is this monster rack, I mean its like over thirty inches wide...which may not make the cut, but is in the basement--waiting to be used.
If I added everything, I would be able to open my own Gypsy Caravan Bedroom shop on Etsy.
So I will have to proceed slowly and move on to the bathroom redo while my ideas incubate.
So what's your hardest decorating choices?
Thanks always for visiting and I will be happy to try and answer any question or comments.
All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own unless noted. I have not
been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions of products or posts. Please do not
use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission.
Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle
I will be participating at these great blog parties:
Sandi
