When I’m sourcing treasures for my shop, I search high and low, at antique shows, garage sales (usually quite sparse in potential, but you never know!), Craig’s List and at estate sales. I love a good estate sale! Although sometimes, it makes me a bit sad that some of the personal treasures, like military medals and old family photos, didn’t mean enough to the heirs, to save them. Anyway, I digress. Back to shopping estate sales! Every town of any size will have a few companies that organize and manage the estate sales of deceased family members or just older…
Read the rest >>Hello friends!, Today, I’d like to introduce you to Stacy Curran, a designer who writes Conspicuous Style. Not one to “toot her own horn”, Stacy is a beautiful young mother, attorney turned interior designer and writer of a blog that gives all the design magazines out there, some serious competition! She packs more beautiful images into a single blog than humanly possible, for anyone but a night owl! Take it away, Stacy! Thank you so much for having me here today Barbara! It is a real honor, although a bit intimidating. I don’t speak about myself too much, at least…
Read the rest >>In honor of Pantone’s Color of the Year, for 2012, (yes, I’m a bit late on this!) Tangerine Tango, I thought it would be appropriate to start my series of custom pillows for the year in just such a color palette.
Read the rest >>About 24 hours ago, I boarded Southwest for a quick hop down to San Diego. I’ve spent a great time with my daughter-in-law, eating our way through town. My son, who’s Naval ship returns tomorrow afternoon from a short 10 day tour, will be glad to be home. Last night, we ate at Isabelle’s Cantina and my burrito dish was wonderful! Today, after pedicures, we hit the shops, where Jessica was searching for the perfect pair of shoes. We found the shoes, as well as this light pole, encrusted in every color of pre-chewed gum known to man. Makes quite…
Read the rest >>Greetings, friends! Big things are happening at Veranda Antiques! Fran’s taking more space, here in the cottage, bringing more fun painted furniture into the place! Come check it out. I’ve got my latest restoration projects in the shop and looking good, if I don’t mind saying so myself. I’m heading down to San Diego to visit my son and daughter-in -law. Stay tuned!… Barbara
Read the rest >>Well, Here we are, in Week 4 of our HBO documentary/series… Today, it’s with great flourish, that I introduce, Mary Ann, of Classic Casual Home. Mary Ann has lead a coveted life as wife, mother, French speaking world traveler, living in a little beach town in southern California, when she isn’t on the slopes of Mammoth Mountain. On top of all that, she’s a talented designer. Her own homes are lovely. Her style is simply fabulous and she adheres to a look that’s created using quality materials, with lots of light, comfort and down-to-earth charm thrown in, for good measure!…
Read the rest >>One of the beautiful things about reaching this chapter in my life, is having the ability and most of all, time, to stretch my creative “wings”. I know that if you have kids at home, or a demanding career, or both, there’s little time or energy left for nurturing your creative side. Have you had a chance to explore what earthly experiences inspire you? For me, just about any creative process takes me to another place, whether it’s painting a chair, a canvas, making a necklace, greeting card or even a dog bed! It’s all good. Since I’ve really gotten…
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