I hope you’ll join me on my never-ending search for beautiful pieces, with history, for your home. Find my curated treasures, in Booth #154, at the Antique Trove, in Roseville, CA. ~ Barbara
Thanks to those wonderful little furniture moving pads, that I discovered as a home stager, I can make my living room sofa do a three-sixty, in nothing flat! So over the years, I’ve tried lots of variations, without measurable success. Early on, I had a slipcovered sofa (using my favorite painter’s drop cloths), carpeting…pretty simple. Then, I discovered a true love for draperies. These were made to order. They’re nice and heavy and hang beautifully from some wonderfully simple oil rubbed bronze rods. At this point, we had purchased a new Lee Industries sofa in a beautiful silk velvet, on…
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Do you ever wonder what motivates you? I do. What leaves many of us content, while others have to look for the next challenge? I wish I knew. Somewhere, I have to have this tattooed into my brain (ouch!). I won’t go through my list of what I’ve been doing to fill my days lately, but trust me, the list is long. I ask myself how I spent hours, with the help of Mr. Wonderful, trying to figure out what went wrong with my 20 year old sewing machine, over the weekend. Then, frustrated, we made the unpleasant trek to…
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Mr. wonderful gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers, for our anniversary, recently. While I am not a professional florist, my mother was a stellar entertainer. Having lots of dinner parties, and not a lot of money, she always made her own centerpieces. Her tables always looked like a wonderful celebration was about to take place. I learned a lot, just watching her. Years later, I always enjoy making my own centerpieces and if you haven’t tried it yourself, it’s easier then it might look. 1. First of all, find a bowl or pot that you want to use for…
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Welcome back to Veranda! While I am the keeper of the shop today, I thought I’d give you another tour. You might see something you can’t live without! Or better yet, you might find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift…or gift certificate…for your sweetheart! I love this old original pastel. The frame is especially great! I’ll let your fingers do the walking! Are you old enough to know that line? This is the West Virginia and Fenton glass I brought back from the east coast, along with my dear door stops! Need a “new” spring bag? …and of course, don’t forget…
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While open shelves were probably first designed to hold daily essentials, today…or at least in my world, they offer wonderful points of interest in a room. Give me a nook to fill and I’m at peace with the world. Some decorate shelves, sticking to a color scheme… While pretty, these shelves would never end up in my home because my style is so much more eclectic. . Now, I don’t know what it took to collect all of these old red books, but I sure love how an old door was used to enclose the space. And how clever is…
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Before heading to the Ft. Lauderdale airport, we had the wonderful chance to spend time with dear friends, Gale and Glenn, at their gorgeous home in Coconut Grove. Gale and Glenn are the “poster couple” for a fun-packed and rewarding retirement lifestyle. It’s no surprise that they have a steady stream of house guests, because they “go the distance” to make their friends feel welcome. We were greeted with warm hugs and once settled in our lovely guest quarters, enjoyed a scrumptious lunch, out on the patio. …our lovely hostess, Gale, sitting down, probably for the first time all day.…
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With just two days left in South Florida, the sky is clear and it should reach 80 today! Pretty nice! I’m ready to get back home soon,to work on some projects. I hear Annie Sloan calling my name and am going to work with her gorgeous red color, for starters. Emperors Silk, I believe she calls it Yum! While in Palm Beach, we had lunch at the Breakers Hotel, built way back in the 1920’s. Stunning hotel for the well-heeled. I don’t know what the room rates are, daahling, but they’re probably out of our league. Lunch provided the perfect…
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What a wonderful day for antique lovers, in West Palm Beach! It all started at the Brass Scale Antiques, where Jane Schott is the shopkeeper and also a blog-buddy. Her blog is called Empress of the Eye. She keeps track of all the gorgeous pieces that come into the shop, thanks to Judy, the proprietor. Now, Jane and I had never done more than notes on line and a couple of phone calls, but we became fast friends. I felt like I’d known her for years! We walked up and down the “row”, talking to shop keepers about next month’s…
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As a regular reader of Velvet and Linen, I stumbled upon an older post about her visit to the Paris Flea Market last summer. It was one of the most inspiring blog posts ever. It just made my imagination run wild! You can see the post by clicking here. The beautiful pictures made me feel as though I’d been transported there and was walking the streets. The Paris Flea Market is the largest flea market in the world and after 150 years, it’s probably one of the oldest! So, that got me thinking…there must be guided tours of this wonderful…
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I’m not sure if you’ve ever read a sweet blog, called www.theletteredcottage.net, but they’re hosting an unusual link party called Word often Year. The idea is to pick a word and keep it in plain sight throughout the year; on the refrigerator door, in your sock drawer, on your car’s dashboard. A constant reminder to growing a better life, a better me. Here in Blogland, we’re all avid readers and writers. Words are a part of our life. They represent us. They can also bring us closer, or push us farther away from one another. Studies have also proven the…
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