Our House- The Outside
When we moved into our new home it was getting cold and dreary out, and I have yet to post pictures of the outside of our house or our porch. Until now, that is. This weekend was so gorgeous outside that I took some pictures of the porch and the newly covered bench, as well as the patio furniture that I had time to repaint. Here we go:
The front view of our house.
The little bench by the front door and our red vintage lawn chairs! 🙂
Our gorgeous chairs!
And on the other side- our lovely vintage ice cream table and chairs!
Enjoy our sunny pictures!
Bookend Project
I have said it before, but I love repurposing items. Especially in these times, finding new life for old items is the greenest option. Some things you hate to ruin by transforming them, but for the most part I believe that reusing old or obsolete items is a far better choice than letting them waste away in some one’s unloving basement, or worse yet, a landfill. Plus, repurposing is often much cheaper than buying new items, as well as healthier for the planet. So, when I get the chance to make a new addition to our home, and at the same time get a new project with old items, I jump on it!
In college I made bowls out of records as a dorm floor project. I still have mine in our office on the book shelf. The other day I saw a project online where book ends were being made out of old records, and decided that would be a perfect addition to the shelves, and even fit in with our music themed office.
I made a stop yesterday at the Salvation Army and picked up two records. They weren’t anything special, just old records in decent shape and with pretty labels. Last night we boiled some water and dumped it in the kitchen sink. The water softens the record and you use a utensil to bend it.
Overall the project was easy and turned out pretty cute!
Cooling off under a box.
A Pop Of Red
The black and white kitchen gets a pop of color! Red! While at the Salvation Army looking for items for a few projects, I came across the cutest little vintage sauce pan. And, it was red. I couldn’t resist. Now it hangs on the wall in our kitchen. So cute.
The pot wouldn’t hang the other way around, but it worked out ok. The bottom of the pan is decorated! It says Vitrex Gourmet and has some funky designs. With some research I learned that Vitrex Gourmet is a Spanish cookware company. Very cute, and very durable, too!
The little things truly do amuse me!
Wabi Sabi
Wikipedia defines wabi sabi as the Japanese world view centered on the acceptance of transience. Sometimes it is also described as beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. I think a good description of this is finding the prefect ion in imperfection. I love the concept of wabi sabi and try to incorporate it into my home all the time. I truly do believe that things can grow more beautiful over time. Maybe its the fact that a well worn item looks well loved. I love how these items have a past, a history. New furnishings from some big box store are often not very well made and are also mass-produced. Meaning that too many of these items in your home and things might look exactly like some one else’s home. This to me is boring. Age and imperfections add interest. So, although we do mix modern items in with our antiques and used finds, we do have some wabi sabi pieces in our home. I thought I would show you a few of our currently well-loved pieces.
This is our little dining table. It is very old and imperfect, but, it has so much character and personality. Even the chairs are worn-in, and mismatched!
A close-up of our perfectly imperfect table.
This is an old table with an antique frame used for the top. We use it as our living room coffee table. It has its dings and scratches, but I think that's what makes it so unique.
The mirror top of our coffee table.
Here are a few more imperfect yet gorgeous items currently in our house:
A vanity bench in our guest room.
One of two old plant stands used as bedside tables in our guest room.
A worn coke crate is hung up in our bedroom.
Current Chair Love
This weeks chair love:
This guy is so ugly that its cute. I think if it were reupholstered in a fun modern material, the shape could be really fun a a living room or even as a side seat in a large bedroom. Maybe do away with the squiggly stitching?
This seat was found on Ebay and is described as a vintage retro mid century circle chair, love seat, or sofa.
I think it has strange potential…
Need Your Expertise
On Sunday Tony and I visited my grandparents. My grandma gave me some dishes and also two antique picture frames. She didn’t know much about them, except that they are old. I’ll say! The back of one picture has some writing on it that says 1898! I know the frames are cross corner with leaves, and that they used to be quite popular. Do you have any more information on these frames or the pictures inside?
This is the writing on the back of one picture. We can't make out all of the words, but we can read 1898!
I would love to know more about these, so if you know anything, let me hear it!
Vintage Cuteness
The past weekend my dad and his wife brought us a little vintage present. They had been cleaning and we about to get rid of this find when they realized Tony and I would probably love it. Which we did! What they found was a set of eight drink glasses and a party dish in a carrier. The glasses have gold leaves on them. So neat!
Isn’t this great!? It was just sitting down there in their basement! This will be great for our next party.
His TYPE Of Bride!
I have just the cutest ideas going on here. I wanted to add some vintage inspiration to the wedding, but didn’t want to overwhelm with it. I figured it out! Vintage typewriter keys! We have decided to give our groomsmen and other males in the wedding cufflinks with their initials made from vintage typewriter keys. They are cute and affordable. The same company makes necklaces which could be given to the ladies in the wedding.
http://www.estiloweddings.com/VINTAGE-TYPEWRITER-KEYS-CUFFLINKS-/cart.php?m=product_detail&c=1&p=668
There are other ways in which we could incorporate the keys into the wedding as well. We could use them to announce which table guests are seated at, or other embelishments. We have also been considering using an old typewriter at the reception for guests to type us a personalized note!
I think these ideas are so adorable! We will have to sort out which ideas to use in order to not go overboard, but we are definitely getting the cufflinks for groomsmen gifts. What do you think?
Rain Lamp
After some research I quickly learned that the lamp I recieved from my grandparents (posted the other day) is called a Rain Lamp. The lamp uses mineral oil and was invented by Darrell H. Johnson. Once I figured out what exactly the lamp did, how to clean it, and what to put in it, I started in on the daunting task of cleaning the mess.
The lamp had sat for years and years in my grandparents’ garage. They got sick of it in their house, but couldn’t completely part with it. Being sticky with oil, the lamp collected a thick layer of dirt and grass being in a garage for so long. So…
I started by wiping the entire lamp off with a wet cloth. It cleaned the dirt, but nothing really removed the grease. I used a small amount of soap next. I also used both wet and dry Q-tips to reach the statue indside. Overall, the cleaning alone took a few hours.
But, after putting some elbow grease into the project, it was ready to hang! We finished hanging the lamp last night. The lamp looks good in the space, but everything else in that area is starting to look a bit cluttered. I will have to do some moving there. But, check out the lamp!
If you have any suggestions on rearranging so it isn’t so cluttered over there, just let me know!
All Things Can Become New Again
I have talked about this before, but just can’t get enough. Old things becoming new again. I love this idea. I especially love repurposing items when the new purpose is something completely different than its previous use. This has actually become pretty popular lately, so there is a lot of inspiration out there. I thought I would compile some of my favorite repurpose finds. I might even have to start a new project soon!
These ideas are all great. The first picture is water skis made into a chair. I have also seen old surf boards used as shelves. The second is a shopping cart made into a chair. These would be totally cute on a deck or around a camp fire. The next photo is a library card catalog with added legs used as a coffee table. Then there is the side board dresser turned into a bathroom sink vanity. I love this idea. More storage and totally unique. The last is a side table made from suitcases. Great because storage is built right in!
Try thinking of new uses for old objects. Not only will your home be more unique and express your personality and taste, but it is greener for our world to recycle old items. Its a win win!
Make Mine Eclectic 
