Wednesday, October 24, 2007

New acquisitions

It's birthday season, which means new stuff. Plus we've had some successful trips to the antique store circuit. Here's an update on what's new, mostly kitchen but some elsewhere.

First, an unexpected purchase - we had wanted a proper arts & crafts style sideboard for the dining room, but it seemed a pipe dream because even the 'needing lots of work' ones were out of our miniscule price range. Then one day, at a local favorite shop - there it was. The perfect buffet. Good style, nice size, great finish, almost all original - so the price was right. Someone had already stripped the paint and re-finished it to the dark oak it probably was, so no paint stripping (always a plus). They also replace a small piece of the door that must have been damaged? Sadly also removing one of the old locks, but oh well. The worst thing they did was to put all new, totally inappropriate hardware on, including screwing new overlay hinges right to the faces of the doors. Argh - nasty! These little imperfections increased our bartering power, and we got it for a song. The mirror - all original to the piece - is stamped 1908 on the back, and beveled, and in great shape. It has a neat label on the back noting that they used some patented toilet hinges (!) to keep the top fastened to the base. Very cool. And we promptly ordered proper hardware from Lee Valley and an ebay seller making reproductions. What a difference hardware makes, once again. Love it!



Then as a gift we received the awesome 2007 edition Teco vase on top of the sideboard - they're making them again! Check it out at: http://www.prairie-arts.com/teco.html. Perfect on the buffet. I'm working on embroidering a runner, since I couldnt' find one I liked. Good winter project.

Then, on a birthday road trip, I headed out to our favorite salvage place, which we always seem to miss before they close for winter. Amazingly, they had oak cabinet doors in just the size we need for the over-microwave cabinet. We just needed one, and at $16, I didn't even haggle. They also had a vase for $2 that turns out to be a Jonathan Adler "Abacus" (in Jade), it has a chip but who cares - it looks great on our high kitchen shelf. Amazingly, I remembered the name from an American Bungalow article pointing out someone's interesting pottery grouping. Always a sucker for midcentury modern, I must have committed it to memory. Score!
(I love how the photo below says 'DONE' on the wall. I didn't even notice till I just downloaded the pictures. I don't remember what we were noting - maybe electrical? Now that wall is definitely NOT done and needs beadboard. Also, note to self, we realized NEVER EVER to use sharpie to write notes on walls. Silly us. Takes extra paint to cover sharpie.)


Our downtown antique shop (the one with coffee and pastries!) had their anniversary sale, so we took the easy road and bought (as opposed to built) a corner shelf for the desk area. Its victorian/possible Eastlake, but simple and handmade for those styles, and it looks fab.

And finally - poppies. Went to Mainely Pottery and browsed for a while, and found this great tile which pretty much finished out the desk area in the kitchen. Love it, and it's locally made.

That's it for acquisitions - the budget is gone and birthdays are over. Now we're back to painting trim and finishing out the kitchen details.

1 comment:

Sandy said...

Happy Birthday! All of the things are beautiful.