Antiquing Again and A Weekend Away

Last weekend, Cigar Man surprised me with

a night at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. 

 

Do you ever pretend like a

tourist in your own backyard? 

There are lots of interesting places

in our own hometowns. 

We just have to slow down long

enough to enjoy them. 

Heart of Country Antique Show was going on in the hotel last weekend and so we took advantage of that too and I have a few photos of the show later.

 

The Opryland Hotel is a wonderful place

to meander around. 

 

 

The gardens are well maintained

and out of this world!

Each area has its own personality. 

We pretended to be in New Orleans here. {hehe}

A river even runs through it!

As I mentioned, the annual Heart of Country Antique Show was showing in the hotel and there were so many unusual antiques and interesting booths.  Here's just a couple.

 

 

Colleen Frese Antiques in Iowa

 

Oh, I loved this dormer and could have easily brought it home with me, but remember, Cigar Man was with me. (you know what I mean?)

The owner of this booth, Simple Iowa, was so friendly. She told us a little history.  It came from an old barn in Iowa.  It's in pretty good condition for being exposed to all kinds of weather for years.  If she doesn't sell it, she's going to use it herself.  

We got into a discussion on styles and such.  She told us people want to decorate their homes in a certain period or style like French Country or Early American, but in reality the original homes of these styles were very eclectic.  They might have items of varying periods.  They weren't able to pitch what they didn't want and start over.  They had to use what they had.  I thought this was probably very true and an interesting fact.

 

If you're ever in the Nashville area, I would recommend dropping by the Opryland Hotel. 

Even if you don't stay there, it's a sight to see!

A New (Old) Table

 

 

Yes, I did.  I painted this table. 

I've had this table with the wonderful wood tones

for a long time. 

But, the wonderful wood tones just weren't suiting my purpose.

 I was visualizing something different.

 

So I painted two coats of AS Old White Chalk Paint.

 

Then I put on a pot of green beans. 

Well, yes, I did. 

But if you're taking notes, you don't have to do this step...although,

they tasted pretty good when I finished.



The drawers got two coats of AS Duck Egg Blue.  Next after letting it dry (about an hour),

I brushed the table with a coat of AS clear wax. 

I wiped the access off with a strip of tee shirt fabric. Dabbed a mixture of clear and dark AS wax over the table and drawers with a brush.

I worked in small areas

and wiped the access off as I went with soft fabric. 

After experimenting, I found this works best for me.

After finishing, my little table landed in my office

that I told you about here. 

Of course, I had to change things around a bit,

but what else is new.

 

I had fun decorating my table with...

a sweet little blue bird, a dried rose, a vintage vase...

 

and a sea shell.

I was thrilled to find these rosettes

in a local antique store. 

They're from an old house in Tennessee. 

I thought they'd fit perfect in my grouping.

 

 

 

I know you wood lovers are cringing at this post,

but I'm pleased with how my little table turned out. 

I can say I'm glad I did it. 

(Now, that's not to say that one day I may be getting out the paint stripper.) 

 

Sharing with others at

Feathered Nest Friday

 Be Inspired

Fridays Unfolded

Wow us Wednesdays

Antique and Garden Show

Here we go...

to the Antique and Garden Show in Nashville. 

The theme this year was "Be Inspired"

and I certainly was. 

Here's some of the inspiration that caught my eye.

(Sorry for the poor quality photos.  I was taking photos with my cell phone.)

 

 

Don't you just love the Garden sign

and the large chalkboard behind it?

Sandstone Gardens, Joplin, MO

 

 

Wouldn't you like to go camping in this mini-camper?

 

especially with these goodies stuffed in the backend!

Garden Variety in Nashville

 

Who can guess what these are? 

French garden markers in case you didn't know.

 

Take a look at this cheery tablescape

with bulbs in old coffee cans down the center

in the Scarlett Scales booth from Franklin, Tennessee

 

These little jewels were flying off the shelves. 

He makes these from old frames and trinkets.

Trace Mayer from Kentucky

 Love the simplicity here

Jalan-Jalan Antiques.

 

Could you fit this into your backyard?  I'd like to.

Of course, I came home with a few treasures.

And you may just see some of them

in the near future.

Have a happy weekend!

Creams and Whites and Ironstone

 

Lately, my decorating taste has leaned toward the subtle shades of cream and white.  I guess this would explain my renewed attraction to ironstone.  I say renewed because I loved ironstone even in my early days of housekeeping.  I hate to think how long ago that was, but you can probably guess when I tell you I had a set of Johnson Brothers Heritage Ironstone.  I am sorry to say I sold that entire set in a garage sale.  All I can say is, I hope the lucky recipient is cherishing it now. 

 

I found these two pieces at a local antique store.  They weren't a set, but I loved them together.

Inspired by my new -- old ironstone, I added some things I already owned, some old, some not so old.

 

Another item in my vignette that is very old is the pitcher.  It originally came with a large bowl that it fit in, but the bowl has disappeared over time.

The books were an afterthought.  I love the look of old books with the binding worn off, but instead of searching and buying these at an antique store or specialty shop, I tore the binder off a few books that weren't that important to me and got the same look.

 

 

Sharing with:

Amaze Me Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Share Your Cup Thursday
Treasure Hunt Thursday

Creating an Office

Recently, we pulled the sofas, tables, lamps, everything out of our front "sitting room" and started from scratch making it into an office.  Since we have, what I call, the gathering room to "live in", we never used the front room as it was.  Below is a before photo:

We sanded down this old table, used tung oil to finish it, no stain.  I love the patina of the three old poplar planks this table was originally made from close to a couple of hundred years ago.

We brought down a couple of used chairs we'd stored in the attic and had them recovered.

 

I bought this chair at an antique store years ago.  The fabric was worn off of it and you could see the horse hair stuffing in the seat.  I loved the worn wood of this chair so much I decided not to refinish it.  The upholsterer thought I was crazy.  (He may be right.)

 

 

We also reupholstered this Wingback.  We painted the walls SW Oyster Bay and the ceiling, SW Latte.

 

 

I found this old phone at an estate sale a few years back for $5, a steal! 

 

 

The old inkwell here inspired my blog name.

 

 

 

Cigar Man and I went to the Nashville Flea Market today.  This is what we came home with.  Hope to do something special with this...but that's for another time.

Linking to the following:

 

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home

Inspiration Party at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll thru Life

Wow us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Share Your Cup Thursday at Mrs. Olson's