Parisian Hideaway- New Treasures Arriving Daily!!!!

Two weeks only to go- until our first pop-up sale!  Goodies are arriving daily, as we continue to paint, clean and create our Parisian apartment for your enjoyment.  I can't share our finished displays yet - I want them to be a surprise for you.  But I can give you a little glimpse of some new arriving merchandise. 

 

Fabulous old gold chandelier lamp with putti

 Vintage heavy champagne coupes-  really the thing to use now!!  Very retro- very with it!

 Wonderful old silver serving dome- beautiful for serving hot appetizers.

 Pink and clear juice set from the 30's- have never seen one like this before.

 

 

Starting to set up the bistro area- fabulous wall art by SavvyCityFarmer. 

 Love the crusty statues and wicker food cover!

Great wall shelf and console in black iron.

 

bird cage wall shelf- can't wait to have time to really fill it! so much fun to have!!

 

aged mirror by SavvyCityFarmer

 

Gorgeous wall art by LaFaux

 

Don't you just adore these- so pretty as a flower container.

French treasures brought in by a true collector- Linda Lee!

 

And there's 2!

Love these garden statues

 

Eiffel Tower appetizer or dessert stand

 

vintage Italian  cake stand!

wonderful Victorian gold planter with insert

 

 



pretty candle sconces

 

another large candelabra lamp

 

pier mirror and stand

 Handbags and jewelry

 

vintage balloon chandelier - so so cool!

 

unbelievable antique umbrella stand- but you won't believe how we plan to use it!!

Come and find out!!  A true connoisseur's piece- heirloom quality.

 

wall dispensers for plastic wrap and foil.  Pretty cute!

 Fabulous painted tapestry with muted colors- too wonderful for words.

 

Set of 12 green and gold service plates- with "almost modern" motif in green band design.

 

over- sized crystal cruet.  perfect for a pretty vessel of olive oil to sit out by your stove.

 

mother of pearl serving pieces.

 

love these sconces for our dining room at the hideaway.

 

Another Eiffel Tower- perfect as a trellis in a large garden pot.

 

 

So as you can see- lot's of treasures are arriving daily and many more to come.  The hours of the first sale are 10 to 3, Friday May 10 the Saturday May 11th. Note : this is a change of the hours from the first email we sent out.  The sale starts at 10 am, not 11 am.

 

Hope to see you at our first shopping event. We are working hard  to inspire you!  You'll get lots of gardening and decorating ideas. So get a friend and plan a day of it!

A Little Slice of Heaven in Tennessee

My friend Marlene gets to wake up every morning this time of year and go out on her deck with this gorgeous view and WARM TEMPERATURES. (Living in Chicago is a character builder this time of year. Just when will winter end????)

 

 

And take her perfectly groomed little white dog- Lily with her!

 

 

Lily smiling for my camera!

Marlene and her husband Ryan moved to Tennessee about six years ago??? They purchased a pretty white log cabin on the top of a mountain with breathtaking views. 

 

But OH NO- it is not decorated in a normal "log cabin" style!!!  We are talking French antiques, lots of crystal and a bit of leather and antlers thrown in to the mix!

In the great room- Marlene has a collection of old landscape oils going up a 20 foot wall.

 

Old architectural pieces add interest to the entry hall.

 

Adore this chandelier in the main living space.

 

Enclosed glass porch allows them to enjoy the views year round.

 

 Vintage wicker and urns are on the side deck.  Charming spot to sit a spell!

 

 

Ryan is quite the garden guy and built this water feature for the side of the home.

Pretty incredible huh?

 

 

Dining room chandy- so pretty with its shades

Love this collection of old bread plates on the wall

 

The old trophy holds cooking utensil!  Handy and it saves drawer space!

 

 

guest bedroom- so pretty with the white linens

 

What a view- high on a mountain top in the middle of Tennessee!

Fuchsia Infusion

Have been so busy gathering and painting and displaying for our Parisian Hideaway show, that I have neglected my blog.  But here's just a glimpse of some goodies in store for you at our shopping event!  We love the color fuchsia and are using it for a pop of color in our grey and gold color scheme!

 

We found this fabulous compote and loved it so much that we had fuchsia taffeta drapes made to match for our entrance. They are not back yet from the workroom, but can't wait to see them!

 

 

Lot's of silver and fuchsia combinations!

 We are creating a great selection of Paris hat boxes-

 perfect for dressing up a closet and storing pretty things such as scarves.

All of the hat boxes are embellished with vintage ribbons, buttons, rhinestones and lace.

 We hope you love fuchsia too!  It's a perfect color to pop in a neutral color scheme- so summer like and happy!   Stay tuned for more goodies.  We are almost to the point of starting our displays in our Parisian apartment and I'll being showing you our progress!

Parisian Hideaway

We are so excited about our first shopping event - "Parisian Hideaways".  It will be the first time that we have seen many of our customers since we closed our retail store, so we want it to be great!!  This past weekend, Laurell, Julie, Katha and I spent time refinishing a large cabinet that is part of our Parisian apartment.  We used Annie Sloan French linen chalk paint as a base coat, then waxed it with clear and then dark wax.  Finally, Laurell brushed highlights of gold on some of the details. It was a huge project as our "first" chalk paint project, but I am so happy with the outcome! Laurell finished the back of the hutch with a gold metallic paint and then dripped a little verdigris colorant to age the back.  It is so cool!!

 Gold highlights on some of the carved details.

 

Love the old gold color in the back- awesome job Laurell!!

 

 

What I find amazing about this huge project, is that 4 different people were painting - all with slightly different techniques and styles. Yet it still looks consistently finished!! I personally think that the Annie Sloan wax hides all our technique "sins".  Thanks so much Laurell, Julie and Katha for helping me!! 

 

Love how the crystal and china stands out in front of the background color.

 

 

Last week I showed you the striped foyer that Laurell painted. Now you can see that we are starting to decorate  the area. 

Love this gold bust in front of the black sea fan.

 

Small night stand in Annie Sloan Antoinette Chalk paint with clear and dark wax.

 

Sweet little silverplate ramekins- perfect for sea salt containers on your range top.

 Adorable pink velvet settee to be used on the side of the dining table.

 

Pair of wonderful side tables painted by Laurell- finished in Lustre stone. 

 

Would be perfect at night stands or consoles in a living room.

 

 

I just finished embellishing a vintage gold dresser tray with rhinestone findings.

 Not only to be used as a dresser tray, it would be gorgeous in the center of a dining table

 and loaded with candles and flower bouquets.

                                                       Detail of one of the edges of the tray.

 Small coin purses - perfect for giving that cash gift to a June graduate.

 

Embellished distressed frames - old keys and rhinestones- love it!

Distressed wood and rhinestones- love the combination.

 

 Fabulously finished frame by Laurell with a Paris sign on Venetian Plaster!

 

We are having so much fun putting this together.  Joy from SavvyCityFarmer has already dropped off some tasty finds for your shopping pleasure, with more to come.  She's our guest artist for this event and I can't wait for you to see her creations.  I will give you a little peak at some of Joy's treasures later next week.  We also have another surprise guest who has collected French antiques for over 30 years and has decided to part with some of her incredible treasures.  More about Linda later too!!!

 

Meanwhile stay tuned - remember that our event is May 10 and 11th from 11 to 3. Address to be revealed as we get closer, but it's near our old store!