Decorating
Mushrooms & Oak Leaves: A Fall Mantel Garland
Explore my autumn mantel decorated with golden oak leaves, bittersweet, glittered fern, velvet mushrooms, and one regal pheasant for a stunning fall mantel garland. Come trip along the oak leaves, Gathering glittering fern, And spring from cap to cap, Where field meets forest and the pheasants roam into the verge. Oh…me and my mushroom mantel…
Read MoreThe Antique Collector’s Resource Library
You don’t have know everything about antiques and vintage curios, but you should know where to look for the answers! Whether you’ve spent years developing your knowledge base about decorative arts through formal education or you are new to the field, every collector and seller needs a group of resources to turn to when they…
Read MoreThe Antique Collector’s Tool Kit
Just 4 little things are essential to help you authenticate vintage and antiques! Sometimes our senses are not adequate to determine what a curio is, its date, or what it is made of, so we need the right tools to use when examining it. I recommend keeping a tool kit with you when you go…
Read MoreAn Eye for the Good Stuff
Tips to develop your eye to find quality antiques and vintage amongst the topsy-turvy hoard in thrifts, consignments, and estate sales! This can be such a frustrating maxim that experts in the antiques field throw out like confetti. As frustrating as it may be to hear when you start out collecting or selling antiques that…
Read MoreNightstand Swap & Round-Up
Check out my new nightstands in the master bedroom + I’m sharing a round-up of affordable nightstands! Nightstand Swap & Decorating Tip Ummmm….ick! Yep, that was my initial reaction to the new nightstands I put in our master bedroom. At first I was not happy with the swap. The description said “antique white” so I…
Read MoreChina Patterns: The Rare & Valuable
Hello Lovely Peonies. Which china patterns are rare? Which are popular? Which are overdone? And how do I know if a pattern is valuable? My e-mail has been flooded with these kind of questions lately as well as requests for plate identification help (see this post on ID and this post for determining value). I’m…
Read MoreFinishing Our Master Bedroom Decor
Explore our plans to finish our blue and green master bedroom decor! I am determined to complete at least one decorating project this year at my house! Up to bat: our master bedroom! This room is so close to being finished. I just need to pull together all the design elements and find a few…
Read MoreWhat’s My Antique Dish Worth?
5 Tips to help you determine the worth of your antique or vintage dinnerware! Today, I wanted to share some of my advice on collecting and/or re-selling antique dishes and determining the value. Obviously, the first step in determining value is to identify the maker and pattern. My process for plate identification is detailed in…
Read MoreInfuse Historic Charm into a Builder Grade Home
10 Tips to bring historic charm and character to a new build or builder grade home. Let’s outdate that modern construction! Ban the sterile white box! Nix the cookie cutter uniformity! Bring on the warmth, character, and charm of a period home with architectural features! For most of us the reality of housing markets, location,…
Read MoreBoxwood & Bunnies Easter Mantel
A blue and white Easter Mantel with a Regency inspired aesthetic perfect for spring! Hello Spring. Blue and white is always right, but something about this timeless combo felt particularly fresh and inviting for my spring decor this year. I love this French blue hue. It feels soft and pretty and so right to channel…
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