Showing posts with label painted wood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painted wood. Show all posts

Monday, July 13, 2009

The Touch, The Feel of Wood



Old painted architectural pieces.....
I love the look, the feel, the smell of old wooden things....



This flat wooden box has something to do with sorting cigars....at least that is what I was told when I bought it.....what do you think? I love it's graphic appeal...



These old porch balusters have a great patina... worn and chippy dark green paint...



We found them at Madison Bouckville a few years ago and I thought I would do something very creative with them but can't seem to decide what to do just yet....Any ideas? In the meantime I sort of like how they look all stacked together in the old bicycle basket....



These old small bowling pins need to be cleaned up and polished just a bit.....then I will line them up on a shelf....We have a collection of old Indian clubs....wooden weights, etc.



This is a miniature croquet set.....the mallets are only about a foot long each.....I guess it was a child's toy...



About ten years ago, my girlfriend Paula created a number of these frames out of old wood molding pieces for her pressed ferns. Even though the fern is now faded ... I love how it looks hanging on the wall in the lake house.



Curly wooden architectural details....again in forest green.... a color which goes so well with an Adirondack decor ...






This is special.....This little wooden bucket is probably the first "antique" I ever acquired.....I found it in the orchard on my grandparents' farm and I was taken with it's charm and pretty red color.....I was probably about eleven years old at the time and I asked my Nana if I could have it......I remember her pretty pale blue eyes tearing up as she laughed and said, "Of course you can have it...take it along!"

That was the beginning for me....I spent the rest of my youth in the barns, the basement of the old farmhouse and the attic....discovering treasure after treasure and always being told ...."Go ahead....you want that old thing? ....take it along!"

To this day, I can close my eyes and envision every detail of that old farmhouse....smell the scent of the hot dusty attic air and feel the warmth of the afternoon sun on my arms as it streamed through the attic window; I spent many hours poking around and looking through old boxes of linens, photographs and other family belongings up there.....

I have only to close my eyes and remember... in order to feel the dampness and smell the mustiness of the basement where Nana kept the sarsaparilla soda and my Great-Uncle Harry tinkered with all his old clocks...

With my eyes closed I can feel the smoothness of the dark wooden banister on the stairs my brother, sisters and I used to slide down on....
Special, calming memories...

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Calming Thoughts of a Warm Summer's Day

If you want to have an especially lovely afternoon.....visit a special girlfriend...on a beautiful summer day...... who happens to have incredible gardens.....Sit and chat for a while.....let her spoil you with a lovely lunch under the blue sky...... and then take a long nap in a calm and pretty bedroom! Doesn't that sound dreamy? Breathe deeply....winter will be over soon.







Saturday, February 21, 2009

Red Shoes and Roller Skates....


I remember skating on the cement floor in our basement back in 1959 with a pair just like these!
And I'm sure I had doll trunks like these beauties.....Paula found this early children's book when we were shopping together.... I think it was at Brimfield.....I loved it so much, she gave it to me for Christmas! I think it was the same red-letter day that I found the Buster Brown shoes......




Music and Candlelight



Dressing up some candles with old sheet music, ribbon, lace and antique buttons.



Friday, February 20, 2009

Garden Tour Coming In June!



Once again, Paula's gardens and home in Centerbrook, CT will be part of a wonderful garden tour this June 20th. Paula's charming home brings the garden inside with her nature inspired decor and use of color. She has created rooms outside in her gardens that are both breathtaking and inviting with their whimsical touches and unique charm. It is an event not to be missed!

Monday, February 16, 2009

A Home and Gardens to Die For!









Paula Bruso is a special friend of mine, someone I met about 10 years ago at an antique and craft show at my son's high school. I was helping out along with the other moms and when I walked into Paula's booth my mouth dropped open as I had never seen anything so beautiful. I was completely flabbergasted at the way it was decorated....all in creams and white with touches of green and brown. The palette was beautiful with white woolly sheep and garlands of linen hearts and gossamer angels decorating the Christmas tree. The effect was immediate on me and because no one was in the booth at that moment I sat on the floor waiting for this person, the creative being who had decorated this space, a true kindred spirit, to return. She did return and we had an immediate connection and became good friends. Over the years we have been to many flea markets, Brimfield, Elephants Trunk, Madison Bouckville, antique shops and sales together. Never have I met someone who really understood my attraction to all things worn and weathered, rusty, dusty and crusty. My family remarked the first time they met her....".hey she's just like Laura"......we were enthusing over our finds at the end of a day of hunting and gathering. Anyway, her home is decorated in every nook and cranny with her special touch.....these are just a few pictures(click to enlarge). Her gardens are also something to behold. I admire her creative talents, her sense of humor and her beautiful spirit but most of all I treasure her friendship. I look forward to many more antiquing and flea marketing excursions in the future.....No one "gets me" when it comes to good old junk like Paula does. Do you have a special friend you love to antique or shop with?

Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Beginning


Good morning!
This is the beginning of my blogging....and sharing......hopefully it will be a fun journey....a means to share with my friends and family and reach out to other kindred spirits. This cold winter morning...the sun is shining...the sky is blue...and I am grateful that I have all that I need.