Hydrangeas are in the House!

Our Hydrangeas are finally in bloom!  Woohoo!

We live in a bit of a valley, with lots of trees, so our bushes bloom a little later than our neighbors.  I've been suffering a severe case of Hydrangea-envy. 

 

I was even thinking of sneaking into their yards in the dark of night armed with pruning scissors.

 

I can read the headlines now:  "Hydrangea Heist Hits Homes" 

 

Luckily, before I could start my life of crime, ours bloomed and I popped those beauties into vases throughout the house.

And now it's officially summertime.

We have blue ones, and right next to them white ones--which I don't get since the acid in the soil determines their color, and you wouldn't think the acid wouldn't change much in such a small area.  But I know nothing about soil. 

We also have the pink lace cap variety.

For the mantel I kept it simple with just my layered mirrors, an architectural element, a little nest with a moonstone egg, and a couple of bud vases with the pink Hydrangeas.

I also bought a couple of new summer décor pieces.

I love bringing in garden elements into the house this time of year, and I love the faux stone artichoke next to the old door.  I got it at Home Goods.

I also bought these votive holders on sale at Michaels.  They remind me of the ocean.

 

I brought some shells I already had into the rooms, and some lighter pillows as well, which I'll show you sometime when my house is cleaner. :)  That's one thing that's great about showing vignettes -- the rest of the house can be a disaster area!

But the main thing I like to have in the house in the summer is flowers.  When it's hot, humid and miserable outside, they help create an atmosphere of serenity and coolness inside.

And my favorite flower is the Hydrangea!  What's yours?


Sharing at:

French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday
My Romantic Home: Show & Tell Friday
Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

What's In at Mr. P's

I've sold some big pieces, moved in some big pieces, and brought in some new small items, so I thought I'd show you Mr. P's Emporium's latest incarnation.  There's a good mix of rustic and refined right now.

 

 

I brought in this buffet/sideboard I blogged about here.

 

 

Other large pieces include this two-toned dresser:

And this buffet and hutch.

There are frames ....

And more frames.

Ironstone platters:

 

 

 

 

Primitive boxes, including the red one on the bottom, the cool lidded beer crate in the middle ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and this fruit basket on the top.

 

 



 



Lots of side and accent tables:

 

 

A little console:

 

A bunch of "smalls,"

 

 

 

Including this hand-carved glove box.

And it doesn't get much more primitive and rustic than this.  I picked this up on my shopping trip in Richmond with Connie from Hartwood Roses.  My husband thinks I'm absolutely nuts.

 

 

 

It's a little bench with the original paint and tin top.  I love the color and the patina of the paint.

 

 

 

Okay, so the top's a little rusty, but give it a break--this baby is over 70 years old. In fact this month is it's 76th birthday!

 

 

 

 

How do I know?

 

 

 

 

It's signed on the bottom.  I just fell in love with it.  Hopefully someone else thinks it's cool too and buys it.  Or do you all agree with my husband and think I'm crazy?  :-)

 

If you're local, Mr. P's Emporium is in the Homestore, 9720 Liberia Avenue in Manassas, VA.  Open 7 days a week, and there's lots of other cool stuff to check out too!

Ironstone Platters

I love vintage white ironstone.  Originally made as "the poor man's china," I think this utilitarian classic is the perfect accent to any decorating style.

 

Ironstone platters are, I think, my favorites. The main thing I love about platters--vintage or new--is their versatility.  Yes, you can serve food on them, but you can do so much more!

 

Use a platter to display a grouping of colored glass pieces for a beautiful centerpiece or tabletop vignette.

 

 

Pinterest

 

 

Have you ever found a vintage platter that's a bit too discolored in the middle for your taste?  How about decoupaging it? 

 

 

Nice and Easy Antiques

I absolutely love this idea of displaying a platter within an empty frame. The baby's breath is nice touch--lavender would be lovely too.

 

Pinterest

And this one using a window frame. (Also notice the display of silverware underneath!)

French Laundry Blog

Use a platter to corral a collection.

Country Living

 

Of course you can display your platters with your other ironstone pieces.

 

French Country Cottage

And ironstone platters make great wall hangings.

A Glimpse of my World

 

Mix them with other elements like these little posters.

Martha Stewart

 

And don't think they have to be hung in a dining room or kitchen only.  Miss Mustard Seed uses them as art in her bedroom.  Because of their simplicity, they work in any room in your house!

 

Miss Mustard Seed

 

 

If I've inspired you, you've decided you need some platters, and you're in the Northern Virginia area--I just got a few vintage platters in at Mr. P's Emporium!  Check out our Facebook page for location and hours.  I'd love it if you'd Like us too!

 

 

The Richmond Vintage Home Market

I hope everyone had a good weekend! 

 

Saturday, Connie from Hartwood Roses and I went down to the Richmond Vintage Home Market.  This was the first year for this show, so there weren't a lot of vendors.  But the vendors that were there did a great job, and I thought I'd show you some of the goodies we saw.

 

First of all, a little not-so-subliminal advertising!

 

 

 

There were 21 vintage dealers with all sorts of treasures.

 

 

 

 

Including Susan from Stone Creek, whom I met when she had the booth behind me at the Lucketts Spring Market this year.  She had some great stuff.

 

I loved this Route 66 sign on the side of a console and the painted doors from Gypsydoodahday (what a great name!).

 

 

 

This retro kitchen was so cute.

 

 

Everything about this display just drew me in.

 

 

How creative is this?  A chandelier made out of knives and spoons!

Look at the patina on this table--it's what we're all trying to achieve with paint, but it's natural!

 

 

Another great display.  That's Connie checking out some balustrades in the background.

 

 

Some more booths ...

 

 

 

 

I ended up buying a vase and some linen hand towels for Mr. P's Emporium, and then we were off for some more treasure hunting--which is where I made my best scores!  They're supposedly for Mr. P's, but I may just have to live with them for a bit before they make it the booth. :)  I'll show them to you in a future post.

 

Hope you have a great week!