My favorite furniture finds

I mentioned in a previous post, that I wanted to take better photos of the little desk I got from Urban Farmgirl last summer at the Kane County Flea Market. Well, I took pics, but never got around to uploading. So here is a post devoted to my lovely desk and bathroom cabinet from Mary, the fabulous urban farmgirl that she is.

Here is my leggy desk in the foyer. She is a pale shade of grey with peeks of white and carefully chosen wood tone showing through on the details. Yes, it's a she - look at those legs! This desk has to be a female, especially with her curvy front. :) 

Here is a view of the cute new knobs on the drawer and a bit of detail. I even adore the little knicks and dents - they add so much character and history to the piece. Oh! And a little surprise inside the drawer...

Mary lined the drawer with pages from a french book, including a photo. "Le pain frais"

Look at the detail on the front of the desk! I can't decide if that or the curvy legs are my favorite part. :)

When I found the desk at Mary's booth, I happened to find the perfect cabinet for my powder room, too. My powder room is an unusual shape. The pocket door is on a diagonal and it has a pedestal sink, leaving very little room for storage. This piece fit the bill in style!

See, with two kids, we go through a LOT of toilet paper {aka, 3 year olds love to unroll it at any given whim. This is how I imagine her train of thought. While in the middle of some serious toy time she stops abruptly and thinks: "Oh, that's right - I forgot to unroll the toilet paper this morning. Better go do that now."}

So I need storage. Lots of storage. We've finished potty training finally, but for the past year it's been a very handy spot for Dr. Seuss and Sandra Boynton board books. One of these days, those will be replaced with pretty hand towels and extra soap, etc.

And I love, LOVE, love the chicken wire painted white. Every time I see it, I am so glad I found it.

I think it looks great with old Ball mason jars and vintage bottles filled with fresh flowers.

Did I mention that Mary also sells "smalls"? This great AutoWate scale is from her etsy shop, as well as the petite ironstone bowl sitting on top. It's from a set of 4. I have purchased many items from her etsy shop over the past year. I'm sure more will be shown in photos in the future. I love her combination of chippy, shabby, industrial style. I need to devote a post solely to the vintage cameras I have been collecting - many from Mary's etsy shop. 

Some of Mary's furniture and other perfectly picked smaller goods can be found at Tattered Tiques in Lake Barrington, IL. They have a great combination of vintage items and painted furniture. It's a good thing they are an hour's drive for me, or I'd be in serious trouble. :)

You can also find Urban Farmgirl {and Mary, of course} at the Kane County Flea Market in St. Charles, IL during the warmer months. The Flea runs on the first Saturday & Sunday of each month. Mary is located in the Arena Building outside. As she has put it, "look for the sea of white furniture." You'll be glad you did!

~All images in this post are my own.~

Sharing with the following fabulous blogs:
Faded Charm, Primp Your Stuff, Common Ground, French Country Cottage, The Vintage Farmhouse, ...

Little Things Thursday

It's the little things that make us happy.

Like how I love the fact that the house we bought almost two years ago had existing hydrangeas planted in the backyard. Full, lovely, bloom-all-summer-long hydrangeas. They range from pink to blue to purple. I know you can vary the color by changing the soil pH, etc., but I love to see what nature will bring on it's own. So pretty!

I just cut a few that were on their last days. The following are just a few that survived the night.

Two blooms are perched in a smaller white enamel pitcher from Ikea on a petite desk that is painted a soft shade of grey. I got it from Urban Farmgirl at the Kane County Flea last summer. Hopefully I will add better photos of the desk some day. I just love it.

The chalkboard on the wall is also from Urban Farmgirl. Matching grey/white paint. I have been SLOW to update my message - you can see a heart from my Valentine's Day message!

I can't stand chalk dust. Could be from having to pound the old black erasers on the brick wall outside my 4th grade classroom. Could be asthma. Either way, I much prefer the Chalk Pens they have now. 

I saw on my beloved Pinterest a better way to make signs on my chalkboard. I have been using my free-hand, wing-it approach so far, but I will see if I can try the new and improved technique next time. If it works, I will come up with something clever to put in a post. :)

For a sweet and simple vignette in the powder room, I used a few vintage bottles I have collected. I played around with their arrangement. {The stem in the clear bottle was acting a little zany, but it was such a lovely shade of blue. I forgave it, heck - I embraced it. We're all a little bent now and then.}

I had found the tiniest, pale bloom. I thought it was beautiful and so dainty. It deserved to be displayed all by itself. I placed it in an old silver creamer. I love me some patina.

I tried it out with the bottle collection. The combo made it look larger. Not so dainty anymore. Trick of the eye, I suppose.

I heart my blue bottles the most. I have several, but these two little ones and the clear bottle seemed to fit the stems best. The lettering on the bottles is so fun - it adds character and texture. Each one I have is different.

The image above makes me think it's tilted, but again - just a trick of the eye. Whether it's the perfectly imperfect bottle or the bend of the stem. 

I had many more in this much taller version of the same pitcher from Ikea. This bouquet was in a little alcove that I can never decide what to put there. They were a deeper purple than the rest. Some may think there is a lot of white going on here, but I'm fond of it myself. White, pure and simple.

Not sure if I trust these within arms reach of my little firecracker, though. This will probably be a short-lived display. This is NOT how the rest of my house looks - and I'm really digging its simplicity.

I'm going to try drying some out. I've read that the best way to dry hydrangeas is to leave them in their water until it is all gone. I'll post images if they turn out!

~All images are my own and can also be found on my Pinterest boards. ~