Favorite Finds In The Northwest Corner-Must Visit Antiques,Thrift And Collectable Shops

On the way home from a client meeting this fine Friday afternoon I decided to stop by a few places I've passed many times while driving up route 7 in the Northwestern part of Connecticut. As much as I like being out shopping with friends, there is nothing like  poking around by yourself with no place to be and no time restrictions!

Hepatica: A herbaceous perennial in the Buttercup family

This seams to be a fitting name for the quaint shop I've passed many times just north of New Milford in Gaylordsville.  The wicker furniture and pretty flower garden caught my eye as I drove by and I made a mental note to come back this way for a closer look.  With two rooms chock full of vintage fabulous, this small shop has something for every collector and budget!

The next stop is a salvaged barn that dates back to the 1800s and was moved to this location in the 70s.

The interior post a beam construction takes you back in time.  The place has been home to many establishments over the years including a restaurant.  The entrance planters and garden beckons you into the present two story shop that is full of new and vintage early American and folk art finds.  The space is open and airy so you can see everything with ease.  

My third stop, at Carters Trading post, is a multi vendor establishment that is a potpourri of antique and original art as well as wood carved sculptures.  If you so desire, you can take home Sasquatch or an Indian carving! And yes, take notice of where they placed the price tag!  There is something for everyone, from the bizzare to the refined collector.  Be sure to visit the back yard space… don't fret… buy from Brett…you won't regret!

Here's my take homes from the treasure hunt today. A few small, but simply perfect items to add to my collection!

Have you been to any of these places or have a favorite place you've found…?  Tell me about it. I'd love to hear.

Until next time!

Tina

Refinish, Repurpose, Rejoice! - Fabulous Furniture Transformations

Transformation Tuesday!

One of my favorite transformations is taking old and outdated furniture and giving it an updated look and new purpose.  Paint is an easy fix to refresh and give new life to an otherwise drab piece.  Really, it is ok to paint wood!  Now, I'm not talking about painting over a beautiful antique piece that has a value, but the old worn out, chipped looking ones.  These pieces just need a little TLC and possibly some modifications to make them work for a new purpose.

If it has a good structure and interesting details are the key elements to consider when repurposing or refreshing furniture.  We all have those furniture pieces that have been handed down to us from family, usually something no one else wants!  Often, when buying a first home, the daunting, and not to mention, expensive task of furnishing the place can be overwhelming, so utilizing any gifted furniture pieces is a good idea. 

For instance…I think every ones parents or grandparents had this china cabinet in their formal dining room.  Well, just look at the possibilities here!  This piece can be used in a kitchen, bathroom, hallway or even a playroom to store books and toys.  Re-think the purpose that these pieces in the rooms that need storage.

Wall paper or fabric make a great accent on the back of these furniture pieces!

A wall paper was used here also to give the plain drawer fronts some interest and texture.

From drab to fab in just a frew brush strokes!

Two classic chairs become one great bench!

Old dining room chairs get a new look!  We removed the arms and completely upholstered the host and hostess chairs for a softer look.  The frames of the remaining four chairs were painted in an oil base paint for durability.

Extra seating is always needed! I love how this transformation has a dual purpose!

I've repurposed and reworked many pieces over the years, some more than once!  The trick to using hand-me-down furniture is to not use them in all in the same rooms.  If you do, you end up with a mish-mosh of a room design.  Think of how each piece will function in different rooms, then make a choice of what pieces work best in what rooms.  Then you can decide on a color scheme and design for the finished piece acording to the rooms design.

I hope you enjoyed my furniture transformation favorites, and are inpired to think outside the box for your next furniture project.

Until next time!

Tina

You can see more, as well as links to the projects shown in this post, on my Refinish/Repurpose Pintrest board here!

Don't Throw Out That Table, Transform It!

It's Transformation Tuesday!

This weeks transformation is a simple project I did a while back.  I have a sofa table that was being used as a television stand in my living room.  Although it worked great, there was not enough storage to hold the cable box, DVD player and it was a little to tall.  So, as I was looking at it one day a light bulb went off in my head!

Now, I love to repurpose things, mainly because it's cheaper than buying new but also because I never seam to find exactly what I'm looking for when sourcing products, and when I do it's usually costs way more than I'm willing to spend!  Any item, weather a piece of furniture or an accessory, can be altered and repurposed to fit the intended need.  In the case of the sofa table all it needed was to be shorter in height and have a shelf for storage, easy fix!

So here is my sofa table before the transformation. It was about thirty inches tall and had an open Cabriolet,  (Queen Anne) leg design that I liked. The simple design and distressed finish is elegant but also casual, so it worked well in my very "lived in" living room.  Our TV gave out, so we had to buy a new one. Of course, it ended up being a bit larger than the old one, so there was no room for the equipment on top as I previously had it.  I also wanted to hang a display of five botanical pictures on the long wall above the TV, however the height of the TV and table made it difficult to place the pictures so they wouldn't be hidden behind the TV.  After the light bulb went off,  decided to cut the legs of the table down and add a shelf for storage.

Sofa table before transformation

I figured out how high I need the table to be and proceeded to cut out about a twelve inch portion of the  legs making sure to save the feet.  I would use these later, under the new shelf.

Funny looking now, but just wait!

As I was figuring out how to add the shelf and feet my wonderful hubby entered the room! He just shook his head, "What are you doing now?" It really shouldn't surprise him to find me knee deep in a project….and he seams to always have a much better, and easier, way to accomplish what I start out to do!

His ingeneous method was to add the shelf first, making it the same size as the top of the table, and fastening the leg to the top of the shelf, then adding the feet to the underside of the shelf. All attached with wood screws. That idea got him a special dinner!

Since this shelf was not original to the table, I had to match the distressed finish from the rest of the table.  This was not very difficult. I just used some left over cream paint, added some distressing with my putty knife and some gold accent paint and called it a day!

I am very happy with the result.  All the issues were addressed and the gallery wall above the TV really makes a focal point.  If I was to even find a table like this in the right size, it would cost a small fortune.

This project cost me nothing but an hour of cooking!

I hope you got some inspiration here to find something you can repurpose or refinish from what you already have.  So don't throw out that old thing…find it a new home!  If you think you could use a piece you already have but not quite sure what to do or how to use it, send me a photo, I'd love to help!

What are you going to transform today!

Tina