The wonderful online antiques resource 1stdibs always brings me joy. Whether I'm salivating over pristine English furniture or Aubusson carpets, I always have a great time on the site.
But sometimes the joy comes from gawking at the unusual pieces that catch my attention and make me smile wide.
Educational chart of crochet techniques. A set of 7.
Pair of Michelin Men. Ummm, these are so creepy, they're cool.
Prosthetic hand from the late 19th century. Leather glove included, because who wants a naked prosthetic hand?
Delight yourself sometime by browsing the 'Other Categories' section of the site. 1stdibs presents more than 1,200 dealers' wares. Many of these weird wares get me thinking of a room that I want to design around one item. For example, how awesome would it be to have that huge metal monkey standing in the center of a foyer, greeting homeowners and freaking out guests. Love it!
If you're in the NYC area tonight, make your way uptown to the Design Night on Carnegie Hill, hosted by a grouping of upper Madison Avenue antique & décor shops.
Dealers will be keeping their doors open late for a community night of shopping, socializing and admiring their truly spectacular home décor and fine antiques. I'll be at Flessas Design most of the night, so please come stop by to browse, shop, have a glass of wine and mingle. Also participating are Good Design, Buck House, Gerald Bland, Carnegie Hill Antiques and Linda Horn. See you there!
In the bedroom?
As a showstopper in the entry?
In the living room?
Across from your home office desk?
The possibilities are endless. I love this chair. LOVE this chair. It's a campaign-style armchair designed by Otto Parzinger for Maison Jansen. Brushed steel frame with black leather seat, back, and armrests. Finished with solid bronze paw feet and bronze finials on arm and back rests.
This thing is SO haute. If you're in the NYC area, see at Flessas Design on Madison Ave in the 90s. It is divine in person. Trust.
Cheers,
Whitney
Been having a great time in Lexington, shopping the amazing vintage stores in town, and finding some amazing antique resources off the beaten path, too.
I've been redecorating a Guest Bedroom on a slim budget and blink-and-its-here deadline, so thrift stores have been my No. 1 source for unique furnishings and accessories for this room. I've had a blast meeting many of the shop owners and salespeople at Lexington's thrift and secondhand shops, among them are the staff at Uncle Ray Jay's Furniture ReSellers, Room Service, Scout, Feather My Nest, Another Man's Treasure, and about 5 different Goodwill shops.
But my absolute favorite shop discovery has been Street Scene, a fabulously put-together vintage boutique. I walked in the store (which is so unassuming from the exterior), and nearly fainted at the girlie retro wonder of it all. The store is arranged in half a dozen themed vignettes, with clothing, fashion accessories, furniture and home accessories staged to retro perfection. It was as if Etsy morphed into a storefront and enveloped me into its well-curated quirkiness. I whipped out my iPhone and used my favorite app, Camera+, to capture some of the goodness and share here.
Cute little kitchenette vignette! And, are you kidding me with that chair? It was meticulously recovered in soft red gingham. YES!
A Halloween-themed vignette with 70s furniture and tons of gilded frames on the wall.
Another Halloween-y vignette near the men's clothing section. Lots of vintage cool men's hats, btw.
The back of the shop, which is huge and so pristine, you'd think all the items were brand spanking new.
You know I almost convulsed at the sight of all this glassware. Too bad I didn't bring an extra suitcase on my trip to fill with these goodies.. I love cocktail glassware!!!
A dressmaker's form was recovered in peacock blue satin and is used to display an insane amount of brooches and pins. Steal this idea for your boudoir!
I really, REALLY loved this campaign-style bamboo tray table. Wouldn't it make a fabulous nightstand? And how rad are those plaid pillows?!
This table lamp is so haute.
Bins filled with decorative handles, pulls, knobs and finials. And with prices much cheaper than that store that rhymes with Quanthropologie.
I die. This patio furniture set would be so cute in a kitchen. And all those tabletop goodies are totally Mrs. Roper cool.
If you're in the Lexington area, you must check out Street Scene. There's a treasure at every step in this shop, and the ladies on staff were so sweet and super stylish. They recommended some of the other vintage shops that I visited this week (and mentioned above), and were so gracious while I gushed about their fab shop. I didn't buy anything for the Guest Room makeover, but I managed to buy a purse for myself. How does that always seem to happen?!? I was there with only 20 minutes before I had a meeting, so I couldn't shop for too long, but I'm going back before I leave town!
I'm getting excited for the Antiques, Art & Design Show at the Armory! Got my postcard reminder (and free admission for 2!) in the mail, and am marking my calendar! I get so much inspiration at the Armory shows. The cream of the crop bring their very best wares to present an insightful & stimulating display of the loveliest things you'd ever seen. Can't wait!
And, today is my amazing, wonderful, awesome mother's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! I have learned more from you than any design school, art show, history lecture or cooking class could ever teach about the art of elegant living. You are my hero!
Cheers,
Whitney
New Yorkers are used to chaos, but perhaps not the kind of chaos that Mother Nature has brought this week.
On Tuesday, I perched myself on a fluffy chair in the D&D building waiting for some samples at the Schumacher showroom. And, as I watched the fabrics in the wings quiver and ever-so-slightly billow, I caught myself thinking that the floor seemed to quiver as well. Then, the windows creaked and the shades atop those windows banged against the panes. I thought to myself, "No way, Jose. Manhattan is an island on granite bedrock, and it's gotta be geologically impossible for an earthquake to shake this town." But, the building kept on shaking. And then my California-girl instincts kicked in and I booked it out of the building down the stairwell. Out on the sidewalk of 3rd Avenue, people clung to their cellphones, desperately glad to hear that it was 'just an earthquake' and not something threateningly sinister.
And just as we're all recovering from the excitement of the earthquake, now we're all preparing for Hurricane Irene to slam us on Saturday night. And we're not used to hurricanes up 'round these parts. New Yorkers may think Manhattan is the center of the universe, but it's the outer edge of the Atlantic's hurricane alley. The last time a hurricane legitimately touched New York's shores was Gloria in 1985.
Hurricane Irene's tropical storm-force wind field is larger than both Hurricane Ike (2008) and Hurricane Katrina (2005) at maximum size. Besides the surf and the wind, the wicked rains are supposed to be the biggest problem for NYC. It means that New York City will likely break the previous wettest month record dating back to 1882. Uh yea, I'm a bit of a weather nerd. Jim Cantore is my favorite meteorologist. He's like the Bear Grylls of weather.
via TWC.com
While I'm not at all worried about myself, my mind is with the elderly who live alone or in nursing facilities near the coastlines. How scary for them. If you have an older relative living on the East Coast, please call them today and make sure they are safe in case floods and/or power outages occur in their area. Panic is common at times of disaster, and preparedness is key. I know, I know, I know; one can never be too prepared, but I had to giggle at the sight of a young woman buying 4 gallons of milk at the grocery store yesterday. Unless she has a bunch of teenagers at home, I doubt that 2% milk will save her if NYC is flooded on Sunday.
So if you're holed up at home this weekend, clutching your flashlight batteries and side-eyeing your transistor radio, might I suggest a little fun stuff to occupy your worried mind...
Let's all sit for a moment and think about what we would do with this 56-drawer bad boy. I would build a kitchen around it for a client with lots of dish wares. For myself, it would be the landmark area for fabrics and accessories at the WID offices. Wouldn't that be nice?!
Do yourself a favor and make this. Baked French Toast from Jenny the Great.
Feeling crafty? Grab your kids or nephews or neighbors and try this or any of Babble's adorable activities.
The Pioneer Woman has a show on The Food Network premiering Saturday morning. I'd watch just to see Walter the basset hound pretend to be a cattle dog...
If I had longer hair I would rock this style often. Not just for weddings.
The wonderful Mrs. Blandings nears her 1,000th post by way of vacationing back to her early days of blogging.
I keep finding excellent deals at One Kings Lane's Downstairs. Have you checked out their clearance section?!?
If Tim Burton designed a bathroom in a vintage Amsterdam apartment, I think it would look like this. I just pinned this to my Pinterest board titled 'BadAss Bathrooms,' on which I'm gathering inspiration images for an upcoming bathroom reno.
Last night I said to my husband that I am sort of excited about the storm. So I kinda sang, 'Come On, Irene!' and thought of this song and brought me into a fit of laughter thinking about this dorky dance party and horrible lip synching from the Dexy lead singer.
Be safe this weekend, even if Irene isn't on your tail.
How do you feel about pre-owned furnishings? There's a strong market for it, even out-of-region, thanks to online antique exchanges. I have a blast perusing auction sites and vintage market platforms when working on a tightly-budgeted project. And I'm proud to say I have no qualms about low-end marketplaces. But not everyone agrees with me on this. Some feel that an 'antique' is only and 'antique' when sold by a formal dealer who [presumably] has deemed the piece worth a certain value.
Do you disagree with me? Let's face it, when buying furnishings that have been previously owned, it's USED, no matter how you cut it. But, I have watched clients' faces distort in disgust when I suggest a second-hand or Craigslist purchase. And yet the same faces won't grimace at the mention of eBay or, especially, 1stdibs. Hrmmmm.
I'm curious: are we all just a little too snobby when it comes to previously-owned goods? Or, does the vendor have everything to do with the reliability of purchase? Is the quality presumed to be higher with a higher price tag? Is the transaction akin to buying a used Mercedes from a listing in the yellow pages (objectionable), but purchasing a pre-owned Mercedes from a dealership (perfectly acceptable)?
Challenge #1 (I'm thinking about making this a monthly series on CYAH)
Below are three sideboards. Each piece was discovered on the 3 sites using the single Keyword "Baker." Match the Baker sideboard to which venue it's currently being listed:
Federal style sideboard by Baker. a) 1stdibs b) eBay c) Craigslist
Regency style console by Baker. a) 1stdibs b) eBay c) Craigslist
Late Georgian style sideboard by Baker. a) 1stdibs b) eBay c) Craigslist
BONUS POINTS: Match the price to the piece:
$3,500.00
$1,450.00
$510.00
Throw out your guesses in the comment section. And we'll see who has the best (or, is it worst?) snob radar in the pre-owned furnishings department...
Answers (and links) will posted over the weekend!
Cheers, Whitney
