If you have been following my blog, you will remember my red and white bistro chairs. Well, when I bought them at the flea market, they came as a 3-piece set. I didn't want the table, because it was wobbly and ready to fall over, but the vendor said he didn't want to drag the table home with him so I saw that as a sign. No, I mean a real sign. What else was I going to do with it? It was a free surface to paint something on. So I copied a chalkboard I saw at The Paris Market in Savannah (which by the way looks way better than mine, but what do you want for free?)
My husband discarded the wobbly base, and painted the table with chalkboard paint. I came along with my acrylic paint and put my wording on it so that makes this a permanent menu board. I confess it was a little hard to map my words in with the slats of the table, but over all I think it is fine.Maybe I will put some coat hooks on the sides for hanging aprons.
You can see from the way the table started out, most people, including my husband, would have trashed it. I, on the other hand, like to create from nothing.
I found four bar stools at the salvage yard of all places, but they were missing their foam tops and the board the foam sat on. Therefore, they were minus upholstery. My husband painted them white and cut the foam with his band saw which cut the foam like butter and then he slightly beveled the top edge of the foam to make it a little bit rounded. We covered the stools with drop cloth which is nice and neutral. They looked really washed out so I took my French grain cloth stencil and stenciled with white paint to pull the look together. I learned something important here. You know how you use the stencils and they get thicker and thicker with paint? I soaked the stencil in warm shallow soapy water and the paint came off so easily. It was like getting a brand new stencil.
The bottom rings on the stools were that shiny brass or gold from the 80's and they didn't go with the light neutral coloring I had chosen for this project so my husband took the sand paper and sanded off the gold. Now they are almost chrome looking and I have a completely updated look. Thanks for stopping in.
It is my own fault, but when I did this post I forgot the name of the stencil company I purchased the stencil from. Shame on me. I should have looked further as I've had a few requests for the source. It is made by Maison de Stencils. She has beautiful stencils and has a website. Check her out.
Here is another one of my vintage typography examples. I am not certain as to the date on it, but I think it reads 1874. I honestly cannot believe how well these have been preserved. The person I purchased them from found them in a box in someone's attic. I do hope some of you can use these in your altered projects. Thanks for visiting.
This is my second post on The Paris Market in Savannah, Georgia. Everywhere you look in this shop there are collections of vintage items. All over the shop there are these wonderful old time pieces.
The next clock is from London.
This red clock is my favorite. I love the red and white color combo. Notice the photo in the jar below. Great way to frame an old pic.
There are also lots of old alarm clocks. I love the way they group everything. It makes such an impact. I like to group things at our shop, but it's really hard to get large collections like these. The same impact can be made in a home collection.
What is it about old clock faces that are so endearing to us?
Last week we took a trip I have wanted to take for at least 10 years. We traveled to Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.
I read about this shop on Savvy Southern Style's blog a couple of weeks before we were supposed to leave and I was determined not to miss it. It's called The Paris Market. If you love home decor and are a "junker" as myself, you too would fall in love with this shop. It's located at 36 West Broughton Street which is the main shopping street in Savannah. It's about two blocks from Paula Deen's restaurant.
When we first entered the shop, I spotted the beverage bar right away. I do have to warn you, my photos from this trip are laden with lots of signage and menu boards. I am obsessed with menu boards as well as vintage and antique signs and, of course, anything French.
The flavors for their beverages are framed in this beautiful old gold frame.
The first thing I spotted was this decanter of water with strawberries and mint. I have seen lemons before which is the usual, but the red and the green really stood out and looked so pleasing to the eyes.
Usually these flavor bottles are hidden behind the counter, but here they are prominently displayed. I think the labels are very attractive. I actually wish I had some of them. Hummm? Wonder how I can get my hands on some of these.
Just so you know, I did ask permission to take all these photos. I am really bummed that the next pic is blurry, but on the back wall of the main part of the first floor are these brightly lit letters spelling out Paris just in case you didn't know everything in the shop was French.
There were quite a few religious nuances including this niche with what I call Methuselah. She's covered in shells.
Now these following photos were obviously not taken in The Paris Market, but I thought I would throw in a couple photos of myself. I do want you to know I hate having my photograph taken, but my daughter insisted.
The things I do for a family vacation. I will be sharing many more photos from this shop and this trip, but right now these are just the teasers. Thanks for stopping by.
I found this box a couple of months ago and didn't even realize it was a Graphics Fairy design. No wonder I love it. It is a leather bound box lined with velvet, obviously a reproduction, and quite beautiful. The front, the binding and the back all have designs. I would love to get one of those paper boxes and see if I could duplicate the look.
I have been planning these last few posts around our vacation and thus did not get as many pics of my yellow and white tablescape as I would have wanted but I would love to share what I have. This bouquet was part of my flower extravaganza at Trader Joe's last week. This bouquet was scrumptious!
Check out these fuzzy little "Peeps." Aren't they adorable?
This is one of my favorites, this beautiful little cherub holding up this crystal-like bowl. I use this little guy for flowers, scones, cookies and whatever. So angelic! Happy Sunday. We will return home this week and I hope to share my adventures from Savannah and Charleston.
Hi, my name is Maggie. I have worked in the legal field for 27 years, but my real passion is finding treasures and restoring or repurposing them. I love everything French. I have been a dealer in different antique malls for the past 12 years and for the past six years have been a dealer at Aubergine Emporium in Simi Valley, California. I am also a vendor at The Little French Flea Market in Tarzana, California. I absolutely love the hunt.
