antiques

Christmas Haus 2016

December 21, 2016 by Cynthia 2 Comments

Vintage, hand blown ornaments.

It’s been a busy year. That is the introduction to my apology for not posting more frequently. I vow to rectify that in the new year.

Although this is my second Christmas, post renovation, I felt more settled in the home this year. More relaxed.

But I digress. I have some holiday pictures to share. Plus, let you know that I am posting on Instagram. As of this moment, I have 13 organic followers. And I am proud of each one of those.

So finally, thank you for continuing to follow my blog and continuing to check back for new posts. I hope the holiday and the new year are good to you and your family. As for me, I am optimistic and have nothing but good, sweet thoughts.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Clustered with fresh greens, these vintage ornaments look like holly berries.

Old linens.

Tin containers from Round Top filled with fresh garland, pine cones and mason jars with battery operated flickering candles.

The exterior. White picket fences are meant for red bows and fresh garland.

An old bench, a Round Top find with a vintage watering can and some fresh greens.

A Christmas Farmhouse Kitchen.

Fresh greens, a holiday red velvet quilt and a lovely tasseled throw for a lovely Scandinavian style Christmas.

A little cheer for the holiday guest…

Sparkly pine cones on some wire for a festive garland.

Dried hydrangeas with fresh greens make a lovely arrangement.

Fresh greenery arrangement.

Christmas red tucked in many corners.

The master bedroom.

A nook for settling in for a winter’s nap or reading a good book.

A guest room with some holiday cheer.

Handmade stockings from Round Top, many, many years ago.

A stately pose.

Fresh greens against white walls.

Old ironstone and fresh greens.

An Ikea lantern with a battery operated candle for each fence post.

Using old, white chippy cast iron finials to hang grain sack stockings.

A easy chair with a bit of red for the holidays.

A touch of Christmas that is as easy as a white pointsettia

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, christmas, cottage, country, farmhouse, greenery, greens, holiday, shipslap, white

Nooks

September 10, 2016 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

A stair landing that otherwise would be used for nothing other than a pass through becomes a place to get away.

When you build out every square inch of an old home, parts of the structure become architectural features. The space under a stair way or the pitch of a roof become central to the design and the aesthetic.

My cottage is case and point. Every space is somehow made cozier by having to work within the structure that creates these small, lovely nooks. Or corners of respite as I like to call them. Somewhere to tuck away and relax.

Every room in my home is small. It is by no means palatial. Throughout the house, I have managed to squeeze in some place for one to tuck away. To cozy up with a good book or a cup of tea and just relax.

Fall will be here soon. I look forward to curling up and contemplating.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

xoxo

The corner of a room is a great place to tuck a Victorian wicker chair recovered in painters drop cloth.

The pitch of a roof makes a great place to add a pair of sitting chairs and a comfy ottoman to put your feet on.

Filed Under: My Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, antiques, chair, cottage, cozy, farmhouse, nook, respite

Greatest Felicity in the Smallest of Things…

May 31, 2016 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

I am not sure if I have a low threshold for impression or take great appreciation in the smallest of things. Hmmm….I’ll go with the latter.

It occurred to me one day as I was mindlessly closing a door that there is a certain solid and substantial click of old cast iron surface mounted door locks as it is being latched. Something you just can’t find or replicate with modern door knobs.

Then I started to notice all the old latches, knobs and hardware throughout my house and I realized that I don’t have a single new piece of hardware.

I scoured eBay, craigslist, salvage shops and antique stores to find all the hardware for my home during the renovation. Not in sets, mind you, but piece by piece. It’s all mismatched, but more importantly it’s all old. And I love it.

I grew up in an old town in the Northeast by the name of Doylestown, PA. There was a rather well known poster that was a collection of old doors from many of the old houses in the area. It was called the Doors of Doylestown. I always loved that poster.

Here is my homage to that poster.

I hope you find some inspiration.

All the best~

Cindy

xoxo

You can see the original green paint through the old glass knob.

Found on eBay, hardware from an old chicken coop.

Old brass.

Layers of paint on the latch from this circa 1750’s hutch

Lovely large glass knobs.

Original to the house, both door and knob are as lovely (and useful) as they were on their first day.

An old pie safe with a glass knob. I keep this pie safe in my kitchen and it holds baking items, such as extract. I keep them in vintage apothecary jars that you barely get a hint of behind the screening.

An old jelly cupboard with layers and layers of paint on the hardware.

An old side table with a lovely, worn and patina’d brass knob.

A surface mounted lock with a mis-sized rim keeper, installed upside down so as to take advantage of the previous hardware holes installed decades ago on this century old farmhouse door.

Original paint finish and hardware on an old step back cupboard.

An English armoire with a very simple, traditional knob and latch.

Filed Under: Antique Finds, My Home Tagged With: antiques, architectural salvage, cottage, country, door, doors, doylestown, handle, knobs, latch, salvage

Because Christmas is here again…

November 29, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Sprigs of fresh greens, vintage glass ornaments in a simple ironstone bowl.

All my decorating is done. I started earlier than normal this year and now that I am done, it mostly means I can coast for the rest of the year and devote my weekends to baking. Indeed.

Here are a few snippets of the inside of the house. You may notice there aren’t a lot of long shots. It’s mostly because I am holding back on wide shots so when the feature in Country Living comes out, you won’t already be bored with it. 😉

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

A simple fresh green wreath flanked by antique mercury glass beaded garland. The bed is simply dressed with vintage linens and ruby red washed velvet pillows and a quilted velvet blanket at the end of the bed in a subdued neutral color. It all makes for a cozy place to be.

An old sap bucket is a terrific alternative to more expensive vessels to house a holiday arrangement.

A papier mache Santa boot that I painted then adorned with German Glitter Glass and a holiday embellishment, topped off with a fresh sprig of greens.

A stair landing arrangement.

Trying to tuck in a little Christmas in each room, both great and small.

A simple Home Goods pom pom wreath hung with sweet cotton red and white striped ribbon.

Who says wreaths are only for doors?

Another Sulphur Springs, Texas find. This lovely blue antique cupboard is a great way to store and display my vintage textile collection and ironstone pitcher collection.

My antique chandelier with a crown of fresh Christmas greens.

An old print befitting of such attention.

Sprigs of fresh greens, vintage glass ornaments in a simple ironstone bowl.

Etched footed bowls found on walmart.com

Simple fresh greens, footed mercury glass bowls and my vintage, hand blown ornaments.

The use of NOEL is apropos of the French farmhouse window above the kitchen sink.

Beautiful old silver footed bowl I found I an antique shop in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Beautiful old silver footed bowl I found in an antique shop in Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Filed Under: Holiday and Seasonal, My Home, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, christmas, cottage, country, decorations, greens, historic, holiday, home, house, mckinney, merry, santa, texas

A House into a Home…

August 4, 2015 by Cynthia 4 Comments

This has been a busy two months. Moving into an unfinished house with construction dust was not what I envisioned at the end of the renovation, even though it’s still not done yet.

To say it has been stressful would be an understatement. Slowly but surely, I am digging out of it. Sometimes with the help of family and friends and sometimes going it alone, each weekend I accomplish something that helps me feel better about all the trouble. Washing and vacuuming every surface, setting up proper bedrooms so sleep can be peaceful, editing collections, figuring what I can do without, working hard not to fill every square inch of storage so there is room to grow, cleaning the outside of the house, removing construction debris that wasn’t removed, having a pop up antique sale, arranging furniture, hanging pictures and just generally setting up house that will be the place I call home.

This weekend, I had the help of one of my most special friends, Vince Maggio. He is the truly undiscovered master of arrangement. He worked on my living/dining area and what a great job he did.

These are iphone pictures, not using my Canon camera, so take that into consideration. These two pictures are just snippets, I’ll do a more comprehensive article when I am closer to finishing with setting up the house.

I hope you find some inspiration.

All the Best,

Cindy

A $65 Craigslist table that was partially stripped. I like it just the way it is. $25 One King’s Lane bamboo directors chairs that match the tone of the table and the linen press. A grouping of vintage nautical print from The Round Top Antique Show placed in floating frames and a variety of other collected pieces.

Antique linen press full of curated items, a comfy couch across from the fireplace (pics of that later, it isn’t finished) and inexpensive IKEA pillow, along with a French ticking stripe pillow from Home Goods all come together to make a beautiful, comfortable place to set a spell and take a load off.

Filed Under: Before 'n After, My Home, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, bamboo directors chairs, comfy, cottag, cottage, cozy, craigslist, ironstone, mckinney, renovation, Round Top, table, texas, white

The One Minute Mile

May 25, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

The perfect contrast of light and dark

Big things happen in little minutes and that just about describes what will happen in the next 5 days. Floors, cabinets, tiling, plumbing finishing, electrical finishing and painting. And that’s just the inside. The rain has hampered working on the outside but it makes no difference to me. I just want to sleep in my own bed and fall asleep staring at my own ceiling.

Here are the lastest pictures. Everything is in a state of being completed. And then, with a wing, a prayer and a good tail wind, it will all come together.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

Stained new wood (left) against sanded old wood on the right.

Windows that were in another part of the house, reset in the upstairs sitting area

Simple silk shade lamps throughout the house

Kitchen cabinets built around an original feature of the house, the brick chimney

Kitchen cabinets

Newly built kitchen cabinets are lovely. We have used an antique piece as the base for the kitchen sink.

More kitchen cabinets. Note the bun feet instead of a toe kick.

Exterior lighting used for interior lighting.

Barn door hardware to close off my very small office/work space

Stylish and budget friendly, these stock zinc light fixtures picked up at Home Depot

More kitchen cabinets

This wall/door didn’t exist before the renovation, but you would never know that. It looks like it is original to the house.

The interesting angles, windows and walls of an old house

Filed Under: Before 'n After, My Home, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antiques, cabinets, cottage, country, farm house, floors, historic, home, mckinney, paint, renovation, texas, white, wood, zinc

Down the hall and around the corner…

April 19, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

My first response walking into the house this week: Holy Toledo! We are making visible progress. This simple cottage gets more interesting with each layer of construction completed. The walls are going up and it helps the house take shape.

Every square inch that is possible to build out, has been built out. It means that we have to build around architectural features like roof pitches and stairwells. Almost from the minute you walk through the great room to the rest of the house, every hall you go down and every turn you make leads you to something quirky and cozy. I look forward to using all these nooks to create small treasures of respite.

Updated pictures below.

I hope you find inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

XOXO

The Kitchen.

Master Bedroom.

Bedroom (formerly the garage)

Closet in Bedroom (formerly the garage)

Guest Bedroom

Guest Bedroom.

Filed Under: Before 'n After, My Home, Projects Tagged With: antiques, cottage, country, historic, mckinney, renovation, texas, walls, white, wood

Inching Toward the Finish…

March 30, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Went by the house this weekend and there has been incremental progress. We have a pile of planks and ships lap from the demolition that we have committed to reusing. The trick is maximizing this very limited resource and minimize waste. This takes time and progress over the last week has been a bit stilted. Having said that, what was completed was choice. The great room is starting to realize the design. Contractor Pete, as I like to call him, has been able to clad the pantry and the fireplace completely with harvested, salvaged ships lap and it looks amazing.

Just a couple of pictures to show the progress. As if that wasn’t enough good news, some pictures of my budding hydrangeas, mint leaves and rosemary from the garden. I love the transition to Spring. It means the Winter hibernation is over.

I hope you find some inspiration.

Always,

Cindy

New wall with an old side light, oriented horizontally. It will act as a transom and allow natural light into the new hallway.

Pantry and Fireplace clad in old ships lap.

Paneling in the stairway with paneling taken from our salvage pile.

With the trim removed, the old window weights are revealed. I love old houses.

Leaves coming in on the Hydrangeas.

Mint springs up from the ground for harvesting when I am back in the house and cooking up a storm in my new kitchen.

Hardy rosemary plants, evergreen throughout the seasons.

Filed Under: Before 'n After, My Home, Projects, Uncategorized Tagged With: antique, antiques, cottage, country, fireplace, historic, mckinney, remodel, renovation, ships lap, texas

A House for the Ages…

March 13, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

Short blog article this week. Great milestone to report. The house has passed the preliminary inspections, insulation has been added and now we on the path to adding the plank walls (where needed) and trim work. This is where it is going to get fun.

Master Bedroom.

Former Garage, now a bedroom.

Stair way.

Fireplace

Kitchen

Master bedroom.

Master Bedroom Ceiling

Filed Under: Discoveries, My Home, Projects Tagged With: antiques, cottage, country, historic district, home, house, insulation, mckinney, old, old home, old house, renovation, texas

I am being framed…finally

January 25, 2015 by Cynthia Leave a Comment

-- Download I am being framed...finally as PDF --

I went by this weekend and got some additional photos and took some measurements. As the various spaces are being framed in, it gives me a better sense of the size of the rooms once the renovation is completed.

It’s not much to look at…but it’s progress. The ugly way, way before the pretty.

I hope you find some inspiration.

xoxo

Cindy