hold it

I use vintage bowls & baskets to hold everything.

Remotes are always better in Ironstone.

Magazines...in a harvest basket, of course!

Coasters find a home in a garden pot base.

Hold it, contain it, keep it organized in vintage!

apple box storage

I had this blue metal shelf for sale at my last

October Barn Sale.  It didn't sell, so we took it 

to my booth at the Hixton Antique Mall.  I placed a

fruit box I had for sale on it and realized that this could be 

a fabulous storage shelf in our laundry room.  So I 

"bought" it from myself!

I left it at the mall for a few months with a "sold" on it.....

It added some nice color & display space.  We brought 

it home this past weekend & I gathered up all the fruit 

boxes around the house.  It fit perfectly where I had hoped

it would in our laundry room.  It now holds all our "smalls" 

for the antique mall and our pricing tool box.  We now have

a tidy area to store our items before they travel to be sold.

I love the color of the end labels on the apple & pear boxes...

and they hold a lot!  

This old shelving has the added bonus of folding 

up flat.  Dave & I figure if we ever become flea market

vendors, it will be perfect to sell from too!

Here it is looking quite happy!  The table at

the front is the work table in our laundry room.

Jar full of memories...

I stumbled upon this idea somewhere for

A Memory Jar

a place to keep those sweet reminders of childhood.

Here 's the jar for my Ian (now 23).

His jar includes:

• a Ninja turtle
• a tiger that used to knock down Lincoln Log houses
• Legos
• a hockey puck

Not a memory box -- but a collection,

bittersweet...

all those memories mixed up

like a favorite recipe.

That's my Ian --

definitely the very favorite cookie

in my Sweet Shop!

Kari (aka mom)

Recycling Center - Vintage with a Purpose #6

A hamper for a recycling center.

Just large enough to hold a waste & recycling bin.

Just sweet enough to work in our kitchen.

Just green enough to be perfect in my little world.

Yes, it really is a hard worker.

Keeps it all neat & tidy & out of sight.

Large enough to also store all our extra store bags for re-use.

Hardworking Cupboard - Vintage with a Purpose #5

So, who made up the rule that the best kitchens

have granite counters and cabinets* that cost the same as your kid's education?  

Must have been the same folks that said a run-on sentence is poor grammar, and don't use "..." too much.

Rules --- whatever.

As I said to my son last week in a little talk about his work towards a Business Degree...

learn all the rules,
then proceed to push the envelope where & when you can.

'Cause who says so?

If it is not law and if it doesn't make sense to you -- then don't.
Be courageous & creative.  Make your own way.

So, that being said....my kitchen, my home was built when home rules were in their infancy.

A kitchen needed a fire to cook on & water somewhere near by. 

Period.  No run-on sentence needed...

And, I love the pureness of what we have.

So -- no granite counters, no cabinets that cost a small fortune...instead --

one of my essentials is this hardworking cupboard.

It is a beauty -- purchased years ago in Paoli, Wisconsin.

In my last home it lived in our upstairs hallway - holding my clothes.

In this home, it resides in the kitchen, friend of the 4 little cabinets that were there.

The inside was painted with milk paint --- from around 1850 --

similar in age to our house.

Pure of style and now pure of purpose:

Hold my stuff.

And zinc topped Ball jars -- oh my gosh!

I officially make a rule: 

Every home needs at least one of these --

somewhere!

*Footnote -- if you have granite counters or fabulous cabinets

--- please do not be offended.

Each home and each person calls for their own identity & needs...rules don't.

 

So --- here is your chance -

"make" or break a rule here.....

come on, you know you want to!

Add your comment...

Under Glass - the magic of cloches.

In a recent comment, Cheryl mentioned her affinity for cloches.  I couldn't agree more.  On my "I adore list" would definitely be the cloche!  These glass domes elevate any item to magical grandeur.  They originally were used in the garden for fragile seedlings in early spring -- (I have a vintage cloche -- thick walled & bubbled glass pictured below.)  Now you can find reproductions -- like this one to the right.  And, as Cheryl mentioned, glass cheese domes can be repurposed as little cloches too.

This cloche is large - holding a series of vintage floral boxes topped by a clock. 

And look at the base -- an old clock face!

Here is that same dome -- only over my basket of doves. 

I like to switch these out by holiday & season.  Yes, soon a pumpkin will be under glass. 

                       

This little sweetie is an etched cheese dome "married" to a German tart pan ...holding two German creche sheep....of course!   Sweet, sweet, sweet!!  Pure innocence & magic!

This vintage bell dome has such thick bubbly glass that it was difficult to photograph.  Within is a basket, vintage lace and a string ball.....all again on an old clock face.  (If I took the time to wind a string ball, I would want it under glass too.)

Finally - though not old -- there is something So Charming about this painted cloche/case.  I keep two of my beloved Bluebird cups within.....Oh, look to the left -- there is the little sheep dome on the shelf.

Magical - simply magical.

Pack your bags - Vintage with a Purpose #4

Need extra storage...pack them and stack them!

I especially love these old woven suitcases with leather straps. 

Here they are tucked under a corner table...sometimes they are at the end of the couch for a side table.

How do you use vintage finds for storage?

Curtains in the Breeze...Vintage with a Purpose #3

My good friend, Sarah, once reminded me to make sure to have curtains that billowed in the breeze.  She has given me lots of good information to ponder over the years -- and this is definitely on the top ten list!
So -- what to use on our almost door size windows?

Why, vintage tablecloths, of course!  Lacey & time worn and even a bit tea stained. Vintage with a purpose.

First the guest bedroom...two different lace cloths, mellowed with age!  Here is one of the windows...(I will tell you about the amazing wallpaper on a different day---came with the house)!

The bathroom needed just one beautiful vintage cloth -- bought for a dollar at the Kane County Flea Market.  Fits like it was a "meant to be".

(All are hung with ring hooks bought at Menards -- simply slip on a curtain rod and you clip the table cloth on the clips -- simple, simple, simple.)

In the living room - I actually lucked out and had tucked away two vintage lace panels bought for a song (less than $5) at that same Kane County Flea Market shopping day. 

Their billowing would make Sarah proud!

And the Kitchen Sink - Vintage with a Purpose #2

When we first walked into our house about 4 years ago - vacant, yet hopeful -- there was the original kitchen sink. It looks much smaller in the picture than the 4 foot across width it actually is.  I remember this glimmer of possibilities that stirred at one of the first glimpses of the treasures this house held for us.  So -- this is pure "Vintage with a purpose"!

What to note here:

• Notice the matching rug in front of the sink & under the cat dishes -- the large one is vintage, the smaller a place mat I found that matched fairly well.
• The sink skirt is polka dots -- and below we store enamelware buckets of just about every size -- all for use.
• The dish drainer is vintage & wire & used every day!
• The window is covered with an old lace tablecloth -- hung with clothespins.
• The ice cream parlor chair in front of the window is a favorite place for our cats -- perfect view of the apple orchard or meadow.
• The sunflower picture was made by my 22 year old son when he was in first grade -- almost vintage!

This little handy shelf is above the sink -- found it for a couple of dollars in the basement of an antique shop.  It now holds our soaps, with an ironstone bowl for the kitchen sponge.  The light fixture was here when we purchased -- a bit more retro than my taste -- but yet it felt right to leave it alone, at least for now.

On a separate note -- and not to imply you are vintage....I send a purposeful Happy Birthday wish to Jeff in Canada.  Hope your day provides you with everything you wish & the kitchen sink!!

McCoy in the window...

What is your favorite use of a vintage item in your kitchen?

Dog Shakers - Vintage with a Purpose #1

I shall be a starting a series I like to call "Vintage with a Purpose".  Now mind you, I really don't quite believe that any vintage item has to have a purpose beyond sitting and looking adorable -- but every now & again, I like to put my pieces to work.

This is a view of one open shelf in my kitchen -- a compote now serves as a napkin holder and dog spice containers are our salt & pepper shakers.  Vintage with a purpose.