Lady in Waiting

04.30.2010

Do you remember the first time someone in your peer group, someone your age passed away?

I was 16. I came home from dance class and went into my parents room and the evening news was on, reporting a car accident that resulted in the death of my friend Keri.

Keri and I had taken dance classes together for years, and in the last ballet recital before her death, Keri and I performed a duet. We were ladies in waiting. And our ballet teacher gave each of us this ceramic lady statue as a keepsake.

It didn’t mean much at the time and certainly isn’t the most beautiful statue ever, but as time passed, I felt that I had to keep it. As I got older it seemed childish, this statue didn’t really fit in my space, yet I couldn’t let it go. At some point, the lady statue took a fall that left her broken, I kept her still.

But I started thinking about how I could make the lady statue something that I’d cherish because of the friendship and youth that it represents, and not be an eyesore that I keep around because I’d feel guilty getting rid of.

I remembered that I had a little inky blue paint left over from my bathroom paint job. I gooped the lady back together and examined her profile. Not bad. Maybe this will work….

It did. I love her dark profile, I feel as if I’ve given her a second life. Which is incredibly gratifying. Now I want to keep the lady statue, not just believe that I think I should, but because I think she’s beautiful. Beautiful. Which is how I’ll always remember Keri.

To The Letter

04.29.2010

I don’t know if you’ve seen it around, but these days everyone’s all about using old signage lettering as wall art. Even in Paris. I came across a number of booths with letters of varying sizes.

I tried to assemble a little visual of my name spelled out, but the lighting was bad and… remember the part about being yelled at in french?

Anyway… this trend can be seen in large, oversize vintage letters on a wall or smaller, letterpress blocks set on a shelf. I actually really love it, though I haven’t figured out if/where it’ll fit in my space.

via Antiques-arts.com

via InMyRoom.co.uk

Find letters for sale at Three Potato Four

via Trendpulse

Available at Three Potato Four

The Fleas

04.28.2010

Well, it’s taken me a few weeks, but finally I’m getting to a couple of posts about my trip to Europe.

Les Puces means “The Fleas” in french. And I made a special point of going to THE Fleas the last morning of my trip to Europe (it was cold and rainy, which was not shocking as this was the case the entire trip)

Leaving BC to do his own thing, I took the metro to almost the end of the line to reach Les Puces. I’d read a little guide about how to shop the flea market… it is a little tricky to find the home and antiques section. And also, though I live in NY and never EVER feel concerned about shoplifters, I was paranoid the entire time in Paris that I’d be an unsuspecting victim!

First I came upon an open warehouse type structure with tons of vendors, mostly dealing more big ticket, expensive antiques.

I didn’t photograph too much because upon taking my first picture I got yelled at (in french) by a very loud, scary woman. You’ll all be glad to know that all I could think of to stammer in my defense was, “I didn’t know, I’m American.” How’s that for international relations?

A few years back, I read about a designer using an old art easel as a TV stand and have been obsessed with the idea ever since. Sadly, this French antique easel, and the accompanying shipping fees, were not within my budget.

I didn’t get great pictures but my favorite shops were the ones with the more unusual items. Lots of nautical things, skeletons, mannequins, uniquities… And globes. Globes are definitely becoming quite the collector’s item, aren’t they?

Just when I thought I’d seen it all and that Les Puces wasn’t nearly as big as I’d imagined, I found another section. A section with winding little roads of stores. Inside one, I found mounds of beautiful table textiles and accessories. At that point in the trip, all I could think about was how I wanted to get home and begin stripping my kitchen table. So when I saw these beautiful placemats, I couldn’t resist.

Truth be told, I’d wanted to do much better in documenting my trip to Les Puces. Here’s a list of other things I saw a lot of at reasonable prices: old tools and kitchen utensils, French cooking pots and pans and tins, old industrial type wall sconces and lighting, and… the subject of tomorrow’s blog post!

PS. Under my new french place mats in the picture above is a reproduction print I found at the Brooklyn Flea for $5. It has inspired my intended kitchen re-do. Imagine: light peach walls, strawberry red and a few varying shades of blue for accents. Also in the image is my kitchen table, mid stripping! I’ll keep you posted!

You Spin Me Round

04.27.2010

Bicycles are all the rage on the streets of Brooklyn & Manhattan. I even saw a guy on a giant bike (like a bike on stilts or something!) in Williamsburg last weekend. Check out these ways that bicycles (and their accompanying parts) would roll nicely into your home decor.

2 Spoke Mirror by CB2

Image source unknown

Handmade bike chain frame via tenthousandvillages

Recycled tea light holder via Elsewares Shop

Barstool by Bike Furniture

by Frida Ottemo Kallstrom via Inhabitat

Bicycle Wheel Potrack via Casasugar

Bike Chain Chandeliers by Carolina Fontoura

Image found via Belle Maison

Ah, that table is so brilliant, you must see it up close.

Designer Gae Aulenti, feautured in Living Etc.

Cammie and Adam’s Fountain

04.26.2010

It’s been a while, but I thought after at least one day of nice Spring weather last weekend, it is time for a Spring themed Sentimental Salvage!

Last summer, my husband Adam and I were doing up the garden at our fixer-upper cottage in Columbia County (and until recently, our full-time home.) We hired a very helpful young landscaper to give us pointers on the best plants to suit our needs, and to help us give our five-by-five-foot dirt patch a sense of design. The landscaper, Adam and I were all in agreement that the garden needed a central focal point. Adam loves water fixtures, as do I, so a fountain soon became our first choice. We went to the Home Depot, and while they had some nice ones, we wanted to find something more original. Adam was on the hunt for a massive structure (like a stone head!) and I wanted something a bit more delicate and traditional. Our next stop was an Asian import shop that we’d frequented in the past. They have beautiful things, although, unfortunately, most of it is out of our price range. We strolled around the backyard showroom, finding some almost-matches, but nothing that we could afford. And then I saw it – a blue and white porcelain stump-thingy lying on its side beside the dumpster. I went over to inspect and realized that this was the base to an outdoor table. It had a piece broken at the bottom, but the piece was in tact enough to be Krazy Glued back on. I asked the shop owner how much and he said $25. Now that was more like it! Another trip to Home Depot and we had an inexpensive water fixture that our electrician could install at the top of our makeshift fountain. He spent less than an hour drilling a small hole through the porcelain and running a cable into our house, where we could plug the fountain in. Voila, we had our garden centerpiece for under $50! Adam hemmed and hawed a bit about not getting his big stone head, but our little porcelain fountain has since grown on him tremendously!

Submitted by Cammie and Adam Black, soon to be my Brooklyn neighbors!

A Sentimental Salvage is the story behind that truly special, one-of-a-kind piece in your home. It may be furniture that’s been in your family for years or an accessory you delighted in finding yesterday. However long it’s been in your life, this piece of your home holds special meaning and sentimental value. Email salvagedgrace@gmail.com if you’ve got a Sentimental Salvage of your own to share.

Cold Cuts

04.23.2010

Good news, it’s Friday! We get a couple of nice Spring days here in Brooklyn this weekend. Would be a good for entertaining… Can’t you imagine an outdoor BBQ using these awesome glass pieces from Lawrence Brabant‘s Cold Cuts collection, made of recycled bottles. Those spoons are especially fabulous, aren’t they? I think it’s the shape, it makes that green glass pop!

Mixing Parts

04.22.2010

These patchwork armoires seem to making the rounds on all the design blogs these days. But I’m entirely too taken with them to pass them up. Robi Renzi of RenziVivian is exhibiting a series of furniture made from salvaged scrap wood at the Milan Furniture Fair. What I wouldn’t give to see one of these up close! Bello!

Bonus Date

04.21.2010

Mid afternoon last Sunday, BC and I decided to “play guitar.” He suggested it would be a more engaging afternoon activity than watching TV. I believe he was forgetting that our “playing guitar” is usually him playing and me laying on the couch gazing at my rock star boyfriend. I suppose that accounts as engaging on some level.

However, this particular afternoon, BC said we could learn one of my favorite songs, for him to play and me to sing.

So obviously we recorded the first acoustic version of “Dancing in Heaven“, which you may remember from the 80′s classic “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” We (when I say we, I mean BC) learned the guitar chords and laid down the dummy track. Then we (when I say we, I mean BC) added effects to my voice and started working out the keyboard part. It was an inspired idea, brilliant with a capital B.

Just like BC. Happy birthday BC!

Guitar Case lined with wallpaper, repurposed as shelf via Recyclart

Note: BC may want to keep me away from his guitar cases, unless he’s curious as to whether he has any affinity towards floral wallpaper prints.

Oh industry, what ever will become of me.

04.20.2010

The other day my roommate walked into the apartment with his new lady friend. They found me in the kitchen, furiously stripping the kitchen table of it’s (two) previous coats of paint. Pete says to the lady “She gets like this every so often.”

That is true.

And the this that he was referencing could only be described as an extreme form of nesting. I can’t walk into a room of my apartment without envisioning the space rearranged or transformed with paint. And you know what, every time I think I know what I want, gosh darn it, some new idea surfaces that makes me rethink everything again! Sheesh.

Anyway, one of the items that’s been consistently on my list is an industrial light fixture. You see, this corner of my kitchen is very dark. Which makes it difficult to find anything in that bottom cabinet.

I’m just itching to find the perfect industrial light (at the perfect price) to brighten things up!

via Elemental UK

It’d be really awesome if, once I find Light Perfect, I could also find out where it came from. I imagine someplace like… the millinery Lily Bart takes work in at the end of House of Mirth. The tragedy, the romance. All from a light fixture.

A downside: once properly lit, you’ll be able to clearly see my shotty paint job!

Oh also… gold star if you know what movie inspired the title of this post!

Outside In

04.19.2010

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend. I was home for the first time in four weeks and was finally able to work on a couple of projects, including editing the footage from our Europe trip. Hoo boy, that iMovie business is fun stuff!

I can’t remember how I came across this company Gardenhouse, but I’ve always had an affinity for using garden or patio furniture inside. Like parisian bistro tables…. perfect for a breakfast nook! Take a look at some of the pieces that the owner has refinished with their signature “vintage with a modern twist.” I especially love old yellow, down at the bottom. Can’t you just see that in front of a slick black desk or vanity? Mmm, and a red and white striped rug and other red accents. Sounds perfectly bright, cheery and summery to me!

All images via Gardenhouse.

Salvaged Grace

Monthly Archives: April 2010