indoor plants and bargain finds

Busy weekends are fun, more fun when you either locate a bargain, or fix something that's been bothering you.Guess what???? I had a bit of both this weekend. I hope you did too.

I met up with my dear pal T for coffee down at Cleveland Saturday. I like to go to the Antique Centre there. It often has interesting pieces. Yes, you heard me correct, there is such a thing in Cleveland. I think it's called 'Bayside Antiques and Collectibles'. It's on Bloomfield Street. I only found it last year.

Anyhoo, after we'd been there we parted ways as we both 'had things to do'. This was after a lengthy discussion of the great pieces we both often find in Salvo's. On the way out there's a Salvo's on Old Cleveland Road, or maybe the road's not called that?? .... I pulled in and located this table below. $8. Thank you very much.

The exact table i have been seeking to go with some saucer chairs i have.

I also picked up these two pottery vases. One by Scheurich, Germany (left)and the other a no name (right). $6 and $5. What an agreeable day i was having. I rarely find pottery i like that isn't a rediculous price.

My final purchase were these bowl things with mini bowls in them. No idea what they  are traditionally for, but had to have, the colours are fab. A dessert perhaps with cream on the side? The placemats i have them pictured with were my Great Aunt's. We used them every time we visited her for many many years, and they're now with me. All looks lovely together. I think she'd like.

As i pondered what their use was i heard 'i thought you'd be here ...' T strolled in, shifty eyes darting around the store. Too late she cried. EAP was all over this place (i'd been there for about 65seconds). She wasn't into the stuff i had anyways and she picked up some great cane pieces last week from a Salvo's so technically it was my turn... you know it's true sister.

I'd planned to buy indoor plants Sat as well seeing that the others had ... expired. I popped into Bunnings and picked up an array. They were in the first pic drying off from being watered but here they are again.

There's two types of Maiden Hair ferns, a Bamboo palm, some mint and another fern that just says Fern SP.

Over time i've been buying cane planter baskets from here and there so grabbed all the plants and brought them in. Mixed them with my new pottery and a painting i adore and this is my 50's dresser makeover. This was the thing that i've 'fixed'.

You will recall an entry i did waaay back on this, here's the link, so this is what it looked like. I replaced inside the glass with natural hessian. This cabinet sits in the same room as the dining and i just want everything neutral coming into winter. Fresh and homely. I would ideally like to use rattan but it may be a bit too matchy matchy. This cabinet won't live in this room for much longer.

 

Another shot of the pottery settling in well

And this is the painting. You can't see it so well.

I love plants indoors, they just finish off a space and give it life - in my opinion. I could be accused of over planting indoors.

These, i forget the name of, are in this vase to act as a sort of divider to the kitchen and hide the fridge from my vision when i am sitting in my thinking chair. We have calendars and wotnot magnetised to the fridge and unsightly BILLS. Something i don't need to think about let alone view when trying to relax.

I swung past Paddington Antiques today and i bought these stunning flowers from the chocolate shop. $10. The colour is so uplifting going into a Monday.

Wishing you all a wonderful week.

a toast to us!

Friday night I fell asleep with the wind howling and rain pouring and awoke Saturday morning to a beautiful blue sky which i haven't seen in over a week. Yesss! Perfect for a day on the road.

It was a fairly slow start on Saturday with the best being left for last. This was one of the items from the final stop. Not what i've been praying for storage wise but quickened the heartbeat all the same, very, very happy with this

I love a bit of industrial and the dirty shade of olive green i especially adore and will remain untouched. For now, this will be perfect for jewellery and personal papers. Great that the drawer sizes vary.

And drum roll please!!!!....this piece i'm ultra excited about and most definitely is an addition to my 'forever' pile.

There's a fair few battle marks to reflect a lively and interesting life - my friend Em and I pondered where it's from, what's it's seen, who brought it here? There was a brother to this one in the antique store in muted tones but it was the colours of this piece that were the drawcard for me. Very similar in it's tones to a Tretchikoff print I have which is in the same room this will reside. I can't stop looking at it even as i type this.

What else ... aha, this table cloth. Mint condition - never been used map of Queensland.

The splash back in our home has been put off and off (for 3 years) due to indecision between mirrored or white subway tiles. I'd recently decided, prior to committing to something more permanent, i'd use vintage teatowels  (put them behind glass and attach flat to the wall) but hadn't found the right match to my 'Welcome to Melbourne' towel i was adament i was using...and then i found this yesterday. Perfect size and so fabulous to look at. It's about the size of a card table.

I also nabbed a large linen tasmanian table cloth, a bunch of vintage scarves, (which have been committed to a curtain and cushions) and about 14 records heavily weighted by the hits of the 80's.

My travelling companion had a cracker. Equipped with a list of items she was determined to find, she came home pretty pleased. Em loves australiana. Evey time we go scrounging for things, she'll wander around with little dishes that have australian towns on them and yesterday was no different with her quest of australian only linen teatowels. She plans to re-cover her dining table chairs with them and paint the chairs in a complimentary colour to the towel. Hot pink, orange, turqoise etc. Cannot wait to see the end result and will be sure to share. She snagged some vintage dresses, crystal trays, knitted items. Quite the mixed bag.

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We nearly finished painting last night - well we bought paint but didn't physically paint anything so it was close, you know? My partner phoned in as we were on the way home, he said 'so, what are you doing now? Going home to drink wine and talk about the junk you bought today?'. Yes, yes that is correct. We flicked on the record player and toasted to a successful day ... several times.

stock pile on the up or down?

As mentioned a couple of posts ago, i have stock piles of stuff which are currently on a count down to being land fill ...  so, between now and christmas, i have some serious work to do and then i have some serious space to find.

We've done stage 1 renovation on the house that we currently live in, however being the hunter and gatherer that i am, i'm all geared up with enough junk to satisfy Stage 2 and also 3 if there happened to be one. The easiest items to start with are bits 'n' pieces for the front deck which currently consists this ...

Pitiful isn't it? It's been rediculously neglected due to the need for blinds to prevent weathering. Recently i moved all of my casala chairs (8 of them) off the back deck and into the shed due to wind, rain etc etc - they're crisp white two-pac coat was being rotted away by dirt. Yuck! I'm so protective of my furniture and being that we are quite high where we live, it gets us good!

These are a couple of the pieces that are in desperate need of a decent going over for out the front

all were purchased on ebay so the cushions have been disposed of together with the smell of wet dog which was generously included. I do love manilla cane.

I'm thinking the top 2 will be sprayed white with a yellow painted 'seat'. I have located some Marimekko fabric which i may use for the cushions which looks like this ...

Great colours,although the pic does it not an ounce of justice. Do feel that cutting it up into such small portions may not be the best way to go? we'll see, i have a gazillion other fabrics in my 'fabric stockpile', hummingbirds, stripes, ethnic patterns etc etc .... this one would look great upholstered in a bed head too.

The stools. One will remain raw to go with an Art Deco cane chair i already have, pictured below (try to turn a blind eye to the dodgy safety pin covering with the yellow on this one) one of my fave pieces - definitely a stayer but needs a little attention too

The other stool i plan to use as a side table but have yet to decide on colour - Aubergine appeals? Being that it will have a glass top added, i might locate fabric or wallpaper for the top and work back from that? Or maybe sell on... i'm sounding indecisive ... i am.

My cane lounge that will sit out the front was always planned to be black high gloss and then it changed to yellow and then it changed to liking the natural tone. Shall play it by ear, but am quite certain it will remain as is. I like something natural to break up colour outdoors.

and this one is just for fun, which i will more than likely sell on ebay or store in the shed. I'm thinking white and blue. There's some morrocan fabric at spotlight at the moment which comes in black and white and blue and white. I'm leaning toward the blue.

My partner left for work this morning for 3 weeks so my friend Em and I are off saturday on a vintage road trip followed by vino and furniture painting - i plan to be very selective this time. All I want is a large old doctors or architects filing drawer cabinet - please God let me find it this time, it's been 3 years - i deserve it!!!!!! We have much ground to cover and cannot wait to fossick! we've not yet returned without something we swear we will have FOREVER - unfortunately the 'big' car is playing up so with limited space we may come home with broken hearts! (that is a blatant lie! we'll work around it...)