Back to Brimfield

Over the weekend, Coach and I made another road trip back to the Brimfield Antiques Show to see what we had missed the first time around! Many of my favorite vendors were there, like “My Sister’s Garages”, but there were many new vendors (or perhaps just new to us-that place is just so huge you could easily walk right past some great stuff!). Since my decorating point of view is “country” style, my eye is always drawn to vintage and rustic, which is more popular than ever. Creating lights out of anything but lamps is definitely trending in design. If there was a grate or a pulley or a pipe or basket

someone attached a bulb and a cord and lit up the joint.

Thomas Edison would have been proud. And although he did not hold the patent for the moonshine still, he may have enjoyed a shot or two from this beauty! Since it was the third and final day of the fair, the owner was trying to “move it” and was willing to part with it for $2500! I can see it now…The Red Barn Distillery…

Tin alphabet letetrs. Didn’t know what letter to buy, so didn’t buy any! Regretting that decision.

In a nod to Halloween, piles of tin pumpkins in a patch. Cute.

The Textile Trunk tent was filled with “antique and vintage European textiles”. I don’t know about you, but me in a fabric shop is like a kid in a candy store. (well, I like candy too, but vintage fabric is just so yummy, and better for the waistline).

There are always hand-made tables and benches for sale. I love these old farm trolleys turned coffee table. But it took 4 big guys to put one on the back of a pick up truck! How the heck would we get it into the house?!?

Loads of vintage tin buckets and pail being re-puposed into clocks, benches

and roosters- where would you put this larger-than- life-sized bird in your yard?!?

Coach and I have been to the fair a number of times, and have never ventured inside this tent. The Pandora de Balthazar is all about European Luxury Bedding, and luxurious it was! White, pressed, polished, love. Sooo country pretty.

Coach, being a coach and all, is always looking for sports paraphenalia. He spotted this rack with dozens of vintage baseball bats. Curious, not to purchase, but to assess the worth of his own Roberto Clemente signature bat.

After three+ hours of meandering through the rows of tents, we overheard the chatter on radios and walkie talkies of an impending severe storm and a possible tornado! Coach was none-too-happy about missing the entire second half of the fair, but let’s be honest, where does one seek shelter from a twister in a sea of white pop-up tents?!?

Time to head back to the car for the long drive home. Next time we will start on the opposite side of the street. I have this little sign hanging in my daughter’s childhood bedroom. Great advice.

So Coach and I stopped at several little church and yard sales on our drive to Brimfield. And, although I didn’t find any treasures at the big fair, I picked up this lovely white soup tureen for $3

and this precious tea table for $8!  This one’s gonna need some of the 3 R’s…but I guess you could say we found a litte joy- and it was cheap!

Hope you find joy in your journey today! Susan

The Barn Workshop-Take One

Dear Readers: Sorry I haven’t been blogging much this week. Coach and I have been cleaning out and organizing the barn. Trying to sort through 25+ years of accumulated stuff (books, furniture, books, antiques, books, tools…did I say books- 5000+!?!?) takes time, patience and perseverance. Me, I am inclined to just toss everything in the dumpster and start from scratch, but Coach is more of a “save this I might need it someday” sorter. Well that “someday” is today- time to let go, move on, clean out. Which often leads to some, well, we’ll just call it “unpleasantness” in our soon-to-be barn workshop. So Coach decided it was best if we are not both in there at the same time, for the sake of our marriage. Which is OK by me today, because it is probably 100 degrees in there right now, and I am in the study with the fan : )

So I have been searching for some barn interiors that strike my fancy. We want to stay true to its roots, preserving the good and enhancing the amazing- like this wall painting of Old Black Nell.

I am looking for simple but dramatic

rustic

inviting

or maybe a more athletic endeavor??

 Perhaps a bit of industrial chic.

There is no plumbing, so I won’t have a kitchen. But if I did…

Shine up the floors. Add pops of color.  

And, of course, some rustic lighting.

Our target event date?

Thanksgiving Dinner at a farmhouse table for 20 stretching the length of the finished interior. Better get back out there and see what’s happening! Wish me luck… Susan