The Barn at Todd Farm

Dec 6, 2014

Vintage Ski Hat Rack & Wreath

Oftentimes, Coach will come home with stuff and my first reaction is, “not one more thing-don’t buy anything else!” And I stomp off to go find something to do while I stew about the fact that the barn is no closer to being my workshop than it was six months ago. Because it’s still full of stuff…no matter how much we sell, it never seems to get emptied. So after I get over it, I go back and look at the new stuff that he has brought home…sometimes right away, sometimes a few weeks or months later. Inevitably, I discover some new pieces that I can work with. Such is the project I shall name:

The Vintage Ski Hat Rack On The White Picket Fence With The Stove Burner Wreath.

As with most of the items I refurbish, I have no clue where they came from. All I know is one day they just appear on the porch or the deck or the yard or the basement, where they remain until I decide what to do with them. So here is the story of The Vintage Ski Hat Rack On The White Picket Fence With The Stove Burner Wreath. At the barn last Sunday, one of the other vendors was admiring the skis that we had in our shop. He had recently created a coat rack from a large pair and instructed me on the how-to. So, since I had a white picket fence section (doesn’t everyone?),

Vintage Ski Hat Rack White Picket Fence I decided to mount the skis on the fence to create a functional wall-hanging rack for caps. The skis are on the small side, so I supposed you could hang a kids jacket or two on it as well. Once I mounted the skis to the fence. I added the hooks.

But it just looked so plain, so I decided to add the wreath.

Since I didn’t have a wreath form handy, I used the next best thing: an old rusty burner grill from a stove top. It’s round, it has little hooks for wrapping stuff around it…why not?

So I took some garland and wrapped it around the burner ring and secured with wire.

Then I made a little garland with some berries and twigs and such and attached it to the bottom of the wreath with wire.

Then I added a burlap bow to the top.

Then I hung it on the Vintage Ski Hat Rack On The White Picket Fence.

Cute-right?! This will be at the shop at the Holiday Open House in the Barn at Todd Farm this weekend. Hope to see you there! Sue

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: DIY vintage ski coat rack, holiday decorations with vintage skis, Holiday Wreath, Make a wreath from a stove burner, The Barn at Todd Farm

Dec 5, 2014

Holiday Open House in the Barn @Todd Farm

By countrydesignhome · Leave a Comment

As you might know if you regularly follow my blog, Coach and I, along with Lisa from RitaJo’sVintage, have spent our summer and fall Sundays in the Barn at Todd Farm,

a local antiques and flea market in Rowley, Massachusetts. Lots of 4:30 am Sunday mornings, hanging out with the roosters in dawn’s early light

as we sleepily sold our wares to dealers and hipsters and Sunday shoppers searching for bargains and repurposed junque. The Todd Farm Flea Market

is split into two distinct areas: the outdoor fields, where hundreds of dealers spend their Sundays from March to November offering their treasures (at amazingly discounted prices) and the Barn at Todd Farm

which used to be primarily a junk storage facility, but is now home to various dealers and folks like us

Country Design Home in the Barn At Todd Farm who love to recycle and refurbish furniture and collectibles. This weekend marks the 1st Annual Holiday Open House inside the Barn at Todd Farm. The barn itself is also split in two: the main barn, where our booth is located in an old dairy stall (sans cows)

Dairy Stall in the Barn at Todd Farm and the beautifully restored rustic annex

Inside the Barn at Todd Farm that has been completely refurbished from floors to the rafters. The Holiday Open House will take place this Saturday and Sunday from 10-5 in the annex of the barn, featuring local vendors like JWrobel Studio

and Special Guest Vendor: The Vintage Bazaar!

But the vendors in the main part of the barn will all be there as well! Just wear your flannels because since apparently cows never needed heat, there isn’t any in the main part of the barn (other than our warm greetings, our JOY marquee sign and perhaps some hot spiced cider : )

So bundle up and head on up to the Barn at Todd Farm Holiday Open House at 275 Main Street in Rowley. Hope to see you all there! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, The 3 R's Recycle, Re-Furbish, Re-Love, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: Antique Market in Rowley Mass, Country Design Home at Todd Farm Flea Market, Flea market in Rowely Mass, Jwrobel Studio in the Barn at Todd Farm, The Barn at Todd Farm, THe Vintage Bazaar at Todd Farm Holiday Open House, Todd Farm Flea Market

Nov 10, 2014

An Autumn Day on the Farm

By countrydesignhome · 2 Comments

Good morning! First I would like to say that I am soooo happy to be back and writing again! It has been a long month of technical voodoo that has plummeted me into the depths of blogging despair, only to be rescued by Matt from Pixel Junction. He has been patiently answering my (numerous and voluminous) questions and repairing my word press mess, restoring and beautifying my blog. We are not quite there yet, but should be where I really want it to be shortly. In the meantime, there is no reason why I can’t start sharing with you again! Consider this my “soft opening” before the big grand opening. BUT, there is one thing I need from you, dear readers. In the process of moving my blog from wordpress.com to wordpress.org, my entire list of blog subscribers was lost in cyberspace. So that means all of you, even those of you who are reading this right now, only found me via another social media outlet. (or because you’re my family and friends and I begged you to please sign back up so I know at least someone is getting this!)

Yesterday was one of our final days of the season in the Barn at Todd Farm Flea Market.

It has been a lot of fun, and we have met some really great people along the way! But I am looking forward to having the winter off (no more 4:30 am alarm on Sundays!!) FYI- the outdoor flea market season ends on November 30. However, the barn has an annex that is opening on that same day, and will remain open year round (they have heat!) In the meantime, you only have a few Sundays left to see the flea market in full Sunday operation. As we strolled around yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful everything looked, not only in the contrast of the bright autumn leaves, but also against the gray November sky in the background. On any given Sunday, there is so much going on at the flea market with shoppers and vendors trading and selling and bargaining. Strolling around, sipping coffee early in the morning is the best time to catch a glimpse of the goods that vendors bring along to sell.

Antique Grates

Mr. Tin Snowman – cute little guy. But he was back in the truck because he lost his arm and needed some fixin’. Happy that he’s made of tin and not real snow!!

Neon Dog Sign– On any given Sunday, the fields and barn are filled with shoppers who are on the end of a leash. Dogs of all shapes and sizes come to visit. They need this sign.

Vintage License Plates. If you had a chance to view my blog post about the giant USA map created by Aaron Foster & decided to give that a try, then this is the go-to place to get your plates!

Rusted Finials. If you look closely, you can see the leaf sitting in the middle of the pile-almost undetectable because the finials have rusted to the color of fallen leaves.

The Antique Wagon. This beauty sits outside the barn door, where we get to look at it all day long. You know when you see something all of the time, you stop SEEING it? I am not sure if it was the sunlight or just the contrast of the blue sky, but this wagon looked especially blue today. Can you imagine what role this wagon played when Todd Farm was a working dairy farm?

The Wheel. Gorgeous rusted, no longer functional.

American Made. The old rusted plate is a testament to the way things used to be made. This one’s from Detroit.

Finally, our Rusty Bedspring Marquee Sign now says “JOY”. Which is exactly what I am feeling right now as I am writing this blog post.

I’m happy to be back and I hope you’ll join my “blog club” again (there is a “subscribe” box on the right side. Just add your email and you are done. I promise, we NEVER use your emails for promotional purposes. Only to hear from me!) Have a great Monday, everyone! Susan

Filed Under: Auctions, Fleas & Fabulous Finds, Outdoor Adventures, Views From My Back Porch · Tagged: Rowley Mass, rusted finials, Sunday Flea Market, The Barn at Todd Farm, Todd Farm Flea Market, Vintage License plates, vintage tractor at Todd Farm

Aug 2, 2014

By countrydesignhome · 5 Comments

Greetings!! Back from my blogging break and ready to start sharing some very exciting news! Beginning Sunday, August 3, Coach and I, along with Lisa from RitaJosVintage will be setting up shop in the Barn at Todd Farm!! Woo Hoo!

Many of you already know about the historic Todd Farm in Rowley, Mass-the amazing Sunday flea markets with hundreds of vendors selling everything under the sun-and even a kitchen sink or two. (to read about our outdoor selling experience, click here)

But what many of you may not know is that the beautiful huge yellow barn

in the center of the property has undergone a restoration and has been transformed from an antique functioning dairy barn

to an antiques co-operative. Inside the barn there are many vendors (with more to come) that have filled each of the old cow stalls with antiques, collectibles, junque and recycled, refurbished and reloved furniture and accessories. So, what will we be selling?? Some of the items you have seen me transform on the blog will be there,

along with an ever-changing stock of old and really old and newly old stuff from our barn (and porch, and yard, and deck, and dining room and living room…) along with Lisa’s vintage kitsch collections. I will be posting pics of new items and stock each week on this blog, but also on my Facebook pages, as well as Craigslist (look under north shore garage and yard sales and just search Todd Farm). For now, we will be open at the crack of dawn on Sundays…or by chance…or by appointment. But, for now I have to sign off-the truck is arriving shortly and the packing and moving begins now! See you at the Farm