Country Living Fair - Part II: Red Chair Antiques

I've been looking forward to showing you through one of the highlights of my weekend away. It was so wonderful, it deserved a post of it's own.

Welcome to Red Chair Antiques on the famous Warren Street in Hudson, New York.

I think many of you, after browsing these photos, will understand the feeling I had when I walked through the door of this shop. I didn't know where to look first. I have yet to be in a store with such an exquisite collection of beautiful European antiques.

This is such a small section of what is there to see. The lighting was cozy and romantic and therefore hard to capture the beauty of each created space, but trust me, it just seemed to go on and on. Shelves of ironstone, pots of cutlery, stacks of old books, a bed piled with antique linens... It even overflowed into the back courtyard. It was almost too much to take in at once. Owner and curator, Jocie Sinauer, has done a brilliant job seeking out the beauty of old Euprope, bringing it home, and breathing new life into it. I felt as though I could have spent hours in each vignette, admiring the beauty of each collected piece, wondering what it's story was. It was everything I had hoped it would be, and so much more.

For even more of this lovely shop, visit her online at Red Chair Antiques.

The Sunroom Makeover - An Office Space

All Photos - The Grower's Daughter

My sale is now over, and I'm left with a few "holes" in my house. Actually, to be honest, this year I'm left with quite a few holes! That's always a good thing. It means that I get to replace old pieces with new ones and tweak the look of my house a little bit more.

One room that was left quite sparse was my sunroom.

If you follow the link below, you can see how it looked prior to the sale.

The Old Sunroom

I had picked up a few new pieces that I knew I wanted to incorporate into my house, but I wasn't sure where. As I was moving pieces back inside, this room just kind of came together. I have been lacking an "office" space that I really want to be in. I previously had one upstairs, and at the time, had one in our basement. Neither were where I wanted to spend any length of time. I want to be near Willen while I'm writing and I don't want to feel like I'm locked away somewhere. However, doing all my work on our living room couch, or at the dining room table was getting old (and messy).

I sold the daybed that was in the room before, and moved the wicker chairs outside as they were looking a little tattered. The sunroom became a free space. I didn't want a sitting area - we never used it unfortunately. I didn't want an entrance - we're now accustomed to using the front one. So, what to make of it?

After moving a few pieces around, using mainly what I already had, this is what I came up with. A workspace. I have to say, I'm extremely happy with how it's turned out. It's simple, clean and useful and houses a few of my favourite things.

Enjoy!

The space is open again, which is great for traffic coming in and out of the back door. Even though we mainly use the front entrance, we use the back door. The previous space didn't allow for easy access which was beginning to get annoying. This is much more efficient. Oliver has already found a new favourite nap spot.

I moved this old rocker up from the basement and threw on a couple of my old pillows. It's a lighter stain and it matches the wicker nicely.

I had this old wicker trunk sitting around in the basement. It's empty, but I'm planning on moving some storage boxes with old files inside it. Since they don't require easy access so it will hold them perfectly. The old frame is one of my favourite pieces, as is the old European water can.

The is an old cottage table that I painted Heavy Cream by Martha Stewart. It's simple and is the perfect little writing desk. The French bistro chair is the most amazing shade. It's a sort of grayish linen colour and was found at The Country Living Fair (photos to come soon!). An old black desk lamp was brought up from my office downstairs.

Trying to keep things simple, I added a small cream ironstone pitcher and a dainty little ironstone sugar pot to hold clips and things. A simple vase with pencils is the only hint of office, aside from the computer, in the whole space. I like that.

Similarly, I kept the decor simple and just added a small glass cloche with a rustic nest to incorporate more of the natural elements in the room. It matched the displays on the shelves nicely - another nest in a pedestal glass cloche, a small clay bird, old white corbels, and a shadow box housing speckled quails eggs.

The windows make the space light and airy.

To fill out the rest of the wall, I added an old white window with rusty hardware on either side of the desk, and an old sap bucket with a boxwood plant inside. It's adds some green to the room and keep the room light and natural.

Feathers

[All Photos - The Grower's Daughter]

This past weekend, I took a trip out to one of the largest antique shows in Canada. It's held about an hour from our place so it was barely a trip at all, but it felt kind of like a road trip: The anticipation of what you'll bring home, the getting up while it's dark, the early morning, peaceful drive, and the good coffee and donuts. Road trip.

Though there are some highlights from the show coming later, I wanted to share one specific booth with you. It was one of my two favourites of the entire show, and, you'll soon see why.

It's actually kind of funny because the brilliant woman behind the booth happens to be someone who I see, quite regularly, at a local auction. In fact, I can often expect some competitive bidding from her on certain items I love. I figured she was just a typical dealer with good taste... then I saw her booth.

It's filled with the most gorgeous mix of vintage linens, rustic garden ware, French antiques and just a hint of industrial chic. Gorgeous.

Take a peak inside this lovely booth belonging to Joanne Price of Feathers.

I thought it was a good find worth sharing.