Re-purposing and Vignettes

Hi again! It’s a beautiful day here in central Florida with no humidity (yay!) and even a little bit of beach breeze sneaking up from the Gulf Coast. If ya’ll read my last couple posts you’re probably wondering what the heck I bought at my tour of Renningers Twin Markets in nearby Mount Dora, FL.  Well… here she is!

Huh? You say- Is that a shelf or a table? Well, that brings me to my latest post- using props in unusual ways.  If you’re like me- you might be on the search for the perfect book case to fit a tight space or that dream china cabinet to display your collection of Willow-ware. But when you’re on a tight budget sometimes you have to be inventive.

Enter the term “re-purposing”

Some stylists use the words up cycling and re-purposing interchangeably. But they are actually two different things. Up cycling is taking one thing and turning it into something else (a.k.a Aunt Martha’s favorite garden urn gets a coat of paint and a glass top and become a bistro table) but re-purposing is all about how you USE something without altering the actual object.

What I was looking for was a small hutch to house some of my latest finds- but when I saw this little night stand I decided it was just small enough to do the job.

 

Like it?

I hope you do- because I’m kind of in love with it.

(Oh, and that’s our beloved little dog, Lily- she always finds a way to sneak into a pic!)

Tomorrow, I’ll be heading over to another of my favorite places to pick. The Century Cottage in Dundee/Lake Hamilton, Florida where Miss Nancy and her handsome co-owner Mr Dane have put together a truly one of a kind space in an honest to goodness vintage cottage. There’s also a cute as a button BBQ shack across the street ~complete with red gingham curtains!~ that kind of screams good ol’ southern eats.

 

But for now I’m back to prepping my own finds for selling. So far, I’ve been selling in various make shift locations via swap meets and antique fairs (and my best customers even drop by my house just to see what I’m up to- thanks guys!) But what I’m super excited about is getting my own permanent shop this summer. More details to come!

 

 

Ya’ll come back now,

 

Rachel

 

 

 

 

The Find: Part 2

So, if ya’ll read part 1 you’d know I’m on the search for a bargain at my favorite picking spot. In a perfect world I’d be purchasing this vintage bicycle planter below- don’t you just love it?

But since I’m going to be cheap thrifty – we’re still off on our search for The Find-something shabby chic, unique and twenty dollars or under. After heading up from the outdoor pavilion, I’m starting to break a sweat (remember that winter here in FL is 75 degrees with slight humidity) and after getting two texts from my hubby letting me know my five year old can’t find his favorite toy and is starting a meltdown I’m starting to get a little antsy.

After all, this is 40,000 square feet of antique heaven at Renningers! If you can’t find THE FIND here , where can you?

Then I see it! Adjacent to my friend, Miss Joan’s shop, is a simple indoor/outdoor shop where a chippy, crackly little perfect-shade-of-shabby-chic-green table is sitting. As casually as I try to appear (so as to not to drive up the price) I’m pretty sure the crazy gleam in my eye tells these husband and wife owners that I’m smitten!

“How much is THIS?” I blurt out, blowing my crazy for antiques! cool as a cucumber cover. But luckily, I’m a repeat customer and when the owner offers it for sale at twenty dollars even- I’m sold. And I’m pretty sure I see a twinkle of satisfaction in their eyes as I usually would have haggled it down to at least fifteen. Okay…ten. But today, I’m content to have just accomplished my mission.

So as I pull away from Renningers with The Find of The Day- I’m already pondering how to incorporate my new little table into my living room. I’m pretty sure I have a few cool ideas that might give the room a fresh vignette. But to find out what I’m thinking you’ll just have to stay tuned- cause this mama has to rush home to find my son’s teddy. Ya’ll come back now!