Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy New Year!


I'd like to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

2007 has certainly been a very eventful and exciting year here at Vintage Home. February saw the launch of our vintage website and the response has been wonderful! Living a 'vintage' lifestyle has always been a true passion of ours and running the website is the perfect complement to that lifestyle.

Thank you to everyone who has made Vintage Home possible - we are currently working on new ideas for the website so 2008 should herald even more exciting times!


All the very best to you and your loved ones for 2008 - Happy New Year!!

Saturday, December 22, 2007

A Very Merry Christmas to You All!


I'd like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a Peaceful and Happy New Year! It's certainly looking very festive here and as soon as we'd finished putting our decorations up I grabbed the camera and snapped some seasonal photos to share with you.

Evening approaches and the lights twinkle softly...

...draw a chair up to the fire where we will sit and reminisce awhile ...

...help yourself to a tasty treat!

It has also been looking very seasonal outside. Alas, we have had no snow but the heavy frosts have been the next best thing! Here is a recent spectacular sunrise...

...my neighbour's frosty mailbox - yes, it is situated down a leafy lane in the English countryside!

Thank you all for your wonderful and entertaining blogs. We each have very busy lives and it is just brilliant that we take the time to share the moments of our lives throughout the year. Have a wonderful time wherever you are in the world!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Mystery Ladies!


Regular readers of my blog will know that I have a penchant for 'mystery ladies' in the form of old paintings and photos, which I find on my travels across the country in search of website treasures.

Here are two more mysterious ladies for you! The first is a spectacular and huge oil painting of a beautiful young lady - perhaps a debutante - painted in 1965. I spied this painting (how could one miss it?!) at one of my recent buying trips. It was propped up against a tree, its custom built frame leaning alongside it. I simply could not resist her and without even questioning whether both frame and painting would fit in the car with all my other purchases, I told the stallholder I'd take her! The frame is nearly five feet tall and is a work of art itself. But my mystery blonde lady in her pretty blue roses on silver dress with matching shawl and delicate pearls is a true work of art.

I have christened her Maggie - but I wonder who she actually is. I quite like the way she sits waiting to be placed within her frame and have decided to leave her that way for now!


My other mystery lady is a very charming young woman of some considerable years! Although a young lady in the painting, she was painted well over a 100 years ago.

I was instantly drawn to this delicate and entrancing watercolour; the white lace and pearl smothered hat is just beautiful and the delicate frilled shawl of her dress frames the pretty pearl chain and cross around her neck.

One of these delightful ladies has been added to the Vintage Home online shop today - along with some very special and beautiful items - find out which one when you pop along for a visit.

We also have a special treat for you - we are now playing a particularly famous piece of music on the home page, I hope you enjoy it! Plus we have switched the Christmas lights on at Vintage Home and there is a special Christmas message to you all!

I hope you enjoy your browse - I'm off for some festive refreshments - I think a mince pie would go down a treat - any one for a glass of mulled wine?!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

The 1950s Home


We recently found this amazing book at one of the many antique fairs we regularly attend. Whilst on the hunt for new stock for the website, Mike stopped to browse at an antique bookstall and couldn't resist this 1950s pop-up book. Although it is a child's book, the pop-up illustrations of a typical 50s house are just amazing so I thought I would share it with you. Here is the kitchen - I love those Rose kitchen units which were all the rage then - and how about that mangle?!

Oh look, the ironing board is out - anyone for an afternoon of ironing?!

Here's the living room - this would have been considered very 'with-it' for that era!

The 'modern' bedroom - looks like a nice cosy eiderdown on the bed! Can you see the 'party frock' hanging in the wardrobe?

It's all mod-cons in the bathroom - they even have a shower!


This is not only a wonderful piece of social history but a really fantastic example of a vintage children's book - I hope you've enjoyed having a peek inside!

Friday, November 23, 2007

When is a chair not a chair..?


...When it has been transformed into a truly beautiful, one-off gorgeous piece of vintage furniture!!!

It's a 1930s armchair which had been re-covered in recent years, but was now rather drab, dreary, tattered and torn (thanks to the cats!) and more than a tad grubby in places! I had a vision of a patchwork of rosy vintage fabrics and having some fabrics that I thought would be perfect, I went on the hunt for more. Of course, I regularly changed my mind with regard to colours, styles etc!

There is such a lovely variety of fabrics here; old Sanderson linen; 50s roses cotton; French florals; rosey barkcloth - all stitched together in a charming patchwork!


The chair will live in the clock house which means there is the temptation to sit back and relax every day!

But the relaxing will have to wait - first I have to update the website with more vintage goodies!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Frosted Roses and Autumn Colour...


I awoke this morning to another glorious day of sunshine and heavy frost! Many of the roses are in bloom, so they're now covered in a beautiful frosting! Only last week, we took these photos of autumnal colour in the garden...



Here are some photos taken this morning...

More pretty, frosted roses...


The beauty of nature...



The view across from our cottage...


I think we're due for a change in the weather at the weekend - apparently we have wind and rain to look forward to. What brilliant timing; I'm off to an antiques fair tomorrow - with outside stalls! So instead of gloves and scarves, it will be wellies and brollies! Enjoy your weekend wherever you are!

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Everything's coming up ROSES!


It's been a week since Vintage Home moved into its new home and already I've managed to fill it with everything ranging from stock to favourite vintage pieces of my own. I haven't had much time for relaxing on the sleepdeck, in fact, it has been all hands on deck to get the new vintage stock photographed and in the shop!

There is a very distinct French flavour amidst today's new additions - some truly gorgeous curtains and textiles!

Also, there is an abundance of roses in the shop! There are French roses...

...English roses...

...religious roses...

...and a special Christmas gift idea!


Plus I've selected some delightful vintage items which would make ideal gifts for friends and loved-ones!


Talking of gifts, look at these pretty creations from Louise...

...beautiful handmade corsages and tags! I was delighted to be the winner of her recent giveaway - thank you Louise - I will enjoy wearing the corsages but I'm not sure I can part with the tags!! Another recent surprise parcel from across the pond came from Kim at the colourful Daisy Cottage - we swapped some items and I received these four US magazines - how generous, thank you Kim!

I hope you enjoy having a browse in the shop!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Work, rest and... more work!


Well, it's certainly been a busy week! Monday was a day of packing and posting parcels. Tuesday was spent at a huge International antiques fair and despite a thoroughly exhausting day spent shopping, shopping and yes, more shopping, it was very enjoyable and I have some gorgeous new stock for the shop. Wednesday was 'moving day' - the desks and computers - and their miles of cables - were set up in the Clock House. Thursday was spent sorting stock and attempting to make it look tidy!! But before that, I had to indulge myself and spend a little time on the sleepdeck with some vintage comforts around me. This is, after all, what the sleepdeck is intended for!

Although you can't see it, the view from the little 'Amityville' window is through the trees and out across the fields. It really is the perfect spot to get away from it all!

It doesn't get much better than lazing around on an old eiderdown with a book and a cup of tea or glass of wine with a pretty view to distract you.

So, now we will leave this peaceful, tranquil haven and descend the steps...


After that little interlude it was back to work on the website! I had intended to update the site this week but the move took a lot longer than I thought it would! Some of the treasures you see here will be for sale in the shop after the weekend. Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post - I do often visit and really enjoy reading your blogs but I don't always have time to leave a comment.

Now, that just leaves Friday and I shall be blitzing the cottage to get it clean and tidy for our guests on Saturday - this is how the kitchen looks at its tidiest! Hopefully I can get it looking as near to this as possible..!


Have a lovely weekend!