My Little Helper...

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Easter - if only the weather had been as glorious as it was today! I think Spring officially began today - and very welcome it was too! Despite the wonderful weather, it's been all hands on deck here with preparations for our forthcoming website update, when there will be a huge amount of vintage stock and Man Made goodies added to the shop.

After enjoying a few hours in the sunshine, Dennis helped us select some fabrics for our bags and cushions and gave this lovely old 50s primula barkcloth a high five! (Perhaps that should be a 'high four'!!!)

But it all proved to be too much like hard work for him and he soon succumbed to the land of nod...

I hope you all have a lovely week!

Happy Easter!

I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!



We have a few trips planned this weekend - and a special Easter party to attend...



...it's a pity we won't all be enjoying balmy Spring sunshine here in the UK, but I'm sure we won't let it spoil the holiday!


I hope you all enjoy a wonderful time with family and friends!

Colour, Kitsch and Beautiful Blooms!

We've been very busy during the last few weeks making bags and cushions to add to our Man Made range and thought we'd share with you some of the latest additions to the website. As you can see from the colourful 'Sophia' bag above, it isn't just pretty country florals that are transformed!

These cushions were made from the prettiest 1930s Sanderson prints - I can't decide whether I like the painterly colours of the chrysanthemums...


...or the delicate colours of the hyacinths.


Then there's this beautiful 1950s French carnations fabric; wow!


This harlequin patchwork bag is a favourite of mine, all of those beautiful 1950s rosy blooms brought together are a real treat!

Whilst we're on the subject of colour and vintage fabrics - I can thoroughly recommend a visit to the website of Squint Limited - sit back and enjoy the show!!

I'm off to rummage through some more vintage fabrics for our next batch of handmade treasures! Enjoy the rest of your week!

A fresh new look for Spring!

My thoughts have been turning towards the new season which will soon be upon us and so it was 'out with the old and in with the new' in my kitchen at the weekend! Well, of course nothing is actually new - except the look! I decided a fresh and Spring-like appearance was needed for one of my dresser tops - plus it was a good opportunity to give it a good clean!!

I rummaged through some of my pretty chintz and cottageware china and re-dressed the dresser! It is looking just a tad minimalist for me - but I'm sure I can work on that!


All that light space really sets off my stunning amaryllis which is in full bloom. This was a Christmas present and has turned out to be a real stunner! It is called Red Lion - a very appropriate name!


All this early Spring cleaning has put me in the mood to do some painting - not the artistic kind though! As soon as I can decide on the right shade of green, my old 1940s kitchen cupboards will be transformed!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day to you - Happy Anniversary to us!

It's hard to believe that exactly a year ago today we launched the Vintage Home website. We have been overwhelmed with the response and would like to extend our sincerest thanks to everyone who has supported us along the way.

In celebration of our anniversary and keeping with the mood of Valentine's Day we have updated the website today with some really gorgeous vintage treasures! There are roses galore and pretty Durham quilts...



...even a beautiful red eiderdown for added passion!!


Also, we have launched our latest additions to the Man Made range of handmade goods...



why not pop along and have a browse...



I hope you all have a Valentine's Day to remember!

A Sunday Market

Our vintage website keeps us very busy these days and during the course of a month, we often visit the large International fairs and markets all over the country, sometimes setting off as dawn is breaking (wonderful in the Summer months!) So it was nice to visit a smaller flea market on Sunday, deep in the heart of rural Somerset. This has long been a favourite fair of mine, but in the winter months there are less outside stalls and sometimes none at all if the weather is very bad. But Sunday was a bright and breezy day - albeit a bit chilly - so there was a good spread of hardy stallholders outside! Despite arriving much later than usual (we had decided a long and leisurely breakfast was needed that morning!) and having to park almost outside on the road due to the number of visitors, we did indeed have a very successful day!

I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful haul of textiles I managed to find. I thought you would like to see a selection of them; as you can see, there is a very Spring-like feel to the collection above, with the delightful violets and fresh, pretty lilac colours.

These wonderful French rosy curtains are just gorgeous - and huge! The pretty boxed pillowcases have never been used.

These beautiful fabrics, including a 1930s print and 1950s barkcloth and chintz are wonderful!

The majority of these will be for sale on the website soon or transformed into something beautiful for our handmade section.

We left the market fairly early as we decided that a leisurely breakfast should really be complemented by a leisurely Sunday lunch, so we set off in search of a country pub - the perfect way to round off a very enjoyable trip!

Have a wonderful week!

NEW! The Handmade Range at Vintage Home

I am pleased to announce the first batch of our handmade items are on sale at the Vintage Home website from today! We have created a range of beautiful cushions made from vintage fabrics and trims to suit a wide variety of interiors.

Here is a little taster...


...there are breathtaking barkcloths...



...perfect patchworks of delicate French textiles...


...floral linens, barkcloths and pretty trims...


...fresh Gustavian-style cottons...


...and subtle linen roses.

We are currently working on our other exciting ranges of soft furnishings and accessories - I will bring you news of them soon!

A Colourful History

There are many beautiful vintage items which help to make a house a real home - and there are a handful of vintage items which provide each room in that home with its centre piece or crowning glory.

For the bedroom, one of those special items must surely be the patchwork quilt. What was once made out of necessity and sheer practicality has now become a very collectable item. The many fabrics were often salvaged from favourite items of clothing or soft furnishings which were no longer serviceable. A patchwork quilt was also a very good way to preserve and enjoy fabrics which carried a special meaning or fond memories.

This absolutely stunning patchwork quilt is an exceptional find; in near perfect condition, it is made from many varied and beautiful fabrics. The quilt is entirely handsewn and dates from the late 1930s to the early 1940s. Even the soft cotton/linen backing and forest green cotton edging is hand stitched. Every single hexagon is handsewn and great thought has been given to the placement of the many different fabrics.

There is an astounding variety of fabrics in this quilt; velvets, needlecords, crepes, cottons, chintzes, satins, silks and slub-silks, brocades and damasks - and more! There are some very pretty Sanderson and Bernard Wardle fabrics in the form of roses and rosebuds. There are also several cottons most typically used for the pretty eiderdowns of that era, and delightful polka dot, gingham, floral and jacquard patterns. Such an amazing array of gorgeous fabrics which complement each other perfectly. This beautiful quilt is one of today's many new additions to the Vintage Home website which also includes some rather pretty French fabric boxes; this one is lined with a beautiful old wallpaper...

...this one is covered in peonies and pinks...

...and this one dates to the 1920s.

There will be more vintage treasures coming soon - in the meantime, here's a taster of the forthcoming range of Vintage Home handmade goods, which incorporates an exciting and beautiful array of vintage textiles and trims.

Have a wonderful week!

New Year, New Stock!

A Happy New Year to you all and I hope you have enjoyed the holidays! It's back to work for most of us now but we shouldn't complain, there's only so many times you can watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and only so many mince pies you can eat!!

I've been busy sourcing new vintage stock for the website and have added a varied selection today. There are some very pretty accessories; the beautiful hanky case shown above is part of a boudoir set; the handpainted roses are exquisite!

There is a distinctive boudoir theme...


...and pink is popular too!

These pretty chocolate boxes were a lucky find. This one has delicate pink roses...


...and this one has sprigs of mimosa!

More vintage stock coming soon, in the meantime have a lovely weekend wherever you are and whatever the weather!

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!!