A Day in The Cotswolds

We treated ourselves to a day out recently - we live on the very edge of the Cotswolds and at this time of year the landscape is beautiful. One of our Antipodean customers was in England with her family and whilst they were here to enjoy the sights and sounds of London, we offered to show them the beauty of the English countryside.

After collecting the travellers from Oxford station and getting acquainted in person (we'd shared many emails over the months so it was lovely to meet them in person!) we set off for Chipping Norton, the gateway to the Cotswolds. This historic market town is known for its famous landmark, Bliss Mill - shown above - a 19th century Tweed Mill - now converted into apartments.

Our first stop was the Station Mill Antique Centre - of course!! We enjoyed a browse and a few purchases were made, all destined for down under! We had hoped to enjoy a coffee and cake in their cafe but time had flown and we were booked in for lunch at The Falkland Arms in Great Tew.

This beautiful 16th century inn has everything you could want in a traditional English pub; an inglenook fireplace, flagstone floors and beams - and great food!

Great Tew is often referred to as 'the most beautiful village in England' hopefully these photos will give you an indication of why this is. Despite the rather overcast weather that day, the sun did show its face a few times!
We nicknamed this cottage 'the gingerbread house' - the roof is such a lovely shape!

Many of the houses in the village are thatched.

Most of the hedges are shaped and manicured!

This sign amused us!

This house drew our attention - if you enlarge the photo you will see that housemartins have been nesting under the eaves of the thatch - and have a handy ledge for their toilet!!

After a wholesome and filling lunch at the pub, and a stroll around the village, it was back in the car and off to the eerily named Lower Slaughter. The name actually refers to the old English name 'slothre' for a wet or muddy place! The village is set beside the Eye stream and has a 19th century mill as its attraction.

Plus of course, some very pretty houses!


We then set off for Burford, one of my favourite Cotswold towns. We are regular visitors and enjoy the variety of shops that it has. Our first port of call was a cosy traditional tea shop - but when our friends spied the nearby antique centre we decided refreshments could wait! We rounded the day off with tea, coffee and cake, before squeezing into the car alongside their many vintage purchases (how did they get everything in their suitcases?!!) and then setting off for the station!

It was a fantastic day and a real treat to see England through the eyes of visitors - it is easy to take things for granted when you live right in the midst of the English countryside! We really enjoyed our time with them and were totally enchanted by their lovely little girl!

After such a wonderful day out we are now back at work and busy adding lots of vintage stock to the website - the latest treasures have been added today and more will follow in the coming days..!

Until next time!

All Kinds of Everything!

Well, Autumn is well and truly here. The wisteria foliage is turning and the geranium leaves have taken on rich and vibrant shades. The logs are stacked under the window and we are enjoying cosy nights by the woodburner.

We've been super-busy here with the website so a big thank you to everyone for your custom. We are currently updating the shop throughout the week in order to keep the stock levels up! As well as visiting antique fairs over the past few weeks, we've been doing a spot of 'titivating' in the cottage in preparation for a photo shoot. I won't say any more at this stage but will let you all know when we are in print!
So, here are some piccies to show you what we've been up to!

I gathered together some of my favourite things and filled our old dresser. I love the old chocolate boxes with the pretty ladies on them, but they are getting harder to find. Victorian mugs are another of my passions - those shown here are some of my favourites.

Next, it was time for new curtains!

These are hiding the white goods and have been made from a pretty mix of vintage French and English fabrics - the green check is an old tablecloth. The curtains they replaced had been there over 10 years so it was certainly time for a change!!



We have added some beautiful vintage treasures to the website recently. This is a pair of amazing parlour prints.



The roses are spectacular and the frames are works of art in their own right! Just look at those dewdrops on the petals - wonderful!

There are lots more gorgeous things to see on the website from rosy prints to rosy rugs, all perfect for adding cosiness to your home as the days shorten.


Talking of shorter days, here is a rather moody photo taken across the lane, the sky is looking rather wintry don't you think?!

I hope you've enjoyed the photos - I'm off to light the woodburner now and snuggle up for the evening - enjoy the rest of your week!

Autumn Days

Autumn has well and truly arrived and we have had some lovely golden days recently. I love the mellowness of Autumn, the misty mornings and the rich shades. One of my favourite poems is Ode to Autumn by Keats, you can read it here if you are not familiar with it.
Here are a few recent photos taken in the garden. Our raspberry canes have been prolific this year and I have enjoyed fresh raspberries for breakfast every morning for weeks now.
Amazingly, this young russet is no more than two years old and barely five foot high, yet it has been weighed down with the most succulent tasting apples!

I spotted this beautiful butterfly on a rotting apple and was quite taken with its rich, seasonal colours.

This little fellow is not one of my favourite Autumn visitors! These spiders always appear at this time of year and I often find myself walking into their webs when making my way down the garden first thing in the morning! Not a pleasant experience for someone who isn't too keen on spiders!

I am surprised how quickly the leaves are falling this year, there is a row of poplar trees near our garden and the leaves are falling so fast that have almost covered the grass - think we'll have to get the rake out this weekend!

We have had a very busy time here at Vintage Home; thank you to everyone for your custom and kind words. We've been updating the online shop on a regular basis so there is always something fresh to see every few days. A few of our recent finds are shown here, there's this charming print, what a bonnie baby!

This stunning handstitched Welsh quilt will keep out those Autumn chills!

The intricate patterns can be seen in all their glory on the pink reverse.

Here's some frivolous fun for you - a gorgeous vintage hat covered with purple pansies!

This super old French coffee pot has pretty roses decorating it!

That's just a taster of the recent additions, there will be many more to see over the coming days, including Victorian religious prints, another exceptional handstitched quilt and a variety of extra-special homewares and pretty china. Enjoy the rest of your week!

The Latest Additions to the Vintage Home On-Line Shop!

What a wet and miserable start we've had to September - I had heard rumours of an Indian Summer, so let's hope this is just a glitch! There's nothing like being all warm and cosy indoors when the rain is lashing against the windows - and that's exactly where we've been this week, as we prepared for our latest website update! Yesterday saw the latest additions to the shop and once again, we've managed to find a wealth of gorgeous treasures for you! The beautiful Klein rose above is one of eight different floral Victorian chromo picture mounts - they are a really special find! As well as the pink roses, there are daisies...

...anemones...

...and lily of the valley - you will find another four of these beauties in the shop; violets, wallflowers, forget-me-nots and cyclamen - each one bearing Catherine's signature!

We've also added this beautiful French carnations tin...


...and this superb rare and very old Venetian-style tin - such a beauty!
There's a wonderful array of prints and original paintings - here is a rare find, an original watercolour by Helen Seddon, the colours are so pretty...

...and this lovely oil painting is a reminder of sunnier days!

This sweet Edwardian pen box is a particular favourite, what a delightful thing to see every day as you sit at your desk!

Thank you to everyone for your recent custom - your kind words and love of vintage spurs us on to find ever more beautiful and rare vintage treasures for you all. In fact, here is a taster of a special find, soon to be added to the website.
This is a large, Edwardian chromo print entitled 'Bunch of Roses' and comes from the very talented hand of Walter Ernest Webster. Look out for this, and many, many more goodies in the next few weeks!
Have a great weekend wherever you are; whatever you're doing - and whatever the weather!

A Vast Array of Vintage Treasures!

Where does the time go? I can't believe we have a Bank Holiday weekend coming up! I can imagine those of you with children are already thinking of the new school term that will soon be upon us.

August hasn't been the scorcher it usually is, but at least everything in the garden is still looking fresh and green and we haven't had to endure too many sleepless nights due to the heat! We've had such a busy time here at Vintage Home; in particular we have been producing several more commissions with a Union Jack theme!

Mike's 'Man-Made' label is doing well and he has even found time to make a few extra cushions for the website; aren't they super?!

We have updated the website today with lots of super vintage treasures - there are far too many to mention but here is a little taster for you...

This piece of old fabric is quite stunning...

Does this young girl remind you of anyone..?

...and of course it simply wouldn't be Vintage Home if we didn't have a good smattering of roses! Here is a gorgeous big pitcher...

...a beautiful oil painting which is 102 years old...

...and one of several religious prints.

As well as finding lots of vintage treasures, we've also been adding some extra vintage charm to some of them, including a comfy seat pad for this stool...

...and a pretty new covering for this chair seat.

We're hoping to spend the Bank Holiday weekend in the garden if the weather permits, as well as visiting family and friends. Hope you all have a wonderful week and weekend!