Unit 82

How exciting!!!



Brackley Antique Cellar is the biggest Antique/Vinatge/furniture Centre I have ever been to. There are around 200 dealers selling almost everything and you can spend hours just walking around and admiring antique/shabby chic and collectable items.

I was very pleased when I got an email from the "Cellar" saying that there was a space available (I was on a waiting list for months, that proves how popular the place is)

I went up there to see the unit and loved it, just the right size and a nice location not far from the coffee shop :)

I have had the unit for around 2 months and every time I go up there I spend couple of hours just changing things around.



This photo was taken on my first day. Lots of pictures on walls (to cover the yellow colour.....yuk!), vintage suitcases, table clothes, blankets, tea sets, place and lots more!

This is few weeks ago when I took lots of beautiful vintage table cloths from France, painted tables in Annie Sloan "Paris Grey" and beautifully recovered, by my husband :) in Laura Ashley fabric

Set of 3 tables also painted in Annie Sloan (just love the paint!)







There are certain things that sell like hot cakes; basket and I had 2 beautiful printers trays which I was hoping not to sell and keep them to myself :) Hopefully I can find few more somewhere.







Also tape, magnets and cards from Dots and Spots which I admire and the colours just look so beautiful on my stand

The weeks fly by and it is going better that I expected.

I will be going to my unit on Bank Holiday Monday. I have many great bits and bobs to take with me. I will also take more photos to post on my blog.

You should visit if you are passing Brackley and don't forget I am Unit 82 :)

A bit of painting and decorating

I have finally found some time to finish few things.
My brilliant dad wallpapered our daughter’s room. I absolutely love the Circus wallpaper from Cath Kidston and the light from Laura Ashley.

This weekend we will be paining the walls and choosing carpet. I cannot wait to have it all finished!
I am also very happy with the 1930’s display unit which I painted in Annie Sloan’s Duck Egg Blue and used Cath Kidston (AGAIN!) paper to cover the back. The unit has been in my husband’s studio for months now and I finally finished it.

I distressed the top a little bit and waxed the whole unit.

I love dressers. I already have one at home but one from the garage after makeover looks so much better so I might find a bottom for it and swap it :)
I painted it in Old White and by Annie Sloan and used lovely fabric by Laura Ashley. It would look brilliant in our cranberry dining room.

I love the country, English look

I still have lots of furniture that we want to use in the house but I need to paint them first so there will be more blog posts about it very soon.

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen - flea market in Paris

"Le marche aux puces de Saint-Ouen" has been in the same place since 1885. It is located within an easy reach of Paris city centre. The metro line 4 that we wanted to use was closed so it took us much longer to get to the market but it was worth it! BTW I would not call this market a flea market but a museum. It is amazing!
The Paris flea market opens on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. It is one of the most popular flea markets in Paris and the biggest in Europe, I was told.

You can find everything here from stylish furniture to old postcards or old Vogue patterns. I also spotted an old LV suitcase.
In the fifties and sixties, the Paris flea market had a reputation as a place where you could buy intereseting old furniture at very low prices.
This is not the case anymore, most of the prices were (in my opinion) far too high. I think it would take a real French person to bargain a good price.
The market is very Parisian and really worth visiting. We bought nothing but took lots of inspiring photos which I am going to share with you:

I loved every single chair I saw on the market but since we travelled to Paris on the plane there was no way AirFrance would let me take something so big!

There were crates, lamps, wardrobes, patterns, books, magazines, vintage clothing, bedding, baskets etc etc and lots of everything for everyone. Apparently Woody Allen has filmed there and Mr Microsoft (Bill Gates) bought stuff for his home in the US.

I was told off for taking this photo :( but I still have it!

Paris - furniture shop - Grange

Last weekend me and my husband went to Paris. Since we have been there few times our priority wasn't to see the places always visited by tourists. We wanted to discover Paris from a different side. We did end up in strange places or in strange book shops but overall it was a great weekend. On Saturday we drunk Belgian beer in an Irish bar watching rugby Scotland-Wales! How random was that?

My priority was to visit as many furniture shops as possible and to go to an antique market - Porte de Clignancourt, officially called Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. I have 600+ photos of furniture to get inspiration from and it was very difficult to choose few for my blog.

I decided to split my Paris trip into 2 blog posts; one with a lovely furniture shop and one with the antique market.

So there it is - lovely furniture shop called Grange (they also have a shop in London).
http://www.grange.fr/grange/easysite/grange/fr/accueil

This are the colours and the finish. All looks fantastic; maybe a bit too "perfect" for me but it is a great inspiration.

I absolutely loved this bookcase; the shape, colour and the finish!

Second on my list of favourites items in the shop where the colourful side tables. Aren't they georgeous???

The funirture on the set looked amazing and very homely.

I really liked the pictures; what to do with old postcards?? easy!

This green chest of drawers was one of my favourite too!

My Home....

While the paint is drying on couple of cupboards I thought I would introduce you to my home.

You will find all sorts in my house. I love all vintage, painted, handmade and cute. Most of my plates come from car boot sales which I visit very often in the summer. I just love rummaging through others stuff and find something interesting that screams "me"! I never look at how much something might be worth only how much I love it!

I have painted most of our reclaimed furniture in Farrow and Ball colours. I love the finish and how the colour changes in different light.

I have recently discovered Annie Sloan paint so there will be more pieces with the lovely French, worn look and a bit more colour :)

We have been living in our Victorian town house for a bit over a year. A lot has changed since we moved in and a lot will change in the next few years (months hopefully). The house is just perfect and big enough for 3 of us and our hobbies :)

We recently extended upwards to the loft and created a design/sewing/craft room. The room is very light and inspiring.

I covered a pine unit with different wallpapers from B&Q. I love the colours! The unit is just perfect for storing all my bits and bobs.

I have recently bought a lovely sewing machine......and made some pictures.......

My house feels very cosy and inviting. I love vintage cushions and crochet blankets.

Over the past couple of years I have collected lots of vintage plates and cups and tea pots. All of them I placed on a dresser in our living room> The dresser is painted in F&B colour and it looks just perfect!

.....and things I cannot live without at the moment :)