Why CUPBOARDS

Cupboards can be used for a variety of things.  There are many styles available at a variety of cost points.  Cupboards can be both decorative and functional.  Take a look at almost any home decorating magazine and you’ll be amazed at how many you’ll see.    

  

KITCHEN – Select a complimentary cupboard for your kitchen.  Remember that complimentary does not necessarily mean “same”.  An early American pine cupboard which has been stripped to expose the nice graining can fit well into a contemporary setting.  A country style cupboard is likewise always at home in an early American decorating theme.  A cupboard can easily translate into a “pantry” where canned goods are stored.  Or, it can hold appliances you wish to have out of sight, or pots and pans, or anything you wish.  My favorite is to use a cupboard to display collections of kitchen pottery, ironstone, wooden ware, etc.  

GARAGE – Why not consider cleaning up, organizing, and “decorating” your garage?    Buy a nice old country cupboard, perhaps one that has been painted, scrub it up a bit, and place it in a strategic, yet out-of-the-way place in your garage.  It will be invaluable in organizing such things as hand garden implements, flower pots, birdseed, hand tools, dog or cat food, etc.  I enjoy using old containers in my garage cupboard …. A low basket is great for hand garden tools; a large tin can with advertising (i.e. a 1940’s lard can) can make great pet food holders or bird seed containers.  You will be surprised at how much better you will feel when you pull a gardening tool out of a nice old basket in your country cupboard rather than digging through a pile on the floor to find it.

BATHROOM – Cupboards come in a wide range of shapes and sizes.  I have a small cupboard in my bath which holds extra toilet paper, toiletries, the necessary plunger, etc.  Because the cupboard is small and low, I placed a small lamp on it, and you would be amazed at how much it physically and psychologically dresses up an otherwise blah bathroom and makes it an integral part of the home.

LIVING ROOM – A cupboard can be right at home in most any living room.  If it is a wooden-door cupboard, leave the doors ajar or open, and fill the interior with nice books and favorite things you will enjoy seeing on a regular basis.  It can be a great accent piece;

it can set the tone for how the entire room feels; or it can serve as useful storage ….. board games, DVD player, television, extra vases, etc. 

BEDROOM – I have a nice old 19^th Century pie safe in my bedroom.  It has two pierced tin doors, and I use it to hold my wardrobe of sweaters and sweat pants and shirts.  These things take up so much room in dressers, but can easily be organized and stacked into an old cupboard.

Making an Investment.....why not? 

Making a good financial investment sometimes can be just as simple as the items you purchase for decorating your home.

I spend a lot of time out in retail stores watching people buy items that duplicate antiques. I often wonder why they just don't buy the real thing. It's like enjoying what you buy and putting money in the bank.

I was recently at a nearby retail store and saw a couple of these white bowls in peoples carts. The were prices at $18.00 each.  So I went back to my shop and found a similar bowl that would serve the same purpose, it was priced $22.00. ( this bowl was a piece of Ironstone from the late 19^th Century, it was used as a wash basin in it's time.)

The condition of the Ironstone bowl was like new with no damage, yet it was over 100 years old. OK let' say you buy the older bowl, then in 5 years you get sick of it and decide to sell it. I would be safe to say that the bowl is worth at least $15.00 if not the same value and in some cases even more than you paid for it .

Now let's talk about the other bowl you bought new. Try selling that. I know it would be worth about$1.00 by the 5 year time if it made it till then.

Seems simple doesn't it !

I am not saying that you should just buy antiques all the time. But if you are trying to duplicate it into your décor why not buy the real thing. Want a couple of reasons again:

 1- Investing (making your money back in the end)

 2- Individuality ( having something similar but different than the mass produced items out there)

 3- History ( antiques have a story to tell , and that is something you can share with your family and friends)

 4- Keeping it green and recycling.

The end to this story for now is, Don't be afraid, go to your local antique shop and see what they have to offer when you are looking to ad a piece to your décor . Or maybe you just want to start a collection. For what ever reason you are buying, become and investor, and buy smart.  Donna

Beeswax, who would of guessed it could do so much??

You learn something new everyday !!  Beeswax who would of guessed it could do so much ??

 

I have a friend (that started off as a customer). Her name is Deb and we started off by just sending her Lily of the Valley items because she lives in Alaska, and can only get so much for her collection. So we keep our eyes open here and when we get things we send photos for her approval and then ship directly to her.

 

Well after a couple of years after meeting her she came back for a local family visit and she and I went to lunch.  Now being friends we see each other every time she visits her Mom and Dad right here in Goffstown N. H.

 

Her parents make honey right here locally in Goffstown and this year during Deb's visit (which was also the week of the opening of The Mercantile in InfusionNH (in the lower level of the shop). I went into her parents house to pick up some beeswax just because I like the way it looks. Then I came home and did some research on beeswax and found out about all the things you could do with it . Wow!!!!!

 

Did you know that bees wax is not just for candles? I am sure you probably already know that you can melt it and mix with other products and make lip balm, moisturizer, etc. But did you know you can take 1 teaspoon and mix it with 1 cup of mineral oil, microwave it till melted and then use it directly on your granite counters or even cement counter (like I have in my own home). You do a small area at a time and wax it on and then buff it off.

 

The second thing that impressed me was you can also use the same mixture on your cutting boards to keep them conditioned.  Is that good information to know ?

 

I was impressed and it doesn't stop there if you google uses for beeswax, there are a lot more.  Check it out and pick some up and see what you can do with it. You can stop by the shop if you are nearby as we have some in the shop right now.

 

Enjoy,

Donna 

The Blend Magazine / Calendar - My First Magazine

The Blend is my first magazine, yah by me! It’s not your typical magazine though because as anyone who knows me knows I am far from typical. This magazine is informative, educational, filled with ideas, but mostly fun.

It is part magazine and then calendar. The reason for this is because I see my daughters collection of magazines all in a basket until they get tossed in a couple of months. So I wanted to try to get your attention all year long. So here comes The Blend 2013 (THERE HERE AND AVAILABLE NOW !!!!!).

The name comes from what I feel is a big part of my generation and this generation. It used to be that almost everyone collected antiques and collectibles but today that's not so true and it gets harder and harder to keep the interest. So I feel blending old into a new form sometimes helps and maybe even generates enough interest to make them a collector of something. If not they still are always at an advantage by buying even re-purposed antiques over name brand store items.

I have been as you know re-purposing for several years now. I only use old items not new mixed in. Just antiques or items that don’t serve a purpose any more. The result works and is a individual decorative substitute for whats out there that everyone one else has. So if you want to call it re-purposing or blending, to me it’s effective in educating this younger generation. (I can’t believe when I say younger, it’s not me so much anymore).

This magazine is not just about re-purposing though it’s about sharing some of what I have been lucky enough to learn over the years in this business. I also share tips and even some instruction into doing things yourself. I hope you will like it and look forward to it again next year. Now look I am no graphic artist by any means and I wanted this to be by me so that it is what it is .... By me.

This is not only a magazine but if you know me, again anything I do has to be about The Webster House Children’s Home. If they weren’t in my past I might not have been in this position today. So this is a fund raiser for them to thank them for what they do to help today's children just like they have been doing for the past 126 years. 100% of every calendar sold goes directly to them. This is my way of paying it forward.

So if you want to help as well. I invite you to grab some for your co-workers, family, friends etc, for gifts this year. Check out www.websterhouse.org or stop by for a tour. 135 Webster St Manchester N.H. 03104 603-622-8013.

Thanks,  Donna

Re-purpose Re-purpose

The Glass & Troth

   What does a  ten foot sheet of glass and a farm troth and Pennsylvania have to do with one another? Well if you read my diary than you know I  had written about my trip to Pennsylvania and how my purchases didn't quite go over well with my husband. As I remember his words exact were I picked up a lot of stuff.. (which to him is junk, and why do you buy this kind of stuff).

  Not to say he doesn't keep an open mind to things I purchase and a lot of time help in the transformation of them, but a lot of times he shrugs his head and says why and who  else is going to want it .

  Well one of the items I purchased was a eight foot long farm troth in a white original finish. It was so sweet, Original metal wheels and had such a natural aged finish to it. I admit it was pretty large and maybe not for anyone who wasn't daring like myself.

 After being displayed  for awhile, a customer of the shop who was renovating an old home and also furnishing it. We were talking about wouldn't this troth look great as a table for a country dinning room he said let's give it a go and see what it looks like. So off I went YES!!!!!  this would be so much fun.

 I ordered a 10 x 4 ft sheet of ½ glass ( from a local glass Co. Granite Glass in Manchester N.H. ) and had then nip the corners for child protection. . I have to admit when the glass came in I though this is one huge piece of glass.

 We then wire brushed down the troth to get any loose paint off and to bring a little life back to the aged wood. It worked and did it clean up nice. Remember were talking about an items that has been in and old barn for years  and years just servicing feed , grain etc.

 Ok now next came putting them both together the glass and troth .. All I can say is the customer was lucky I didn't have the space for this table because it would have been tough to part with it. It came out spectacular. What a great center piece for any  dinning room. As I had said to Andrew you could fill the inside with items or just leave it empty as I would just to show off what it was. But either way this was going to be a great addition to his home. 

  Now here comes the best part. We brought this to his beautifully restored home and he had already picked up his six chairs and bench from Pottery Barn to go with it. We had discussed older chairs but with him and his wife and son I suggested a more durable new chair might last longer in a young family environment. So the set they chose was perfect six chairs , four on one side and one on each end and a bench on the other side.

 They really went well and pulled this all together. I have to admit it came out different than I thought and in his room became almost Scandinavian style, when combined with a 1920's bead board cupboard in a light green, and a wonderful family heirloom oil painting on canvas.

 Well I could go on and on but you look at the picture and see it all for your self. Now remember I am no photographer and this is just the beginning of his room decorating . But I think you can see clear enough to see that almost anything can be transformed and saved and re- purposed into something special again. Use your imagination and let your thoughts go wild.

 I guarantee that no one has this for a dinning room table . What a conversation piece. Enjoy it Andrew Grace and Jamie.   

Re-purposing antiques within your home

I want to share a fun experience with all of you that makes me smile everytime I think about it. About a year or so ago I met this young man and visited his home that I was in at the time of the construction stage. But all furniture and accents within his home were new and from trendy name stores. He had no idea about decorating with antiques or about using one thing for another purpose.

 Let's get one thing straight before I go on. He had good taste in new decorative merchandise so it wasn't to hard to sway him our way.  Now after talking with him about different ideas, he agreed OK  “go at it and show me what I can do instead”. 

 We first started with replacing his dinning room table with a 8ft dough box in original red paint form the 1800's and covering it with a 10ft sheet of glass so the inside could be exposed. (We have done this kind of table before with lots of fun things.)

 We kept the trendy chairs and just re covered them with grains sack to bring them down to the level of the bin. Then added a green country bench for one side  Great fit with this modern and old combination I must say. We added a few more antique accents to the room. He put his own touch in the center of the box with wine bottles and corks. I loved it ... Young thoughts in older pieces!

 Without boring you by going on and on I wanted to show you some pictures that will explain themselves. This transformation  was with the help of antique bins, ladders, signs, etc.. all of which make his home now unique. We also did some fun re-purposing of things to create the decorative accents through out the house.

 If your wondering the cost for all this ? It wasn't any different than going to the trendy stores and buying decorative items and in most cases a lot less. You can re-uses items even withing your home now to re- decorate. Example: Take an old ladder and use it in the bathroom for towels and maybe a basket? What I am trying to say is use your imagination!

 I want to share one last thing with you. After about a couple of months he already wanted to change certain items. At that point we bought things back from him and he did. The point is that when you decorate with antiques and collectibles there is always a secondary market for them. It's like decorating with an investment benefit.

 I want to thank B.R. for letting us into his home and sharing it with you.

 As you all probably know by now I in my own home do some over the top decorating. Some things work and some things don't but I never let it stop me from trying to use one old thing for another new purpose. And look it can happen to you too.

 Donna

 Final note I swear! We took the old dinning room table and cut it down to coffee table size and because it to had a piece of glass on it. It's now serves as a coffee table with a memory board on top. Everything can re used.