There are some things that attract my attention at antique stores and it’s hard to explain why. Some of those things are alarm clocks, pocket watches and opera glasses and binoculars. Maybe it’s the fact that they are beautiful and utilitarian at the same time. Sometimes those two qualities are viewed as opposites that can’t coexist happily. If it’s beautiful, it can’t be functional. If it’s functional, it must be ugly. I love it when things prove that idea wrong. With smart phones and jumbotrons, alarm clocks, pocket watches and opera glasses/binoculars have become almost obsolete, but I think they have an amazing decorative quality and often make it into vignettes in my home and photo shoots…
I put together a collection of some of these beautiful, yet utilitarian pieces that caught my eye, including these lovelies…
You can follow the full collection HERE and follow all of my eBay collections HERE.
Disclosure: This is a paid featured post. My eBay Collections were curated as part of my collaboration with eBay #followitfindit and Style Coalition.
14 Responses
Those pictures take me right to 150 years ago… I am a fancy lady opera glasses at the ready, a tall dark handsome gentleman putting away his pocket watch so that he may offer me his arm as we stroll to our box…
No wonder things such as these inspire us… love the pictures. 🙂
I especially love the shot of the pocket watch and key. My grandchildren would love these! I’ve noticed you have a lot of boxwood in several of your rooms. Is it real? I love the touch of the greenery!
I like this photo also, but wondered what the white things are in the bowl?
They are miniballs (spent bullets) from the Civil War.
I had to comment because I also have some of the metal cash register numbers that you have in the picture with the grey dresser. I got them this fall at Canton and I thought they looked so neat. I was lucky enough to get an .04 and an .07, for 2004 and 2007, the years that my boys were born. I have mine in a white pitcher that is holding some of those chunky tree-bark looking pencils.
I agree with lucylocket, I’d love to know if the potted boxwoods in your home are real. I’m guessing they’re faux. Would you share with us where you purchased them? Fake plants usually look just that… fake, but your boxwoods are so pretty.
I love reading your blog, you are such an inspiration!
fabulous photos, love the orange x
Wonderful pics & pieces! I have a weakness for those items (& others) as well
i love clocks too and have run out of places to put them! but i can’t help but buy one if i see one i can’t live without! i have my grandfather’s pocket watch…..he passed away in 1977 at the age of 98! it’s in a dome and i inherited it from my mom when we put her in assisted living 4 years ago….it’s in storage but i think i’m going to get it out so i can enjoy it.
i love all your etsy finds!
I really love little Baby Ben alarm clocks. Both my husbands late grandfather and my late grandfather where given pocket watches when they worked on the railroad which we now have and treasure.
I love how you stage all your photos! How did you cover your books and did you use linen or paper? Thanks.
Gorgeous vignettes.
Lee 🙂
Love your pictures! My husband is a Watchmaker and also studied clock repair so we are always surrounded by these and other lovelies in our home. It has definitely inspired my decorating!
Ohhhh… love the watches and clocks especially. I have a weakness for good old fashioned wind up watches… because when all else fails, batteries etc… you can just wind them up… When i was a child i had a wind up watch with little glow in the dark dots beside the numbers, and i thought it was the greatest thing ever, to be able to see them at night …
Cindy