Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me last week. This competition has been so tough, mainly because I am competing against some good blog friends. One of them, Amy, was “sent home” last week. Her work is so beautiful, so that was hard to see. Make sure you give her lots of *hugs* this week.
The theme for week three of So You Think You Can Decorate is “old.” This was the toughest one for me so far. I own so many cool, old things; I just wasn’t sure which direction I should go. Should I repurpose something, should I showcase something…? I recently rearranged my curio using family heirlooms and found items and these pictures kept speaking to me, so I went with my gut. Here’s my submission…
I am blessed to have inherited a lot of beautiful things from my family. Furniture, pictures, personal items, monogrammed silver, and linens. I don’t want to leave them packed away in boxes where they can’t be appreciated, so I gathered some of my favorite things together to display in an antique curio that belonged to my great aunt. Here are some tips on decorating with antique items, whether collected or inherited.
1.) Group like things together. I kept the arrangement in this curio monochromatic, but with lots of texture. That makes it both pleasing and interesting to the eye. Also, I kept mostly to ironstone, silver, wood, and natural materials. A bunch of random treasured items shoved in a curio will get lost in the chaos.
2.) Add lots of layers. By layering pictures in front of ironstone platters and silver on a folded tea towel, it makes the arrangements interesting and showcases smaller items that might otherwise go unnoticed.
3.) Make the everyday important. I love antique items that were used in daily life…a hairbrush, a shoehorn, baby booties, letters, umbrella handles, a lighter, darts, and game pieces. By grouping them together, they become art.
4.) Let your arrangement tell a story. Almost everything in this cabinet has some significance to me. The silver coins speak to my grandmother’s collecting habit, the seashells tell of summers spent at the beach, and the duck callers remind me of my grandfather’s love for hunting.
5.) Get personal. Displaying pictures, letters, postcards, and mementos (like my grandmother’s garter belt that she wore on her wedding day) make an arrangement personal and unique. Every family has a rich history. Be a keeper and sharer of that history.
6.) Only display things you love. It doesn’t matter what you paid for it or who owned it, if you don’t love it, don’t display it. No one else has to love it or “get it.” A lot of people might scratch their heads at a shoe form, a rusted pump part, and a meat grinder being arranged in and on a beautiful antique curio, but I love these pieces and that’s all that matters.
I could only display 5 photos in the post, which was not anywhere near enough this week! So, here are some additional photos of the contents of the curio.
This is a little backwards, but here is what the curio looked like before. I had pulled some things out of it to use elsewhere, so it’s a mess, but you get the idea of what was in it and how much better it looks now.
Every time I walk by this curio, now, I smile. That’s a successfull arrangement. Make sure you go and
vote for your top two favorite entries!
34 Responses
You can accessorize in such a boutique like fashion! Wow!!! I am smitten with your lovingly placed treasures. Absolutely endearing and beautiful.
Cheers~
e
Wowza… LOVE this display!! Nothing better than pieces full of family love!
~Jennifer
Magnificent display! One with so much meaning is pure icing on the cake. Love your staging, colour balance, photos… gorgeous!
Donna
Beautiful! My mother inherited her mothers curved glass cabinet & kept all of my grandmothers china & her tea cups & china shoe's in them.
I love the way your treasures are displayed.
Your curio cabinet is a treasure trove of wonderful family memories and mementos! I love it!
Kat 🙂
I love how your new old collections warm up that curio cabinet! You just know that each item tells a story!
This is beautiful and tugs at my heart. I have so many items that have been passed down through generations that are in storage. I can not wait to unpack and rediscover them. This is a beautiful post in so many ways. Thanks for sharing!
Gorgeous…just happened across your blog and I am in love…am now following! :o)
Have a great week!!
Fabulous, as usual. I love how you've arranged things. I love the "things," too! Don't leave me unattended in your house. I'm likely to stuff some ironstone in my purse … and that horizontal group picture would probably fit under my shirt …
Beautifully displayed. I am in love with each and every one of your trinkets.
Candy
You are so very fab…always love my time here!
what a beautiful display! it looks so rich and warm.
I love the way you updated that cabinet. Great groupings!
Sweet greetings Ms. Mustard Seed. I just love how you put everything together in that curio cabinet as well as the tips that you left. Really helpful. Thanks, oh, and I voted for you too!
It is all so beautiful. And I love when you said to display what you love. So important. For Christmas I told my son to go to a thrift store or antique store and get me something old and unusual. He got me a pair of shoe forms and I love them! I love the warm color of the wood and wondering what fancy shoes they were in!
~anita
Can you please come decorate my house? 🙂
I love it. Great "gut feeling" entry. Good luck! I'm headed to vote!
It is so beautiful! Reminds me of my own cupboard I have that used to belong to my grandmother – not as nicely filled as yours:) I love it and am off to vote.~ Tina xx
Good dispatch and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Thank you for your information.
Absolutely so beautiful!! You can tell that everything has been lovingly displayed. I can feel the "touch" of those whose things they are as well as yours! Stunning!
Hugs
SueAnn
I love all your family treasures and how you put them together in the curio cabinet. Just beautiful. Love the dried sweet gum tree balls. I have tons of them, always thought they were a nusance. What a great way to add some texture!
There are lovely stories in that case! I was smiling when I saw the picture and then read that you smile whenever you walk by!
I love the way the light reflects on the objects and the shadows on the others. It's interesting on the eye!
And the wood with the metals and the glass and ceramic all creating layers for my eye to scan. It's really beautiful! I really enjoy the ball of twine on the lower shelf!! And I love the darts! Oh my!
You did an amazing display! Full of life!
Beautiful, beautiful display! Just lovely. I like how you included feathers, twine, & starfish in with your family items, gives such a special touch!
Blessings,
Stacey
I love your displays of all the special items you love. It is beautiful because you can tell that each piece tells a story.
Blessings, Grace
Wow. Amazing. What a great idea to go monochromatic. I have to do this now. Hope you don't mind being copied.
I would love to walk around your house and just ohhh and ahhh for days. . . I love your style!
You are a TALENT!! I am still waiting for the mantal re-do!!
I too love pieces that are meaningful and love to display things that I can tell a story about. You have done a great job! So beautiful!
Oh~EM~Gee!!!
This is Stunning!! Stunning I tell you! Eye Candy!! Just beautiful…I do not have enough adjectives in my vocabulary….
I am on my way over to vote!!
Lou Cinda 🙂
i love that you have treasures and not just stuff!
You have an eye for accessorizing! What you've done is truly beautiful. The mix of materials and textures is perfect.
Thanks so much for the bloggy love!
Amy
I love your treasures and it is apparent that you do too. That's just how it should be. You have done a wonderful job incorporating so many shades, shapes and textures. LOVE IT!
Marian,
You have the gift!
Love the attention to detail, so interesting and although it's all old, it feels very "fresh"!
btw, I have the exact same pitcher at the top of the curio!
Hugs,
Bird
I got my vote in for you! 🙂 This is such a fun contest! <3