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Antiques

All Things Home

updated tips for shopping craigslist

If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you’ve probably caught on that craigslist is one of my favorite places to shop for furniture.  I’m often asked about it, so I thought I would share some updated tips along with my craigslist strategy and how I sort through the trash and treasures. First of all, I know I’m in a “good area” for finding furniture and antiques.  I live in south central PA and it’s not a very transient area.  Families live here for generations.  They don’t move, they add on.  We’ve lived in our town for almost ten years and I still feel like we’re relatively new. This is also a rural area and an old one, which means lots of old houses and barns.  All of those things combined means that there are attics, basements, spare rooms, and outbuildings filled with old things that eventually end up in

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All Things Home

all the pretty things

There have been so many things coming into the studio lately that it’s been impossible for me to photograph each one, so I thought I would go around the “Lucketts staging area” and snap a few pictures. I found this old lineberry cart on Craigslist, of all places!  We just cleaned it up and applied a coat of Hemp Oil to bring out the richness of the wood. You can also see some of the beautiful baskets I’ve been collecting here and there. A reader sold me her collection of vintage bakeware… …and I finally found an old chicken feeder to use for displaying random plates and lids. I also acquired an awesome blue scale… …a rolling wire rack, chippy painted basket, a little wooden stool… …lots of glass cloches in varying sizes… …this cool antique fan… …wooden spindles, buckets, rolling carts and stoneware bowls… …rolling pins, mashers, wooden spoons,

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All Things Home

the green double wash basin

I know my fellow antique hunters will understand when I say “you know it when you find it.” I’ve been hunting for a double wash basin for about a year and, while I have found several of them, I never found one that was just right. Just the right price, just the right color, right shape, right everything. Well, I spotted this one and I felt that rush that happens when “you know it.” It’s just the prettiest shade of green and I love the detail on the front of the basins, the angle of the legs, the little casters… I even like the little spigots! …and, of course, the zinc basins. I decided to roll the wash basin across our parking lot to have a little photo shoot in front of the old mill that is basically condemned, but makes an awesome backdrop for me!   All of the accessories on

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All Things Home

back at the house & JAK Camera Strap Giveaway

There has been a lot of activity at the studio and things have been pretty quiet at my house.  I did rearrange the family room a few weeks ago, but otherwise, my house is just my house, which is a big change from how it was a couple of years ago. If I was at this stage of getting ready for Lucketts, I would have things piled up in my dining room, pieces in every corner of my basement and I would be hauling furniture up to my family room for quick photo shoots before I rearranged the furniture back in place by the end of the day. I realize I’m enjoying my house much more as just a home, not a place of business AND a home. Anyway, after living with the new arrangement for a couple of weeks, I am totally sold on it.  I still have a lot

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All Things Home

the zinc-topped table goes home…

I’m starting to wonder what I posted about before I had all of these furniture makeovers… Today, we’ll take a break from the before & afters and I’ll tell a little story about a table with rickety, uneven legs. He had one thing that made him really special, though – something that kept him from being a run-of-the-mill old table.  He wore a zinc top that had a perfect patina. The problem was not one of his legs was the same size as another, so he sat at a wonky angle and, even though I tried to sell this table, no one wanted him. So, I took him back to the studio and gave him a little TLC.  I sealed the chipping, flaking paint with Tough Coat… …evened out the legs and added little casters to the bottom… You can read the full makeover post HERE.   He looked so much

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All Things Home

the easiest furniture makeover ever

I spotted this piece on craigslist and I knew, despite the missing knob and dry finish, that it was a real gem. Painting is my natural tendency, but this piece spoke to me loud and clear…  I just need a drink!  (Not that kind of drink. Although, I have heard of using vodka to clean stinky furniture, but I’ve never personally tried that one!) What it needed was hydration. The old finish had worn away, leaving the pretty old wood looking faded and tired.  The top had quite a few water rings and marks, so I thought it might need to be sanded, but I was concerned about losing the patina this piece has earned over more than a century.  I decided to rub a corner of the top with Hemp Oil and it woke up! Well, good morning, handsome. Some of the rings and marks would still show through, but I didn’t

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All Things Home

the wood wardrobe with the painted interior

I know that some of you probably think I paint everything.  I will paint my mother, if she will just hold still long enough!  Well, that’s not at all true.  While paint is “my thing”, I really appreciate beautiful wood, too. When I acquired this old wardrobe off of craigslist, I wasn’t sure if I would paint it or not, but when I saw it in person, I decided against it.  The wood just has a pretty grain pattern, warmth and it was in good condition.  Most wood pieces I purchase have issues with the finish, so painting is the best route. This one just needed a little bit of help.  I felt like it would benefit from installing shelves and painting the interior. I painted it in two coats of MMSMP Mora… (Here it is after the first coat.) My dad installed the shelves, similar to the way he installed

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All Things Home

ironstone brush boxes & grandma Shoemaker’s pitcher

It’s no secret that I love ironstone.  It’s my favorite thing to collect and I am totally honed in on it when I’m out shopping for antiques. I get excited at just about any piece of ironstone, but uncommon pieces especially get my heart pumping just a little faster.  Such is the case with brush boxes.  I own a couple and have sold a few, but they aren’t very easy to find and usually they are a bit pricey ($50-150). They are long, narrow boxes with lids that would have originally come in a “wash set” that contained a wash basin, pitcher, chamberpot, slop bucket, etc.  The brush box would hold toothbrushes and perhaps razors. I found the most amazing brush box when Kriste and I were out shopping earlier this week and the price was definitely right!  I think it was $18 or something crazy like that.  I spotted it and impulsively reached

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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