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All Things Home

Antiques

the story of the ironstone milk pans

One of the vendors that’s been a favorite at the Lucketts Spring & Fall Markets each year has been Barn Fresh Designs.  They always have lovely pieces, an eye-catching display, and reasonable prices.  I’ve bought a few things from them over the last few markets and was excited to see them in a new space at the 2024 Fall Market.  I recognized their pieces right away and exclaimed, “You moved!”  I was pulling a couple of chunky gold frames off of a wall to purchase and Bob came over to hold them for me and say hello.  In addition to their new location, I was also surprised by the presence of a large ironstone milk pan I had passed up at the Spring Market.  So, let me tell you about the ironstone milk pans… I bought a nesting set of them from Barn Fresh Designs at the Spring 2023 market. 

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All Things Home

Feels Like Home | three year anniversary giveaway

This giveaway is closed.  The winners are Naomi B, Gail J, and Judi Y.  Congrats, and thanks to all who entered and celebrated this book birthday with me!  Feels Like Home is still $11.99 on Amazon if you want some extra inspiration for making your house feel more like your home. Can you believe Feels Like Home turns three this week?  It was released on October 12, 2021, and we can’t let this book birthday pass without a little celebration.  (There’s a giveaway at the bottom of this post, so don’t miss that!)  This book is honestly one of the creative projects I’m proudest of.  Typically, when I’m in the thick of a project, I hit difficult and slow-going patches.  I question if it’s even a good idea any longer or if I’ve exhausted the energy I can give to it.  I used to be discouraged when I hit that

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1970 home renovation

removing carpet glue from concrete | part one

I’m sure you’re excited to see that this is only part one of removing carpet glue from concrete.  That means there will at least be a part two and you’ll have more ugly photos and stories of slow and tedious DIY endeavors to delight you.  As I shared in the initial post about the basement, home renovation isn’t always pretty.  You can read that post HERE.  In brief, the concrete basement floors are covered in a coating of old carpet glue and remnants of padding still clinging to said glue.  Not only is it unsightly, but it’s impossible to clean properly, which drives me nuts. I’ve been nervous about this basement floor since we moved in, though.  My fear was asbestos was lurking either in the glue or the pad and disturbing it would be a health hazard.  If it did contain asbestos, we would either have to have it

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a slice of life

Lucketts Fall Market 2024 recap

Another Lucketts Market is in the books!  Attending the Lucketts markets has definitely been a perk of moving back to the mid-Atlantic region.  My mom and I know the Friday of the Spring and Fall Markets are written in ink on the calendar and we need to work everything else around them.  Well, the Early Bird shopping of the 2024 Fall Market did not disappoint.  First of all, the weather was heavenly.  It was just what you want in a fall market.  We had sunny skies, a crisp bite to the air, and a slight breeze that was just enough to rustle the leaves.  We started the morning with sweaters and jackets and shed them around lunchtime. The vendors and the Lucketts crew, as expected, put on a great show.  Lucketts does a great job at creating “moments” throughout the event.  Places to take pictures, to sit and eat or

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Antiques

Lucketts fall market wish list 2024

Here we are at another Lucketts Market!  I miss the weather (believe it or not) and friends in Minnesota, but I am so glad to be back on the East Coast again and an hour away from Lucketts.  As I’ve shared many times over the years, it’s a special place to me not only because it’s an awesome and inspiring place to shop, but because the people at Lucketts are dear to me.  So many of them are a part of my story.  They encouraged me, showed me the ropes, took me under their wing, championed my successes, graciously wished me well when it was time to move on, and welcomed me back as one would expect from old friends.  I find the collective group of designers, vendors, and creative minds endlessly inspiring.  It’s a vibe I want to soak in any time I can. I’ve gone to the last

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a slice of life

field trip | emporium antiques in Frederick, MD

Yesterday, I drove down to Frederick to meet Jodie of The Past Restored to drop off my oil paintings for the Lucketts Fall Market with her.  You can read about that spur-of-the-moment partnership HERE.  I had to pick Marshall up in a couple of hours, so instead of going home, I decided to poke around an antique store for a bit.  I shopped at Emporium Antiques years ago when I was an antique dealer, but I hadn’t been since moving back to the mid-Atlantic region.  I decided to spend my free time checking it out.  It was very much as I remember it, which was nice to see.  It always makes me sad when once wonderful antique stores fall into the decline of booths filled with NASCAR memorabilia, novelty candy, collectible shot glasses, and creepy dolls wearing a half-inch of dust.  Sometimes those stores can be awesome because you can

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1970 home renovation

picture frame molding | dining room makeover

I feel like I keep returning to the same decorating bag of tricks with picture frame molding, but it is such an inexpensive and easy way to add architectural detail to a space that it’s hard to resist.  A room can look stately, classic, and more interesting with just a couple hundred dollars invested in trim and a few hours of installation and caulking.  I love it and am sure I will keep going back to it since I can’t imagine trim details like chair rail and picture frame molding will ever go out of style.  If you’re interested in installing picture frame molding in your home, HERE is a tutorial showing how. Instead of trying to get all of the trim done in the dining room in one long day, I decided to work on it in bite-sized pieces.  I took measurements and drew out a plan and cut

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All Things Home

antique empire buffet

When I painted the dining room ceiling a few weeks ago, eagle-eyed readers might’ve noticed the new buffet in the corner under the plastic dropcloth.  I haven’t shown that corner of the dining room often, so it may have been overlooked entirely.  I recently acquired the beautiful antique Empire buffet from a local consignment shop after hunting for just the right piece for that corner for over a year. And here it is!  Isn’t it a beauty?  I spotted this handsome antique Empire buffet when I stopped in a local secondhand store on a whim just to see what they had.  It’s a well-kept shop with a nice rotation of inventory, but the prices can be all over the place.  Some really nice pieces are a bargain and others are more expensive than I would expect, but I’ve learned from buying and selling that pricing is always subjective when selling

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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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