the blue birdcage

by | Jun 1, 2017 | All Things Home, Antiques, Favorite Finds | 40 comments

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With all of this talk about things that I’m selling, I thought I would share something that I am keeping!

I have decided that one of the perks of buying and selling antiques is that I get first pick of my finds.  I sell far more than I keep, but sometimes there are pieces that are so special and I am so smitten with them, that I keep them.

At least for a while.

I found this antique French wall-hanging bird cage on my final shopping trip before Lucketts…

(The tag listed it as “French” and that seller may be taking some liberties with a hot buzzword or it might actually be from France.  I don’t know, so let’s just pretend it’s from France, even though it may not be.)

Soooo, usually I bounce larger purchases off of my shopping buddy (my mom on this particular day) just to make sure I’m not getting carried away.  When I spotted this French birdcage, though, hanging on a wall in an antique booth, I didn’t even hesitate.  I was briefly unsupervised as my mom was carrying smaller purchases to the counter.  (As an aside, my mom likes to carry my purchases to the counter, so she can get more steps on her fitbit.  I feel like I always need to state that, so people don’t think I’m treating my mom like my gofer.)

 The price on the birdcage was a little steep, but it wasn’t outrageous and I felt like it was even a good for such a special piece.  I didn’t wait for her to return to seek her opinion or even ask for her help removing it from the wall.

Partway through lifting it off the hooks, I realized that was a mistake.  I was surrounded with valuable antiques, holding a pricey piece precariously in my hands.  My mom rounded the corner and was able to help me free it from the pegboard hooks.  Once it was off the wall, I stood with my arms full of the bulky birdcage and I could see the look on her face that said, “I leave for just a minute and…”

I interrupted her thoughts.  “I’m getting it.”

Since we’re beyond the Mommy, please, please buy me another Cabbage Patch Doll kind of relationship, there wasn’t an argument on her part or a tantrum on mine.

(Not that I ever threw tantrums, since I was a complete angel who never did anything naughty.  Just ask my brother.)

I said that I would put a high price on it and bring it to Lucketts to sell, but when I imagined someone carrying it away, even for double or triple what I paid, I knew I would be bummed that I sold it.  So, as I was pricing pieces, I set it aside.

Whenever I’m considering keeping something, I do a little exercise.  I put a tag on it and set it in the pile of things to sell.  If I leave it there and I don’t really think about it, I’ll sell it.  If I keep eyeing it, then I’ll remove the tag.  I would say that most of the time, I leave the tag on once I’ve had the chance to get used to the idea of selling it.

This piece didn’t even make it to that exercise!  I couldn’t bring myself to tag it.

The little doors on it are the sweetest shape and I love the tiny white knobs.

And the little food trays still slide out…

My mom later stated that she thinks I’m just in love with the color of the paint.

Yes, that has something to do with why I love it.  If it wasn’t this yummy shade of blue, cracked and chipped to perfection, it probably wouldn’t draw me in as much as it does.  But I love this blue, chippy paint.

And, as the saying goes, if loving it is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

I’ll share a couple more of my “keepers” tomorrow…

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    40 Comments

    1. Lisa

      This is adorable. I can’t wait to see what you’re letting go, and what you’re keeping. I always check read your blog first thing. It makes me happy when I see a new post. Thank you! 🙂

    2. Susan

      Oh my, I’d never sell that either! It’s so wonderful.
      Good luck on your garage sale.
      I was just thinking about your boys, are they excited about the moving?

    3. DeAnna

      That blue birdcage is super sweet Marian! Some how I could just picture you trying to ease that cage off the wall with your mom watching you and I couldn’t help but laugh. Too fun:)

    4. Carrie Schindler Schwab

      I might have a *bit* of a bird cage collecting problem, but I’ve never seen one quite like this. It is fabulous in every way – the chippy paint color, the little doors and feeding drawers, and the fact that it hangs on the wall. French or not, it is definitely a keeper!

    5. Lisa

      I saw a green wall-hanging bird cage, pretty but a little plainer, listed on line for almost $1700. I think your blue one with all its special details is wonderful–and maybe you got a super bargain too!

      • Marian Parsons

        I paid a small fraction of that, so I think I did get a great price!

    6. Brenda

      I think you have chosen wisely! I love the color, too! Do you think it had a decorative element on the top at one time? Not that it matters. I’m just curious that way. 😉

    7. Susan

      That one is special! I love everything about it. Have you decided how you will display/style it yet?

    8. Patricia

      Most adorable thing I’ve ever seen! Good call.

    9. Teresa

      I agree with your Mom….I think it was the color (Marians blue) that made it love at first sight for you! It really is a special piece and fits your style so well so I don’t blame you for not wanting to part with it.

    10. Barbara F.

      It’s beautiful! I love birds and have a pet bird, that cage would be so much fun to own (but never as a bird home 😉 Must have housed small birds, like finches, much bigger than that and the birds would entertain themselves chewing through the wood around the doors! How big is it? Looks to be pretty good size.

    11. Linda at Mixed Kreations

      That birdcage is adorable! I haven’t ever seen one quite like that, and the little food tray is cool. I can see why you love the paint, I do too!

    12. Donna

      OH WOW, I wouldn’t be able to let it go either….

    13. Kim

      A one-of-a-kind treasure!

    14. Kate

      What a great find! What I want to know is what Jeff and the boys thought. “Mommy, are we getting a bird!” Because, obviously, Sebastian isn’t enough. I can see it hanging on the wall with two large ironstone pitchers in it and ironstone plates hanging around it. But then, if those doors are the only access, it wouldn’t be easy to get a pitcher in there. It will be interesting to see how you style it.

    15. Anita

      I totally understand why you had to keep this. It’s absolutely a treasure! 🙂 I covet!

    16. Sue

      That is truly amazing and one of a kind – I wouldn’t let it go either! Aren’t one of a kind things so much fun?

    17. Yvonne T

      I am so glad to see this bird cage as I have one very much like it. It came from my grandparents’ home in a German settlement in Missouri, definitely not “French”. It’s also old blue, has pullout trays and bird swings and is 24″ wide. Will be interested to see how you use yours. Having only a small door, it is difficult to put something inside.

    18. Becky

      Marian, it’s a very unique piece and of course the paint color was made for you. I hope you share how you will use it in your home bc I’m having a hard time picturing how you display pieces like these. Is it hung on the wall, displayed on a table, left empty, filled with something, etc. however you use it, enjoy it. It’s a keeper.

    19. Denise

      Definitely a keeper! Is it wrong and boring for me to love it just to house birds? I’m excited to see how you work your creative magic with it.

    20. Mary

      Love it…….I can see it stuffed with dried hydrangias. sp?

    21. Michelle

      I wouldn’t let that one out of my sight! It is tooooo perfect!

    22. Laura

      I think your Mom is right. It’s blue. Done!
      That said, I have a copper (copper being MY blue) birdcage that I got from my mother-in-law years ago, that I haven’t been able to integrate into my current decor, that I will not let go of. I love it.

    23. phyllis

      I cannot think of even one reason for you to part with this treasure. You made the right decision and I am glad you went for it. I think it will have a place of honor in your new home, so please share that with us when you make your move.

    24. Roseann

      I love it and can’t wait to see how you use it in your home. I have several I keep on the back patio (covered) but never thought of bringing them inside.

    25. Donna Doble-Brown

      Ooooooo-i.e.! Can’t you just picture it with some. Lush dark green leafy plants hung on the wall of your gorgeous new house???????

    26. Sandra

      Please be careful about what you “purge” in anticipation of your move. I know that currently you do not knowing what area of the US that you will be moving to and therefore what your new home will look like. However, I have moved across country 3 times in the last 4 years and experience has taught me that while one area had really great thrift stores with a good selection of furniture and household items at very reasonable prices, where I am now has almost no thrift stores (2 Goodwill stores) with household items/furniture that need to go to the dump and the prices are outrageous ($250 for a 3 drawer chest that was mostly rotted wood, $400 for a filthy, filthy arm chair that needed new foam and fabric, etc.) I was spoiled were I lived previously. Every area is different. On the optimistic side, you may end up moving to someplace where the ‘pickings” are even better. You can hope.

    27. Eileen

      I love the comment about your mother and the fitbit. Good for her and it didn’t occur to me that you would be taking advantage of her. Had to laugh.

      I have a birdcage collection and wow, it’s a keeper.

    28. Leslie

      Oh my, that beauty has Marian written all over it. It’s a keeper for sure. Your readers are going to be hunting everywhere trying to find a birdcage, especially after you style it in your new home (myself included). Thanks again for all your designing inspirations.

    29. Elizabeth

      The little food trays kill me… What could be more adorable?

    30. Maggie

      Great buy!!!!! You have a great eye for hunting fabulous treasurers!!

    31. Mildred

      I am so envious of you!!! There are the cutest, nicest, coolest, and best, finds for antiques and ironstone in your part of the country that we DO NOT have here in Nashville, Tennessee.

      Good luck with the packing and move to come.

    32. Nancy

      Find two little white ironstone birds to put in there….lol…..just kidding! I love it!

    33. Dianne

      I love birdcages! I found an antique french birdcage in Portland when my daughter was a teenager (she’s now in her 40s) and I had her hold it on her lap for a 4-hr drive home. . . She still loves me, and I still have my birdcage. I think you made a good call, Marian. Good luck with your move and your future findings,

    34. AnnW

      You would have loved this bird cage if it had been painted any nice shade of white, linen, or cream; and any shade of green with a little or a lot of yellow; and any shade of grey; and don’t forget the mustardy yellow that you like; and any shade like apron string red; and on and on. When are you going to tell us where you are moving? We know you know. You are being very brave to let go of all your furniture.

    35. trish

      LoVe it!! i would keep it too!!

    36. Deb

      It’s a lovely piece! It will be exciting to see how your new home comes together! Don’t worry too much about not being able to find stuff in your new locale, if there aren’t good pickins, you’ll just have to schedule buying trips! Let me be the first to volunteer to accompany you, lol. I’m in Eastern PA, suburbs of Allentown and Philadelphia, and I’d love to be your shopping buddy!
      We share the same favorite colors, though, so we’d have to resort to coin flips, or arm wrestle for pieces! I think it will be exciting to explore and discover new troves and shopping spots, and I’m sure you have readers all over ready with tips!
      We’re all rooting for you. ❤️

    37. Deb Zaharchuk

      It’s a lovely piece! It will be exciting to see how your new home comes together! Don’t worry too much about not being able to find stuff in your new locale, if there aren’t good pickins, you’ll just have to schedule buying trips! Let me be the first to volunteer to accompany you, lol. I’m in Eastern PA, suburbs of Allentown and Philadelphia, and I’d love to be your shopping buddy!
      We share the same favorite colors, though, so we’d have to resort to coin flips, or arm wrestle for pieces! I think it will be exciting to explore and discover new troves and shopping spots, and I’m sure you have readers all over ready with tips!
      We’re all rooting for you. ❤️

    38. Kathy

      The “French” birdcage is beautiful!
      What shade of blue paint do you think is close to this shade ?

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