My French Revolution: French Provincial vs Louis XVI

As a little girl my room was all decked out in French Provincial furniture and décor elements and I never appreciated it for the beauty that they were. I wanted bright colors and wild patterns. By the time I was 13, my matchy-matchy bureau and desk were overpowered by an electric blue comforter with fluorescent leaves of pink, green and yellow and a shag pink rug (that had been in the house since the eighties). The eighties passed and somewhere in the 2000s I grew up and my tastes subdued – somewhat – and I’ve traded in my child-like love of neon bright furnsihings for a little more grown up taste of glitz and glamour by pairing jewel toned colors with ornate gold accessories. I still have my French Provincial set and have come to love and really appreciate its beauty; but being true to the “electric fluorescent” within me, I love to mix different colors and styles with the matchy-matchy furnishings that exist within my apartment.

My favorite details are those that were expressed in Europe in the 1800s that showcased beautiful patterns of damask, toile in rich materials like satin, brocade and velvet. The furniture they sat in looked so elegant and refined; in creams and muted blues and greens that were made to look even more stunning by the sparkle of floor to ceiling mirrors with the most ornate scrolling details in gold that curved around the edges of an ivory mirror. I do the best to make my apartment mirror the gorgeous styles of yesteryear while maintaining all the modern necessities and conveniences of today. I’ve hung rich plum purple curtains from my ceiling to section off my apartment’s closet/office from the living room/bed area. I love the juxtaposition of the curvaceous lines of my Louis XV end table and Queen Anne Victorian side chair mixed with the fluted legs of my Louis XVI style sofa.  And I’ve hung several ornate gold mirrors throughout my apartment to reflect the light and to trick the eye into thinking the rooms are larger.

One of my mirrors could easily have been part of my original French Provincial set, with its gold on ivory colors, curvaceous bottom legs and fluted decorative railing on top; but in the spirit of mixing (rather than matching), I really want to transform this mirror into a more ornate Louis XVI inspired find like those pictured below. How would you do it? Is it even possible? What ideas do you have that I could add or take away from the current construction of this mirror to make to more fitting with my décor?

Check out the Louis XVI inspired home décor goods in my Etsy store. From Mirrors to clocks, wallpaper, fabric and more. Do you have a favorite decorating style? Are you drawn to any particular artifacts when you’re out treasure hunting? Share it with me here. 

Happy decorating and happy thrifting!

I Heart Vintage Finds

One of my absolute favorite things to do in my spare time is go bargain hunting around for fabulous vintage finds. Timeless treasures that never go out of style. I have only been doing this for a short amount of time but I am amazed at how many antique shops are in every town that I never noticed. My favorites are multi-dealer antique shops, flea markets and thrift stores. It’s like an endless sea of treasures and I feel like if you look hard enough, you just might find that diamond in the rough you are looking for. (And sometimes, I really do mean rough. But sometimes that can be the most fun, turning something special into a project and making it your own.)

In my blog, I hope to share with you more of my adventures in treasure hunting, who has inspired me to go on the hunt and some of my favorite vintage finds.

There are so many things that have been my “favorite” at one time or another and right now, I think it’s safe to say they can all be tied under the umbrella terms of romantic vintage chic. For instance, look at these gorgeous vintage chairs I found. I can be quite literal when I say “I heart these two chairs”.

The greenish gold one is a Victorian Wicker/Rattan Chair and the white wooded chair is a French provincial silk brocade tufted heart back chair by Victorian. The ones I got are an olivey sage green wicker and the other is a gold and white tufted silk brocade with white wooded queen anne legs. One I found at one of my very favorite multi-dealer antique stores outside of Boston and the other I found in my local Craigslist listings. I am so incredibly happy with my finds! These ones are just for me…for now…that is until someone else comes along that just has to have them even moreJ

Let me know what you think of my two picks for the day; and if you are interested in purchasing them, please contact me through my profile or a comment on here.

Check out more of My Ebay Items for Sale  - I have been a member of Ebay since 2006. I started using Ebay more as an outlet for my own personal garage sale and semi-annual cleanouts.

Please note: I do not have an official Ebay store as of yet, but my goal is to open up a few stores on the Web, through Ebay and eventually Etsy. Very shortly you will see my treasures listed here as a page on this blog. One day hopefully I will have my own store but for until then, I hope you check out some of my items online and check back often.

Enjoy my blog!