Let The Piece Find You

Love at first sight with rustic French flea market style. Timeless euro chic qualities are enhanced by the French tendency to collect and acquire furnishings over time rather than buy as sets inspiring a home with history other than trendy home accessories; resulting in perfectly imperfect. Sharing my passion for flea market brocante with my daughter Hannah has given her a creative balance with French flea market style that provokes love at first sight. The French chandelier was brought into our Burlap Luxe shop for sale by our dear friend Judy. I could see that Hannah was inspired by it's whimsey, as well as the paint finish in its peaceful tones that just spoke to you. The grayish white painted scrolling arms with cut glass was beckoning her that it was a special piece. This French Chandelier had found her heart with excitement, and she knew just where it wanted to be. We never go on the hunt for something to fill space in our home or force a design style, we just let the piece find us.

Pictured here are a few pieces that make me swoon over them. I have a fond passion for old pieces, chippy, and rusted with a hidden story to them. Some of my favorites are old doors, iron beds, and French chairs no matter what shape their in. A simple chandeliers with a bit of whimsey along with velvet feathered filled fringed pillows, and salvaged wood pieces all in which excite in how I will reuse or restyle there use in a renewed way.

European style is a design style of timeless desire. Its simple aged found object will add to a feel of history without the fuss of perfection. Treasures that find you make that special statement of not quite matching from groupings or collections, this gives a room a sense of being fashioned over time. Having an obsession with salvaging pieces have a way of making their way into our romantic homes, and decorating with what we love. I follow a rule of starting with one great piece for each room of a home. While letting salvaged pieces find you, the rest of the room will fall together inexpensively piece by piece.

Inspiring you to design rooms with great vibrations, using peaceful calming tones as I did with these pieces in my own home.

The Soul of Recycled

A Hidden Treasure In A Discarded Art Frame

Click on photo's to enlarge aged details

Irresistible art frames with many possibilities for their use, the timeless timeworn charm of chipped, cracked, peeling paints will never fade, history has proven that. I love to surround myself with objects that were less then desirable to others. I will restyle, re-purpose, and reuse pieces that have been recycled for our inviting peaceful home that asks nothing of us then to relax and create. Among an all white to creams and soft tones of gray-whites, when creating I have this color tone palette in mind. Creating from elegantly rustic, to right down rusty, nothing excites the home more then a treasured find recreated with purpose.

French-inspired vignette was made from an old art frame discarded at a tag sale. This treasured find has found it's way into my hands to breathe new life into it. This art gallery frame had seen much better days, but that did not stop me for making less then a few dollar purchase on it. Tearing the frame apart was exciting, and at that point I still had no idea what I was going to create with it. I did know I wanted to remove the excess amount of gold paint, and the layers of art paint that someone at one time had added to it.

Stripping it down layers at a time with a varnish and stripper product, removing just the right amount of paint to give it an aged old look for my euro flea market chic design style home, or shop. When I cleaned off the stripper from the 4 sides of the frame that it so kindly gave me, I then got to work painting and adding my technique in paint and aging of it. I painted the cracked, broken and what was left of the piped on icing trim, along with the center motifs adding just the right amount of washed whites, and grays, aging it perfectly imperfect. Pleased with the outcome of the personality each side of the frame took on, I was then left with what now do I use them on.

After all sides of the frame were finished they sat around awhile, I held them up to and onto many pieces that I thought could be used as part of restyling and adding to the charm of a piece. I thought maybe they would become a part of the roof line of the birdhouses I create, perhaps a back splash on a vintage piece of furniture, I was still questioning what to use them on. As they sat for a time in the corner of a room propped up and waiting to be added to that perfect piece...It hit me, that they are perfect as they are. I got out tooth hook hangers and nailed them onto the back side of each ends of the frame pieces. This allowed me to hang them on a wall as wall art inbetween other works of art. By using different frame pieces in groupings on a wall this will add salvaged details to a room. I adore them over an existing piece of art, double framing the art giving it unique cottage villa charm. Also adding shabby charm to the top of door ways, as well as a back splash embellishing a counter wall or above a kitchen window. These salvaged pieces are just beautiful laying here and there on their own, mixed with new and old pieces making for inspiring conversation.

I hope this inspires you to go to your stockpile of discarded pieces and create.