Catching up

Yes, things have been slow lately on the thrifting front. Mainly due to a self-imposed spending diet (more about that another time). But fear not ! In this household there's enough of a thrift find backlog to last us for a good long while...

Starting with my latest furniture buy, which I've been meaning to show off  for... uh oh... six months now. 

After loosing one of my favourite thrift finds to an unfortunate fall, I decided it was time to remove the open shelves from the kitchen and hunt down a display cabinet. I came across this cute little vintage number in an abandoned shop window. The new owners were trying to get rid of all the left-over stuff and were more than willing to accept a very reasonable offer and throw in a free delivery for good measure.

All my vintage treasures are now housed safely - and dust-free ! 

Side note. I had the interior glass shelves cut at a local diy-shop (the original ones were missing), but didn't think it properly through. So the new shelves are too thin and slightly sagging in the middle...  Oh well. 

Two "new-ish" Figgjo Flint finds. I think the little lady collecting mushrooms is particularly cute. I've never seen this design before. Do you know if it can be found on other Figgjo Flint objects ?

Another thrift find from last year. A cute little watering can from the Brussels flea market that was a mere € 1.

I'm also very happy to finally have found the right spot for the Krakatoa poster. I've owned this poster for years and had it mostly tucked away in a cupboard (except for one brief appearance in the living room).

I'm less happy however about the rest. As much as I love the Arabia year plates and the  Caroline Gaedechens drawing, I don't think the combination of them is working out. Art is soooo hard !

No new West German pottery vases. But I thought I'd end on some kitty love.

Living Room corner update

Pfffff, it's been a crazy few weeks - with work, my English family coming over for a visit, celebrating my Oma's 98th birthday... and I'm kind of glad to be spending this weekend quietly at home, cuddling the cats.

Although stress levels have run high, I did manage to squeeze in a bit of house futzing and succeeded to give the dreaded living room corner a more appealing appearance.

Let's sum up. Back in March...

And now... Can you spot the differences ?

I followed the thoughtful suggestions of commentor Allycatz and switched the shelves and West German pottery around. 
I also moved some old issues of Elle Decoration and Living etc out of the bedroom and closer to my favourite reading corner. Hopefully having them at hand will make me more inclinded to flip through them one more time, before chucking them out.

All in all not a major change and I still find it looks a bit too cluttered. But unless I magically morph from hoarder to minimalist, I'll just have to accept the way things are ! And in any case, I'm much happier with how this area looks now.

As I commented in last post, I was hoping to acquire a fabulous vintage fiber wall hanging. Which would have been just perfect instead of the antique lithograph... 

But alas, while I was still debating how big an offer I was willing to make - given the € 50 shipping fees (of course, such awesomeness can only be found in the US...) - somebody else snatched it up. 

F**ck F**ck F**ck!!! I can't believe I missed out on such a find !

Sigh. So while I'm back to obsessively stalking ebay, I'll have to be content with this lovely 70s(?) bird tile I found for € 5 at the Brussels flea market a few weeks ago.

Some close-ups of the left and right side of the Tomado shelves to round up this post and close the topic (for now).

And now I'm off to some leisurely house cleaning and decluttering. And if the weather holds, I might even to some much needed spring cleaning on the balconies.

What have you planned this weekend ?

Trial and error

Sigh. If I thought February was dreary, I have to think again. March is WAY worse ! I mean look at that grainy dark picture. Really sad when on a Sunday afternoon in late March, you're locked inside because outside there's still tons of snow and freezing temperatures. And worst of all, NO light.

I can't stand this any longer. Everything is bla. I have zero energy, a stressful job, a stressful life (Woody got neutered this week. Everything went well, but still I was so nervous for the little guy...) and absolutely no relief, i.e. outdoor thrifting. All I want to do is eat and sleep...

And obsess about this damn corner in my living room, which stubbornly refuses to improve. Much like the weather.

Let's face it. The whole thing is a mess. When I took the Tomado shelves out of the loo, I thought it would be a good idea to put them in here. You know, create a little more room for displaying things...

Yeah, brilliant / stupid idea. More like, more room to clutter things up. I don't know. I don't like anything here. I'm missing a shelf, the floor vases look all wrong, the oldfashioned lithograph - a 20 € find from a very rare visit to the Brussels flea market - doesn't really go with anything, etc, etc.

The only thing I do like is that little ensemble of WGP planters and vase. But look at the other side. What a pathetic display !

Just a quick look at the other side. The plants aren't doing great either and I really should try and find a more discreet place for the cat tree (but of course the cats love it there, so I can't really be bothered to move it). Everything is bit bla too...

Except... That lovely vintage cushion ! I scored it Friday night at my favourite vintage shop in downtown Brussels, Brocéliande. And let me tell you. I love it ! It's just the thing that might energise me enough to try and figure out what to do with the rest of the sitting area.

One more  photo. I can't help myself ! Oh and btw, that cute little african style cushion is also from the same shop.

Now to stop moaning and bitching and try and save the situation: I'm thinking of either getting Tomado shelves in a different color (metallic white ones maybe ?) or going down the Ikea route and getting their stylish PS metal sidebord (which could also provide additional storage for all my Hygge Hour shop finds) or maybe go back to this situation in May 2012 or...

Any brilliant ideas, dear readers ? How do you manage to get out of a decorating deadlock ?

Recent finds

Some of you were wondering what I brought back from Antwerpen. Here it goes ! 

And since I like you so much and love bragging about my thrift scores even more, I'll even throw in an additional Scandi ceramic find, for good measure.

Do you see that very restrained lamp ? Totally uncharacteristal for me, right ? It's however the only thing that made it back with me from Antwerpen. 
The seller certainly knew what he was doing. He had it displayed on top of a fancy 60s highboard, where it was casting a beautiful glow on all that teak delight. And as I'm a total sucker for contextualisation, it didn't take me more than 30 seconds to cough up 50 eur and proudly walk off with it. 
Sometimes you just know when something is right. Right ? Right !

And you know what I like most about it ? You can play around with the shade... Like this.

Or like this.

Of course I spent hours fussing around, trying to decide which way I like best...

I think this is it. The lamp shade is somehow matching the shape of the transistor radios on the poster. And I'm thinking, that must surely be one of the rules of fancy vignetting. You know, pairing forms and harmonising everything. 
Or maybe not. And I just like everything being symetrical !

Ok. Enough with the rambling nonesense. Let's get back to earth. Although. 3.50 eur for this gorgeous Royal Copenhagen Nils Thorsson designed plate is so incredible, that I might actually start believing in devine intervention.

It's all certainly brightening up the whole corner on a gloomy Sunday afternoon.

So what have you been up to lately ? Are the thrift gods smiling on you ?

Flea market scores (2)

As mentioned in my previous post, the thrift gods have been smiling on me lately and I managed to bring home some super cute additions to my ceramic collection(s).

First off, this retro handle-less Waechtersbach mug, found for 1 eur, and now keeping in check some of my office supplies.

Red seems to be the colour of the moment. As is the 1 eur price tag... This famous Arabia Finland jam pot was also mine for that whopping amount.

This merits a bit of a wider view of the growing Scandinavian collection.

Speaking of Arabia Finland. Say hello to my newest find, which also came home for - you've guessed it ! - 1 eur.

This unmarked ceramic wall plate however was an outrageous 2.64 eur, haggled down from 6 eur with my favourite technique. A large smile and getting the seller to accept the spare change left in your wallet. In this case 2.64 eur.

Overview. 

Pffffff, that's a lot of collecting.

And last but not least, a classic - "weniger aber besser" - Braun design. This 12-cup coffee maker was mine for 3 eur, required some moderate cleaning, and is in perfect working condition.

Of course since taking these pictures over a week ago, I've already acquired more wonderful finds. For which I totally blame this weekend's trip to trendy Antwerpen - and this morning's fleamarket visit...

Flea market score (1)

A few recent flea market expeditions have proven very fruitful. I was able to add to my Scandinavian and German (and anonymous) ceramic collections. More about that in a future post.
Let's start with my most eyecatching find.

In situ smartphone picture. 

And hard to miss. This astonishing 1950s tapestry. That thing is HUGE ! I circled the booth a couple of times, shot a few photos and was consequently utterly unable to hide my excitement when I tried to haggle with the vendor... who is probably still laughing that somebody was willing to pay 30 eur for a "dusty and musty eyesore". I'm quoting my Mum here.

Well, you know what they say. One person's trash is is another's treasure.

See what I mean ? Isn't it perfect for over my bed ?

Based on the signature and authenticity certificate, I did some googling and discovered a series of French tapestry studios who attempted to update and bring tapestry back in style after World War II. 
As you can see, they did limited editions of their designs. Which btw go for a lot more than 30 eur on ebay and various auctions sites.

Ok. I'm not quite sure about the mix going on on that side. Hhmm, coral lamp shade and KMK (Kupfermühle Keramik) ceramic wall plate. Maybe it's all a bit too much ?

But I'm definitely in love with that tapestry !

UK goodies

Uh oh. I've been at it again. Spending a few days in the UK, roaming through my favourite antiques centre and car boot sale.

So what did I find ?

A little bit of everything. British, Scandinavian and a whole lot of West German pottery.

Böttger studio pottery planter (10£), Bay planter (5£) and two Scheurich vases (13.50£ and 7£ respectively).

Midwinter 'Plant Life' tureen (37.50£ incl.shipping) and Finel Kaj Franck / Esteri Tomula hob kettle (13£).

I've already professed my love for the Plant Life pattern. Boy oh boy, was I over the moon when I spotted this tureen for a reasonable 45£ 'buy it now' price on ebay. These things have been known to fetch between 100£ to 120£.

But best of all, the seller had added the 'make an offer' button. Very cheekily I tried my luck at 30£, all the while convinced that the seller would haggle to 40£. But to my utter amazement, he (or she) actually accepted my 30 quid offer ! SCORE !!!

Let this be a lesson to us all.

Rug ! And rethinking the seating area...

Uh oh. I've been futzing over the living room again. Like so.

Step 1 - Score a wonderful vintage Desso shaggy rug at the Ghent Vintage Design Event for a mere 100 eur. It's in mint condition, pleasantly soft to the feet, has been professionally cleaned and reminds me of fat lava glazing. What's not to love ?!
(I'll spare you all the prep steps of moving furniture and giving the whole area a throrough wash. Who knew how much gunk could actually hide under a rug and sofa ?)

Step 2 - Move all your old crap back in. Starting with the sofa and a sleepy cat.

Step 3 - More furniture and of course some plant life.

Step 4 - Coffee table.

Step 5 - Additional seating, fifties cocktail chair. All the while ignoring the pitiful state of the coffee table top...

And scruffy old chair that has seen better days and has been nearly scratched to death by the cats, but that - for the life of me - I could never give away.

And my personal favourite - Clutter everything up with knicknacks, like a bunch of West German floor vases.

More plants, WGP and some stacking candle holders.

Still more plants and 'Fat Lava' ceramics.

And one last effort ! Squeeze in a very à propos vintage rocket lamp (a souvenir from my last UK trip back in August). 

And finally, crash down on the sofa for a well deserved rest. And start rethinking the whole process. 

Too much brown / teak going on ?
Wouldn't a glass coffee table be more suitable to show off the new rug ? Maybe. 
Can I place that rocket lamp in a less cramped in, more favourable place ? 
Do the black & white cushions go with the colour and pattern of the rug ? Hhmm, not really.
Do I really need to clutter up every surface with stuff ? How do other people always manage such stylish and minimalist displays of their collections ? Etc, etc.


Fuck it. I'm too exhausted to start over. 

For now.