Lots of new goodies in.... and they're *probably* germ free!

I've been sick since Sunday -- running fever non-stop -- so I've been mostly banned from the store. Mike & Brett have been busy rearranging and filling up the spots from the pieces that were sold or went on layaway last week. They've also unpacked lots of new home decor. I was allowed to go down today & point at what I wanted them to do!

If you check out the Furniture and Home Decor page on the website, or check out the September album on my Facebook Page you can see shots of most of the new things.

More furniture and home decor coming next week if nothing happens (and I stop running fever.... gah).

Heading toward fall

Don't you just love fall? I love the colors, the weather, everything. I have been dragging out my fall decorations and putting them around the house this week and it just has me in the mood for hayrides and pumpkin carving and.... well.... stuff like that. :)



This is also the time of year I think about where I'm going to move everything to make room for Christmas decorations and "do I really want that table anymore??" Seems like I do more fall cleaning/purging than I do in spring!

Also, not too early to start thinking about Christmas presents... I just hate waiting until November and December and feeling like everybody beat me to the good stuff! Just this week I've had emails or calls from three people planning their Christmas lists, so it might be a good time to get started on yours! Call me if you need help trying to figure out what to get ME... ha!

And.... VOILA!

I was just about to post a photo I took of a new style baker's rack we got in today. I had actually purchased it for a customer who thought it might be the perfect piece for her home & I thought, what the heck, if it's not, it will be the perfect piece for someone else.

BUT.... she stopped in, picked up the piece and has already emailed me a photo showing it in her kitchen completely accessorized! VOILA!

Well, she may actually get angry at me for posting this photo so soon because she says she isn't finished accessorizing. This piece was perfect to hold her collection of cookbooks, and she needed to access a light switch so a tall piece was out. With this nice medium sized baker's rack she can still access the switch and has tons of room for her cookbooks. I can't wait to see it when she "does a little better decorating" as she said, because I think it already looks great!

There's ugly... then there's.... OOOOGLY.

And this year, we have a truely oooogly entry in the Ugly Lamp Contest at the Calhoun County Fair!! Yes, a lamp so bad it's hard to imagine why anyone designed it, then why anyone would make it, then why anyone would BUY it... :)

But first, here's a shot of all 9 entries (nearly TRIPLE last year's number!! woohoo!!)

The lamp below was the "born ugly" winner -- this lamp started life as a kerosene lamp base. And frankly, I think the right shade on it would make it kind of attractive. But, I didn't over-rule the fair judges on it!

Then, there's this little lamp, which clearly started life as a fairly normal lamp with a bit of a wild side to it - (note the animal print trim on the shade). But then, someone decided a little bit of a good thing is never enough & went full scale safari on this baby.... so this is the winner of the "made ugly" division.

And now we have the GRAND CHAMPION of Lamp Ugliness.... and I have to say, before you see the photo, this one deserved a special award for, um.... perhaps vulgarity is the word I'm looking for?? This is just too, too much. I think you will agree that pretty much everything that could be wrong about this lamp IS wrong.... from the glitter to the gold plate to the birds to the fringe to the... um... well, say we call it a medallion?? Just so, so wrong. And so, so OOOOOGLY. Somehow, I get the feeling this was a gift from a mother-in-law.....

I Love Follow-Ups!!

Remember the cute little cabinet makeover that I featured here on the blog and in the Artifacts Monthly Email Newsletter??? Wellllllllllll, here it is in the customer's home!
It looks terrific with a bold orchid on top and pretty botles and decanters inside. I think she has achieved a masterstroke of style by combining all of these slightly modern black/white/silver furniture pieces in a setting that is very traditional (wide-plank, dark hardwood floors, crisp white molding, and khaki-tone paint.)

These chairs are a nice solution for someone who wants that modern edge of black/white without going for the zebra print. It's the same chair frame, but even though it is bold, this graphic fabric still has a more traditional feel to it. LOVE IT!

This homeowner also selected a great little accent chest in apothecary style (I think that just means a lot of drawers! HA!) which worked great in a little off-set niche in her home. She has kept the mix of modern/traditional going by topping this piece with its strong graphic lines with traditional bottles and vases. Super work.

And now.... on to the bedroom! :) As soon as we get that sorted out, more photos!

As I said this morning....

... on Facebook, I spent the first half of the day cleaning, sweeping, rearranging and filling up holes left from things that sold earlier in the week. (And thankfully, I'm going to have more of that to do after today! YIPPPEEE!)



This is one of the last-minute things I did just before we left the store for the evening -- all black & white decor in the front window. I had grabbed it to move up there and was also going to put the last zebra chair back with it. BUT, the zebra chair had other ideas and left headed to Starkville (by way of Pontotoc) with one of its legs hanging out the window of an SUV!! We can fit practically anything in a car, I promise! HA!



Anyway, the zebra chair didn't make the front window, but these pretty black & white items did. What do you think??

Black stacking baskets on the left, a vintage milk glass "open lace" candy dish, a white ceramic tray, lamps with funky silver base and black/white flocked shades and silver candleholders. Would be sharp in a red or green room, I think. One of my customers has a black/white/lime kitchen that she has shared with me and it is gorgeous! I can also see these same accessories being cool and modern in a turquoise/blue-gray room. Let me know what you think. Everyone who posts a comment here on the blog will have a chance to win something!!

UPDATE July 24, 2009: And the winner is.............. (everyone who commented on this post, I wrote your name on slip of paper & drew for the winner......) TYMPEL!

Congrats! In honor of this black/white theme we had going here, Tympel wins a pretty milk glass bird figurine so she can go off & start her own black/white themed room!! You can pick it up any time, Tympel!! :)

Big Impact Pieces

A giant flat screen tv ... a huge tv armoire in the den... an armoire in the bedroom....

With some of the overscale furniture in our homes today, groups of small objects as accessories can just look cluttered & lost. I have a hard time overcoming this tendency myself, but sometimes one BIG piece makes more of a statement than many small ones.

These huge charger plates in stands (whether they are metal, ceramic, or glass) with maybe one other large scale accessory (a pot, a candleholder, or tray) may be all you need to beautifully accessorize that large piece.