Decor Arts Now

I just got back from the antique marathon that is the Brimfield Market with friend, Lisa, owner of the vintage goodies store, Reposed NY.

It was rainy and muddy but that didn’t dampen our spirits.

I was hoping to find some interesting items to style my beach house for photography, and Lisa was sourcing new inventory for her gallery spaces in Stamford, CT and storefront in NYC.  Success on both fronts!

Here are some snaps of our adventures.

If you were furnishing your front porch, you were all set here:

Wicker Wonderland

An incredible drop down desk from the Streamlined Modernism era could have been yours for a mere $675.  A fabulous example from that period.

Food and money.  Always necessary.

Can’t say we spotted anything new trend-wise from our last trip in September 2011.  There was still lots and lots of Steam Punk and the typography thing just wouldn’t quit.  More on that trend here.  Plus neither of us want to see a green enamel pendant light ever again.  They were everywhere.  Let’s do something new–OK?

What did we go home with?

Lisa’s first purchase was this charming 70′s-ish, “Hi”.  We both were smitten—I am not sure if she will be able to part with it.  I guess that is the best thing about having a store.  Things can live in your apartment, and then when you have had your fill, off they go.  Visit her website to see more.

Here is a little peek at what I got.

A group of these pretty blue/green jars will make a nice vignette

People were lined up behind me to nab this folksy table, if I didn’t take it.  It is going between the beds in my twins’ room. Remember when I shared my plans to update their space?  The toile tray is destined for behind the MTK kitchen sink–will go great with the blue/green walls.

This large coral was the most expensive thing I bought—some pieces already broke off on the way home.  Fingers crossed I can keep the remainder whole when it travels to Montauk.

My favorite purchase is this watercolor.  Just love the colors and it looks just like Montauk harbor.

You never know what you are going to find in Brimfield–but that is what makes it so fun.

Rolling the dice at Brimfield

We all have them—those spaces in our homes that are not ideal.  Right now, the egg on my face is the room shown below in our beach house in Montauk.  Yep it is a mess.

When I first put together the room, my twin sons were nine and those PBkids beds were configured as bunks against that big, almost empty, yellow wall.  As they grew into young 16 year old men, my guys grew tired of the bunks and the bedding is simply too young for them.

I want to start over, new paint color, new beds, new everything!  Nope says the hubs.  We just completed an addition on the other side of the house, and my usually quite cooperative husband has nixed any major changes, including painting.

Happily I talked him into some art.  Come on I urged—that wall looks ridiculous.  But what was I going to hang?

I want to do a wall-sized map mural.  No surprise there.  I have been gushing about them all week.  But Larry hated that plan.  Since he  so rarely blocks my decorating ideas, I felt I had to move on to Plan B.

Fortunately, after a quick google, I found a website, Fine Art America, with plenty of photographs of Montauk.  The photos can be ordered in many sizes and are reasonably priced.  I settled on these 2 images by Rosemary Hawkins.  I am hoping large scale black and white prints behind the beds will give the room a bit of edge.  And Larry is in Europe.  Guess he doesn’t get to preview this idea……

I also stumbled upon a cute print of our favorite beach, Ditch Plains, seen in the first picture above.  I know I am in safe territory here.  No one will object to an image of beloved Ditch.

Still, I am  stuck with those little kiddie beds.  To camouflage them a bit, I plan to replace the colorful bedding with some all-white quilts and sheets I scored at HomeGoods.  I will add a brightly colored Mexican serape blanket at the foot of each bed.  I think the bit of orangey-yellow in the blankets will tone well with the wall color.

The lamp is a keeper but that table was a junk store find.  And yes, it is in fact, junk.  CB2 has a $49 tray table that might serve, but I am hoping to find something more cool, maybe industrial looking, when I head to Brimfield later this month.  To paraphrase Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart (he was talking about pornography), I will know it when I see it.  I knew my law degree would come in handy one day in my decorating world.

Here are what my plans for the room look like right now.

Let’s see how many changes I can implement before Larry gets home…